Unfortunately, with the bald spot I have, I have no choice but to go with a wig. But that means doing my hair is pretty much the shortest part of getting ready.
Unfortunately, with the bald spot I have, I have no choice but to go with a wig. But that means doing my hair is pretty much the shortest part of getting ready.
I love my wigs, in fact the only thing I don't like about them is watching in the mirror as I take it off; heavy sigh.
Go for it! Wigs can be useful, and I appreciate the variety of styles one can have at their disposal. But for my money, there is nothing quite as satisfying as real, long hair.
How you get it cut/styled will depend very much on your hair type. For example, my hair is very fine. It can be difficult for me to tie back, because it falls out. Or when I try to curl it, it can be tough to get the curls to hold. I usually ask my stylist to cut it just off the shoulder, with a little face framing. Anything longer than that, I find it hard to get enough volume to make it look good.But the cut works for me. It can be styled either mass or femme, and my very talented stylist can make it look great with a blowout. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of good, recent photos. But the one I've included should give you some idea of what works for me.
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Don't be afraid to shop around for the right stylist, either. I've had some good ones and bad ones over the years. My current one is my wife's stylist, and she's great. I always feel so good walking out with my curls bouncing. Keep us posted on your hair journey!
"She ain't waiting 'til she gets older, her feet are makin' tracks in the winter snow.
She got a rainbow that touches her shoulder, she be headed where the thunder rolls."
-Van Halen, "Secrets"
Getting fresh color as I read this. I'm happy to stay the same color. Got to keep the gray away
Though my hair is thick enough to look acceptable from the front, my huge bald spot in back rules out growing my own. It is wigs for me. I try to get mine in my natural color so my eyebrows and skin tone blend welll wit( my hair and do not contrast needlessly.
I have had good fortune with wigs. A good wig band keeps them in place. I put money into them, so what I buy, I can style easily. My wigs, with good care and not too frequent use, they last a long time. I now have three that are top quality synthetic pieces and two other that are cheap but manageable. About a year ago, I just retired my favorite wig at 25 years service, replacing it with the exact same model and color.
It takes a few hours to get accustomed to them but I soon feel as if they are a natural part of my head. More expensive fibers usually wear nicely and itch less. And taste better. I grew up in a place with hot humid summers, so hot weather in a hot wig does not bother me.
I like the range of styles available, a different hairstyle, a different wig for nearly every day of the week. They can be put on and taken off quickly and easily. Styling them off my head is a convenience that makes a wig look great and its hairstyle as creative as I happen to feel. Wigs are work but I find them worth the effort. And my bald spot, as I said, gives me little alternative.
I hope this works out for your, Dani.
My alternative suggestion is to visit a good hair stylist.
And see if she can find a good "fall", extension or hairpiece.
Easy to attach with pins or clips as the need arises. Glue? Sew it on--that is up to you.
You can get her to color and style your regular hair to match. Curls? Streaks? Waves? Perm?
I'm used to wearing wigs. My own hair is extremely thin, especially at my hairline and crown. Wearing wigs to bother me more in the summertime, but I just go wefted wigs most of the time. I wear short/medium styles, and they make it easy to finish off my look. I appreciate the pros that Abby mentioned. I also try and get higher-quality wigs, if I can help it. I like changing colors and styles anyway, although I've gravitated to a more limited range as I've gotten older.
Sirena Rivera
"Because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing." - Theodor S. Geisel
Danni,
Your hair looks really nice in your pic.
Wigs are very easy to make look nice and easy to take care of but are hot in the summer. I would get so hot with one on in the summer my face would sweat.
Over the last year or so I've let my hair grow out to the point I no longer wear wigs I had long hair to begin with. I've had a few comments from people that know me that I look like an old hippie.
I get blond highlights every 6-8 weeks or so the stylist simply cuts my ends. I usually wash my hair everyday and use a good conditioner. It is so true its much easier to style your hair if you don't wash it everyday.
When I wash and style my hair I use a blowout serum the blowout serum is key to make my thin hair better looking. I part on the side brush it us as i blow dry it then use a light hairspray to hold. On the days I don't wash my hair which I actually plan because it is so much easier to make your hair look good if you didn't wash it that day I brush my hair up using a very light styling gel then spray.
My profile pic is a Raquel Welch wig.
