Before you do the roll-eye at me and go “Oh no, not another hair post, please—“hair” me out. OK? I realize I covered this topic a bit only a couple of weeks ago. But today, I want to do a more in-depth post so read on mature ladies. Read on!
No! Don’t yawn. This is informative! And fun. I posted bad pics of me!!
First, I’m becoming increasingly annoyed at the amount of advertising I see for products and potions that promise to grow hair. In 99 percent of the cases, hair will not grow back. I am also very wary of taking any product internally—you do not know the long-term results on your organs.
I have tried topical lotions that promised my balding scalp locks of luster and regrowth. They were messy to deal with, took the time to apply and did NOT grow so much as the beginnings of a fuzzy strand.
Be honest. Be real. For reals,man. For reals!
Truth in advertising counts. Read the fine print. Many products carry a microscopic little caveat that state the product won’t work for everyone. They should reword it to doesn’t work in most cases.
The only product I’ve ever used that worked to grow any sort of hair was Latisse. It not only made my lashes longer but I was very messy in my application and it spilled a bit on my skin. And where it spilled, I grew little fine hairs that needed to be plucked. When I lost my corporate healthcare, I also lost the affordable price of Latisse.
Besides, I didn’t need extra eyelashes on my cheeks.
In addition, I once went for a “free” consultation at a salon in Wayne, PA that “specialized’ in hair loss. The cost? A couple of thousand bucks for months of treatments. And false promises of hair regrowth.
And once that fuzz appears, it is a continuous process to keep up with it.
At 62 years of age, I have not the time, nor the money or the patience to deal with this. And I don’t like the idea of businesses taking advantage of women with hair loss. It’s wrong!
So, what is the solution? I’ve spent too much time in my life blow drying the hair that I once had. I spent too many hours in needless worry of what others think of me with my thinning hair and even more time worrying about what people would think if they could tell I was wearing helper hair, alternative hair, fake hair or a wig.
Trust me, this has been a journey. Come along on the trip with me…
At first, I used Toppik, which I’ve written about many, many times. And if you notice that your hair is beginning to thin in spots, this product, as well as others like it, is excellent. It can be a bit messy for the beginner, but after repeated applications gets easier and easier. To this day, I use it when Adam cuts my hair. And I don’t get the chance to go 100 percent bio hair these days!
Over ten years use and still using–although much less these days!
When the loss became more apparent, it was time for toppers. Toppers are, well, I guess you could call them clip-in toupees for women! They clip into the top of your hair, covering the areas of hair loss. If you need further information on toppers, please see the videos of June Penny. She is a riot and makes no bones or BS about hair loss. She works together with Uniwigs. I’ve ordered a few toppers from Uniwigs, thanks to June, and have been very happy with the product, the customer service, and the quality. Only once was I disappointed in the topper and it was a wavy-haired one that was my error in ordering.
June Penny is no BS. That’s one of the reasons I love her so much! She’s an expert on toppers and will answer any questions you may have!
The toppers work more for me these days when I wear a messy bun or updo.
Last year I was also very lucky to be gifted with a very dense set of hair extensions by the generosity of Irresistible Me Hair Extensions. I wore these extensions a lot last summer. Almost a year later, my hair loss has gotten severe enough that the extensions no longer work for me. I saved them though because I’m trying to figure out how to turn them into ponytail extensions.
When my loss wasn’t as severe, these hair extensions were great!!!!
These days I’m wearing wigs more and more. I no longer care if others can tell I’m wearing a wig. I no longer care what others think.
And it isn’t just about hair loss either. The hair that I do have just hasn’t aged well! In its natural state, without the aid of a roller set or blow dry, my hair is damaged from the years of blow-drying, dying, hairspray, bad haircuts, sun damage. It is dry. It is brittle. It is a freakin’ mess! You name it, I’ve done it. Some of us are blessed in many ways. I was not blessed with gracefully aging hair. I was blessed in the fact I don’t have a lot of wrinkles. I’ll take what I got!
I took this photo earlier in the morning after I did my roots. Hey. It is what it is. Or in THIS case, what it isn’t! The loss has gotten worse on the top of my crown! Oh well.
