[allrelativeParticipant]

My sister will soon loose her hair after planned stem cell transfusion. After 4 months of tteatment and being brave it’s hit home. She is adament she doesnt want a wig but I feel she thinks of the old fashioned woolley hat dtyle ones. I believe you ca  get real hair wigs now that look great. Just wanted advice from others on where to buy, how easy to wear etc…

[galaParticipant]

Hi, I cannot advise on where to buy, as my sister with myeloma lives in another country. But I can say that her wig looks beautiful and you would not know it is a wig. Having said that, she finds it very uncomfortable to wear it for more than just a couple of hours a day. It gets hot and itchy. So, she only wears it when going out and for limited time a day. For other times she wears head scarves and beanies. When she just got her wig, she took it to a hairdresser to trim and make it suit her face. It also requires care, e.g. washing with shampoo and it needs to be kept in shape on a mannequin or a large jar.

[rebeccaRParticipant]

Hi – The hospital will arrange a freecwig/fitting pre losing it which will reassure her how fab they are. As I kept my illness a secret I was hell bent on having good wigs – I got them online where you can try n return but there are shops in cities where you can try etc. I spent a fortune on them as I chose to match my hair and shoulder length style – big mistake. Whilst they look fab if they are shoulder length and rub on costs etc the fibres wear quickly and need replacing or cutting a lot. Best to go for a short cut before losing it so you can have short wigs. I wore mine from getting up to going to bed and found them fine to wear but you need the “tights” on head cover to keep from moving/comfort and if you exercise there is a sweat inlay also. Natural hair ones are expensive and require doing like normal hair – the others are cheaper and much better as you pop it on and look good to go – they may look shiny when you buy them but they soon lose that when wearing them in a normal environment. I loved and miss my wigs – never a bad hair day and never had my hair look so good! Whilst I originally wanted a natural hair one I know after SCT I couldn’t have messed about styling like normal hair. I was scared of having a wig but as soon as you try one you realise how good they are. Mine cost £350 which was an expensive one but matched my real hair sand more importantly made me feel good.

[galaParticipant]

I have just spoken to my sister and she told me she regrets buying a natural hair wig. Like Rebecca says it is more difficult to take care of and some of my sister’s friends who have synthetic wigs look fab and natural in them. Modern synthetic wig can be really natural looking and easy to manage.

[gmmaParticipant]

I’m going through a similar dilemma as I’m due to have HDC & SCT in about a month. A little while ago I got a wig which isn’t real hair as I was advised that they are very high maintenance however I made the mistake of getting a wig which was as long as my natural/real hair before it started thinning & falling out due to VTD & chemo treatments. I’ve really struggled to master putting it on & styling it as there is just so much hair. In hindsight I wish I’d gone for a shorter style which I think would be a lot easier. I have bought a few coloured turbans & a really clever ring of hair which when worn under the turban give the illusion that you have hair. As we are heading towards Autumn I think this might be the better option & a lot cheaper than the wig!

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