How did you choose a wig during/ after chemo, any tips, hints please?

[EmailsaysOOO]

Can you please tell me about how you chose, and when you started the process , for buying a wig?

I imagine after breast surgery and radiotherapy I will be back at work part-time, before the end of the year and I don't want to wear a hat in the office.

I spoke to someone who has suggested a consultation and so now I feel I'd like a bit of background knowledge. I used to have very long hair and had it cut down to a bob about 2 inches longer than my ears just before chemo started. I'm wearing the cold cap but I've lost maybe a fifth of my hair so far, perhaps more when you consider how thin it is now.

So what in particular I don't follow is, do you select a wig based on how you think you would like you hair to look like in, what, say 6 months? Also do you sort of stuff what is growing of your own hair up inside the wig as it's growing or is the general idea that the wig would sit over and blends in with all your real hair? Any tips at all would be great thanks.

I'm sorry this is something you're having to think about.

Check out Wig Wearing for Beginners on Facebook. There is so much good advice on there.

I would suggest going to a wig store to try them on before buying, they don't look like they do on sales images. You also need to measure to get the right size.

All hand tied caps are more comfortable.

You can wear a wig cap, or wig grip and tie up your hair underneath.

A topper would blend, a wig would hide everything. I wouldn't bother with a topper. They use tension to attach and if you're already low on hair can cause more damage.

Check out simply wigs, you can also visit then in Huddersfield if you are close by. There are other shops over the UK, but fine Simply Wigs have really good customer service and pricing.
Also never buy at full price, different brands are on 30-40% off each week.

@EmailsaysOOO

I think this is a very personal.thing.
I haven't cold capped and am more or less bald now.
I decided I just wanted to look like myself.
My natural hair is thick, short, bit longer than a pixie cut.
I tried on a few alternative styles eg a bob, blond and thought I just looked ridiculous.
I got one very like my own style and my hairdresser trimmed it a bit for me. I also got a great colour match.
The first time I wore it I didnt tell anyone and most people thought I'd just come out of the hairdresser
I'd just go along for a consultation and try different styles on, see what you feel comfortable in.
I found my own hair had already changed texture before I shaved it. Also have a look at 'chemo curls' your new hair may be very different!

Thanks for your post. Can I ask you about the wig cap and wig grip- what are the pros and cons of these please?

I had an nhs voucher from my chemo nurse. I then booked with a local provider who sorted it beautifully for me during a consultation.

I was given a list of people to contact along with the voucher.

Hi I got a voucher from my oncologist and had a consultation with a wig specialist at MacMillan. I ordered through her in the first instance as she brought a good few for me to try, including ones that had been returned to her. Now I look at Facebook pages etc. there’s a lot to think about re types of caps etc. my next purchase will be a low density monofilament as an example. Im not so keen on permatease. My first outing with it on was to the bin! I’m happy to go anywhere in a wig now. Hope you get one you like 💐

Thanks Dancing. So can I ask how much hair of your own you had when you first wore the wig please? I know nothing at all about wigs. When did you start the ball rolling with thinking about a wig and did you choose one to represent where you expected your hair to be in the end, ? You see what I mean- nobody would buy a wig which had very long hair if their own hair is so thin, or when they are almost bald, surely. I hope you follow what I'm struggling with.

Hi @EmailsaysOOO . Sorry that you have to think of this.

In my case , as it was blood cancer, I couldn’t use the cap and my hair all fell out after my first chemo.
Like pp, I got a voucher and a list of fitters, chose one and tried on wigs before I lost my hair.
My wig was a close to my own hair as I could find - a short red bob. I wore it regularly and few people really knew. My own MIL had no clue 🙄

As I was completely bald, my hair when it grew back was short and very curly. It was also quite grey, but actually some of my own colour grew back in , once the stress of treatment was done.

So I looked completely different - several years on, my hair still prefers to curl.

Wishing you well Op.

I went to a lovely lady in Oxfordshire - very professional and helpful. If you are anywhere near and it would be helpful, pls PM me and I’ll send details.

My hospital gave me a voucher for the local wig shop. I made an appointment and found a wig similar in colour to my own hair but shorter. They then booked me in to have it fitted where they showed me how to put it on and cut the wig on my head so it suited me completely. I shaved my hair off (due to nerve pain in my scalp it was painful washing and brushing it while it fell out) so could wear it from that moment but having said that I think I wore it about 5 times as I felt I preferred head scarves as it was over the summer so the wig felt too hot.

