Back in my early 20s, I decided to deal with my hair loss and bought a hair replacement system. It’s basically a modern day toupee or hair piece. Here is my hair replacement system experience and it’s not a good one.
A hair replacement system is human or fake hair weaved into a nylon mesh made to resemble a full head of hair. These days they are custom made to suit your head shape and cover the bald(ing) part of your scalp.
The hair replacement system is bonded onto your scalp with a glue-like substance and since the hair is chosen to match your own hair color, it should be undetectable to the human eye.
Unlike toupees and hair pieces of the past which were easy to spot and the subject of jokes, newer hair systems are professionally made and usually harder to spot.
They must be maintained, refitted and replaced so there are ongoing costs as we’ll discuss below.
I found a national company with a local office in town and visited them for a free consultation. I decided to go ahead with them and dealt with the owner of the office and his wife.
He took a clay impression of my scalp to get the shape of the nylon mesh that would form the hair replacement system. The system fits the shape of your scalp, personally made for you.
Several weeks later when the system was ready, I returned and he installed it.
The Cost
High quality hair replacement systems are expensive. You can get cheap wigs and toupees for under $100 these days. You can also buy cheap hair replacement systems for several hundred dollars from what I see.
The initial cost of a higher quality hair system could start at $1,000 depending on the quality and the size of the balding area you need to cover. The first hair system I bought cost around $1,500 from memory and needed to be replaced about every 2 years.
My first hair system didn’t last this long and I was given a discount for the replacement system as a result. I paid around $1,200 for the second system from memory.
The Other (Ongoing) Cost
Every 2-3 months I returned to the company for a refitting, an appointment lasting 1-1.5 hours, with the owner. A few things happened in this appointment. The first step was to remove the hair system from my scalp.
He then washed my hair and scalp and removed any glue that remained. Sometimes glue would stick to my own hair and needed to be removed. He’d then trim my own hair and cut it to the desired length.
He then refitted my hair system with replacement hair as it will fall out over time with washing, brushing, etc. So he added replacement hair back into the system to bulk it back up and hide the nylon mesh. He performed this in his work area while I sat in the patient chair so I didn’t see this process.
Finally, he reaffixed the system to my scalp using the glue-like bonding product and attached it using my existing hair holding it in place. If you have little or no hair left of your own, you use adhesive stickers to hold the system in place.
I had adhesive stickers that I used to hold the front part of the hair system in place near the forehead area. They were replaced daily. So it was basically like a flap that could be lifted up! Most of the hair replacement system was held in place with glue though.
I can’t remember what a maintenance refitting session cost but it was around $100. It typically involved a 1 hour appointment so there is the cost of time involved too.
The Other Other Cost(s)
There is yet another cost to a hair replacement system that I didn’t totally consider.
The mental/emotional cost of wearing one. I wondered if people knew I wore one.
Over time, I grew to hate the hair system because I felt like a fake, wearing something to cover up a perceived personal flaw. It wasn’t until I got the hair system installed that I calculated the $$$ cost over time.
I also realized the other cost of the system. The anxiousness that I experienced wondering if people would notice I wore one.
What if someone patted me on the head or grabbed my hair for some reason?
Could it get ripped off my scalp by someone or blow around in the wind?
I had one instance where someone asked if I wore a hair piece (his words) which mortified me needless to say. That was pretty much the final straw for me.
Then there is the other thing I hadn’t considered.
The cleanliness.
It’s difficult to keep your scalp clean when you have a hair system bonded to your head. Imagine trying to wash your hair while wearing a baseball cap? That’s the closest I can think of as far as a comparison.
Summary
Do I regret paying for a hair replacement system?
Yes.
With hindsight, I shouldn’t have done it but at the time I thought it made sense. I didn’t truly think about the ongoing costs and the fact that it’s something you pay for in perpetuity. The maintenance cost, time and effort involved weren’t worth it to me.
Neither was the anxiety.
Certainly, many years have passed since I wore a hair replacement system. Technology has certainly improved during this time. But at the end of the day, you’re still wearing a high end toupee.
I’m happier with a shaved head. It’s cheaper too.
My hair replacement system experience is not one that I remember fondly and I certainly wouldn’t recommend this option based on what I experienced.
P.S. If you want to judge hair replacement systems for yourself, do a Google search for celebrities to see what they look like with them. Celebrities that have long been rumored to have some sort of hair replacement system include Elton John, William Shatner, John Travolta and the late Burt Reynolds among others.
Do you have a hair replacement system experience you can share with us? Let us know in the comments below if you have a hair replacement system experience that was better or worse than mine.
