I found out a long time ago how cruel the internet can be. Such is life for someone who\u2019s been a very online writer for decades. But I received an especially stinging reminder about a year and a half ago when I posted a video about cutting off and donating a foot of my hair. The consensus among a pretty ample chunk of the commenters\u2014and I\u2019m paraphrasing: \u201cCute bob, but you\u2019re going bald.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hair has been thinning for most of my forties (as of writing this, I\u2019m creeping up on 47), and I chalked it up to\u2026 well\u2026 my forties. I thought that was just a thing that happens, especially if perimenopause kicks in. And it can be\u2014but the thinning just kept getting more apparent. Then, last January, after months of serious symptoms I thought were unrelated to my hair loss, I was diagnosed with lupus. Not only is lupus known to cause hair loss in some patients, but one of the medications I was prescribed to manage it\u2014an oral form of chemotherapy\u2014definitely wasn\u2019t helping me hold on to what I\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n
Initially, I was in denial about just how noticeable it was, even blowing it off as a sales pitch when a dermatologist brought up a hair-loss supplement unsolicitedly. But I couldn\u2019t ignore just how visible my scalp was starting to become at my hairline, the contrast between my dark brown hair and pale skin seemingly emphasizing the thinning. From certain angles, it was like peering into a sparse forest in the middle of winter. And then I happened to see a video that showed the top of my head, and the extra-wide part and patchiness from obvious hair loss stopped me in my tracks.<\/p>\n
I am, of course, exploring my options for attempting to regrow my hair and stop losing so much of what I have. For example, I\u2019m a couple of months into taking prescription oral minoxidil in the form of apple-flavored gummies from Hers. But it can take a while to see results from minoxidil (some people wait as long as six months to see signs of regrowth), so I\u2019m left trying to find ways to feel more confident with a fraction of what used to be ample. (When I tell you my long, thick hair was my entire personality when I was a child, I\u2019m not exaggerating.)<\/p>\n A look at my scalp pre-topper.<\/p>\n <\/span>Courtesy of author<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I got bangs! I vowed to become more of a hat person, adding a few dad caps and a Stetson to my wardrobe. Then, I ordered some inexpensive, pre-tied headscarves in hopes that I might look chic and not like I\u2019m wearing a half-assed Little Steven Halloween costume. But sometimes you just want to look like you have more hair, period. I didn\u2019t feel like a candidate for a full wig\u2014and as a theatre nerd, I already know I don\u2019t love wearing them\u2014so when the concept of a topper was brought to my attention, I immediately leaned in.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be so for real right now: A topper is, for all intents and purposes, a toupee. That\u2019s a very unglamorous way to put it, I know. Toupees are typically thought of as a solution for bald men, not women\u2014and not a particularly believable solution either. They\u2019ve been visual punchlines for as long as any of us can remember; if the mere mention of toupees made you think of Stan from The Golden Girls<\/em> or the grandfather from Christmas Vacation<\/em>, you\u2019re not alone. But a topper, aside from its somewhat similar name, is aimed at those of us with longer hairstyles, and unlike a toupee\u2019s typical adhesive, it clips on to the hair you already have.<\/p>\n \u201cA topper is ideal for anyone experiencing medium to advanced thinning,\u201d says Haven Whiteman, a hairstylist and extension specialist with Luxy Hair. The brand, best known for their clip-in and halo extensions, also makes human-hair Remy toppers in more than a dozen colors. \u201cUnlike clip-in wefts, toppers are designed to add coverage and density across the top of the head, sides, and crown\u2014areas where thinning is most noticeable.\u201d<\/p>\n Picking a color is taking a pretty pricey gamble\u2014a $200 one if you\u2019re lucky enough to catch them on sale. (Some companies offer to match you based on a photo, while others let you order a swatch for a few bucks.) Even though I kind of knew what to expect when I received a few toppers to try gratis because of my job, I was still taken aback by how they kind of look like disembodied scalps, with a firm, mesh base hiding under the hair. But as weird as that is, I had to appreciate how realistic they look; I was especially impressed by the quality of the feel and nuanced color. But I wasn\u2019t so sure it would look realistic on<\/em>.