CONSIDERING A MENS TOUPEE? THE PROS AND CONS OF HAIR PIECES
Introduction
Unfortunately, millions of men throughout the globe suffer from male pattern baldness. It’s a common hair loss condition that impacts millions around the world and more and more people start to notice the symptoms every day.
Hair loss isn’t relegated to older men. A lot of people assume that you don’t have to start worrying about hair loss until you reach a certain age. Unfortunately, this is a myth. According to published research, as many as 16% of young men aged 18 to 29 suffer from moderate to extensive hair loss. This research can be found in the Journal of Dermatologic Surgery.
If you are starting to notice hair loss, you are likely beginning to look at your options. One of them is wearing toupees.
There is a lot of misinformation about toupees and what they can do. They do come with numerous advantages. But, as with anything, they also have major drawbacks to consider. As a result, they might not be the best treatment to deal with hair loss for everyone.
In this article, you will learn what toupees are and how they can be effectively used to cover up resulting hair loss from hair loss conditions. You will also learn about some of the pros and cons of using toupees.
Lastly, you will learn about some of the science-based alternative treatment options that you can use to mitigate hair loss and even reverse it in some cases.
The Basics Of Toupees:
As mentioned previously, male pattern baldness isn’t uncommon. It’s a very common condition that affects over 50% of men by the time they hit 40 years of age.
The actual term “toupee” refers to the hairpiece that is intended to be worn to cover up your bald spots. When they are made and fit properly, they can convincingly cover up these areas. However, they can also be relatively costly to produce and they can be majorly inconvenient to wear daily.
If you are aiming for treatment options for your hair loss, it’s not something that a toupee will offer. It’s meant to cover up your resulting hair loss and it’s not intended nor effective at stopping it or preventing it. If that’s what you are after, you’ll want to opt for science-based medications including finasteride or minoxidil. This will yield results versus wearing a toupee which will do nothing but cover up the hair loss.
If you do have sustained hair loss that is noticeable, you could opt for hair transplant procedures to effectively restore some of the hair to the areas of your scalp where you’ve lost hair.
What is a toupee?
You’ve likely heard of a toupee before. What exactly is it? Well, it’s a small hairpiece that you use to cover up baldness on your scalp. It’s typically placed at the crown of the scalp which is the most common area where people with male pattern baldness experience hair loss.
A toupee is usually made out of synthetic hair. To stick, a skin-friendly adhesive is used. A quality-made toupee will seamlessly blend in with your natural hair and hair color to avoid detection. It can be difficult to distinguish if one is wearing a toupee when it’s properly made and fit. More recently the popularity of Man Weaves have grown, a type and method of toupees that is more suited to African American hair types, textures and styles
You will find plenty of public figures using toupees to cover up their hair loss. Some are more noticeable than others.
While similar, a toupee is different from a wig. It primarily differs in the size. A wig is traditionally an entire hair piece that is meant to cover the entire scalp. A wig also typically has tabs for fit adjustment. Whereas, a toupee isn’t meant to do that. Instead, it’s meant to fit looser and you use a smaller adhesive to have it stick in place.
Some Pros Of Using Toupees
– Successfully Covers Up Bald Areas
One of the main benefits associated with toupees is that they are effective at what they are intended to do. You wear a toupee to cover up bald spots and it works.
– Can Be Natural Looking
There is a misconception that a toupee is easily noticeable. The truth is, when properly made and fit, it’s not that noticeable. They can be made to look very natural and seamlessly blend in with your natural hair and hair color. They are usually cut and designed to match your hair which allows it to seamlessly blend in.
– Not Invasive
Some people don’t want to opt for more costly and more invasive methods for helping mask their hair loss. If you want to cover up the fact that you are balding and you don’t want to spend a fortune doing so, you can easily use a toupee to get similar results. A high-quality toupee can deliver you the appearance of having a full head of hair.
Getting Started
You will find before and after images being shared with customers purchasing all sorts of products. Any prescription products will require medical consultation. They will determine whether or not you are a candidate for the medication.
