1. Wearing your hair in a shorter style before you undergo chemotherapy.

The reason for this is because a wig with a short hairstyle is much easier to maintain. With longer styles, as your hair begins to fall out, the hair can become tangled or matted. This would draw unwanted attention to your illness. So if you decide to buy a wig with a shorter style than you normally wear, try cutting your own hair short as soon as you know you will be going through chemotherapy in order to get people used to seeing you with shorter hair. This way, once you make the transition from your own hair to the wig, people will be less likely to notice. Often times, chemotherapy patients don't want anyone to know that they're ill. They just want to lead their normal life, but when people treat them like they are sick, it can render them socially immobile. Making a smooth transition from your own hairstyle to the wig can help keep people from noticing a major change in your appearance.

2. Once your hair is cut exactly the way you want it, have your picture taken.

By having your picture taken after you get your hair cut the way you want it, have a photograph taken of you straight on, and even from a profile, so that when you have your wig made, customized, or styled, the color, density, length, and style will match. This will also aid in a smooth transition from your own hair to the wig by having a wig that closely represents the way you looked before you underwent chemotherapy.

3. As soon as you find out you will undergo chemotherapy, begin your search.

A custom made wig generally takes between three and six weeks to complete, so you must give your wig maker time to produce it before you have to go through chemotherapy. Usually cancer patients begin losing there within two weeks after the second session of chemotherapy. This will give you an idea of how much time you have to work with when choosing a wig. Even if you decide to buy an already-made wig, it is important to give yourself ample time to find one that you are comfortable with so that it is waiting for you when you undergo chemotherapy.

4. Ways to slow down hair loss.

• Buy a satin pillow case to sleep on. Cotton and polyester pillow cases cause too much friction as you roll in your sleep which in turn causes your hair to fall out faster.
  
  
• Comb your hair with a wide-tooth comb, and begin at the ends of the hair and comb down gently. Slowly work your way towards the scalp. If you start your comb at the base of the hair shaft and try to comb through your hair, you are more likely to pull your hair out.
  
  

5. We recommend that you buy a hand-made wig.

• A hand-made wig will always fit better than a machine-made wig. Many stock wig companies claim that their wigs are "one size fits all". This is a myth. The shape and measurements of each persons head is different, and a wig should not feel too tight, nor should the cap come down over your ears in order to make it fit.
  
  
• Also, a hand-made wig will be much lighter-weight and more comfortable to wear. While it takes several months for your hair to grow back, it will be important to consider that whichever wig you chose, you will have to be comfortable wearing it for a long period of time.
  
  
• In addition, hand-made wigs are much easier to customize than a machine made wig. If you cannot afford a custom wig, a stock hand-made wig can be relatively easily customized to fit your head. With a machine-made wig, it will be much more difficult.
  
  

6. Tips for buying a customizable stock wig.

• Don't buy a wig that is all one color. A natural head of hair consists of many highlights and lowlights, which together make up your overall hair color. For instance, your front hairline can be three to five shades lighter than the hair in the back of your head. Keep this in mind when color matching a wig to your own hair color.
  
  
• Less hair is best. Most wigs have enough hair in them to make two natural looking wigs. Make sure that the wig you choose has the same density of hair that your natural head of hair has.
  
  
• You may want to consider a wig with a lace front. A wig with a lace front allows you to have the most natural looking hairline possible. This keeps a wig from looking too abrupt and unnatural along your hairline at the forehead and sides.
  
  
• Consider having your wig customized to fit your head more closely. Pleats can be made in the cap of the wig in strategic areas so that your wig fits snugly to your own head. Wearing a wig that is too big can give you a sense of insecurity in always thinking the wig might come off or be noticed, and while battling cancer, this is no time to feel even a little insecure.
  
  
• Decide between human and synthetic hair for your wig. Whether you should use human or synthetic hair depends a great deal on how active your lifestyle is, what style of hair you have, etc. Though human hair will feel much more real, it has several drawbacks: it will lighten in color within six months time, it absorbs water causing the knots to unravel and the hair to fall out over time, and as a result of these factors, it will be necessary to buy two wigs before your own hair has grown back. Talk with wig designer and tell them how you feel. They will be able to help you make an informed decision based on your lifestyle and budget.
  
  

7. Have tape tabs sewn into your wig.

The most secure way to attach your wig to your head is with double-sided tape. Elastic alone will often cause the wig to ride up on your head, and sometimes without you noticing before someone else does. Though special double-sided tape is available for wigs & hairpieces, you should not attach it directly to the inside of your wig. When you pull the tape off daily to replace, it will put a great deal of stress on the foundation of the wig, and eventually, it will tear. However, if you apply a foundation tape to the base of the wig first, it will make the wig last much longer. Put the foundation tape in and leave it there. From day to day, you simply apply your double-sided tape to that foundation tape which always stays in the base. This way when you remove it, all the stress is put on the foundation tape, not the wig base.

8. Click here for tips on maintenance for your wig.

9. Clips as a method of attachment.

After eight to twelve months, your hair will have grown back to an acceptable length, but before that, it may be long enough to switch from double-sided tape to comb clips. These clips are sewn into the base of the wig and the clips clip into your existing hair and hold the wig in place. Be careful about which type of clip you use. Clips with a high arch are more likely to pull out your new hair.

10. Donation.

There are may people who cannot afford to pay for a wig while undergoing chemotherapy. Once you no longer need your wig, you can help some of these people by donating your wig to the Cancer Society so that someone less fortunate than yourself might be able to wear it. Remember that they need their self-confidence as much as someone who can afford to pay for a wig, only cancer is a non-discriminating disease.

We hope these tips were helpful to you in selecting a wig that you will be comfortable with. We feel that when you are suffering from hairloss due to cancer treatments, it can be even more traumatic than suffering from regular male-pattern baldness. The reason we believe this is because in this case you have to lose your hair suddenly and almost all at once. In addition, you are forced to deal with it as you are being faced with a terminal disease. That alone can make you feel helpless, and without hair, it becomes even harder to face everyday life.

We sympathize with all our clients who are undergoing chemotherapy and our hearts go out to them. This is a time when it is most important for you to feel confident about yourself, and by giving you a way to cope with your hairloss, We hope that in some small way, we can help you regain that confidence.

This section of our website will hopefully give you all the information you need to decide for yourself whether a hairpiece is right for you. Whether you chose my company, or another, the information you find here will help you on your way.