Anyway, my first wig was Scorpio, by Revlon. I ordered it from Wigs.com when I started losing hair but I hardly wore it. I felt “funny” and “odd”. And when I wore it to my sister’s house one weekend, my nieces started laughing so badly at me that I felt awful and more self-conscience than ever. The wig was put into a box where it still sits. In hindsight, I should have just worn the damn wig. My bio hair was cut into a short bob at the time and took me a good two hours of blow drying to achieve that sleek look. I woulda been better off plopping the wig on my head!
I still have this wig in a box. And I still like it. If I want to go back to a short bob–I can! Scorpio still remains one of Revlon’s best selling wigs–especially with the older, mature woman. It’s a great wig for the older gals because it remains modern!
When my hair got longer, I ordered a couple of longer wigs. Among them “Brie” by Vivica Fox wigs. I happen to be a fan of her wigs. And Brie has remained a “go to” for me. I have two Brie’s and they have held up very well over the four years I’ve had them. Yes. This under-thirty dollar wig is remarkable in her long-lasting ability.
I’m wearing Brie in this photo. In fact, it is the most used wig I’ve worn into the office. Bonaparte loves this wig on me due to the waves.
I was ready to trash one of the Brie wigs because she was starting to look a bit raggy, but I went onto YouTube and found a very informative and educational video by Tiffany Hudson of Tiffanys TempTresses. Where June Penny is the Queen of Toppers, Tiffany is the Queen of Wig care. She has a very sweet and soothing way of explaining things.
If you already do wear wigs, this video is priceless in its education of washing synthetic wigs. If you are thinking of wearing a wig, watch this video. It is educational! I went out and purchased fabric softener to use as conditioner for my synthetic hair thanks to Tiffany!
And if you are going through hair loss and are thinking of purchasing a wig, please look at reviews before making a purchase. There are a great many reviews both online and on YouTube. One of our own WordPress bloggers has a fantastic blog (I think she should be a professional photographer because her photographs are wonderful but that’s another story but look at her photos and tell me they are not fabulous!) in which she reviews many wigs. MareyMercy.
Cynthia has a TON of great wig reviews but I wasn’t able to upload any from her site. Trust me, go to her blog, MareyMercy wig reviews and check them out! Oh. And she took these pics. I wish I lived next door to her because I would have her snap a few of me–I would pester her so much that she would move away!
Wig reviews are a tremendous help because it gives a better picture of how a wig really will appear in real life. You can also see for yourself that many affordable wigs look terrific and you don’t need to spend a fortune!
For my happiness, the Divatress site is my favorite place to shop for wigs. The customer service is stellar and quick delivery. Free shipping over $49. And—I love their selection of lace front wigs! Wigs are shipped in boxes like this—they don’t scrimp on their shipping.
Two wigs came securely packaged in this huge box. Divatress knows how precious our hair cargo is!
Some of my recent purchases have been made because of YouTube reviews. Here’s a look at some of my new hair and the reviews that have sold me on the wigs:
Outre Perm Yaki 18. I love this so much that I ordered two more as backups. And would never have ordered if it were not for the two video reviews below. See how natural she looks?
Manda Panda’s review sold me on the wig because she put the front up and it looked so natural. In addition, she is so adorable and those glasses of hers!!!!
Kiara Cymone’s review of the same wig finalized my decision to repurchase. And I’m thankful to these young ladies for helping this older lady!
Front and back of stock card for this wig. I like to keep these filed because of the descriptions and care for the units.
Another favorite of mine is Storm by ModelModel. I love everything about this wig..
See how well the lace front blends in well with my natural hairline–even when I hadn’t done my roots it still looks great!
Thanks to Dee Dee Woods, I made the purchase I will never regret. I have two Storms and will need to order another backup as soon as Divatress gets my color back in! Dee Dee has a great YouTube channel on hair, beauty–she’s a doll. Look at her eyes too. She has very kind eyes and you know how much I love kind eyes!
