# Men's Hair Loss > Non Surgical Hair Replacement >  Questions about getting a hair system or "wig"  Please read! Thanks.

## BalderbytheMinute

Hey guys,

I am thirty years old and, honestly, sick and tired of being bald.  It has affected the way women perceive me and I feel more confident with hair.

With that said, I am interested in pursuing a hair system but I have so many questions.  I am here in Phoenix, Arizona area and need to know...

1) Who is the best company to go with for a hair system in the Phoenix area?  I have already done research...do you recommend Hair Club, Transition Hairloss Centers, National Hair, etc?  Are these good companies to setup a consultation with?

2) Also, does it cause a great deal of itching and discomfort wearing the hair system weeks at a time?

3) Have you had the hair piece accidentally fall off due to high winds, moisture, extreme heat (it gets HOT here in Arizona!), etc?

Thanks for your time everyone and looking forward to hearing your experience with this.

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## grincher

cant answer 1 but there is NWL in the USA and UK Hair Systems in the UK which I have used and both do international orders.

A salon/clinic will charge more but may be a place to start if in doubt.

For 2 and 3 - no and I have been wearing many years now.

The piece will loosen near the end of the bond so like 4 weeks after reattachment and you get plenty of warning. Never ever had is drop off. Dont itch any more than not wearing.

Good luck

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## BalderbytheMinute

Hi Grincher,

Thank you for the reply.  So I looked up NWL and do they just provide the hair piece?  Or do they also style and cut it for you?

And do you wear your hair piece 4 weeks in a row without taking it off?  Doesn't that cause itching, rash or a smell?

Thanks for the help again.

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## grincher

I usually go max 3-weeks. You wash it once a week, more if very active. No smell or itch.

Sounds like you need a clinic first time.

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## BalderbytheMinute

And are you removing this yourself during the week or do you go to a hair stylist or clinic to have it removed?

And when you say I need a "clinic" do you mean someone like Hair Club or Bosley or something?

Sorry for so many questions, this is all brand new to me and thx again for your help.

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## grincher

I remove, clean and reattach every 18-21 days and do it at home.

Clinic, club or salon as in anywhere that sells and fits.

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## BalderbytheMinute

How come more men don't do this?

And has anyone called you out and notices that your hair is "fake"?  

I'm excited about this but still unsure and skeptical. I just don't want to get my hopes up that's all

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## symphonyofdreams

> How come more men don't do this?
> 
> And has anyone called you out and notices that your hair is "fake"?  
> 
> I'm excited about this but still unsure and skeptical. I just don't want to get my hopes up that's all


 I've looked into all hairloss options and i think it's a pretty good option.   beats being bald which is absolutely not an option for me.   I went to a high end clinic locally where they custom fit you, give you hair cut and everything.  Both owners(male and female had one on.  I was very impressed with how real they look.   though the one flaw i saw was the hairline doesn't look 100 percent real when you pull hair back up close.   My plan is a hair transplant for hairline to mid scalp and if needed a hair system for back   i think that would be 100 undetectable.   Also another option to consider is Scalp Micro pigmentation if  you can pull off a very short hair cut .

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## Candide

Hey BBTM

I am about your age and have been wearing a system for a few years, so I can give you a second perspective.  I think most of us younger guys are in this to increase our chances with the opposite sex (or the same sex in some cases).

My lace units are very comfortable and breathable - most of the time I honestly forget I am wearing it once it's on.  It definitely won't "fall off".  As you'll see as soon as you try one, that is completely impossible.  It is just a Hollywood gag.  I mostly change my piece every week (I have 2 that I swap about).  It takes me about an hour a week.  That keeps my unit fresh and with a solid bond, and my scalp in good condition.

So far as I am aware (and you can tell) since I have been wearing a fine lace piece no one has ever spotted that I am wearing anything or said anything to embarrass me.  The few people I have told have been incredulous, and one of them is now also doing the same thing.  They are really subtle and undetectable.  If you want to see what one of these looks like from a non-commercial source I will share a pic of mine with you if you email me on keltinthedelta at yahoo dot com.

I haven't heard of anyone particularly good in Phoenix.  I wouldn't recommend Hair Club though.  Most of the people who I have come across who tried hair replacement and hated it seem to have gone through Hair Club.  I would recommend that you try to get your pieces on-line and get an ordinary hair salon to cut them in (ie match them to your fringe of natural hair) for you.  You'll save a fortune and get a better quality piece. There is a guy who posts as Gaminggolfer / Chefmclifter (not on this forum, but you can easily track him down on Google) who is based in Scottsdale and wears a very nice-looking hairpiece.  You could ask him who he uses to do his cuts.

Alternatively there are salons where you can get pieces bought on-line cut remotely - you send them a picture of your bald self and the look you're going for, and they do the cut in and send it to you ready to wear.  Let me know if you want details.

Hope that's helpful.

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## jimmy123

You have recieved some great advice here. The one thing I would stress to you if you live is a hot climate is a lace base, it is soft, light and most importantly breathable. Skin type base materials will trap all the heat and moisture under the hair sytem.

