fiinaly someone who is being honest abou toppers !

Thank you so much for this video! This is my 3rd attempt at helper hair, my first was nearly 10 years ago. Both previous times I gave up but I'm hoping not to give up this time. I recently purchased a HH topper from Lauren Ashtyn and it's beautiful but I struggle so much to blend it with my bio hair and they acted like it was effortless. You've helped validate what I am experiencing and I'm so appreciative. I've purchased 2 wigs but have yet to find "the one". I tend to run hot so it's going to take a miracle for me to deal with a wig during these Georgia summers. Anyway - thanks for your videos. They make a difference. They matter.

I got a topper a few days ago and already came to the conclusion that a wig would be much better for me! Thank you so much for taking the time to educate us! You are awesome! Just ordered my Cameron Lite by Jon Renau on Almondine color and hope to love it!

Thank you so much for your opinions and honesty. So helpful as I enter this journey! 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you!! You helped me feel good about floating the idea of both worlds. Excellent point, hair loss is systemic. My eyelashes, eyebrows and overall scalp volume have thinned as my balding increases. Wigs are definitely the final frontier. Lucky us, lots of choices!! The best wig for your beloved ponytail is a full lace. Our ladies have excellent installing videos. Watch their videos, easier than we think. As far wigs, I have never met one that didn’t need alterations trimming,,thinning and rooting to make her my own. Synthetic wigs hairstyles and especially the color features are a work of art. The styles hold up making them a great choice for special occasions and travel, Cons for full time wearing, shorter life and color and curl patterns may not match the original if the wearer needs a replacement. or color in another style. A consultant told me human “Remy” colors are consistent because the manufacturer expects clients may further customize with the salons to add highlights, lowlights and style.

Very informative and well done video! For many of the reasons you explain, I chose wigs from the start and I'm very happy with that.

Thank you so much! I’m on the verge of wearing toppers/wigs… and this certainly helps to decide what to wear in the future!!

Thank you for sharing this video with us. You are one remarkable lady who has educated many people with this video. You should feel very proud of yourself. Always take care.

I began wearing wigs a year ago. I’m so impressed by Jon Renau lite wigs. The ear tabs are wonderful, and they don’t feel like a hat. I just wish there were more styles, and they lasted longer. Thanks for all your info!

Amazing video! I had no clue toppers can be so complicated...I am just staring to look into wigs and toppers. No I know what I need, Zara light is so natural. Thank you for sharing an honest video about hair loss struggles and solutions!

Hi Michele! That was very thorough, and I can relate to every single point, or step along the way. In the interest of simplicity, I’ve also turned to wigs. Just want to point out here, for those interested in full coverage toppers, Jon Renaus Top Full, is the No-lace version of the new Top Coverage that you mentioned. Thank you for such in-depth information!

So helpful and honest. I really appreciate your candor and wealth of experience. Thanks!

I truly enjoyed your video.👏🏻🏅Thank you for sharing your experience! I have been nodding my head in agreenent with everything you said as well as your countdown reasons. I purchased a human hair topper about 6 years ago and let me tell you, never ever again. Just once was enough for me to say...heck no! 🚫 Not only did it give me a headache because of the clips pulling on my hair, it was a constant pain reclipping the topper due to it shifting throughout my day and looking bunched up in one particular side. Once I started wearing wigs, I never looked back. I love how good your ponytail looks! Great job as it looks super realistic! Blessings! 💗

So helpful! So many useful tips. I also like wigs better than toppers because of the back coverage a topper doesn't give. but one thing I can't tolerate is the nape & the heat it produces on a wig. I love that toppers give you that air conditioning on the lower part of your scalp haha, where a wig is sooo hot especially when you're past 50. So I have a really nice wig I recently purchased that I am in the process of cutting off the lower third & using it as a topper. Kind of like the Top Full you mentioned. This way I will have the coverage I want on top & back without the hot nape which makes me very hot. That way I will only have the clips on the very bottom of the wig for security. Wish me luck, I am watching many videos on how to do this process :)

You make those wigs look so good! I'm watching you on a huge screen, I just saw you put on a wig, and then it magically became part of you! Holy smokes! I see why you love your new wig options. That was some crazy voodoo magic! Also, thank you very much for your list of cons. Many of those things I've wondered about (texture, weather, wind), and some I have been experiencing. The clips have already been very irritating for me. I may try to hack my toppers and add an elastic headband so I can get some comfortable use out of them. Thank you. You probably saved me from some unnecessary pain and additional hairloss.