I was on the fence about ordering this wig. Texana by Freetress Equal. The review below was helpful in my deciding to go for it. I like it a bit messier and it is the only wig that I recently purchased where I had to pin my bio hair up because it didn’t blend well with my bio hair. Doesn’t matter though because I really enjoy the shorter length. This is a PERFECT wig for the mature woman!
Lovely Lasean’s review was the decision-maker with this purchase. She got hers from Sistawigs.com. I ordered mine from Divatress.
I sometimes miss having bangs. This wig, Soft Volume by Freetress Equal Premium Delux is a monofilament top. The part is basically non-existant. I liked the wig but was unsure about purchasing until I saw this review by BodiedBykeira..
She cut bangs into the wig!!! She cut bangs! I followed her advice and am happy I did!
This is Sage. I should have looked at a few reviews before making the purchase. I was looking for a long wig that I could put into a braid or pony. Unfortunately, I lack the know-how and the wig is way to dense for me to pull back…..but…
I cut (and rather unevenly, I admit) about three inches off the bottom and pulled my bio hair back for a very Catherine Deneuve look. I love this 1960’s look and personally, any mature woman can rock this wig.
This wig was purchased at a local wig outlet in Norristown. I paid $19.99 for it. It’s a Vivica Fox wig and I’m sorry that I didn’t save the stock card. I went back to buy another one and found out the wig had been on final clearance because it was discontinued. I wish I knew what wig this is because I DIG THIS WIG!
It reminds me a LOT of Storm but is longer and the part is so natural looking! The Yaki texture is another plus. Oh. I wish I had another one of these wigs. Why did Vivica discontinue this beauty? Whatsamatter with her?
It’s a nice length and from the back looks nice and thick and like my bio hair!
Some wigs need tweaking in the form of tweezing the part to give it a more realistic look. Don’t be afraid to tweeze because you can’t mess it up!
And because I don’t wear a wig cap and just plop the wigs over my bio hair, I usually sew in a few extra combs for extra security.
I think I paid all of three bucks for this bag of sew-in wig combs. I’ve been procrastinating because I need to do some sewing!
Oh—and this is important. I still color my roots regularly so the color blends in better when I’m wearing my natural hair off my face and pulled back.
I also don’t wash my bio hair often. The more hair I lose, the less I wash. I can go two weeks these days. Don’t cringe!! My hair doesn’t smell. It doesn’t look greasy because it is as dry as the Sahara dessert. And I roller set because it is less damaging than blow-drying!
I did my roots this morning and washed and set my bio hair so it looks better when I pull the front out when wearing wigs and toppers. BTW, the only makeup I’m wearing is a long-lasting lipstick that has been on since 9:00 AM. It is now 4:18 PM. I’ll be writing a post about it when I finish up with this post!
Just took the rollers out. No makeup today. Boy do I look like sh..I have Toppik in my hair and I also have…..
…this Oil Free wig shine for Human and Synthetic Hair sprayed on my bio hair. It works great for taming frizz and keeping hair smooth and shiny. I found it on the Divatress site! Only $1.95!
Look. I realize that hair loss can be painful. It can be embarrassing. It is also an incredibly private topic that many don’t want to be open about. But we need to address it. As we age, we still want to look great—am I right? And why spend hours worrying about our hair when it is easy just to plop a wig or topper on?
Mature us can rock every look—even when it comes to hair that isn’t our own! So let’s do this! Bring out your inner Haironista!!!!Let’s make a purchased head of hair as regular and normal as our skincare routine or getting dressed!
Ain’t nothing’ like a great head of hair–that you can buy!
There are all types of wigs out there. There is also a huge price range. Some women prefer human hair. I like synthetic because it is affordable and inexpensive. Regardless of your choice, the solutions are out there. You just need to research. Or just ask me!!
We may not have perfect hair, or skin, or weight or whatever. But–we gotta be ok with our imperfections. I’m giving Des’ree’s “You Gotta Be” a revisit. Do you remember this song? It’s so inspirational and Oona and I used to listen to it together all the time. I love when songs have meaning–and remind me of time with my daughter and my sons.
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