UK1 said:
Real men do not wear wigs, fullstop.
UK1 said:
To be caught with a wig on, or even suspected as a wig wearer, would be mortifying..
Therefore, a "real man" would be mortified? Sounds like you're the one who is scared. To paraphrase the guys in Motley Crue, "We may wear wigs but we'll still kick your @ss!"
There is a big difference in the cliche of the bad toupee that flies off the head, and a natural looking unit that is attached well. It's not rocket science, while there have been some advances in materials in recent years there have been high quality systems around for many years. Not the "club" systems, who use cheap units that must be attached in their expensive salon using strong glues and worn for a month at time, and charged ridiculous prices.
When I started wearing, those who knew me obviously knew I'd done "something" but assumed it was transplants. The ones that I told what it was could not believe it, I got comments like "It looks just like it's growing from your scalp." I was over 40, about NW4-5. I was somewhat apprehensive about it. What I did was to buy a piece, and experiment with it by attaching on top of my existing hair. When I thought I had it looking good, I went out here and there in public to places where no one knew me, as sort of a "trial run." I never got a second glance or odd look from anyone, on the contrary I got some appreciative looks and comments from the opposite sex. This gave me considerable confidence to begin wearing full time.
I would not say that it is a solution for everyone, and there is definitely a learning curve if you DIY. If someone is obsessed about being "busted" and is after 100% perfection, it's probably not for you. But if you have a practical mindset, and some patience, most can have a good looking head of hair if they choose. Those with advanced hairloss, NW6-7, with thin side and back hair etc. will require more effort and some compromise in hair style. Many are now choosing to go with a "full cap" for this reason, to avoid the issues of matching system hair with real hair.
I do wear Toplace systems, after much research I decided to try them primarily because of the price and reported quality. I still visit the forum and post occasionally, my username is the same there - I am not a shill. Before finding them on the Internet, I'd been reading on a certain other hair forum about a certain other hair replacement company who claims to be the "best", "ultimate", etc. This was some years ago, and at that time it was the only forum that had "real" guys posting about their experiences, posting pics etc. The price for these systems was quite high, but to give some credit at least they were advocates of DIY attachments - unlike the "clubs" where on top of the high price for the systems, you must pay them for maintenance. Many of the guys had good results, many did not.
I've seen and read enough comparisons to know that Toplace is as good and in many cases better than the expensive salon. Many former salon users have switched to Toplace. I won't say that they're 100% perfect, the biggest problem with any of the companies is that the systems are manufactured in foreign factories and quality control is problematic. The waiting period can stretch out, you may get a system with color or other specs off, etc. BUT, these same problems were reported by the expensive salon wearers. I would be much more upset had I paid thousands of dollars for a couple of wigs, and had them come in wrong - and be expected to pay more money to get it right. I'm sure that there are other companies with reasonable prices and good customer service, personally I've been very satisfied with Toplace.
I just wanted to point out a few things, to hopefully clear up some of the misconceptions. To say that a system is obvious from a picture alone is a little naive, you really need to see them in real life. Even natural hair can look quite odd in pictures, due to camera flash or other lighting. Not to mention that I've seen numerous guys with real hair that looks like a wig. And as far as being "mortified" if discovered, I could care less. I know my hair looks good, no it's not perfect but it's much better than the alternative. That's the most important thing IMO, does it look good? Most folks could care less either even if they know it's not real. The kind of person who would ridicule you for choosing to improve your appearance is not anyone I give a hoot about anyway.
