Miracle wig

[cassandra]

I decided it's time to see what I would look like with grey hair. Most of my 48 hairs left on my head are grey. Most of my wigs are brown/black/red/blond or a combination of those. I and my friends and family thought they would never see that day, and here we are. 

Before investing real money in a 'human hair' wig (no I've never wanted to know where those hairs come from) I searched and found a very cheap (seriously) under £7,- synthetic one (incl. delivery costs).

I received it surprisingly quickly.

And it's great, fantastic! I look like hubbies mum  but people are way more friendly to me. They smile when I smile, they talk to me when I hold the door (mainly fellow grey 'hairers') open with my stick. It's such a pleasant experience.

Never did I receive so much 'respect' from my fellow humans (apart from when hubby and I were pub-owners)

It truely is a miracle 

I found it my duty to let y'all know that miracles do, actually, happen.

Happy loves, Cas

[kickingandscreaming]

Is hair loss a symptom of ESRD?  I have certainly been losing mine--with a vengeance.  I used to have very thick hair and now  have very little and on top I am gradually having none.  Deeply troubling.

[cassandra]

Is hair loss a symptom of ESRD? 

I actually don't know. I think it has to do with the vitamins we lack through D. Mine never really grew back after losing it through chemo when I was a kid, but I'm going to do some 'research' with dr. Google right now


   

[iolaire]

My wife now 50, recently did a stent of a year or two with gray hair. She looked good in gray and it seemed very natural as it was.  I liked it as she would fall behind on dyeing it and I don't really think it looks good as the grey roots grow in. 

But a few months ago she tried going back to color - she was tiered of people viewing her as old, offering her their seats, asking if she was my mother at the hospital post transplant etc...  First she tried a light blue that didn't really show up that much, and then later back to brown the first week it was much too light and so she went back for a do over to her normal darker brown.  I think she likes the brown but people still offer her their seat on the metro so it didn't solve that problem.  And she doesn't want to deal with dying it so the grey stripe is growing back in and is like an inch long now at the roots...

I think she would like to try a wig (for style - she has a lot of hair) but whenever she brings it up I'm not that supportive.   It seems sort of odd to me, like she would come home and then look completely different.  Personally I think the gray hair looks nice.

[cassandra]

Hi Iolaire I love grey stripes in people's hair!! I love them in hubbies hair too. And I think you might want to show some enthusiasm about your wife wanting to try wigs. There are some real sexy ones 


KaS I found quite some complicated explanations why ESRD can cause hair loss. Apparently you need zink to produce vitamin A which the body needs to make hair. And I believe we can't make vit A without kidneys. And there was something with vit B12 too. So basically, yes, D is a contributing factor in hair loss.


 

[MooseMom]

I started having grey in my hair when I was still quite young, so I colored it for a number of years.

Then I bought a pool membership and would swim every summer's day.  After my swim, I'd wash my hair, and I quickly realized that the money I'd been spending on color was quite literally going down the drain.

So I let the silver return, and the reactions were remarkable.  Women would stop me in the store or on an airplane and ask me about my hair; they'd tell me that they had been thinking about stopping coloring their hair but were afraid to, but they liked the way mine looked, so they were more confident about doing so.

Frankly, I just couldn't be bothered to spend the time and money.

I was on the tube a few years ago.  It was a little crowded, so I was standing.  Before we stopped at the next station, a young man got up and offered me his seat.  I just figured that he was about to get off the train, so I took it.  Imagine my surprise when he DIDN'T get off!  He was offering it to me because he thought I was old!     I started laughing and told him that he was the first person to ever offer me a seat.  I think I embarrassed him; he was only trying to be nice.  But I reassured him that I was actually highly amused and still thanked him.

The next year I was on the tube again, and a young lady wearing a hijab offered me a seat.  This time I was ready; I thanked her profusely but said that I was just fine.  She was extremely shy, so I took extra pains to tell her that she was so kind.

It's a weird time of life.  Often when we go to concerts or other live events, we are either the youngest people there or the oldest.

I like the grey/silver in my hair.  It's really cool!  I'm ecstatic that I've lived long enough to have silver hair (although it is still 50% dark).

Cass, I'm glad you're enjoying your "miracle wig".  Do you think you will keep it, or do you think you might eventually invest in a human hair wig?

[MooseMom]

Iolaire, I'm assuming those are pics of your wife?

If so, her hair looks great in both photos.  The great thing about wigs, I guess, is that they let you experiment, and they're only temporary.

[iolaire]

So I let the silver return, and the reactions were remarkable.  Women would stop me in the store or on an airplane and ask me about my hair; they'd tell me that they had been thinking about stopping coloring their hair but were afraid to, but they liked the way mine looked, so they were more confident about doing so.

...
Iolaire, I'm assuming those are pics of your wife?

Yes its her. 

