Well, yesterday I finally bit the proverbial bullet and put on a wig. Guess I should start with a little backstory on this. When I was young I had very thick, curly hair. I could never run a comb through it, it would tangle and knot. In high school I wanted big hair ( child of the 80s here) like everyone else and I had it- BIG! That was the one good thing about having naturally curly/kinky/frizzy hair. Then in my mid 20s life changed. I started having a lot of "female issues" and was eventually diagnosed with PCOS. One of the hallmarks that I experienced was hair loss. My once thick head of hair became a thinning mass in a matter of months. It was bad, hard to deal with. But it wasn't as bad as it would get. Fast forward about 13 years. At age 38 I became pregnant. When I had my daughter my hair was once again at it's youthful thickness, until the hormones shifted. My hair loss post pregnancy was fairly devastating. I went from mildly thin to pretty darn noticeable. I started using Topik hair fibers at this time. It helped to fill in, make it look thicker. No one noticed and I was satisfied with this fix. Then I started having blood clotting issues ( repeat DVTs/ PEs) and have now been put on blood thinners for life. One of the side effects of warfarin ( For some- not all) is hair loss. Being so blessed by the hair gods as I am ( sarcasm) I was one who started experiencing hair loss. So my now noticeably thin hair started becoming alarmingly thin hair. I suffer from classic male pattern baldness too...All of my hair loss is on the top and sides. The back has thinned over the years, but is still holding up ok. The top and sides??? Well I honestly look like someone who has been on chemotherapy for a while. So...when I decided to have the sleeve done one of the very FIRST things that caught my attention was the probability of some hair loss. Knowing how the odds for that run against my favor, I decided to be proactive and buy a wig. ( actually- two) But being a woman who has at least a small amount of vanity left ( After all - I was 316lbs so how vain can I really be? ) I was embarrassed. Years ago wigs were "cool". Lots of women used them as a choice to change their looks. But that was years ago. Outside of people who wear them for medical purposes, or actors, I don't know of a lot of people who buy and wear wigs. I even bought mine online, with out having the prying eyes of a salesperson seeing me do so. I cannot explain it but it brings me more "shame" and anxiety to wear the wig than telling people I had weight loss surgery! Yet the hair has been falling out more and more without regrowth. ( and will most likely get worse as the lack of Protein issue hits) All the combined effects that have caused my hair loss have created a "perfect storm" and looking very similar to the Crypt Keeper is the result of it. I have been using increasingly more and more of those hair fibers trying to camouflage the loss, to the point I had more Topik on my head than hair!!! Something had to give, and it as time. Time to break out the old hair hat and face one of my biggest fears...And the results? Everyone loves the darn thing!!! I have had so many comments about how good I look it is ridiculous. More people even noticed my weight loss with my new hair than before. Most guys? Well they are clueless and think it is my old hair and I just went to the salon. But everyone who knows thinks it is natural looking, attractive, and a great improvement. So I am thinking I should have slapped the darn thing on a long time ago!! LOL It is still an emotional adjustment. I hope that my old, unstylish and unflattering hair regrows again someday and that I can go back to not wearing this thing. But for now, for this place in my life I am wearing it. And so far the reviews have been positive. Going to try to attach a picture, but I hate "selfies"...

I think it looks wonderful!! Think of all the fun things you can do with wigs.........You can change your look as much as you want! I am glad you ventured out and did it! I think you are going to have a lot of fun with it.

You look amazing! Wear it with confidence because it really does look nice.

I had very thick short hair when I started this journey and it was bleached almost white. Well - it was like the DAY that I hit my 3 month post op appt - my hair started falling out badly. I'm right at 4 months post op now and I'm afraid that I will be bald by 6 months if it keeps falling out like this (when you have really short hair - there isn't much there to disguise with!) To make matters worse - I started turning gray while still in high school so I've been coloring my hair for years (LOTS of years - I'm 56 now!) I'm afraid to color it now because I'm afraid that it will make the hair loss worse. My hairdresser told me to go to a wig store and buy a wig that I liked and bring it to her. She put it on me and cut and styled it to fit my face - I absolutely love it and it looks pretty close to my original hairstyle that only the people closest to me know that it's a wig. We call it my "spare hair"! You look fabulous in yours and I swear that if you had not told us I would never, ever have guessed that it was a wig - it looks very natural. Maybe we need to start a "Bald is Beautiful" for women campaign!!! Hang in there - it will get better soon!!

You look gorgeous! And brave for being upfront about this. My hair started falling out at 3 months and is still going at 7 months. Because I had loads of hair to start with, it's only got bad in the last month.

I use Toppik and it helps. Have also had it cut shorter and I can cope with it for now. But have been looking into a salon here that specialises in female hair loss and provides inserts to fill gaps and thicken hair.

Trying to stay sanguine, being skinny and bald is still marginally preferable to being fat with hair, lol!

I guess I can look at it this way...I was fat and going bald, so being thin with no hair is still an improvement! LOL

Roo can I tell you something?

Ok wigs... We all can remember times of seeing someone wear one and noticed because it didn't "look" quite right?? In life and in pictures..

This is the honest truth.

I have a hard time believing that you have a hair piece on!

Really it looks that natural.

Trust me, I've got a big unfiltered mouth.

I would tell you if it looked "off"

I meant it when I said you looked beautiful

Thank you laura-ven. I know I am my own worst critic. The hair thing is an area I am very particular in. ( As I mentioned before it is ironic. I allowed myself to balloon up in weight, but I am vain about my hair!) Today was slightly better with the wig than yesterday. It will get easier over time, I am sure. I do value and appreciate the support I get here which is why I have been very open about everything, including this. I figure it is a topic we all deal with so why not share my experience? Maybe someone else who is struggling with it will not feel so alone if they read all the posts. But it is also very reassuring to know I have made a good choice in this wig. The other one I bought is slightly shorter and does give that "slightly off" look, especially in the back. ( to me it SCREAMS wig) This one was my second choice and I am pretty glad now I found it.

It looks great and really natural. I would never know it wasn't your natural hair.

I never would have guessed it was a wig. You picked a great style and color. Love it! You look fantastic.

I can't even tell that's a wig!! I would have never guessed if I hadn't already known. Last year my hubs & I dressed up as Paula Deen & Guy Fieri. I bought a Paula Deen-ish wig from this place called Paula Young, which got me on their mailing list. I have been just throwing the catalogs away when they come, but I'll admit I do so much more slowly now. I'm losing a bunch of hair, but wearing it in its natural curly state helps to keep it looking full enough for right now. I think your wig choice is great, though...it looks great & makes you feel better. What's not to like about that?

Look, here's the thing (and I know you know this). People are amazingly oblivious to the things we do with our hair. I have gotten real extensions, I have used clip ins and added a foot of length. People BARELY notice. Seriously, people will comment, 'wow your hair grew' or, 'your hair looks good, it's getting long'. Nobody really notices as much as we think they do.

You look Fantastic! I love it. I wear a wig even before the Surgery. Now my hair is thinning and growing slow too since surgery. You are not alone. Be encouraged. You look great.

Edited December 5, 201312 yr by Ballermom

You look cute! Totally natural!

The wigs I bought were through Paula Young! LOL

That, is great hair, honey and you look fabulous in it! I would NEVER have known unless you'd told us!

Yay for you! xxx