Hair Loss In Women, 10 Reasons Why I Prefer Wigs Over Toppers, Tips For Preventing Traction Alopecia

Hi everyone, i'm michelle, welcome back to my channel this week. I thought we would do something a little bit different. Someone recently asked me if i wear toppers at all, so to answer that question, i thought i would create a video and let all of you know why i prefer wigs over toppers. I have a history of wearing toppers for about a decade and so i'll talk about my history of topper wearing the type of hair loss that caused for me, uh i'll. Give you 10 reasons for why i prefer wigs over toppers. At this point and i'll give you tips for how to prevent traction alopecia. So if you're interested in this content, please like comment subscribe and we'll get started. Okay, so first i wanted to mention just in case you're wondering this. Wig is drive by ellen villa and i did a full review on her earlier. It'S on my channel i'll post a link down below as well. So you can watch that if you're interested but uh she's a center mono part - and i did part her a little bit to the left - which you can do um when you get closer to the front hairline, you can part it a little bit. So this is definitely a favorite of mine um all right. So let's talk about toppers. I want to start by saying that i am not anti-toppers. This is not a video to bash toppers, it is simply kind of a cautionary tale, and i just want you to be informed. My one of my main goals with doing my videos is to empower you. I think so many of us feel that we have lost control over what's happening with our appearance, especially in regards to our hair when we suffer from hair loss and so regaining some of that power through knowledge. Um is something that can be very uplifting and helpful, and i know that i learned so much by watching different reviewers on youtube, but uh that's my goal. I want to empower you and i want to also demystify wigs and toppers. I think for people who are starting out with alternative hair, it can be so overwhelming, there's so much information, so many details to keep track of before you really understand what will work for you and, on top of all that, once you think you've got it all Figured out they change them. So that's a wonderful thing: wig and topper innovations just keep coming and they keep improving so much so that there are so many, ladies wearing toppers and wigs, who really don't need to who do it just for fun so or for because they think it's beautiful. So anyway, that's my goal, and so let's do that. Let me go ahead and give you as much information as i can about toppers in this short video, so we'll start with um my old toppers. Now, as you know, if you've been watching my videos uh, i love ponytails and i style almost any long wig that i can into a ponytail just to see how that will look, and that is very much a go-to look for me on a daily basis. So uh that's how it has been ever since i've worn alternative hair and i started by wearing toppers, i purchased my first hopper in 2007 and uh. It was it's a human hair topper. I have my toppers here. This is my first human hair topper. It'S a nice dark color because they colored this. For me when i purchased my new topper, and then i never wore this again, so it didn't have a chance to fade in the sun again like it had before. This is what the top looks like, as you can see no lace front just clips. There is a teeny, tiny section of mono parting there. You can see that, and i was very happy about that when i first received it thinking. That was good, but pretty much immediately. I always wish that i had a lace front, so this was my very first topper and i wore this for approximately three years. Human hair lasts longer, but there are plenty of pros and cons to human hair and that's the subject of another video but uh. This little topper served me very well for three years at first it was much longer didn't have bangs. I did eventually end up trimming. Bangs into this, because i became so frustrated with trying to blend my bio hair with this the front of this topper, which doesn't have a lace front um that uh i ended up just resorting to cutting bangs into it, and the salon where i purchased this topper Was horrified and said: what on earth are you doing cutting bangs into an expensive topper, but thankfully i'd cut them very long, so they were able to correct it. The other thing you can see over time, if you wear a human hair piece like this and you apply heat to it over and over and over again on a daily basis, pretty much. Eventually, this hair became fried and it wouldn't really hold a curl anymore and it just kind of was limp and flat, and so i knew it was time to replace it. So then, i purchased my new expensive human hair, topper um, and so i got this in 2010, approximately, i guess um here we go. This is the second one and i did not cut bangs into this one, as you can see again. They also colored this. When i got my third one, but the cap was a little bit better, you see a larger or, i should say the top, a larger monofilament section, still no lace front, and still of course, these clips all around and i never used the clips i removed the Clips in the front - because i was very mindful of wanting to protect any hair that i had left in the front so but this is what i wore for approximately the next three years. Actually, i think it was 2011 that i got this one okay and then it was time for a new one, and this was my third human hair topper. Now i cut the silk out of this one and have been using it sometimes underneath my monofilament on my wigs, but so this had a fairly large monofilament top. You can even see through there, but still no lace front