👏Excellent! Very informative! Thank you.

I just discovered your channel. I love your delivery and calming approach to what for many of us is devastating.

You are marvelous. So happy to find you

I forgot to share a styling trick that helps human hair last longer. Instead of a curling iron, wet the hair and roll it up on socks. I tethered mine with rubber bands. Wrap in a scarf and place in a heating pad on low. Go to bed and the next day beautiful curls. I practiced and it works!!! At the time a 22 inch wig I confiscated all my husbands socks. LOL!! When I told him I ordered a topper he asked if he’s going to lose his socks. LOL!! You can’t make this stuff up, right?

Hi Michelle, I’m new to your channel. Thank you for this video. You shared so much valuable information. I wear toppers but worry about damage caused by those clips. And the one wig I own is extremely itchy and uncomfortable. I’m relatively new to wearing hair and I’m learning as I go. Thank you for sharing this. ❤

Thank you for your advise very helpful 👍

There is the Milano top grip that can help. You clip the front part of the topper clips to the top grip. Toppers are great for the summer. I like to wear wigs in the winter.

Thank you for this video! I have hair, but also have chronic telogen effluvium. I have had CTE for over 30 years, and my bio hair needs a break. Toppers are a better fit for me, but my hair is so fragile, I know I would get traction Alopecia. I prefer wigs too. That said, I must have a weird shaped head because I am a petite average head circumference, but I struggle with fit around the ear tabs due to a super low hairline. I wear medium styles and try to wear them in ponytails. I am still trying to master this. I am hesitant to pay more than $200 for a synthetic piece, but I might have to bite the bullet to get the extended features. I appreciate all your reviews and tips!

Thats a lovely wig you are wearing looks very natural ...good point ..if you have hair loss there isn;t healthy hair well said

Thank you for sharing your experience

Hi Michelle, another pleasantly informative video..so appreciated. I recently got out a few old toppers that I had, thinking I could wear them for the summer here in Arizona. I do notice that taking them off with clips open even pulls some hair out, and I don’t have much! Your video has convinced me to try to customize some of my unworn wings. Wish I could find something like Zara light only not as long, maybe RW wavy day. really hard to find a low density mid-length wavy style in the color I want that’s in stock! Any suggestions appreciated. You look beautiful with and without your wigs and explain things really well. Look forward to more videos!

Very good video! Thank you so much!!!!

Wow, Michele. I thought I had all the info on all of this (wearing accessory hair since 2013) but you have really given me a lot of new ideas. Firstly, I also wear ponytails and think I may have caused my own hair thinning along the way from wearing my biohair pulled back too tight and too often. I still like to do that and have had success with Spotlight and Show Stopper (RW) and Sienna (JR). I think I will try Zara lite. What really impresses me is that you didn't even bother with a wig grip (which I always use). I had better invest in Walker Tape. I have toppers and they are problematic for all the reasons you state (Top Billing --has lace front --and Top Smart). I rarely wear them. Thank you!

Hi Michele, thanks for sharing your experiences with both toppers and wigs and your honesty regarding both. Zara Lite looks beautiful in your updo, very realistic. What would be a cheaper alternative for a good updo? I have seen some positive posts about Touch Ellen Wille🥰 thanks.💙

Michele, What a great advice tutorial! I was getting some traction spots and the dermatologist gave me multiple shots of steroid in each location and it grew back. Just a thought. Thank you so much for your thoughts and help.

Thank you for showing the damage clips can do! I’m convinced that wigs are the better option for me, too. Toppers are hard to match and blend. Also, I have a unique situation with significant hair loss at the nape, and I believe the loss is the result of a burning, bleaching episode a few years ago. Toppers aren’t great for that coverage. I have been using minoxidil, and I believe I am seeing some sparse regrowth.

