Does my hair look fake?

[LighteningBug]

I would really like honest opinions.

Due to decades of chronic health issues and many, many years being very anaemic my natural hair basically looks awful. Couple this with parents who have naturally very thin hair genetically I was never going to be blessed with thick locks.

Doesn't matter what I eat, which supplements I've tried, hair loss medication/products, getting my iron levels to normal ranges with infusions etc, I still and will forever have shite hair.

I reached a point around 10 years ago where I just couldn't stand going out with hair like it is. I could dye it, get good cuts, wear it up with a bun/ponytail attachment etc but it still really depressed me and frankly made me feel old......Then I discovered hair toppers.

At first I wore cheaper synthetic ones, they were ok but never integrated well with my own bio hair. I then moved on to human hair toppers (once I got over the ick of wearing someone else's hair). Good quality ethically sourced hair is not cheap though and I have spent a small fortune on them over the years and they are getting more and more expensive (many £1k+).
With every day wear they only last a year or two and sadly atm due to my chronic health issues worsening I've not been working much so have had to purchase a cheaper topper until my finances resolve but I have become very conscious that it looks like it doesn't belong to me.

I appreciate this is just a photo and you aren't seeing the hair in RL but can I ask what your opinions are? Does my hair topper look fake? Would you know by looking at me that I'm wearing helper hair?

I've added my own horrible hair so you can see the difference.

Looks great, very natural.

I'd love to start trying wigs too. I follow quite a few sellers on Tik Tok. I also love the brand Jon Renau, they have a newer wig called Hollie, I absolutely love it, I've not seen a bad review for this wig but I'm scared to try in case it blows off in a gust wind lol!

Looks amazing. I wouldn't have known.

Yes, the first is the topper, other two is my natural hair.

I bought the topper from Shein. I'll try and find the link for you.

It looks amazing!! I’m in a similar situation, lots of hair loss from chronic anaemia. Luckily I have enough on top for extensions, but have always thought of it starts thinning on top I’ll go for toppers

7x7 Large Silk Base Human Hair Topper 12 Inch Straight 100% Real Human Hair Toppers For Women With Thinning Hair Cover Gray Roots
I discovered amazing products on SHEIN.com, come check them out!
http://api-shein.shein.com/h5/sharejump/appjump?link=l6ufKKNznAo_8&localcountry=GB&url_from=GM71114370296

It was actually cheaper than I thought!

Due to 16 operations in 5 years, life threatening vascular injury, cancer, metabolic and chromosome conditions and persistent anaemia coupled with sensitivity to general anaesthetic I went through a period of hair falling out (eye brows as well). Like you, my hair was thin and I tried various add on pieces and so forth. Finally I found a hairdresser who understood my hair and cut it into a shape that hid the hair loss (somewhat). It was cut with many layers in it. I also discovered a product called CBD fx multivitamins for women. I am not sure if I naturally recovered my hair by stopping having surgeries, or through coming out of the other side of the menopause or these gummies...but they seem to help and my nails are better too. My hair is still fragile but it regrew and the right hair cut makes it look thicker and fuller than it really is. I hope you find a solution that works for you.

I wouldn’t know at all. It looks lovely

Thank you so much for sharing I'll investigate.

Also - your own looks great, really natural. I imagine it helps you cope with health problems to not feel self conscious.

My newish friend of about 10 months has lovely hair and I never guessed she wore a wig until she told me.

Mind you I never noticed her black dog only had one eye until it came up in discussion. 🫢

Your hair looks lovely OP.

This is all making me think I should invest in a few wigs, different hairstyles depending on my mood. No need to spend hours washing and straightening my own hair. Try some different colours. I really think it should become a thing again just like back in the 18th century.

It looks very natural and very nice. Couldn’t tell at all.

It just looks like well-styled hair. The kind I see on people and wonder if they’ve been to the hairdressers or are just really good at styling themselves (because I’m hopeless). You want complete honesty, so since you’ve mentioned it’s a topper I can kind of tell, purely from the parting (because, of course, you can’t see the scalp). But had you not mentioned it I don’t think I’d have ever thought it looks ‘fake’.

Looks great and totally natural op, I wouldn’t have guessed

I’ve also lost a lot of hair over the last few years due to chronic conditions, I already had very fine hair and not a lot of it so it’s v noticeable imo. I’ve been looking at toppers and clip in extensions recently, would love to be able to wear my hair down again, and not be constantly paranoid about my scalp showing

P.s Does anyone have any tips for colour matching?

No, OP. It just looks like normal natural hair to me.

I really would not have noticed/guessed at all

Looks fabulous and professionally done. If I walked past you in the street I would immediately admire your hair.

(ps your own natural hair is really nice. It is a beautiful colour and has a lovely wave to it.)

It looks really good! Where is it from?

I genuinely couldn’t tell. And you have a beautiful colour hair.

^^ looks a perfect match
very natural

It looks great, op. Really natural. The thing that worries me about toppers is the attachment - if your hair is already thin on top do these clip things attach easily and when taking it off, does it pull out any hair? My hair is thinning since hitting the menopause so I’ve thought about toppers myself.

It looks lovely OP! I've got crap hair genes too and mine has been slowly thinning for years. It's 'passable' at the moment and I'm taking some medication to help slow further loss but I'm mentally preparing myself for the fact I'll likely have to wear wigs or toppers in 5-10 years time. Hopefully I'll find some as nice as yours!

It looks completely natural. I remember seeing a youtube channel a year or two ago by a woman with the exact same problem and she looked really natural with her hair topper too.

You can’t tell op. I have a couple of the smaller ones, 4 x 4 inches base, and 12 inch length, my hair is actually completely ok, no issues, it’s long and long layers a bit like Kate Middleton, mine is just a little fine and I wear them for additional volume, bad hair days or when I can’t be arsed, etc, you simply would never know. I’ve been out in gale force winds and it stayed.

I also got one larger one, similar to yours, it just adds a bit too much volume for me as the one I got is really thick, but god it’s fabulous.

I’m absolutely convinced most celebs these days are wearing hair pieces, as when mine is in, my hair looks all thick and rich girl bouncy.

wearing hair pieces is as old as time, my grandmother wore them, and I’m in my fifties, and these days you can get relatively in expensive but high quality ones from China, excellent human hair. And the clips so small you’d never ever know it was there.

so please be assured, it is not perceivable, most people don’t even think about it, and many of us, who don’t have hair issues also wear them.