Wig, Wigs and More Wigs!

I've met so many people with breast cancer since being diagnosed with it myself and not one of us has had an identical path. With all the side effects that come with chemotherapy, the most common of all was losing our hair.

I found picking a wig was a bit like shopping for clothes! Do you head for a salon experience or order online and do it in the comfort of your own home? Online there are so many websites with so many styles and colours, it was difficult to know where to start? Should I order the same colour as my natural hair? The same style? Or go for a look I'd never been able to go for before? 

I decided to order online first. I went for the same mousy brown colour as mine and as close to my own hair style as I could. It didn't look right so I ordered lighter and darker, some with curls, some straight, some longer and some shoulder length. Nothing looked right. I was trying to recreate my hair but it wasn't working.

I started to look at alternatives and found baseball caps with wigs attached. The hair was attached to the rim of the cap so you didn't have to worry about getting the wig to look right and be placed on your hairline, or not. I was finding this bit the trickiest of all. My favourite so far was a hat wig. I thinner wig with no scalp that was specifically made to wear under hats. It allowed my head to breath a bit more and was the closest so far that made me feel like me.

Under the full wigs, for comfort and hygiene, I was advised to wear a wig cap. It looks like a small swimming cap but made out of stocking (tights) material. Yes it made the wigs stick to my head a bit more but it also made them extremely hot to wear.

I'd ordered expensive wigs and cheap wigs. Nothing felt or looked right. It had nothing to do with the quality of the wig, it just wasn't my hair. I'd ordered and sent back that many wigs I felt quite deflated with it all. The women looked so glamorous online and no one was wearing glasses. I found it changed everything about how it looked.

It was time to bite the bullet and go and see someone in person to help. I felt vulnerable about it all. I knew I would be treated with care and love by whoever I saw yet it filled me with dread.

I had a wig voucher from Macmillan Cancer Shop to use for a wig or towards the cost of a wig but found there were only certain places I could redeem it at. I went to a wig shop within The Christie Hospital in Manchester. I tried on about 10 different styles. The assistant told me to ignore the colours as she'd ordered my favourite style in a colour close to my natural tone.

I picked a short wavy wig. Something that my natural hair would never be able to do. It would take a week to arrive but in her many years of experience the assistant also told me I rock the 'no hair' look and to embrace it!

After months of trying to find something I was comfortable wearing, once I had my wig, I had become so used to having a bald head that it felt weird to have hair! I lasted a couple of hours and was back in my hat. It was probably a special occasion thing rather than an everyday thing. It was nice to have the option. It's funny how quickly you get used to not having hair fly in your mouth when it's windy!

My wig definitely made me feel more feminine and pretty and I could count on one hand how many times I'd felt like that since losing my hair. But I embraced my no hair looks too! All in all, there are no rules on how to pick a wig. Apart from staying true to yourself, do what makes you feel comfortable and ask for help if you are struggling because there is help out there and they are brilliant at what they do and are so kind whilst doing it.

JuJu