Thank you for sharing your history with toppers. Your advice and tips are extremely helpful. I’ve never worn a topper, but when I first started wearing wigs I put a few clips in certain areas to keep it in place (right above the nape and above the temples) I couldn’t use them, they were very uncomfortable. Now I put combs there and what a difference. The wigs you wear are beautiful and very natural looking. I’m enjoying your videos.

Thank you so much for this helpful video, Michele. I have been considering toppers for a few years but aside from thinning hair due to an autoimmune and medication for such, I have a hard time raising my left arm and doing much with my hair like I used to. I always liked it up in a ponytail or in little clips. Both in messy styles. (I am an artist and like it "not so perfect"). But learning from your video how much movement/work wearing a topper would involve, I have resigned myself to continuing to wear wigs. Just a side note: now that I know Drive can be styled into a ponytail, I will invest in her. The one Rene of Paris wig that I have is Breezy Waves, and while she looks wiggy on me when she is left down, I have found her to look quite real (according to many compliments from friends and family) up in a messy ponytail. I have her in Smoky Rose - a warm color with roots that is obviously more bold - and I only have to put her up once and then take her off, and put her back on with the pony in place every time. Anyway, thank you for another informative video. I can now mark "toppers" off my list and put Drive on my list. That particular color is one of my favorites and she looks fabulous on you! Take care.

Clips on toppers definitely can be & are a problem…..I have spent all my money, trial & error….& will get a wig when I can afford one!

Thank you so much Michele, glad I just discovered you! We have A LOT in common. I'm also transitioning from 10 yrs. of HH toppers to synthetic wigs. My hair loss is genetic also but much more advanced than yours. I've never been able to comfortably use clips.Just some of my own tips to help anyone: I use hair tape in front and curved bobby pins on the sides and back as needed. They're easy to hide as long as the color matches your hair and you place them right. Takes just a bit of practice. They might help with securing wigs too...not sure. 91% rubbing alcohol easily removes tape and residue. I use both Milano and ThinHairThick topper grips. The THT ones have longer halo wires which I prefer. You can clip them to the topper or tape them which is what I do so they lay flatter. I have a bald spot right in front so taping is quite effective for me. I want to stop coloring my gray hair to match my brown toppers and am looking for low density, realistic (for a 60 year old) wigs. I will definitely check out the three you mentioned. I'm the same color and length as you and love ponytails and updos regularly, especially in the summer. That's been the main reason I've used toppers. I'm also really tired of the straight, flat look of HH toppers. I've never had one that could hold a curl for more than an hour! I love the waves and actual cuts of some wigs and would like some style options as long as they're realistic. All the best to everyone. Sherry

I'm blown away. That first wig you were wearing was the most realistic I have seen. Was that synthetic? Synthetic is usually so shiny!

Wow... This was really good information but it also confused me now 🙂 I was planning on buying a Raquel Welch top billing topper today but now you made me wonder if it is a good idea... It would be my first hair piece and I 'm afraid that a wig would feel like wearing a hat all the time but now I also see the advantages. Do you not need to fix a wig? (I mean with clips etc)? Do you always need to glue the lace front? (I would like to try to avoid sticking glue on my bio hair. Does a wig give less pressure and headache than a topper? Thank you all for the advice!

Thank you. You are adorable

My dermatologist told me that once you start the lotions and potions it takes a long time for it to start growing back and that it's a life-long commitment that you have to continue using it forever or it won't work anymore as soon as you stop using it

I've had my eye on zara lute for a while now! Ive been trying to find a sale but after watching I'm certain she's worth the price, mostly bc how great it looks in a pony! Like you, I'm a pony-tail girl and wirh most wigs/toppers it's difficult to achieve. Question, to conceal the lace front do you only use the scar tape? Do you use anything else?