Some Cons Of Using Toupees
– They Can Be Expensive
One of the cons associated with toupees is the cost. While cheaper than surgery and other options, they can still be rather expensive. This is especially true if you are getting a high-quality and professional fitted toupee. You will generally find toupees to cost anywhere from $100 to a couple of thousand dollars. Typically, the higher quality of the toupee, the more you can expect to pay.
Because they aren’t being worn covering your entire head, they need to seamlessly blend in with your natural hair. Thus, they are not available off-the-shelf like you would typically find wigs being sold. They need to be expertly fitted and designed to match your hair and scalp.
You also have to worry about the maintenance costs associated with your toupee. It can cost a lot to maintain your toupee as you will need to clean and condition it. You will need to invest in hair care products to keep them looking good. This can end up increasing the cost of having a toupee in the long run.
– Inconvenience
You also have the inconvenience of having to wear one. You will need to worry about applying adhesive to the toupee and fitting it properly to your scalp before every event you plan on wearing it. This can get tedious.
– Appearance
There is also the con associated with the appearance of a toupee. While you will find some toupees can look indistinguishable from natural hair, you can find toupees that aren’t as convincing. Because of this, you could potentially have a toupee that is easy to spot. This means people will know you are wearing one.
– They Are Temporary Solutions
One of the biggest cons associated with relying on toupees has to do with them not solving any problem for good. They aren’t solving anything. They are merely temporary solutions to cover your existing and ongoing problems. When you get a toupee, you are doing nothing for your hair loss. Instead, you are only masking the symptoms. Unlike with medications or transplant alternatives, you will still be bald once the toupee is removed.
Alternatives For Treating Hair Loss
If you have started to notice that you are losing your hair, you can get good results from buying a toupee and wearing it on occasion. A toupee can be a good way to cover up your hair loss issues. It can even be a good way to make it look like you have a full and healthy head of hair.
Keep in mind, it’s not the only option you have. There are alternatives that you can choose from. There is medication you can take and there are surgical options including hair transplantation. Thus, if you are looking to slow down your hair loss or reverse it – you will want to opt for some alternatives.
There are a few prescription medications that can successfully treat male pattern baldness. Some of them work by blocking the hormone that triggers baldness and some of them stimulate hair to grow faster.
– Finasteride
One of the more common prescription medications is Finasteride. This particular medication works by effectively blocking DHT. DHT or dihydrotestosterone is the hormone that is responsible for damaging your hair follicles. Eventually, it damages them enough so you cannot create new hairs.
You can find more details in our guide on how the hormone is created and what kind of effects it can have on your hair. It’s a genetic condition. Therefore, if you have a history of it in your family, you are at an increased risk of it.
There has been a range of studies that have shown how effective it is for curbing male pattern baldness and its subsequent hair loss. They have also shown how effective it is at stimulating new hair growth.
For instance, this particular study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. This study had a group of more than 1,200 men given the medication. Those that received it experienced over a 15% increase in vertex scalp hair count throughout their 2 years of treatment.
There was a 10-year study conducted in Japan that showed that 99% of the men that were given the medication didn’t experience any more hair loss. As many as 91.5% of them started to show significant improvements in their hair health and growth.
This is a prescribed medication. Therefore, you would need to get a prescription from it from a medical provider. You can purchase it online once you do get your prescription.
– Minoxidil
This is another medication that you can use to treat any hair loss you are experiencing. This is not intended on blocking the hormone responsible for male pattern baldness. Instead, it’s designed to help stimulate the growth of your hair by forcing your hair follicles into their anagen or “growth” phase earlier.
There have been numerous studies that have shown that it is indeed effective at stimulating hair growth and at preventing hair loss. There was a study conducted that showed 84.3% of men that used it over 1 year ended up rating it as effective or moderately effective at helping boost their hair growth.
You can buy this medication online. It can be purchased by itself or with finasteride.
– Transplant Surgery
If you have a noticeable patch or a receding hairline, you could opt for hair transplant surgery. This particular procedure involves taking healthy hair follicles from the healthy parts of your scalp and transplanting them to your bald areas.
There are a couple of methods that can be used for it. Each method comes with its share of pros and cons. Also, the cost of each method varies too. You can find out more about getting a hair transplant in our comprehensive guide to hair transplantation as your solution for losing hair.