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## BalderbytheMinute

> Hey BBTM
> 
> I am about your age and have been wearing a system for a few years, so I can give you a second perspective.  I think most of us younger guys are in this to increase our chances with the opposite sex (or the same sex in some cases).
> 
> My lace units are very comfortable and breathable - most of the time I honestly forget I am wearing it once it's on.  It definitely won't "fall off".  As you'll see as soon as you try one, that is completely impossible.  It is just a Hollywood gag.  I mostly change my piece every week (I have 2 that I swap about).  It takes me about an hour a week.  That keeps my unit fresh and with a solid bond, and my scalp in good condition.
> 
> So far as I am aware (and you can tell) since I have been wearing a fine lace piece no one has ever spotted that I am wearing anything or said anything to embarrass me.  The few people I have told have been incredulous, and one of them is now also doing the same thing.  They are really subtle and undetectable.  If you want to see what one of these looks like from a non-commercial source I will share a pic of mine with you if you email me on keltinthedelta at yahoo dot com.
> 
> I haven't heard of anyone particularly good in Phoenix.  I wouldn't recommend Hair Club though.  Most of the people who I have come across who tried hair replacement and hated it seem to have gone through Hair Club.  I would recommend that you try to get your pieces on-line and get an ordinary hair salon to cut them in (ie match them to your fringe of natural hair) for you.  You'll save a fortune and get a better quality piece. There is a guy who posts as Gaminggolfer / Chefmclifter (not on this forum, but you can easily track him down on Google) who is based in Scottsdale and wears a very nice-looking hairpiece.  You could ask him who he uses to do his cuts.
> ...


 Thanks for the help again.  I had to travel and didn't get the chance to get this done yet but I'm still thinking about doing it in the next month or so.

So, if you buy the hair piece online, how do you go to a salon and explain to them what's going on without embarrassment?  Do you just go to a regular salon and tell them you are wearing a hairpiece?

And do you buy the human hair or synthetic hair pieces?  Also, when you place the hairpiece on your head, do you do it yourself at home or get a family member to help?  

Thanks again for the help with this!

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## BalderbytheMinute

Btw, another quick question, I'm thinking about ordering from hairdirect...but how do that match color?  Do I send them a sample of my hair?  I'm confused on that process...

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## Candide

Hi BBTM

_So, if you buy the hair piece online, how do you go to a salon and explain to them what's going on without embarrassment?  Do you just go to a regular salon and tell them you are wearing a hairpiece?_

If you go to a unisex hair salon (as opposed to a barber) they are very familiar with artificial hair, because women are doing it all the time.  It's not that embarrassing to me - they are like medics: they have seen it all before.  I live in a big city, and I just go to a place well away from work and home, where I am not going to bump into anyone I know.  If you feel you would find it embarrassing, you could use a specialist hairpiece salon (more expensive though) or you could get it cut in remotely from a photo.  Hair Direct do that, and NorthWest Lace and Toplace can also arrange it.

_And do you buy the human hair or synthetic hair pieces?_ 

Always human.  The main reason is that with synthetic hair you can't bleach the knots, which markedly lessens the realism of the piece.
_
Also, when you place the hairpiece on your head, do you do it yourself at home or get a family member to help? _ 

I do it myself.  After a week or two it becomes second nature.  It is useful to have help making a template though.

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## Candide

Yes, definitely send them a little swatch of hair, it's the only reliable way.  It's even worth take a few samples from different parts of your head, because there are usually slight color differences.

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## BalderbytheMinute

Okay thanks for the help on this and your advice is appreciated.  I am receiving my first hair fitting kit today so we'll see how it goes.  If it doesn't look real, I'm definitely going to just give it up but it sure would be nice to have hair again for the ladies.  :Cool: 

Thanks again for your input on this.

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## Candide

No worries BBTM; good luck with the process.  I have a couple of tips that I could give you off-line, if you would care to drop me an email.  Address is keltinthedelta at yahoo dot com

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## Dfaru94

"How come more men don't do this?"

Honestly, I think it's because there's such a stigma around bald men wearing hair pieces. 

Men hear "wig" and it's automatically type-casted into those ridiculously bad, horrifically mis-matching toupees. I think a lot of guys simply _don't know_ that you can get these integrated hair systems that - 
A) you can wear 24/7 like it's your own hair you grew yourself, and B) looks pretty amazing. I personally know a guy who wears one, looks pretty good (although once you know it's there, you can kinda see the hairline).

Because (although I'm currently Norwood 2 and on Finasteride) I'm likely to go full N7 looking at my family history, I think this is probably the most realistic option for me in the long-term. I want to wait until I have a more secure job down to where I can afford it (and, hoping with futility, that something more effective might come along to save my own hair) before coming off Finasteride. I like the idea of potentially transplanting-in a thick/low hairline of my own that I can grow and then blending-in the system behind it for the most natural-looking results, I'm sure that's possible?