I think the silver/gray head of hair does project the confidence of a strong women.  The "gray stripe" I see is the roots growing in and generally I see it on rather unkempt elderly women whose die looks unnatural to begin with.  Not the grey strips where people will do a bunch of long hairs that stand out from a well colored head of hair.   I think that's why I'm biased negatively towards it.  I guess I feel like its much better to go natural then live in the halfway state.

In the end its her choice and if she's ready she would get a wig, just like she made the choice to go back to coloring it and doesn't choose to act on my suggestion to schedule the next coloring!

Let me also state that my father always wore hats to cover his bald head and for that reason I'm biased against hats on bald heads (like mine).  So I found this story funny: Guys, Stop "Hatfishing" to Hide Your Bald Spot.

[MooseMom]

Well, to be fair, the silver/grey in my hair projects the laziness of a frugal woman.   

The "grey stripe" is an unavoidable consequence of letting one's hair grown out.  I agree that the halfway state is unattractive and unkempt looking, but it may be an idea for your wife to approach her stylist and get a new, modern cut that requires little upkeep.  A great cut can focus attention away from the dreaded stripe.  Just a thought!

Or a hat...   

[kickingandscreaming]

What we're calling the "grey stripe" is really a "premium" feature in the wig trade.  But these days it is called "rooted."  They actually charge extra for hair colors that show a distinct and darker root-- as in growing it out.  I'm not that fond of that look.  Why would I want to advertise the fact that I'm a bleached. blond?

[LorinnPKD]

iolaire, your wife is lovely!

I'm losing hair and also going gray very quickly. I don't want to spend the money to color it, so I'm just embracing the widening streak of silver at my temples.  But my hair's so thin that I can wear kids' barrettes, so I have little girl barrettes in my little old lady hair now.  It's fiiiiiine.

[Paul]

Before investing real money in a 'human hair' wig (no I've never wanted to know where those hairs come from)

People actually grow their hair long to sell it. Popular side earner in some Asian countries, and many poor countries. You simply go in for a haircut, come out with extremely short hair and a few extra dollars.

Well you did not want to know, but now you do - so there.

Back in the 80s/90s I belonged to a theatre group (amateur) and there was a retired gentleman in the group who was bald, and never normally worried about it in life, but always wore a wig on stage. He had a selection of wigs and always picked one to fit the character. Trouble is that they were all cheap theatrical wigs, and did not look good. But he was the best actor we had, so no one said anything. Besides, we also had an actor who did the "comb over" thing, and that looked worse.

I feel cheated - when I went grey no one offered me a seat on the bus (although I was getting offered "pensioner prices" from my early forties on). But now I have a walking stick, I get lots of people giving up their seat for me.

[cassandra]

Before investing real money in a 'human hair' wig (no I've never wanted to know where those hairs come from)

People actually grow their hair long to sell it. Popular side earner in some Asian countries, and many poor countries. You simply go in for a haircut, come out with extremely short hair and a few extra dollars.

Well you did not want to know, but now you do - so there.

Thanx Paul. I will very most likely buy a real Human Hair wig now   No need for me to feel encumbered in a strange way.

[iolaire]

This is an interesting read if you are thinking about human hair:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/nyregion/new-york-city-wigmakers.html

I found the story of Russia opening up to commerce and the wig makers being very excited for untreated hair to be interesting.

[cassandra]

Thanx for that article Iolaire.


   

[Charlie B53]

Daughter has always had the heaviest coarse black hair,  I wish!

In her teens she started having migraines.  It took a couple of years of Hell, gicing herself injections with every headache, until she cut her hair short.  Who would have thought?

By her early 20's she started going grey. Almost 50% Salt and Pepper.  I think it looks rather nice.

She will be 48 (?) this year.

Gramma and I, and the Dog went and spent almost a week with her.  Drove down on a Tuesday, yada yada.

Sat morning standing in the kitchen having my one cup of coffee she walks in and I had to ask her "Did you color your hair?"  As it was distinctly ALL the same amber color.

She replied "Just where the bleep have you been all week"?

I'm a Guy.

I'm always in trouble.

[Michael Murphy]

My hair is brown at 67 with no gray.  In my family you go grey about 6 months before you kick the bucket.  My beard however is salt and pepper, my wife hates it wants me to color it. I figure God put it there let him color it.

[Riki]

When I was a kid, my hair was so thick, it would break all those trendy clips that were around to put in it. *G*  Now, when I put it up in a pony tail, it just look pitiful.  I keep some length to it, because I'm afraid if I cut it short, it won't grow back.  I turn 40 this year, and I'd love for my hair to go grey, but I doubt it will.  I don't think it would look so thin if it turned.

My best friend went through chemo in her late 50s.  Before chemo, her hair was mostly brown with bits of grey in it.  When it grew back, it came in silver.  I think her silver hair looks so much better than the brown and grey she had.  She always had a shock of white in front, and if she dyed her hair to cover the grey, she'd lose it.  That shock is still there, and it looks so cool against the silver.  She has totally embraced her new hair color, and calls herself "the silver vixen" *G*