Catherine Lartigue is one of Community Blog Writers. She often writes about the fun of wigs on her blog Atypical60, and encourages everyone to join her!
When I was a young girl, I didn’t have a head of hair. I had a mop. No. Seriously. I did. Whenever I got a bit cheeky, my mother oftentimes threatened to turn me upside down to mop the floor.
Growing up very close to the beach, on Long Island’s South Shore, was also a hair nightmare during the summer. My thick hair would grow out and bigger—and became frizzier as the air became more humid. I would wear it tied back most of the time. I will admit, though, during the winter, my massive tresses would keep my head very warm! In my early twenties, I was finally able to control my hair when I started working down on Wall Street. My job afforded me the luxury of being able to have my hair blown out once a week. I had about ten great hair years during this time.
Then, after the birth of my first child, I started losing hair. It wasn’t really bad at that point, but one of my friends noticed a small bald spot about the size of a quarter on the back of my head one day. I started freaking out but as my hair grew longer and longer, the small spot was hidden.
Did I mention I also suffer from anxiety? Yeah. I’m pretty-much a neurotic person---but I’m a fun neurotic! Anyway, one way for me to deal with my angst was to pull on my hair. And pull, and play with my split ends and twirl my hair. And as the years went by, I pulled and pulled some more. And, I lost more and more hair. My hair was also going gray—and I started to dye it. And as I lost more hair I noticed my part becoming wider and wider. And although still thick, I could definitely feel that my hair was thinning.
For a few years I did the fibers, then I switched to toppers. But you know what? Toppers aren’t the easiest hair pieces to manipulate. You have to make sure the combs are placed just so. I’m lazy! I want a quick fix! And that’s where wigs came in. Look—I’m not gonna lie. At first, you feel a bit weird wearing a full-on wig. You wonder what others will think. You wonder if people will be able to tell you are wearing a wig. You do a lot of thinking about others but you need to stop and think about yourself.
The more familiar I became with wigs, the more confident I became. I began to discover what kinds of wigs looked great and what didn’t. And—might I add, at my mature age, I refuse to wear a granny wig. Many of us women in our fifties and sixties and beyond still want to look on trend or continue to wear our hair longer and much the way we did when we were younger. We want flattering hair. We want to have fun with our hair—and we find that with wigs.
Wigs changed my life. No longer a slave to rollers and blow dryers, I can plop a wig on my head and go. Wigs have freed up my time. On vacation, my wigs are packed to go! I can be at the pool or the beach in the morning (I’ve saved my toppers—I secure them in, put my hair up in a messy bun and can swim), get changed in the afternoon and just wear a wig. Easy peasy.
But wigs also make me feel normal again. I’m no longer self-conscience about my appearance. I know that I look good with my fake hair! I can rock different colors of wigs and not have to worry about damaging what bio hair I have left with hair dye. If I want to go with a short bob one day and gorgeous va-va-voom curls the next day—I can!
Wigs offer many choices—and the choices are what it’s all about. Wig out with me ladies—and rock your world. It’s fun!!!