<\/p>\n Although you can wear it right out of the box, Whiteman says human-hair toppers can be customized just like your own hair. I turned to my stylist, Billy Hannam at Anushka Spa & Salon in Palm Beach, to help me figure out how to make these toppers look like I\u2019m\u2026 not wearing one. He\u2019s been helping me shape my existing hair to seem as not-scant as possible, so I trusted him to transform them into a natural-looking part of my shaggy, layered style. After comparing three toppers, we spent my appointment focused on a dark brown, 12-inch long style with pre-cut bangs by Irresistible Me, a brand that also uses human hair for their toppers, extensions, and wigs. The color was an outrageously perfect match, and the bangs would make it easier to blend into my existing cut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Hannam worked his magic to blend my natural hair and topper.<\/p>\n <\/span>Courtesy of author<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Hannam used the three clips on the underside of the piece to position it on top of my head, and as soon as he did, I was amazed by how completely decent it looked. It was immediately obvious that, with a little bit of expert cutting and shaping\u2014which he did while I was wearing it\u2014it was going to look like I simply had more hair. Hannam spent most of the appointment aligning it with my existing layers and using a little heat to get my texture and the topper\u2019s texture to match. And yes, you can use heat on human-hair toppers just like you would with your own hair.<\/p>\n \u201cHeat styling, always helps blend the hair once installed,\u201d Whiteman says. “If you wear your hair straight, straighten the strands of the topper just like you would your own hair, and the same thing goes if you typically wear waves or curls.\u201d<\/p>\n Toppers can hold styles for a surprisingly long time, especially with a little light-hold hairspray. That said, you may wonder if you\u2019ll need to wash your topper if it starts getting gunky. The short answer: Yes, but not often. \u201cOnly wash when absolutely necessary. Product buildup is usually the only reason to cleanse,\u201d Whiteman tells Allure<\/em>. \u201cDry shampoo should be your go-to for regular refreshes between washes.\u201d With that gentle care and proper storage\u2014you can keep it right in the box it comes in\u2014a topper worn daily can last a good six months before it starts looking kind of dingy.<\/p>\n Personally, I don\u2019t plan to wear it every single day, so it will last even longer, which is nice considering human hair toppers like those from Luxy and Irresistible Me go for several hundred dollars. (Many of the higher-quality synthetic options are just as pricy, but you might find that they\u2019re even more ready-to-wear if you have a specific style.) I work from home, and even when I do venture out, I might be in the mood for a hat or a scarf or just feeling OK about the way things look up there. But for special occasions? I\u2019m breaking this out of its cute little box every time. And it\u2019s super easy to put on, so I won\u2019t need to call in a professional every time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Here I am post-styling with my topper.<\/p>\n <\/span>Courtesy of author<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n It wasn\u2019t a particularly special occasion when I was hanging out with some theatre friends the evening after Hannam first installed my topper, but it definitely felt pretty special when several people, unaware of what they were looking at, told me how great my hair looked. \u201cThanks,\u201d I replied gleefully. \u201cIt\u2019s a toupee!\u201d<\/p>\n OK, so I need to work on accepting compliments about my topper. Step one: Don\u2019t call it a toupee. Step two: Maybe don\u2019t even mention I\u2019m wearing a topper. After all, it\u2019s doing exactly what I want it to do\u2014make it look like I naturally have more hair.<\/p>\n Read more about hair loss:<\/strong><\/p>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.allure.com\/story\/hair-topper-for-hair-loss”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/698393943be93834eec64780\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/topper-1.jpg”] I found out a long time ago how cruel the internet can be. Such is life for someone who\u2019s been a very online writer for decades. But I received an especially stinging reminder about a year and a half ago when I posted a video about cutting off and donating a foot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[52,226],"class_list":["post-1751270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-allure-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1751270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1751270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1751270\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1751270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1751270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1751270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Image](\"https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/698393c57dc6dc7d5c2a9be5\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/before%2520topper.jpg\")
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