Love your video! I've recently started wearing toppers. I also bought two wigs and both will not stay on. The nape is too far down on the back of my neck, it bunches up and ends up riding up in back and sides and slides up my head until it comes off!!! I tried wig caps and head bands to help hold the wigs on, they also slides up. How do you keep your wigs on?

Can you get the traction alopecia from wearing wigs and a wig grip? I have thick heavy bio hair, but it’s crazy frizzy and I’ve always hated it so I started wearing wigs. I put all my hair up underneath and use a wig grip. Although I only wear them, maybe 3 days a week but overtime I was noticing a raw and slight thinning spot on my temple above my forehead on each side I think where the wig grip stopped. I stopped wearing wigs for a year and it didn’t make a difference or change so now I don’t know if it was genetic or not since I’m almost 50. Please let me know what you think about that.

Great video...why did you cut the silk out of the earlier HH topper ...did that make it cooler?? Lay flatter?? Thanks !!

So far I prefer toppers, because I live in Florida and wigs feel miserably hot and itchy in our ever-worsening heat. Also, unless you have a hand-tied wig, wind blowing can reveal the wefts of a wig- not a good look! I have a strong hairline and can’t make lace fronts work for me. I cut bangs into my toppers, which is a very youthful look and disguises the front blending issue. I wear my hair up or in a ponytail 99% of the time, which helps to keep the topper secure. I clip a piece of ‘hair velcro’ ((from Amazon) across the topper, which adds more security, so it doesn’t pull too much on the clips. I’m a natural light ash blonde and find that many blonde shades blend with my hair nicely. I don’t feel the need to match my bio hair exactly. I do color my toppers some, by toning them to get a cooler shade, as well as adding lowlights. They come with a light rooting, which looks very natural. No one can tell I’m wearing alternative hair- even hairdressers and doctors! I’m retired so don’t wear my toppers every day, thankfully. I apply the clips in a slightly different spot each time to avoid traction alopecia. I have developed tougher skin where the clips go, so they no longer are uncomfortable. I’m thinking of getting a hand-tied wig to wear in winter when it’s cooler. I’m not wild about synthetic hair as it starts to look ratty before very long. My human hair toppers have lasted up to 5 years, which makes them a good value. I like my hair to look as natural as possible, and I haven’t found the synthetic blonde shades to look very natural. They’re almost always too brassy and shiny, and the rooting is way too dark and harsh imho. I’m considering a human hair wig, though the good ones are very expensive. I might get a synthetic wig to wear occasionally, if I can find a style/ color/ petite size that works for me. I love some top volume, which wigs can better provide than toppers, in general. I use various tricks to add top volume to toppers, like hanging them upside down after washing, and using a flat iron on the crown. I wish you’d share the names and manufacturers of the toppers you showed; I’m always on the lookout for great toppers! Thanks so much for your perspective! We hair loss sisters need as much information as possible to navigate the sometimes overwhelming world of hair helpers!❤

Thank you for your very informative videos! I am just starting to wear wigs. I have not attempted toppers. I have very fine slippery hair which has recently thinned likely due to stress, Covid, possibly medications and aging. Usually stress and Covid induced hair loss will grow back. Can the lace front cause chafing which will induce hair loss?

Your video is one of most useful I have seen, though my impression is that wig is much more recognizable than hair topper, am I wrong ?😊

Toppers are much better then wigs , my friend wore toppers and her hair is black so it's easy for her to blend with her hair it just like accessories just clip it on your own hair light weight does feel hot, she said its very secure and u don't feel hot in it especially in the summer, that being said, she said she tried wigs on never comfortable cause it's feels heavy, and makes her head itchy, and it does not breath well sticky on your head, it really feels like u have a heavy band around your head, so she would never wear a wig😢

Thanks for the video. How long do you keep your own hair? If you wear wigs all of the time is it easier to have short hair? Thanks

I’m interested to know if Zara lite was worn daily how long would it last? I love a nice wig but needing to replace them every two to three months is the pits especially so for these pricier styles. Thanks!

