My wig journey, I have wanted to write about this for some time now. My journey into the wig-wearing world has been interesting, a learning experience, fun, and has opened me up to so much more. Allow me to share my wig journey with you.
My Wig Journey
Alopecia is a bitch but I decided to call her fucking bluff. I shaved my hair off, I had had enough. Let me tell you something; I wish I had done it sooner. It was so LIBERATING! It feels good emotionally but more so, it feels better physically too. That part was surprising, I hadn’t expected to feel better physically.
To be honest, it was a long process to come to the decision. I struggled with whether or not to shave my hair off for about 8 months. Some of my worries:
- What would I look like?
- The shape of my head
- What would others think?
- I didn’t think I was ready to wear wigs FULL TIME
Those are obvious and normal things to be concerned with, I think.
But one night, I came home from work and decided to check-in on my bald spots. I wanted to see if they were growing. Of course they were. The hair all over the bathroom floor, sink, shower drain, and eveytime I combed it after a shower. The literal fall-out was horrible. I got sick of seeing it.
In an outburst at 1:00 in the morning, I woke my husband up to inform him that I wanted to shave off all of my hair and I needed him to do it for me. I would buy some clippers and he could shave it off for me. He knew it was coming. He was prepared.
He said, No.
He said we should go to a barber and let a professional do it. And so we did, the very next day when he got home from work, we went.
I took a hat with me to wear out of the barber incase I broke down and cried or because I might look hideous. But the exact opposite happened. And nothing surprised me more. I felt relieved, I felt good. I thought I even looked fucking great!! I walked out of the barber without a hat, head held high, smiling, and went straight out to eat. Oh, my husband also got his head shaved too! He sat in the chair right beside me and we got our heads shaved together. It was fabulous!
These photos below were the day-of, hours after we came home from the barber.
I went bald for a while. Still do from time to time. It depends on my mood or the occasion. But I did get into wig-wearing more, for the fun of it, for the beauty of it, for the fashion and style of it.
When I first started dabbling in wigs, the early stages, I HATED ALL OF THE WIGS I PUT ON MY HEAD. No matter what style or length, it just seemed like SO MUCH HAIR! Well, of course it was a lot of hair. I was used to my crappy fine, limp, thin, balding hair. So yes, any sort of wig I put on was going to look like a lot of hair!
It also made me think it looked fake; all that hair. Surely, people will know it’s a wig! I was scared and timid to wear any wig out in public. But eventually I did.
I started wearing wigs, first, when went out of town. The Gent and I would go to Tunica for a day or two and I would wear a wig when we went out to eat, where no one knew me.
Then, after several purchases, I found a wig I felt comfortable enough-in to wear to work. That was the ultimate test for me and would end up being my turning point.
It looked realistic enough to what my bio/natural hair WOULD have looked like if I had a full head. Before shaving it all off, what hair I had left was long. I had to let it grow out so I could wear it pulled back into a ponytail in order to cover all the spots.
So I started wearing wigs to work when I still had hair. I guess I had to ease my way into wearing wigs on a more regular basis before feeling comfortable enough to shave my head. As stated before, nothing was planned, it just kind of evolved.
But now? I have had a shaved head for probably two months now? And I am full-on into wearing wigs!! I LOVE THEM! Yes, I still strut out in public with a bald head too. But wearing wigs is like wearing designer shoes, a fine piece of jewelry, carrying a fancy handbag, having a great makeup look, or that perfect blouse paired with those just-right pair of jeans. It is part of the outfit, the total look, the fashion. That’s what it means to me anyway. And I’m hooked!
And this may sound strange to some of y’all but since I started wearing wigs, I finally feel like myself. Sounds like that shouldn’t be, right? You know, because a wig is fake hair and all. But they make me feel like my authentic self, like I can finally be myself instead of constantly having to worry about my ugly thin balding hair and the anguish of trying to always hide it.
FYI, I purchase the majority of my wigs from wigstudio1.com where they have THE BEST customer service, normally a great sale is going on, and the very best supportive Facebook group.
Thanks for reading. More about Carol Marks – the blogger.
