Playing it Safe: Custom Hair
There’s no such thing as a free head of hair. Or at least a free second head of hair. Surgery is expensive up-front, unpredictable, and often needs to be repeated. Pills and creams offer mixed results, and if you stop using them you lose the hair. Sure, you can cheap out on the procedures or products—medical schools are full of fresh young talent waiting to put your money toward their student loans—but why not disfigure or poison yourself for free? Try home-tattooing!
Wigs, toupees or hairpieces—collectively known these days as “hair systems”—may be your safest and least-expensive hair replacement option. You should expect to pay at least $500 for your first system, although you can certainly find one for less. Don’t mess around with stock hairpieces or toupees “off the shelf”; you just don’t need to. If you’re “wearing hair” for warmth they’re definitely the way to go, but to fool anyone, you’ll need to go custom. Custom hair systems start around $250.
“Custom” means different things coming from different companies, but here’s what to look for:
- A system made from scratch based on your own measurements
- A color matched to your growing hair
- Your choice of human or synthetic hair, or a mixture of the two
- A wave, curl or texture that matches your growing hair
- Retailer flexibility: can you return the system if it’s not what you wanted?
You probably won’t find all those things for $250, and if you do, don’t expect a lot of compliments from your honest friends. If you’re able to invest up to $400, though, you can usually get the appearance you’re looking for. Hair systems don’t last forever, but if you’re careful you can go several months with the same system. As you gain experience wearing hair, you’ll learn how to customize the style and construction of your system, and you may understand why folks are willing to spend more than $250 or even $500.
Cost/ Benefit Analysis
Wearing the absolute cheapest hairpiece will embarrass you and everyone close to you. You’re not in this for ridicule or pity, so don’t set yourself up for them. Don’t expect anything offered for less than $350 to be a serious product. Somebody somewhere is giggling to themselves as they pack the box to ship it. It may fool the audience at the community playhouse, but it won’t hold up to close, let alone intimate, scrutiny.
The other end of the stick is sharper. Sure, a cheap toupee will make people laugh at you—but you can always move to a different town. Choosing to pay too much for hair replacement could land you in a heap of debt or even bad credit. The key here is avoiding anyone—online or salon—who wants you to sign a contract. Don’t put yourself into a situation where you are forced to return to a salon or website that charges you too much. There is a silver lining: some companies allow you to pay off your hair systems over time, without signing a contract.
Look out for huge, up-front or processing costs. Don’t pay $500-$1000 for your initial consultation, and don’t accept huge add-ons for coloring, styling, hair-type, cut-ins, etc. It may sound strange, but the big shift in this field is to do as much as possible online or at home. If you can learn to apply and remove your own hair without going to a salon, you’ll save thousands.
“Hair” Care Products
To get the most out of your hair system, you’ll need some specialized products: shampoos, conditioners, sprays, etc. You may be able to use “normal” hair products for much of your care and maintenance, but you definitely need tape or glue to hold everything together. Shop around. Hairpiece tape can cost anywhere from $15 to $60 for a 36 yard roll, which will last you quite a while. It’s a competitive industry, and you have lots of options. You’ll save the most money by planning ahead, ordering online and looking for the best shipping deals. Salons are generally the most expensive places to shop, even when they offer their own product line. If money is no option, you can even splurge on some hair replacement luxury products!
Summary
- Plan to pay $500 for your first hair system.
- There are plenty of companies out there offering hair systems, many of them with great reputations, so don’t lock yourself into a contract.
- Be sure that you understand why you are being charged for any extra services.
- Shop around for specialty products and accessories: don’t just buy what the salon pushes at you.
- Perhaps most importantly: check out some online forums and hair loss communities to learn about the best—and worst—places to get back your hair.