and clips all around and of course, the base also is is quite a bit larger at the top of it. Because at this point um my alopecia had gotten worse and i had developed uh. Unfortunately, traction alopecia, and so we needed to move the clips uh further away from the areas where the traction alopecia was happening. So this uh, i was told, was a european hair topper. It was supposed to be a brunette, as you can see it lightened up. Quite a bit, so i think it was a blonde that they toned, possibly um and in addition to it, then being this color. It also wouldn't really create much volume. It was pretty flat. So i was not happy with this one after about a year and decided to give wigs a try. So after that i pretty much wore wigs exclusively until last summer. I discovered that jon renau had come out with a lace, front topper, and that was new to me and very exciting. And so i purchased a top smart and i also discovered the walker wig tape. And so i applied that topper with the walker wig tape and was really delighted with that discovery. Um, because it caused far less pulling on the clips. And i did wear that for a good amount of time. I even purchased the second one and and wore it as well, but then over time i felt that i wasn't getting very much coverage here on my temples and the ponytails were sometimes looking a little severe after the fibers weren't brand new, and so i switched back To wigs - and here we are, then i of course discovered some wigs that can easily also be worn in a ponytail, and that is pretty much uh what i've been doing lately. So that is my history with toppers um. Next, let's go ahead and talk about. I will give you a couple of pros for wearing toppers and then i'll give you 10 reasons why i prefer wigs over toppers all right. So let's talk about a few of the pros for wearing toppers. I do think that, if you're starting out on your alternative hair wearing journey and you're experiencing some hair loss and you're interested in having a little bit of help on top and in the front, but you still have some hair that you want to display. Toppers can be a good choice as long as it's done safely and we'll talk about tips for wearing toppers safely later in the video. I think that it's a good baby step in the direction of wearing alternative hair. I know that that's what i felt comfortable with, and i do think that toppers can be a little bit lighter a little bit cooler, possibly than a full wig. I also think that it can be less expensive if there are fewer fibers that are being used. It would make sense that a topper could be a little bit less expensive than a wig. It really depends on. You know what features you're paying for in a wig and the topper, and so i i wouldn't say that it's absolutely less expensive in all cases, but it could be so. Those are some pros to wearing toppers and i completely understand that, and i think it can look really wonderful on a lot of people. So i do want to talk about, though my opinion, which is that i really prefer wigs over toppers at this point, especially with some of the wigs that have come out. That give me all the options that i wanted from a topper. And so i hope you don't mind, but i have some notes here that i might consult uh. I did want to make sure that i go over all my thoughts to really kind of substantiate my opinion, because i understand that not everyone will agree with it. So i will count down to my number one reason and we'll start with number 10. So i would say: number 10 is when you're wearing a topper - and this has happened to me and the wind blows. What happens if it's a mild little wind, nothing might happen, but if we're dealing with some pretty strong wind gusts, i once had it happen, and i of course i hadn't cleaned my bio hair. You know maybe the day before, but that wind lifted my topper up. It stayed attached because it was clipped into my bio hair, but there was definitely a clear demarcation between what was the topper and what was my bio hair. You know and the texture is different and it was not a good look. I was with a good friend and um as i recall. She knew that i wore a topper, so i it's not that it caused me a lot of embarrassment, but i just thought: gosh, that's uh! That'S not such a good thing! If that happened at a more inopportune moment, that could have been quite embarrassing. So that's one issue with toppers: if you're going to wear them down, of course, if you're wearing it in a ponytail or an updo, then that wouldn't be a problem, but i would say that's reason: number 10. Why i prefer wigs over toppers because with a wig you get so much more coverage in the wind? You wouldn't see a separation so much between your bio hair and the wig reason number nine. There are very few extended lace, front, toppers and there are quite a few extended lace, front, wigs and if you've been watching my videos, you know that i'm a big fan of that um because it just it gives you such a nice amount of coverage all the Way down, you know to the ear tab and in some cases, even under the ear tab and just gives you that natural growth appearance, then all the way across the front there um there is one. I did one that i'm aware of human, not human hair. Sorry there is one synthetic topper and it is the crave the wave by raquel welsh, and that is they call it a temple to temple lace, front um, but it's basically an extended lace front. It comes the way i saw it comes from about here to about here. I don't actually have one but um. That is one option, but that's the only one i'm aware of, and so, if you're using toppers um to style them into a ponytail. That'S actually quite important um. Otherwise you have to really worry about