Eyebrows & Lashes & Wigs - Oh My!

Merhaba benim Türkçe okuyucularıma!
(Hello to my Turkish Readers)


The purpose of this blog is to tell the truth about my battle with breast cancer.  I’m hoping that it will also be uplifting, optimistic & sometimes (God willing), funny.  However, whenever I find information that might be helpful to those who’ll find themselves in my shoes, I want to share that as well.  This is one of those posts.

Truthfully, I’m really nervous about Chemo. I’ve been reading about it, & have heard that some women tolerate it very well, & others don’t.  I intend to be one of those that tolerates it - & mocks it!

I knew I’d need to get a wig, but I never even thought about eyebrows & lashes!  This sent me on a quest – to shop (uh-oh; Matt’s nervous).  But, I found some cool stuff & websites that you may find useful, so read on! I’m going to start with wigs.

At first, I thought it would be really fun to go blonde.  Two problems, though, with that little thought.  You need to determine what colour blonde looks good with your skin tone.  I didn’t want to have to order a wig, only to find out that I look like Courtney Love on a good day, have to send it back & start over.  Aw, you know what – that was really wrong, I’m sorry; I take that back.  The only time I’ve ever seen that poor girl, she has looked like one hot mess.  It was really presumptuous of me to assume she HAS good days!  I feel awful (giggle).

The other problem is, I’m the Brunette Lucy. So, that idea was out the window.  I couldn’t go red, because, well, the real Lucy was a redhead.  Sadly, I’m just a cheap imitation. Sigh.  Enough with the silliness, & on to reporting!

I looked at a lot of wig sites & read a lot of reviews.  There are some really inexpensive websites out there.  A few of the least expensive sites are Paula Young, Beauty Trends & Best Wig Outlet.

I thought I wanted a human hair wig, but have since changed my mind.  I found an alternative, which to my way of thinking, is a FANTASTIC compromise!  I found that Best Wig Outlet  (this link will take you right there) offers a blend of human hair & synthetic.  I’m sure other sites sell it, but in my research, this was the only one.  However, I’m always open to your input, to provide the best information possible.  If you’ve found something better, different, whatever, send it to me at tamkells@gmail.com.  I’ll post it here.  Here’re my findings about the pros & cons of the three options:

Synthetic hair:

This is the least expensive option, with the widest variety of style choices.  There’re European & African American style wigs, short, medium & long.  And, trust me, these are NOT your grandmother’s wigs.  From ordering free color swatches, I’ve felt them, & although they don’t feel like human hair, they sure don’t feel like doll hair.  The cons are that they tend to wear out faster than their human hair counterparts.  By that I mean, they’ll frizz up & get tangled.  However, due to their cost, they’re easily (& inexpensively) replaced.  General cost is less than $100.00 (however, there’re tons for around $50.00), depending upon length.  You can also get some kick ass bargains in the “clearance” area of each web site.

Human hair:

Of course, the pros are that it’s real human hair & as such, feels like it.  It can also be curled, straightened & blow dried.  The cons are that if the original owner of the hair had problems with keeping a style, the wig will too.  Same goes for frizzing in humidity. Another HUGE con is the prohibitive price – they range from $500.00 on the cheap end to $1,500.00 plus on the other side.

My Choice -

Synthetic hair/human hair blend:

This is the one that I chose, because to me, it offers the best of both worlds.  It actually feels like 100% human hair, without the high price tag of the “real” thing.  And, with the addition of the synthetic fiber, the wig will hold its shape.  It can be curled or straightened, if you use the absolute lowest setting available. To avoid any catastrophes, I purchased a straight one & a curly one, each costing less than $75.00 each.  Of course, I bought really long ones, just for the heck of it & I haven’t ruled out purchasing more.  Hey, like Dolly Parton said, “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!”

In case you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned “Locks of Love”, it’s because they provide human hair wigs to children under the age of 18.  Since that ship has long since sailed for me, it wasn’t an option.  However, I’ve heard nothing but positive things about them!

On to eyebrows & lashes!

Honestly, I never even thought about losing my eyebrows & lashes.  Guess what else I’m going to lose – nose hair!  Who knew?  Of course I had the option of “drawing” eyebrows on.  My "adopted brother", Ed, told me that a woman at his office did that.  He called her Miss Perpetually Surprised, as they were always halfway up her forehead.  He wanted to see me do that, but only because he’s evil & wanted to point & laugh.  Laugh it up there, Skippy, but don’t be surprised if you wake up one morning without YOUR eyebrows – HA! Enough digressing & plotting, though.

I looked through the wig sites to see if they sold eyebrows as well.  The ones I saw, including Best Wig Outlet, didn’t.  However, there’s a site called, “Head Covers, Unlimited”, that has it all – wigs through eyebrows & on to anything else you could possibly need. HOWEVER, I found that their prices for wigs were about twice (& often times more) the cost of the websites I’ve mentioned.  And since I didn’t see a difference in quality, I wasn’t impressed with them along those lines. 

But, they offer excellent human hair eyebrows, as well as an award winning glue.  According to them, the glue will hold for several days – woo hoo!  Additionally, you can use the glue for false eyelashes, & it supposedly has the same staying power.  I don’t know if these claims are true or not, but, you know me! I’ll let you know what I think.

I purchased a pair, & they look really nice.  I haven’t tried them on – yet.  I was thinking of putting one on above my natural (& currently intact) brow; then, I’m going to take a picture. It should be pretty funny.  I’ll post that later.

The site also offers eyelashes, for about the same price as the ones you purchase at the drug store.  However, you don’t have to pay shipping & handling for those.  Plus, most of the false eyelashes I’ve seen are human hair, so I don’t see the upside in purchasing them on line.  I could be wrong, & if I am, I’ll let you know.

I think I’ve covered everything.  I’m going to take pictures of the two wigs & post them here shortly.  I saw something called “slideshow” for blog spot, & am looking into that.  Of course, I won’t be alone when I try to travel that path.  I have a feeling I’ll be hollering for Aubrie, Elyse or Dakota.

Smells like teen supervision!