Sorry you are having to navigate this. My hair started to grow back while still on chemo due to a change in the drugs.

My mother was given a voucher and list of specialist providers.

The chemo nurse recommended going sooner rather than later so that during the appointment she was able to be seen “with hair”. For my mother it was important to have something similar to how she’d always worn her hair.

My friend used her voucher for similar style but also got a collection of “weekend” wigs from a hair/extension place. She liked being able to try styles that she’d never do in reality and it brought her a bit of joy.

The specialist were excellent at advising everything that was needed.

My hair was cut into a chin length bob before I started chemo, and then I got a wig that was pretty much the same (DD said “it looks like your normal hair mum, but combed!”)

I didn’t need a wig cap or anything like that, I don’t know whether it’s different if you’ve still got some hair left than if you’re completely bald, I probably lost just over half of my hair in the end. The wig was slightly longer than my hair so it didn’t show, although I had a centre parting and I found you could actually see a bit of the net In the middle and I tended to wear a headband over the top.

Macmillan at the hospital had a wig department, so I just went there.

When I was ready to stop wearing the wig, I just went and got my haircut and I guess it just looked like I’d had a haircut, no one much said anything, but maybe they were just being polite!

I then went through the mullet stage, curly hair stage, all sorts of things afterwards, but my hair is now back to what it was, probably took a couple of years.

Sorry you’re having to go through this, the whole Hair situation was one of the most stressful things I found!

Sorry you are going through this.
The oncology hospital treating me had a consultant on-site who helped me choose, but I based it on how would like to look once I was feeling well enough to work. As you don't know how much you'll lose, go for a whole-head-coverage style rather than a partial style that blends in. You wear a skull cover that is similar to a popsock in that near-translucent fabric and all your own hair stays in that.

Is there a wig shop at your hospital? Mine had one with a wonderful woman running it. I went in when I started treatment and she talked me through it all, and I tried on a few wigs - but they looked a little awkward at that point because all my hair was stuffed into them. I went back after my hair had fallen out to actually buy a wig. I went in wanting to buy one that looked exactly like my old hair (dark, straight, shoulder length) as I thought that would look most natural. But none of the wigs actually looked like me and I ended up buying one that looked quite different (reddish brown, shorter than mine had been and with a fringe).

I was really happy with the one I bought, although I didn't end up wearing it very often as I found it too hot and uncomfortable. I didn't go back to work fur a long time though, so hats and scarves were fine for me until my hair grew back (very curly!)

I did also buy loads of really cheap wigs - less than £5 from Temu/Shein/Anazon in different lengths and colours partly to cheer up me & the kids during treatment, partly to see what suited me. I never actually wore them out of the house but they were fun.

Losing hair is a huge and difficult part of the journey, make the most of any resources you are offered - macmillan, look good feel better, anything local there is. It helps to talk to people who've been through it/helped others through it. A professional wig fitter will be able to answer all your questions about wig caps etc.

Thanks everyone. All your comments are helping me. Lots of food for thought 🙂

Hi @EmailsaysOOO I was cold capping and had most of my hair but I was very thin indeed on the top. Also, I couldn’t tint during chemo so had a lot of white / grey roots (& have now stuck with that and am rocking my silver hair). As I was aware chemo would make me lose some hair, issues with root retouching and the restrictions around washing / drying, I had my long hair cut before chemo started. That all went off to the little princess trust.

The wig I was fitted with resembled my pre chemo hair, although a bit shorter. I wore it a bit but was generally housebound in chemo so wore soft caps. It was winter, so when I went out for walks I had a woolly hat on. I didn’t lose all my hair, and had had enough regrowth over the bald spots when I reentered society!

@namechange0998776554799000.Many thanks.

No there isn't a wig shop at the hospital but I was given a leaflet with various people I can contact. It's just the basics I'm interested in.. Hopefully she won't be pushing me into buying anything this early...The consultation is tomorrow..I just want to pick her brain and maybe try a few wigs on.

@dancingwhilstfacingthemusic thanks yes I think mine will be very thin soon, and bald at least on the crown and down the sides a bit. Hope to do the same thing as you re wig a bit like my previous hair, just much shorter.

Lovely that you gave your hair to the princess trust.

Thanks again 🙂