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## BalderbytheMinute

Hey guys, so I've been regrowing my hair out for the past 3-4 weeks and I did not realize until tonight that the lower back area of my hair isn't growing in evenly.  I've put a picture of it below.

It's almost as if I'm thinning at the bottom on the back of my head near the neck region. Any ideas if this is normal for the hair to grow unevenly like this?  It's been like 8-10 years since I've grown my hair this long and I'm getting ready to get my new hair system in the next week.  I really hope it grows in properly on the back of my head near the bottom.  I've put a pic below...what do you guys think?

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## Candide

You probably are experiencing a bit of thinning there too, but it doesn't look bad or obvious, and I doubt anyone but you would even notice it.  You can get a barber to even up the line if you want.  It won't affect your hair system.

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## BalderbytheMinute

> You probably are experiencing a bit of thinning there too, but it doesn't look bad or obvious, and I doubt anyone but you would even notice it.  You can get a barber to even up the line if you want.  It won't affect your hair system.


 Thanks for the help but I think my main concern is that in the next 10-20 years, will it get worse and worse in the back?  If so, then I will have to go back to shaving my head down just like I do now and get rid of the hair system which would be very disappointing to say the least.  Do you think its possible that I could lose the hair on the back of my head?  how common is this?

Thanks again for the help with this.

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## Candide

Anecdotally I don't think that is common at all for guys with Male Pattern Baldness.  Maybe you should get a trichologist to look at it though, in case it is one of the rarer types of balding.  

Honestly, I would advise you to look after the next 5 years and leave the remote future till later.  Who knows what will have happened or how you will feel about hair in 10 years?

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## BalderbytheMinute

> Anecdotally I don't think that is common at all for guys with Male Pattern Baldness.  Maybe you should get a trichologist to look at it though, in case it is one of the rarer types of balding.  
> 
> Honestly, I would advise you to look after the next 5 years and leave the remote future till later.  Who knows what will have happened or how you will feel about hair in 10 years?


 I will definitely take this into consideration and thanks agian for the advice.  By the way, do you think a "full cap" hairpiece would be the best option for me?  I have seen videos on YouTube but is the cost much different than a partial top cap?  Any advice with this and do you think a full cap would be an option?

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## Candide

I certainly don't think the little bit of sparseness you currently have at the neckline justifies thinking about a full cap.  As I said before, no one but you would even pick up on that.  If it gets markedly worse a full cap would be an option, but there are additional challenges with full caps, particularly getting an effective bond at the nape of the neck, which is muscle rather than bone, and constantly changing shape as you move your head around.  Detectability to the touch is also a bigger issue for full caps.  Better to try to make a standard system work if you can.

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## BalderbytheMinute

> I certainly don't think the little bit of sparseness you currently have at the neckline justifies thinking about a full cap.  As I said before, no one but you would even pick up on that.  If it gets markedly worse a full cap would be an option, but there are additional challenges with full caps, particularly getting an effective bond at the nape of the neck, which is muscle rather than bone, and constantly changing shape as you move your head around.  Detectability to the touch is also a bigger issue for full caps.  Better to try to make a standard system work if you can.


 I talked to the lady who will be doing my first hair piece today and she was confident that I can do a partial piece like you suggested so that's some good news.  Looks like I should be getting it done in a week which I'm a bit nervous about.  I just hope it looks as real as the youtube videos show...  :Smile:

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## Candide

Good luck BBTM.  Let us know how it goes.

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## BalderbytheMinute

> Good luck BBTM.  Let us know how it goes.


 So I got my first hair piece today and overall, I think it went well.  :Smile:   I will post pics later like probably tomorrow or next day and show you guys.

The only thing I'm not happy with is:

1) The front lace shows. I like to style the hair upward so the lace is quite visible.  Maybe it is because she opted to tape it on instead of glue it on?  Or the lace is too light of a color?

Other than that, I think my sides still need to grow in a bit for better blending but the color is an exact match of my hair which I was surprised by.  Now I just have to see how long it will last before getting another hair piece...

Pictures coming tomorrow or next day... thanks again guys for your support and help during this process.  :Smile:

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## Inthemix

Congrats. Yes please post pictures as I'm considering a hair piece instead of surgery. Btw, how much did it cost?

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## BalderbytheMinute

> Congrats. Yes please post pictures as I'm considering a hair piece instead of surgery. Btw, how much did it cost?


 Thanks Inthemix and I wasn't happy with the way it looked today cuz I used tape on the front so I'm redoing it with glue in the front and will take pics with it looking that that cuz the tape was so reflective and it looked crappy. lol

By the way, the cost was $650 cuz I went through a local stylist here.  My plan is to get it from an online site cuz I've heard it is cheaper that way and then have my bro put on my hair piece for me.

Pictures coming soon...

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## BalderbytheMinute

Hey guys I posted pics in a new thread here:
https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/thread...dvice-you-have

Please let me know what you think with an honest opinion and I had some questions too for the experienced guys out here.

Thanks again for the help through this process!

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