how you're going to disguise anything you have going on over here. If you have thinning hair or you know a different color, a different texture, then you have to touch that up. So that would be my reason, number nine very few. I'M only aware of one extended lace fronts for toppers, whereas with wigs you have quite a few reason, number eight ear tabs. I actually didn't appreciate the importance of ear tabs until i had them, but when you're wearing a topper depending on the size, you often are trying to figure out where to place it. You know you, you have to make sure it's straight and that, of course, the position is right on the forehead. You don't have these handy little ear tabs that you just pull on, and it very quickly gives you a sense of whether your wig is on straight. You don't have that with a topper, no ear tabs reason number seven toppers do not always stay secure, those clips that that you saw and that all almost all toppers have um. You know you clip them into your bio hair. Those clips can break. I had that happen quite a few times and i'd have to replace the clips uh and you know they can become loose and then suddenly you've got a little bit of movement and i i really did feel compared to wigs that my toppers would move more unless You wear it in a ponytail and that helps keep it in place as well, but it's just a little less secure um. I also recently became aware of these clipless toppers um and they are called the the thin hair thick clipless toppers. I never tried one of those, so i can't speak to it. There are videos out there about those toppers and basically they use a wig grip, and then you have the topper and the topper has combs that you fasten under the wig grip and the back of the topper is secured. There'S an elastic that you then pull down to your nape, just like you would with a wig. So that's how you secure those clipless toppers that might be an option for some people. Absolutely. I could see that for me, i'm not i'm not tempted to give that a try, because i just feel like that's there's so much going on there. If you're going to be wearing, you know combs and an elastic and a wig grip. Why not just wear a wig? I because there are other benefits as well, and that by itself doesn't convince me. I think it would be difficult to style your hair with all that going on as well, so uh it's an option, but not so much for me. Um reason number six that i prefer wigs over toppers are is uh the weather. So we all know that um, you know synthetic heat friendly synthetic, but even human hair, um, wigs and toppers will have a very different texture compared to your hair. Usually it's much thicker much healthier. It can be wavier or straight, at least, if you're suffering from hair loss. Your texture will likely be very different from the texture of the wig. So that's fine if you're wearing a wig and it's completely covered that doesn't become obvious. But if you're wearing a topper and you're, showing a good amount of your bio hair. What will happen in the weather and the humidity and rain? Is your hair will frizz up or curl up and change texture and all of a sudden, you have two very different hair textures going on uh, and that is a bit of a giveaway and uh. It used to make me quite uncomfortable and i made sure that on rainy days i wore ponytails to avoid that from becoming apparent the difference in the textures there. So that was reason number six. Let'S go to reason: number five uh difficulty: blending bio hair. Yes, so once i tried the jon renau top smart, this was less of an issue, but when you're wearing toppers that don't have lace fronts, it can be so frustrating to try to blend your hair with the topper uh. You know. The tools that are commonly used are root powder or the topic. Fibers i've never actually tried those uh. You have to do that. You can back comb, you can there's so much. You can do to try to make it blend, but i will tell you from personal experience. That was probably the most frustrating thing for me about wearing toppers is trying to blend my hairline with the topper and not have that just be so obvious it. It often was to the point where i almost would rather show my very thin bio hair then have an obvious topper and bio hair difference that just made it look like. I was trying to improve my appearance, but actually made it worse. So that is one of the main problems that i had with the toppers, in addition to blending the texture and the front hairline getting the color right for your bio hair to match, the topper was also very tricky uh i recall, and - and maybe the issue was Primarily that it were, these were human hair toppers, but i would go to the salon and they would color my bio hair to attempt to match the topper and very often it would be a bit of an improvement. But it still wasn't a perfect match and then the question was: should we color the topper to try to match the now newly colored bio hair? And it was just this constant back and forth and very very difficult to match the color of your bio hair to the topper. So i would highly recommend if you do wear a topper, that you try to get one that matches your bio hair as closely as possible, so that you're not constantly playing this game of trying to match the colors. Then uh reason number four is coverage. Of course, you have much more coverage with a wig than you do with a topper. Now they make different sizes and we'll talk about that in a little bit of toppers. But typically, not only do you have to worry about blending your bio hair in with the topper, wherever you don't have coverage in the front and on the sides, but very often toppers are constructed in such a way that you get