Hi Michele, thanks so much for your very helpful, informative video. I lost all of my hair during chemo almost 3 years ago and had 2 wigs which were past shoulder length, similar to my own length before I lost my hair. Now I’m on a continuous targeted therapy and my hair’s getting very thin and sparse so I was thinking of a topper. But after watching your video I’m going for a wig instead but now a shorter cropped one, similar to my hair length at the moment. I’ve kept my hair short since it grew back as I loved how easy it was to manage! So I wonder if you could advise me, do I need to wear anything under the wig beings as I still have some bio hair left? I tried one of my older wigs on today and found that they caused itching so have you any tips on how to avoid this? And is the walker tape sufficient to keep the wig secure? I used to wear the velvet headgrips when I was totally bald as my head was very slippery then, but now I do have some bio hair, albeit getting thinner by the day. Thanks in advance and you look amazing! 😊

The wig looks so natural, you wouldn't know it was a wig until I watched this video. Have you tried taking Pre-Natal vitamins for hair loss? I was losing chunks of hair and I remembered my friend telling me her doctor recommended Pre-Natal vitamins to her when she had the same issue. I tried it and in 4 months you can see the difference. My hair stopped falling out and it's fuller and healthier. Take it every day, it really works.

the wig that you are wearing at the start of the video. which one is that one please?

hello what is the name of the wig your wearing in this video? its very nice. thank you

Thank you very much for the info about toppers versus wigs. I will now go for a wig as my reason for looking into alternative hair is to make life easier and not more stressful. My only issue is with lace front wigs. My eye goes straight to the lace every time. Is there some way to further disguise that lace? it's so distracting for me.

What was your second topper called?

I really appreciate this post! However, I am new to all this & very OCD+...with the wig you put on last, why can you see the line from the lace? Is it supposed to be that much of a different color than your skin? I want to try a lace front, but the line is just completely obvious to me...would you fix that with makeup & doesn't that take away from it being quick & easy? Does it just depend on the brand? As my understanding, lace is the most realistic? Again, I do not mean to be 'that girl', but the best wigs & toppers are pretty expensive, so I'm trying to pick my 1st one smartly! I hope that you or someone will clarify this for me? Thank you

Does the walker wig tape go on the lace front? Doesn't it tear the lace when you pull it off to change it?

I’m looking for a low density, human hair full lace front wig. It seems they make some great lace fronts for synthetic wigs, but I’m having trouble finding it with human hair. I prefer human hair if it’s a good kind of human hair. I get frustrated how they put so much hair into a lot of wigs, even some human hair ones. I don’t want that. The lower the density the more believable they are. All the reasons you named about wearing toppers I’ve experienced. I still kind of like them, but think a low density wig can look like a topper but not have to deal with all the issues of wearing one.

Thank you very much for the video .. do they wigs fall off ?? Do you they stay intact ?

can you wear Drive in a ponytail?

So it doesn't slide around with your bio hair not clipped up before you put your wig on? BTW it really looks natural🤓

I think you could cut your bio hair into a short pixie. It'd be cute on you & give you a break from wigs let alone It'd be easier under a wig. 😊

Dear Michelle why is so important having a Lacefront? Thank you for your video ! 🙏

Minoxidil is what made my hair fall out! Not right away but about 6 months later. Sorry I used it at all.

After watching this I decided to get a wig instead of a topper 😸

I bought a human hair topper with no clips from thin hair thick and I can tell you..waste of money , couldn't get it to fit my head, contacted the company and they were not sympathetic, told me to do a couple of things to help the topper to fit my head but that didn't work, total waste of £600 UK and i never got to wear it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sigh, I cannot find a wig that fits properly, so they are not comfortable. I had hoped that a topper might be more comfortable.

Ladies I am fat, over 50 and in menopause! I burn up most all the time!!! What brand wig would be best? Anyone in menopause knows that your head sweats horribly!!!

when women show them i'm always like Girl that does NOT look reealistic.

😘🍵🍦

Thickhair thin as no clips for their toppers

Please please just put it on…it’s 11 minutes and 25 seconds in and you haven’t put any on 😢 got to go…good luck everyone ♥️

those clips are PAINFUL, clip into a topper grip instead of your hair