Elpgal, if you mean a high bun or a tighter ponytail, at this length, no, it's not possible. But a lower sitting one could be. However I don't like what it looks like because there is so much volume around my head and it's more apparent when hair is gathered. Maybe a longer wig would allow it better.

The wig looks very natural, I think, and your own hair looks lovely, too--a bit more delicate, maybe, but in a nice way. Why not think of the hairpiece as an addition to your hair wardrobe, great for a bolder, bigger-hair moment, and your own hair best for softer, more feminine looks? It will be nice to have that versatility.

Tulle, thank you. It's interesting that you qualify my natural hair of more delicate, and I will remember that. Many of you suggest my natural hair is also nice. I'm not denying it. And I am very lucky that way, that I still have enough hair that I could have a choice or wear a hairpiece with it (like a faux ponytail for example), I will maybe come back to my hair and play between the two, but now I'm dead set on trying to pull the wig off everyday.

Summer and its scorching temps is coming, that may be a deterrent eventually... however for now, the therapy it does in my heart and my soul is too good. After a very sudden, crushing breakup, to find yourself with hair again has no comparison.

Also, I am finding this: it takes waaaaay less time to dress in the morning. The wig is having a direct effect of my level of confidence in the clothes I wear. It's an unexpected, unforeseen consequence. The wig changes all proportions, not just in the face. It's a subtle change. But enough.

Any jeans + tee combo (because in general, I tend to have carefully selected jeans and tees, mind you, from being a member here, but you know what I mean, even with a well selected wardrobe you have days when nothing looks right), any shirt + bottom immediately looks more polished, just right. It's more than *just* the hair. I don't know how to explain it.

I think you look beautiful with the wig.
Years ago I used to wear a hair extension (a very long pony tail) and when I did I always got lots of compliments. It was sooo nice to have the feeling of long, straight, luxuriously thick hair. My hair is thin and generally frizzy. It made me feel very glamorous.
While I think you hair looks great natural too, it’s nice to enjoy that feeling for a while too. Why not.

Krish, I have lurked around this thread and read with interest. I do absolutely agree, that this is so right for you. There is something so positive about good hair, it does carry off relatively simpler. Also, if it makes you feel better in yourself, that will come through to your face.

Slightly off the main thread, but I think we all gain so much from being in a kind of Steel Magnolia's beauty salon. I am kind of thinking that the wig shop might have been a bit like that. May be not, but it is that moment when suddenly the ground shifts a little and a block is removed. I am pleased for you.

I am super late to this conversation and your photos are down, but I wanted to share my experience, and a recommendation for a great wig store in NJ if you decide to invest in the human hair wig. Because I am on 100% thyroid replacement, when I hit perimenopause in my late 40's my hair started falling out. That was my one and only menopause symptom besides mood swings - no hot flashes or weigh gain, which I think I would have traded in a heartbeat. It was a really traumatic experience and it literally took years to correct. I was convinced everyone was noticing my thinning hair, and I was obsessed with looking at everyone else's hair! I was really at my wit's end. At one point I researched wigs and found Wig Design by Flora in Teaneck, NJ. I do not live in NJ, but I managed to coordinate a drive over to Teaneck with one of my work trips to NJ or NY. Flora is amazing. She was wonderful and reassuring, and she had lovely wigs. Her assessment of my situation was that it would get better eventually, which it has (mostly). But, I felt much better knowing that I had an alternative solution in my pocket.

Part of the trauma was that I had actually had to wear a wig for about 9 months when I underwent chemo in my 30's. It was not high quality, as i recall, though it looked exactly like my hair style. The day I had my head shaved, when my hair was coming out like crazy, putting on that wig was very empowering and I felt much better. I do remember how itchy it was, and how it rubbed the back of my scalp at my neck.

In my research, I came across many people who had a completely positive attitude about wigs, many opinions similar to those described above. Because I was in such a bad way it was hard to think about wigs as fashion, but now I wonder if it wouldn't be a bit fun to change it up? And, I bet it helps shorten the time to get ready.

I spend a lot of money on cut and color, so you might factor in the savings on that sort of spending as you make a decision about the expensive wig.

Big hug. this is hard stuff. And, I am sure you look gorgeous!

Laurie, first and foremost, thank you so much for sharing your experience and, doing so, helping others tremendously, starting with me. Your kind, honest words have a repair effect. This is a topic that is hard to talk about. So I appreciate that you made your experience known. It is very valuable information too.
My story resembles yours, including thyroid issues and perimenopause. Then I too happen to have had an earlier fling with wigs in my early 30’s, except not for cancer but for artistic purposes (as a writer I had to disguise into my pseudo at one point, and tour like that). And just like you, I don’t hold particularly fond memories of the affair with a cheaper wig. Itchiness and feeling hot was one major one. The feeling of having something totally unnatural on. Shiny plastic looking result.
But as you say, it doesn’t need to be like this.
It’s nice that you provided a place to go to for other people in the same boat or similar situation. I do think one needs to be accompanied into trying their first wigs on and deciding on one,it’s not something one can do through internet blindly picking out products without having tried them on, especially for human hair. As for prices, I completely agree with your argument regarding how much we spend yearly at the salon. I mean, I love my stylist, and he loves me back... and he should too! So it will be good to reduce expenses there.

If it’s not too presemptuous of me, may I ask some questions? Do you have only one wig? Do you wear your wig at home as well? What do you prefer using to keep it from moving?

Krishnidoux - so sorry to hear you are in somewhat the same boat, healthwise. Thyroid issues are so invasive. My thyroid was irradiated during my chemo/radiation therapy and I was told to expect it to stop functioning and i would just have to take a pill for the rest of my life. Easy peasy! I am not a medical professional and those were not the days of the Internet, so I took that pill, no problem. Until it became a huge problem. Thyroid controls almost everything!

I did not end up purchasing at Flora's because she was so encouraging that I didn't need to make that step yet, and her expectation was that I likely would not need to. But, I knew I had a place to go if/when I was ready.

I did have only one wig when I had chemo. I would take it off the second I got home and wrap soft scarves around my head and it felt so good to be rid of it! I washed it regularly with....I think it was Downy, or something like that?. I don't think I needed to put anything additional in/on to keep it from moving, meaning the band was tight, meaning it irritated my scalp/neck where the band was especially at the bottom of my scalp/top of my neck. I wasn't doing much physical activity at that time, with a PIC line and on chemo, but I thought a lot, and worried a lot, about how I would work wearing a wig into my active lifestyle when my hair was falling out in my late 40's. I was still a runner at that point.

Really recommend Flora for a consult. I believe they do consultations remotely for women all over the world.

I love that you were in your pseudo character!! Did you watch "The Americans" by any chance? The element of disguise, often with wigs, was really fascinating. Didn't take much to create a completely different look.

This is a super sensitive subject, but it's good to talk about it and have community. I bet many more women suffer from hair loss than we know. Hair is so much more important to feeling good and beautiful than I could have ever imagined.
xoxoxoxoxo