Hi Paul
Sorry to hear about your problems, particularly the 15 grand on transplants. That's a sickening amount of money to lose. What happened with those - they simply didn't take?
Anyway, it sounds like you have a positive attitude. Let me see if I can help you with some of the detail.
1. what is a good company for this? is it more important to find a good manufacturer or find shop that would cut and attach the hair.
You have 2 or possibly 3 choices.
First, you can go to a hairpiece salon, which will take your measurements, order a hairpiece for you, fit it and probably maintain it for you. Prices vary wildly, but you can expect to pay around the 1,000 mark for the unit and maybe about 80 - 100 for maintenance. Most of these places push you towards a monthly regime - ie the piece is hard-bonded on and you keep it in place for a month a time, doing some maintenance on the front hairline yourself during the month. You go back every month, and they take the piece off, give you a haircut and a head scrub, and glue it back on again for another month. The best known / most notorious exponent of this method is Hair Club for Men, but there are many others, some national franchises and others local. The hairpieces have to be fairly heavy-duty to stay decent-looking for a whole month. Obviously if you go this route you want a salon near to you. Since I don't know where you are I can't make any suggestions.
Second, you can buy your own hairpieces on the internet. This is the favoured route for younger guys now, and it is what I do and what I would recommend. You can get very good units for around 200. There seem to be more decent quality vendors springing up every month. The ones I have found to be decent are Coolpiece and BA Hair Apparent. You have to make your own template, but it is not rocket-science. You also have to find a local barber to cut your piece in, or you can do that remotely on the internet too. With this method you have control over how often you take your piece off. The average is about every 7-10 days, although you could do it every day if you wanted. Because they don't have to last as long, the pieces can be finer quality.
The third possibility is a combination of the first 2 - you find an obliging local salon who will help you make a template to allow you to buy on the Web, and will then fit the piece, cut it in and generally show you the ropes. This is only a possibility if you can find such an obliging salon. Many places which sell their own pieces will not cut in internet-bought pieces, so you would need to ask around.
2. i was not able to verify this, but there are pieces that you can keep on for several days at a time and those that you remove and put on daily. what are the advantages and disadvantages of both?
Yes. The pieces are the same, it is just the methods of attachment that are different - ie you use less strong glue or tape if you want to take off every night. I know a few younger guys who take their pieces off every night, but it is more a thing for older guys whose wives know they wear. If you don't sleep in your piece it cuts down wear and tear on the piece and gives your head a break. The disadvantage is that your attachment is less robust - if you can peel it off every night so could your 4-year-old nephew! Most younger guys who are dating want a firm hold, and probably don't want to see themselves shaved to a horseshoe more than they have to.
3. do you guys like the wigs? does it really make you more confident?
This is a very subjective issue. I much prefer it to being bald for all the reasons you mentioned. My peer group have good heads of hair, whereas I was noticing a distinct waning in interest by girls as my hair was receding. Now I have my hair back I have the girls back; simple as that. So it is really worth it for me. I am less self-conscious, and I no doubt give off a more confident vibe. And I am simply much better looking with hair, as I think most white guys are.
On the other hand, of course the hair is not growing out of my head. My increased confidence depends on me keeping that a secret, or at least managing the information on a need-to-know basis. I wont deny that when you first get a piece you do worry that everyone will be able to tell, and that you will be made a laughing stock. But provided you do a decent job of transitioning that wont happen, and the paranoia eventually goes away. Every now and again I get a frisson of concern that someone has spotted my piece, and every so often I have to have an awkward conversation with someone (a doctor or whatever), but so far the experience has definitely been a positive one. I think more young guys would think more seriously about the possibility of wearing a hairpiece instead of shaving or a transplant if they knew how good they look.
I hope that was helpful. Feel free to keep asking questions until you get the info you need.
Noah