quite a bit of coverage in The front and on the sides, but much less in the back, and so what can happen is uh from the back. When you look at it you, you know, the topper will kind of separate, and then you very clearly see the bio hair and unless you are very successful in you, know, blending your bio hair and matching the color trying to maybe straighten it and create a texture. That'S similar that causes creates a seamless blend, then that would maybe be okay, but i just found that that was very tricky and i i could never quite achieve a look where my bio hair looked so close to the topper that i didn't mind it being too Too thin not enough coverage in the back, so that was an absolutely an issue for me: okay, we're getting to the uh the bigger reasons. Um reason number three are those painful clips, so the toppers obviously have clips all around, and even though i had removed the clips right by my forehead, i was using clips usually four or five clips, all around the top there, and because i was styling my toppers Into a ponytail style quite a bit, what happens is as you pull the fibers and your bio hair back and fasten it. You know in your hair tie that creates quite a bit of pull on the front and sides and on the clips and of course the clips are attached to the bio hair so that pulls on your hair quite a bit and that pulling uh is painful. It it actually hurts quite a bit. You try to forget about it as you go about your day and you get used to it, but uh, of course, anytime you're experiencing pain. You should pay attention to it, because it does mean that damage could be happening. Is probably happening, so i would really recommend that, if you're ever experiencing pain with your toppers and the clips that you absolutely pay attention to it and not just ignore it, because wearing alternative hair should not involve pain of any kind, it should be comfortable. In fact, uh for the most part, the wigs that i'm wearing now i forget that i'm wearing so don't don't be uncomfortable. For that reason, it's just not necessary. Um then we're getting to the next one is traction alopecia. So this is one of the top reasons. Not the very most important reason, but why i prefer wigs over toppers now attraction alopecia is um a big topic and i'm going to try to abbreviate this here in the video, but traction alopecia is hair loss that is caused by repeated and prolonged pulling of the Hair, it can be caused with you know, by wearing extensions or braids or so in my case it was the toppers and the clips that were attached to my bio hair just and then styling it into a ponytail that caused that you know pulling of the hair On a daily basis and that's what caused my alopecia my attraction alopecia, so let me show you what that looks like. So, of course i have my androgenic alopecia, which i think you are aware of. If you've been watching my videos um. But here we have some traction alopecia to show you all right, so you can see, there's a spot here and there and there and it's on both sides, it's just everywhere where i used to attach clips here and there and there and in the back as well. I believe so that is traction alopecia and it uh in my case it's permanent uh. I didn't do anything about it in time to reverse it. I haven't even tried to tell you the truth, because i have so much hair loss already that i've resigned myself to the fact that wigs are just going to be part of my life, and i don't mind it. In fact, i i think i really prefer myself in a wig. My hair definitely never looked as good as a wig can so uh. For me, it's a huge improvement um, but i do want to give you some tips now. I think this is very important for how to avoid traction alopecia, if you do just love toppers and you want to wear them so first, i would say make sure that that topper is the right size and in my case i started with a smaller topper and Then we just went bigger and bigger each time, as we knew that i needed more coverage so uh they say when you watch some videos with advice for topper wearing they'll say you know, make sure you attach the clips to healthy hair. Well, that's lovely advice. Theoretically, however, if you're suffering from hair loss, you have diffuse, you know hair loss throughout all over and i don't know that i have any healthy hair to attach a top or two. So maybe uh. There are some types of alopecia where you do have that, and then it makes sense, but for someone with androgenic alopecia with diffuse, uh hair loss throughout you just you're not going to have healthy hair um. There is a new topper that john renau came out with called the top coverage. I don't have one um, but i've seen reviews for it. Um there is a 12 inch and an 18 inch and it comes in straight or wavy and those are almost as large as a wig. Those tops are 11 inches wide by 11.5 inches long and they are lace front. So that is a really nice large sized topper um with that feature in the front that that's something, if i needed to that's something i would wear - and i think you know constantly toppers are getting better, so there could easily be something that's available that works for You just make sure it's the right size make sure it's not too small and try to have it attached in an area where you have the most hair and you can wear it without it. Pulling okay tip number two is limit. Those tight hairdos, those ponytails and those updos. I think it should be fine to wear that just every once in a while um for a special occasion or for a short period of time throughout the day, but to wear that all day every day. I'M convinced that that's what caused my traction alopecia, so try to limit the ponytails if you're wearing a topper, that's