A few years ago I wouldn't let my hair grow this long do to work. I'm very close to retirement I don't care now, work is usually a difference maker on your hair length.
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Last edited by KristyPa; 03-23-2024 at 02:20 PM.
I?ve updated my aviator with a recent pic with my own hair not a wig.
A lot of people have no choice but to use a wig. In that case buy a good one, wigs have gotten so much better in the last 15 years or so. Raquel Welch wigs was my favorite.
Last edited by char GG; 05-05-2024 at 08:55 AM. Reason: Not necessary to quote your own post just before this post
I can only comment on wigs. I do wear them when I go out and wouldn't have it any other way. I do get used to them and don't find them particularly uncomfortable if they fit right.
I have two wigs, a cute little bob that is my favorite, and a mid length. Both are ash blonde color that looks good on me.
Why fit in when you were born to stand out? - Dr. Suess
Danni,
Good for you if you are able to grow out your natural hair, that is a dream for many of us. I used to have long very thick hair when I was younger, below my shoulders but not quite to my bra strap, loved it. I have had girls come up to me and say they wished they had hair like mine! But, those days are way over.
Don't know if you saw some of my recent picture posts about installing wigs with glue? Girl, that's a game changer for me! I am with you on the not so natural feel of a wig, but this feels completely different and very close to it being your own. During my current "adventure", I have kept a wig glued down for up to 6 days in a row, and it feels great. It is _not_ coming off, and not moving around, so you can brush it and work with just as you would with your own long natural hair.
I can even shower and wash it, and then do the towel up top wrap to get most of the water out before blow drying or just letting it dry on its own.
Quite a few YouTube videos available, but not all of them shows the whole story. PM me if you like.
Suzie
Thanks everyone for your replies!
My hair is now still only a couple of inches long (having started from a #2 cut all over) but still growing - though still no idea of what style will work best for me (I do really love the idea of a shoulder length bob cut though no idea if I can make that work as a "mens" hairstyle while in drab mode).
Suzie - glued wigs sound intriguing but, having a family with almost-teen kids, I'm not sure I'd be able to explain the sudden fuller head of hair! I'm going to pm you anyway though, would love to hear about your experiences with them.
Danni,
I will reply to your PM with more details in the morning, but I want to let everybody know that this method can be used for a single day/evening thing if you want to. It is not complicated, it just takes some extra time both for the install and the removal.
I have glued on my hair for one evening, and I have had it on for 6 days, all up to you and whatever fits your need.
The last couple of days, I glued on a standard, non-laze, synthetic wig, and it was a completely different experience from wearing it in the traditional way. You know how a wig often feel like it is sliding around a little if you pull on it, or if you comb or brush it! It feels like if you are not careful, you could pull it off of your head, or at lest make it sit crooked and look out of place.
With a bit of glue, it will not do that and will feel like it really is attached to your scalp ... which of course, it is.
Another thing that was important for me with the one I wore the last few days, is that it is actually a little small for my head, so the tabs in front of the ears do not reach down enough to cover my gray hairs right there.
With a little glue, now the hair is right where they are supposed to be and the risk of someone seeing "up under" your wig in that area, is basically gone.
I also glue it down in the back to prevent it from creeping up. Again, this one is actually a little small for my (big) head, but with the glue and the stretch of the elastics of the wig, it stays back where it is supposed to be and you don't have to worry about it.
Even if you just do a few dabs of glue on the sides and in the back, it will make a big difference in how secure it feels, and you will be able to brush it without loosing it.
Go for it. One suggestion I'll make is that there will come a time when you can do a ponytail. it will be tempting and there's nothing wrong with it. I wonder in retrospect, there's talk that it puts a lot of tension on your hair and they can say it leads to hair falling out. how you feel on this. I don't know. Just saying, maybe when you get to the point where it's tempting to wear one every day, don't do that. It's fine. I'm fine but I wonder if Things might have been even better. Had I not done so much ponytail for a couple of years.
Last edited by Genifer Teal; 05-06-2024 at 04:09 AM.
I started growing out my hair in 2018. I love that it is now reaches the middle of my back. I've gotten better at keeping it out of zippers. ugh!
I love the feel of them!
Its part of the expericence, looking down and seeing yr hair drapped around your boobs...
Just the feel in general
I just deal with wigs until I grew my hair out. I know that's not an option for everyone, but I really love it. It's almost to mid-back.
