Hello,

I was sick of all the work a hairpiece requires. Newbies: don't underestimate that.

So I took the plunge and shaved my whole head off. Big decision considering I want to pursue my modelling carreer. Anyway I'm sick of constantly being worried about if anyone sees I'm wearing, especially the hair dressers and the make up artists etc, the itch, the time it takes, the unnatural feeling, etc etc....

Just thought I'd share it with you guys. Still have a new unit so if anyone is interested :D

EDIT:

When I wrote that I was very drunk and I was too lazy to write down the whole story so here it is now:

My hairpiece looked so bad, it had shed a lot so you could see the lace and the front had shed so much I had like a whole in my hairline. Also the hairs were sooo dry, brittle and light. One of the models saw that and asked me if I was wearing a wig and that was the drop that made the bucket flow over.
Because my hairpiece was so big (only just above my neck is real hair)I had a lot of trouble attaching it right. I did it in parts, first the back with tape (one round and two straigt), then the temples, then the upper front, then one side, then the other side, so you can imagine it took such a loooooooooooong time. The hairpiece didn't fit my real hair very good, it also would be skew, on top of my head you could see the lace because it was above my skin, the hair looked so dead and dull although I tried a lot of products, glues didn't hold very long, usually just one day, my record was 4 days. I took me like two hours per day.

Shaun is right it's my own fault because I didn't take the (good) advice to start with a small hairpiece because my side hair doesn't grow longer than like two inches and I wanted long, full hair there too. I stil don't regret that decision, I'm glad I tried it that's the only way I learn (I'm very stubborn). Now I know what it's like to have the hair I wanted and I wasn't so happy as I though I would be. I do regret the decision that I shaved my head too much to the back, that really wasn't necessary. Although it did prevent other people seeing the difference between my real, healthy, staight hair and the fake, dead, dry, wavy hairpiece hair.

Anyway, you're also right that what I wanted was NOT realistic. A big hairpiece with long hair is just not manageble because it's too difficult to attach (we only have two hands), and with long hair you pull too much out while brushing, the hairs get mixed up while sleeping so you wake up with a bird's nest on your head, and also because of all the products I used to make moisterize it etc my skin broke out so bad on my forehead...

I tried it for 3 monts and it didn't get much better, it still took me two hour per day if I wanted to look good every day and over time the hairpiece only looked worse and worse.

I'm sooooo relieved now. Very bald and it looks hideous but I'm sooooo happy with the time, trouble, stress and worries I save now.

I didn't give up hairpieces at all, I think I'm going to try two small hairpieces for only my temples, starting with millimetered short hair to match my own. Two small pieces are easy and fast to attach with only glue, and I won't have all the problems anymore with dry, mixed up hair etc because I'll cut the hairs so short. And if I don't like it, I wont have to walk around with a shaved head anymore because it's only on my temples where there is no hair which of course is the whole point of wearing lol.

Hope that works and that I can cut my hairpiece which is so ****ed up. It sucks that the hair on the hairpieces doesn't grow so I have to have a lot of pieces to match my own growing hair.
And maybe if I like wearing again and my own hair has grown and I want a fuller head of hair, I'll shave again a little bit and order a slightly bigger one and bring the temples together so I only need one piece. But never as big as the one I had.

In the future I will think twice before I reject your advice, lol!!!!

I'm really hoping that you just shaved your HAIR off and not your HEAD off.
We have said many times that this game isn't for everybody and it seems that unfortunately, it wasn't for you. I'm glad you posted as people do need to understand that if you are constantly going to be worried about if someone notices, then its simply not for you. Kudo's to you for recognizing that this just isn't your thing. some don't recognize it and continue wearing in constant worry and turmoil.(these are paranoid wearers).
But I do caution people to understand that there is a difference between "beginners jitters" and its just not working out. if you feel you gave it the old college try and it just didn't happen for you, then you have done what you can and can now move on.
good luck to you!!
DebbieS.

"I was sick of all the work it requires, newbs don't underestimate this."

IMO if newbs do their homework (i.e. read, read, read) they'll find that it's actually much simpler than it sounds. Also, newbs need to take their time and keep their expectations realistic. You're not gonna look as good with your first piece as the veterans and experts do with theirs. Just like playin' the guitar, you gotta learn the basic chords before you can become a virtuoso. My piece doesn't look fake. As a newb, I consider that good enough for now.

BTW, not tryin' to knock your decision to shave. To each his own, hope it works for ya!

As Debbie says above, this is not for everybody. Some people can spend 3 years reading everything on this forum and learn all the technical stuff and still not be able to put it in practice...