attached with clips. Okay, if you do decide to wear toppers in an updo in a ponytail, if you can use the lace front kind, use walker, wig tape on it and that will really help with any updos that you do not feeling as much pulling on the clips. Because then, a lot of the pulling is happening on that tape. That'S attached to just your forehead skin, and that way you avoid some of the pulling on your hair. So i would recommend using walker, wig tape with your updos. The next tip is rotate those clips and i was told to do that and did not heed that advice. So you know you have your clips attached to the topper and you can just remove them and change the position or use every other clip. Not every clip - and then you know a week later or a day later, switch to the other clips that you that you alternated um. That would be one way to avoid the constant pressure on one area or pulling on one area. If you do develop patches of hair loss like i did, and i knew it was happening, one thing you can do and i was given this advice and you could try the rogaine. You know the minoxidil um to try to regrow some hair. I don't know if anyone has had success with that with traction. Alopecia um, you know, leave us a comment below. If you think this is a wonderful solution, i never tried it. I'M not a fan of lotions and potions. I i think wigs are such a simple and wonderful solution that i never wanted to deal with. All of that. Lastly, you could see your dermatologist and they might give you either a steroid injection or a cream. I believe a topical of some sort to try to help in those areas. You could give that a try. So those are the tips i have about androgen about traction, alopecia um. The main thing would be prevention. Of course you know. Wear the right size. Try not to pull on it rotate the clips. Those would probably be the best options. So, having said that, my number one reason for preferring wigs over toppers is that i found something better. I found something that i prefer to toppers and it's something that allows me to wear the style into in a ponytail that is very natural. Looking gives me a lot of coverage and i'm going to go, get it and i'll be right back and we'll put it on together. Okay. So what i'm talking about? What i found are lower density, wigs with extended lace fronts. This is zara light by jon renau. I reviewed her previously. This is mesmerized by raquel, welsh, also reviewed this previously, i will leave links down below both of these are fantastic options for ponytails during the summer time, when you want to keep the fibers off your neck and be cool, and just as a practical thing as you're Working through you know around the house or in the yard i love wearing both of these in ponytails um, i'm going to try on the zara light and show you how i apply her zara light is low density. Mesmerized is medium density. Both work really well, as i said so, just to show you a little bit of the inside. I have my silicone tape that i applied there and i already had a little piece of walker tape there. They suggest replacing that each time - and i i don't always do that - sometimes i don't listen all right. So let me go ahead and put her on all right and then we're gon na find the right position. There got my ear tabs pull the nape down all right. I think that's good! We'Ll do just a little bit of finger combing. I was wearing her earlier, so i gave her a thorough finger combing this morning and just so you know i have trimmed zara light. A couple of times so this is a trim, zara light and let me go ahead and press that walker wig tape in place, so that stays okay. So then, all i have to do is gather the fibers and my bio hair, smooth everything down make sure my bio hair is up in there with those and then i have my hair tie and i try to do it on the low side that walker wig Tape is all i need to prevent this wig from sliding around and pulling backward, and there are no clips on this wig and i'm done it's as easy as that now i do have a little bit of bio hair peeking through here by the ears, and i Used some root powder uh to match the wig fibers a little better, and i also used a little bit of brow mascara to darken the little gray hairs that i have. So, let's go ahead and take a look at that from all sides. Here she is from the right and the back and the left and uh just so. You know as well. I'Ve been wearing this zara light for at least a couple of months: um, not every single day, but very often. So this is a well-loved zara light and truly, i feel like with these wig innovations with the extended lace front. That lace goes all the way to the bottom of the ear tub. So i get all of this coverage and when i wore the top smart by jon renau, i often felt that, and my husband would mention it as well - that uh the sides here would look a little thin and the color was wrong and um. I feel like i just get more coverage with this wig, so i have to say uh that for me this is probably going to be my ponytail look for the foreseeable future unless someone invents something even better, but i'm just completely happy with this solution. It'S so practical. I really feel that most people would never guess that this is a wig and because of that, i'm not tempted to wear any more toppers right now, but i hope that all this information is helpful. I hope that you find the solution. That is perfect, for you uh just you know, get as much information as you can. If you need to try those toppers or those wigs on your head, read the return policy first, so that if it doesn't work for you, you are able to return it. But i hope this has been helpful and informative and i'll look forward to seeing you next week. Bye