Argh, it turns out that my wife isn't dealing with my dressing as well as I had thought. We had a conversation last week, part of which was about my hair. I'd thought I'd made it clear that I was growing it so it could by styled both masculine and en femme but she didn't realise that.
Once she realised that she asked me to cut it.
Which of course I did right away - I'd never do anything to risk me-and-her. And it was in that couple-of-months-growth stage where it just looked messy, so it didn't feel like a huge loss.
But now there's the wider conversation to be had: I thought she was OK with my dressing but now I'm not sure where I stand.
This is so great Robin. I share that same dream. Nothing meant more to me than growing my hair long middle of the back if I could. My wifes known about this since before we were married finally during the pandemic, I let it go. I was so nervous the pandemic would end that I would tie my bob back to hide the length. The wife kept saying lLet it down?whats the big deal? She wanted me to get trims…but I wanted the length so I could hide it in a ponytail or bun…and I was afraid that Id have to cut it post pandemic…so it was a race against the clock (in my imagination).Originally Posted by BTWimRobin
And then in Nov of 2021 I cut it :-( I was distraught!
I grew it out again…this time going for 15 months and a solid ponytail length…wore it in French braided pigtails on hikes and when in enfemme mode?WOW…the best!
And then?I had my first purge?cut my hair and tossed the clothes. Terrible day that I can?t really explain?because it was all on me?and my wife has reminded me of this.
So what have I learned?well..,you have to be happy with what you have and I am. My issue is that I probably look better, more handsome w/short hair?high and tight and the wife?doesnt want to admit it because she knows I want it long?but it does look better.
So here?s the plan?Im taking it one day..one month at a time. She has agreed to help me make sure it looks the best I can in any stage. If she says to get a trim?I will. If she says?wear a band or some other accessory I will. This doesnt mean Im going girly hair mode most of the time?but its the way Im gonna get there. People will make comments they always do. And my answer will be short and direct.
?I like it.?
Ive lived 50 years before it got long?I regret taking 50 years to figure it out?but Im doing it.
Bring on the braids and ponies and updos?cant wait!
Last edited by DTelia; 06-12-2024 at 05:06 PM.
Having gone from wigs to my own hair, I will say you need to commit to it. Mine had always been short, but I discovered once it grew out that it was quite wavy, very thick and I shed a lot. I also learned that those hair traps for the shower are a necessity (gross)!
It was definitely a process to learn how to manage it, but a good stylist can save some of the drama. Mine was very patient with me, and showed how to handle it that most probably learn at an early age. Whipping up into a bun is certainly an acquired skill.
I have a hard time growing hair out so I have to rely on wigs to give me the girly look that I want. I get comfortable with them, although the last time I dressed up... my wig cap kept trying to come off so I left it off that time just so I could wear my wig. I would not be passible at all if I didn't have my wigs with my outfits.
My hair has always grown well.However when ever I let it grow out a good my wife cuts it.
So it's always been wigs. The benefits though are that You can choose your colour and style dependent on mood. I'm enjoying a red period at present with two newish wigs one long one medium length and slightly permed.
Personally I don't have any issue with comfort.
Tis me...
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xxoo
Jennifer
I think most people will agree that wigs are never comfortable. I think it is just something you get used to. For me my look would feel incomplete without, hence it is important enough for me to not let it bother me. If you can trying glueing it in place for a couple days! Best way to get past this little hump of having them annoy you. After a couple days you probably will not even remember it is there.
When I was wig-ing it, I was frustrated with how they'd slip and move and itch and what not. Then I tried a technique I got off youtube using a wig cap set in place with got2be glued Freeze hairspray. You saturated your hair, placed the wig cap on, and sprayed it down as well. Once it dried, you used the got2be glued spike cream around the edges and set your wig, using a tight headband to hold it down while it dried. Not only did it make the edges vanish, but that wig wasn't coming off ever unless you used soapy warm water. That method opened up a lot of updos as well, because it held the back down so well.
I later refined the technique to just using the freeze spray on the second step, but it took a little more patience because it would loosen the wig cap if it got too wet. Easier to remove and clean up, but didn't hold the edges quite as well.
As my hair grew out, this way got less useful, because with more hair under the cap, the less it would hold, and the more it would shift around. There is also that period where your hair is too long to be not messy, and too short to do anything with. Six months, or there abouts of fun with that.
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