A wig wearers question

Don’t sew your wig onto your remaining hair! It will pull off it. It will especially do so if you are in water. The water will add extra weight to the wig and cause it to pull away from your scalp and your remaining hair and it will be painful too, dragging with it and damaging, even removing your remaining delicate hair.

Ideally hair whether it be human hair or synthetic hair needs to be protected from chlorine in swimming pools and salt in the ocean. The wig fibres will become tangled up. Remember you will not be able to comb through the wig when it is wet. Golden rule. Don’t comb through a wig until it is completely dry. The salt in the ocean which is coarse will impregnate the cap causing it to become itchy when it dries on your scalp. It will feel very uncomfortable indeed.

So what to do?

There are some very pretty swimming caps if you shop around. I used to have one with a flower on the side. It did look very chic. You could buy a swimming cap and customise the outside yourself. Sew on different fabrics, bows and such.

Remember the purpose of the cap is to prevent water not touching your hair but also your scalp. Do you really want chlorine or salt from the ocean going over your scalp endlessly. Salt is coarse. As a wig wearer you do not want any substance to come into contact with your scalp that could irritate it, even slightly.

If you really hate the idea of wearing a swimming cap then you could try wearing a cotton turban. There are lots to choose from on SW. What you need to do is tie it round firmly round your head. Then put a firm stretchy headband over it when you go into the water for extra security. It will stay firmly in place. Muslim and Orthodox Married Jewish ladies wear them when they are bathing publicly. If you wear a colourful cotton sleeping chemo cap to match your turban and costume it will look very chic and help to keep the turbon on.

A lot of people finding wearing a Wig Grip under headscarves gives greater security. Again, this is another option. You don’t want spare fabric floating around you as you swim. It should be firmly securely wrapped round the head. If water ski-ing you could wear a strong headband over the headscarve

After swimming with a head scarf or turbon. Immediately take it off. Rinse your hair under cold water and put on a clear dry head scarf or turbon again. Remember to rub in cream on your scalp to keep it well moisturized. It has just been exposed to salt, which is coarse, so you want to soften the scalp again.

The question to ask yourself is this. Would you wash your net curtain or a beautiful piece of lace in salt or chlorine? If the answer is no then the same rule should apply to synethetic wigs. Synthetic is a man-made fibre. It does not breathe like cotton or wool. It is hard to add moisture. Spraying conditioning oil/conditioner is about adding approriate moisure to the synthetic material. It can only do so much. It cannot totally prevent the synthetic hair from eventually drying out. The more you add moisture to a synthetic fibre the longer it will last, but it will not last as long as a natural fibre. However, as we know when too much heat and wear and tear occur to even the most healthy human hair it can become brittle and dry.

Most people would prefer to sun and surf with their heads uncovered. It looks cool and feels wonderful but it is severely deterimental to any hair whether it be human or sythetic. Any regular swimmer will tell you that.

I am sure if you co-ordinate your headscarves/turbons/swimming caps with your different swimming outfits you will get enormous joy from seeing how lovely you look! In the 1950’s it was fashionable for ladies to wear fancy headware with their swimming costumes and they did look stunning ! I am sure you will look stunning too on your holiday! Enjoy!

Hello fellow necessity wig wearers x iv been wearing a wig for the last 20 years having lost my hair to alopecia x I was 32 years old when it happened and very self conscious x I had lots of what I could afford nasty wigs back in the day x so when it came to exercise and sport I wore the wig and was very hot and uncomfortable x now days I have better quality breathable wigs x I don’t do the gym anymore but if I did would wear a turban so comfortable x when I go swimming with my grandchildren I don’t wear anything just go natural and they think nanny looks fabulous lol X it took me years to pluck up the courage to swim wig less I wish I’d had done it sooner cos now I think have a good look everyone I look fabulous x embrace your look wig or no wig x x love helen x x x

I’m currently struggling with this, we are going away this summer and I like to snorkel, swim, surf and explore. The problem I’m having is that I have too little hair to go without a wig, too much to use tape and most of the diving trips I’m looking at have lunch at a pretty little spot in between dives for a break and photo op so I don’t want to wear my wet, scraggly strands and sunburnt scalp. I’m wondering about sewing my wig into my remaining hair, but if anyone has any other ideas I’d be so happy to hear from them! I don’t want this to hold me back from having the best time.

I do triathlon and have recently lost all my hair, so not having to worry about my hair is a bit of an upside from that respect. I’ve always worn a Buff under my helmet anyway, and always wear a good swim cap (speedo or orca) but I’m always cold so have found that I can’t brave the pool without my cap, my head is just too chilly! For running I’ll wear a buff too. You can wear it like a bandana or turn it into a little hat.
I couldn’t bear the thought of needing to work out in a wig. When I exercise I’m completely focussed on working so attending to my hair would just be a no go!
I like to think I’m modelling my inner Jo Rowsell shand… I hope you find something that works well for you! Nic x

I always wear a cute, patterned bandana tied at the nape with a visor cap, whether I’m excercising outside or working out at the gym. It’s much cooler than wearing a wig, plus I don’t wear out my wigs as fast.