I think it's because there is more than 'technicals' to it: attitude, creativity, discipline and guts. I noticed that people who succeed in wearing have all of this and more...

I also think that there is a way to eliminate the worries and anxiety about wearing and it's to learn to wear correctly and efficiently.

Amsterdamboy: it's also a quality to bow out when you become convinced that this is not for you. Looks loke it's already a relief for you and all the best to you

Hans

AD. boy its some work like you said . if you happy thats so much more inportant ..i like wearing my hair the work is not so bad to me . but it is work so is exercising and our jobs..but if i thought i be as happy as you or others i would shave mine also.
bob./p

When we all started this I bet every single one of us had this thought at some time, I did in my early days but glad I seen it through, I will never shave but each to their own.

Regards BA.

You made it hard work from day 1 by ignoring the advice given here. Just like Grafted/Mathcat & many others you got over technical & expected too much from it.

You've also given in after a very short time. For me its taken one & a half years to get my pieces spot-on. It requires patience, knowledge gained from this forum & experimentation to get it right. For me it was like learning to ride a bike, you fall off a few times but eventually when you're up & going its becomes second nature.

I agree, you have to keep your expectations real. But the key is perserverance. And the longer you perservere the easier it becomes. What started out taking me an hour to complete at first now takes no more than 15 to 20 minutes to do.

When I first got a piece fitted by a salon all those years ago I was terrified and went interstate for a week so I didn't have to confront anyone I knew. There was no DIY maintenance but I still felt like chucking it all in for a while - only problem was that in those days shaving one's head was not an option.

At least now people have an outer if they can't go on, which improves their range of choices.

AD, just out of curiousity, how long did you give it?

You are the boss of your life,bottom line.If Toplace was not around,I would
be bald.Good luck and thanks for sharing a honest view.

this response was hard to read because all the text was to the right

Debbie hahahaha yeah that's literally translating dutch to english :D

When I wrote that I was very drunk and I was too lazy to write down the whole story so here it is now:

My hairpiece looked so bad, it had shed a lot so you could see the lace and the front had shed so much I had like a whole in my hairline. Also the hairs were sooo dry, brittle and light. One of the models saw that and asked me if I was wearing a wig and that was the drop that made the bucket flow over.
Because my hairpiece was so big (only just above my neck is real hair)I had a lot of trouble attaching it right. I did it in parts, first the back with tape (one round and two straigt), then the temples, then the upper front, then one side, then the other side, so you can imagine it took such a loooooooooooong time. The hairpiece didn't fit my real hair very good, it also would be skew, on top of my head you could see the lace because it was above my skin, the hair looked so dead and dull although I tried a lot of products, glues didn't hold very long, usually just one day, my record was 4 days. I took me like two hours per day.

Shaun is right it's my own fault because I didn't take the (good) advice to start with a small hairpiece because my side hair doesn't grow longer than like two inches and I wanted long, full hair there too. I stil don't regret that decision, I'm glad I tried it that's the only way I learn (I'm very stubborn). Now I know what it's like to have the hair I wanted and I wasn't so happy as I though I would be. I do regret the decision that I shaved my head too much to the back, that really wasn't necessary. Although it did prevent other people seeing the difference between my real, healthy, staight hair and the fake, dead, dry, wavy hairpiece hair.

Anyway, you're also right that what I wanted was NOT realistic. A big hairpiece with long hair is just not manageble because it's too difficult to attach (we only have two hands), and with long hair you pull too much out while brushing, the hairs get mixed up while sleeping so you wake up with a bird's nest on your head, and also because of all the products I used to make moisterize it etc my skin broke out so bad on my forehead...

I tried it for 3 monts and it didn't get much better, it still took me two hour per day if I wanted to look good every day and over time the hairpiece only looked worse and worse.

I'm sooooo relieved now. Very bald and it looks hideous but I'm sooooo happy with the time, trouble, stress and worries I save now.

I didn't give up hairpieces at all, I think I'm going to try two small hairpieces for only my temples, starting with millimetered short hair to match my own. Two small pieces are easy and fast to attach with only glue, and I won't have all the problems anymore with dry, mixed up hair etc because I'll cut the hairs so short. And if I don't like it, I wont have to walk around with a shaved head anymore because it's only on my temples where there is no hair which of course is the whole point of wearing lol.

Hope that works and that I can cut my hairpiece which is so ****ed up. It sucks that the hair on the hairpieces doesn't grow so I have to have a lot of pieces to match my own growing hair.
And maybe if I like wearing again and my own hair has grown and I want a fuller head of hair, I'll shave again a little bit and order a slightly bigger one and bring the temples together so I only need one piece. But never as big as the one I had.

In the future I will think twice before I reject your advice, lol!!!!