My Journey With Human Hair Wigs Through Chemotherapy

Facing a cancer diagnosis is really tough. If you’re the kind of person who likes to be prepared, you might have questions about what to expect, especially when it comes to the prospect of losing your hair. Though no two experiences are the same, learning from others can make you feel less alone.

In this article, we share Connie’s journey with wearing human hair wigs through her chemotherapy treatments.

At Daniel Alain, we understand you may be feeling overwhelmed and anxious about what lies ahead. We’ve worked with countless customers who have lost their hair through chemotherapy and radiation, and we hope that sharing some of their stories goes some way in helping you feel a bit more prepared for some of the challenges you’ll face.

Chemotherapy hair loss

“My oncologist warned me that at a certain point, I would lose my hair. And sure enough, I got out of the shower one day, and my hair was like Barbie doll hair. I couldn't comb through it. I didn't quite understand what was happening because I had never been through that before.

Then I remembered what the doctors had said to me. They said you won't be able to brush through your hair. So I knew it was futile. I called my friend and asked her if she would come over and cut my hair. We sat on the front porch, and various neighbors walked by and waved as she was cutting all my hair off. It was a very devastating and hard thing to do.

I was very scared to lose my hair. I had seen my little sister lose her hair, I had seen other people in the waiting room who were bald, and I was very scared because I knew that was going to happen to me. I wasn't sure what I was going to do about it until I found these wigs, and that changed everything.

I never allowed anyone to see me without my wig, not my husband, not my girls, not my grandkids, not my friends. No one saw me without my wig. I had a little soft cap that I wore at night to go to sleep, but other than that, no one saw me bald. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't let anyone see me that way. It was devastating.

Finding human hair wigs for hair loss

Fortunately  I had this high-quality human hair wig, and when I put it on my husband was very kind and loving. He told me I looked gorgeous. I'm not sure I believed him. But it looked real so I learned to trust him. My children said the same thing. Some of my neighbors didn't even know I was wearing a wig. In fact, my neighbor said to his wife, 'How is Connie? How does she look?' She said, 'She has more hair now than before she started chemo.' No one knew it was a wig. No one knew at all. I was able to get through everything because of these wigs.

At the beginning, when strangers would say, or even people I knew would say, 'Oh, your hair looks so beautiful,' I would say, 'Oh, thank you. It's a wig,’ because I'm terrible at lying. But then I thought, I'm just going to accept the compliment. People would say to me, 'I love the way you did your hair. It looks so beautiful. I love the way you curled it. Oh, the colors. Your hair is gorgeous.' I would say, 'Thank you. Thank you very much.' I got so many compliments, and after a while, I believed that they were simply compliments on this beautiful wig that they thought was my real hair.

When you lose your hair due to cancer, you become a person you've never seen, in the mirror. I lost my eyelashes, my eyebrows, my hair, everything. I didn't feel pretty. I didn't even want to look in the mirror. I didn't wear makeup. But once I found these wigs and I could put them on and then put on some makeup, I felt beautiful. I felt like I had confidence again. I felt like I looked like a normal person rather than a cancer patient. It enabled me to get out and enjoy life and do things with my husband, my family, and my friends. I wouldn't have been able to do those things if I hadn’t purchased these wigs.

So when you're about to go through all this, you sit down with a nurse, and they tell you what to expect, but no one talked to me about what to do or where to find a wig. It was basically about getting you through everything as quickly as possible so you don't die from the cancer that you have. That's their main focus. I wish they would have said, 'Here are a couple of retail locations you might want to go to for a wig if you choose to wear one.' At that point, the only thing I knew about were synthetic wigs, which I said I wasn’t going to wear. I thought I would hide in the house for a year and a half or two years and wait for my hair to grow back. I had a lovely oncologist and everyone in her office were angels, but nobody talked about a wig or where to get one.

Regaining my confidence through wearing hair 

One memory I have was spending time with my family. My daughter and her husband and all the grandkids were here, and we were all going to dinner. I opened the door, and my granddaughter, who was around 6 at the time, saw me. I had this beautiful wig on. She said, 'Oh, Nana, I want to look like you when I grow up.' It was so sweet. 

I never would have had the confidence to do these things if I hadn't found these human hair wigs. They really did change everything for me. I was able to live an active lifestyle and nobody knew I had a wig on. I went hiking. I went to the pool, to the movies, listened to jazz, got on an airplane, and flew to other states with my husband. I could only do that because of these wigs that I had.

If you're at the beginning of chemo, I would recommend cutting your hair before you get to the point where you can't brush through it. I would also find a high quality human hair wig. It really will change everything for you. It changed everything for me.”

Is a human hair wig right for me?

While you may be anxious about the challenges ahead, we hope that this insight into Connie’s experience gives you some ideas about the positive effect finding the right wig can have on someone going through chemotherapy and facing hair loss.

Though there’s not much we can do to alleviate your concerns about your diagnosis, we would be honored to help you learn more about human hair wigs if you feel that’s an option you’d like to explore. 

We offer free, private consultations with very experienced and kind experts who can help talk you through what may be best for you. You have a lot on your plate right now. If you need support to carry you through, please reach out to our team.