Do You Choose NOT to Wear Weaves, Wigs or Extensions?

[swimfan09]

Many years ago before my hair was relaxed, I wore wigs to help my hair grow back to health from excessive heat damage. They were not the most comfortable, but they were a solution for me. My hair was left alone and grew very well.

Some people live in very conservative places, so wearing of a wig while haveing a protective style can be a good thing.

I have never had a weave - I can't afford it and most of the people who put in weaves where I live do not do a good job and their clients end up losing hair. If I were wealthy, I probably still would not do a weave - I would rather see my own hair - for better or worse - and know what is going on with it.

My philosophy is that if it works for you great, be it wigs, weaves, BKT, natural or relaxed. My personal preference is to not do wigs or weaves or extensions at this point in my hair journey.

 

[Sianna]

I appreciate everyone's feedback and have enjoyed reading your responses.

For those of you who have discussed your particular use for weaves/wigs, I want you to know that I now understand that some women genuinely wear them to protect their hair and as a way to switch up their style.

This is not something I was aware of before joining the hair boards.

However, I want to also say that the reason I created this thread is because I wanted to hear from people who, like me, choose not to wear weaves, wigs or extensions, as well as their reasons for not doing so.

Personally, my experience with these things was not good, primarily because of my own ignorance, laziness and lack of knowledge of my own hair's capabilities. I guess I was just wondering if there were other's out there who have had a similar experience as myself and have therefor sworn off weaves.

 

[africanqueen456]

I like this thread..but my hair had been short damaged for most of life and I feel as though I had to wear extensions. I feel like this for people who had a decent length most of their lives(e.g. healthy shoulder length or neck length) but for my nl/el length..It was never happening...Im still dealing with the consequences of wearing braids so much...I still have to wear weave so my crown can retain some length
Honestly If I wud worn my hair for those year I could have been apl...Even though I didnt moisturize daily. I only blow dryed once in a while i dced weekly (got that tip from the salon)and I didnt do much to it even though I was sort of rough lol

 

[bimtheduck]

I don't think I could pull it off and most of the weaves/wigs I see look trashy to me but the ppl I see that wear them probably didn't pay that much for them. The nice looking weaves probably cost a bundle or you can't tell that its a weave. I can't afford a really expensive weave and I won't be caught dead in a ugly looking weave. Most of the half wigs I see on this forum look great and I wouldn't know they were wigs unless someone told me.

 

[levette]

As long as I am healthy, and my hair is not falling out, I plan to wear my real hair. I used to wear fake hair in the past and my hair never grew. Plus it was too expensive to keep buying. I feel so much better without wearing the fake stuff. Not knocking anyone who chooses to wear them though.

 

[BEAUTYU2U]

Me

Ok, so I have worn braid extensions. Maybe like.... ten times in my life. I've never worn wigs or weaves. I'm taking my braids down now as I type and I can't figure out for the life of me how women do it. It's itchy, hard to wash/condition, and I just love the feel of MY hair. More power to them!

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

Transitioning to natural has helped, Sianna. I've also been on the Waistlength Cocktail for 2 years, which has thickened my strands and regrown lost hair. I've been on a dozen or so growth aids - so no help there erplexed. But those are the top two that have aided me on my journey. Check out the the waistlength thread, you'll be surprised and delighted.

I don't really wear anything extra anymore either. I did the weave thing for YEARS though. I never really did the fake nails or anything else, just the weave. Now that I've given that up, I'm pretty much an all natural girl!

Oh, and this is OT, but I wanted to ask how you managed to deal with your alopecia? Were you able to get your hair to grow back? If so, how did you do it? Just curious.

 

[equestrian]

I feel like i'd give off the impression of "giving up" on my hair.

and how are you supposed to get under there to wash it?? i've always wondered how that works with weaves and washing hair.

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

And more than anything, this is one of the biggest turn-offs of wearing wigs and weaves FOR ME - seeing the abuse of them in real life (think ratchet). And yes, that goes with fashion and just about any thing you can imagine...

I think the difference on hair boards compared to real life....is that women really are using wigs,weaves or whatever as protective styles rather than crutches. In real life I definitely see people misusing/abusing fake hair. To each their own, I respect all healthy hair journeys- but for me half wigs are an excellent protective style. Nothing more, nothing less. I am not ashamed of my hair in the least- in fact I adore my healthy SL hair.

I so wish I could use it as protective styling - my retention would be fierce!!!

 

[Bublin]

I don't do fake hair either.

1. It is hot, it itches and there is no way i can wash my scalp properly. Besides how does it dry throughly without getting
mouldy under there? I applaud women that can deal with all that's going on underneath the weave.

2. When i have worn fake hair i feel like a
Fraud and people can't see the real me....like i want to tell every passing person
that i really do have my own hair.

3. To me its looks wrong; too shiney or texture is too uniformed.

4. Back to being a fraud - one day anyone that knows me would see me with short hair then the next day i would have hair down my back. Nah, i couldn't do that.

5. I can think of just 2 people in my whole entire extended family that wear weaves. It's just not done in my family - both my Mum and Dad's side.

 

[Ltown]

I have tried weave with braids and my hair itches and frizzy, maybe it the texture. I wish I could get away with wearing weave and not do my hair for a month. Never tried wigs I sweat too much and it would definately not work for me.

 

[HoneyA]

I took my last weave off mid 2006 and swore I would never wear any kind of fake hair again. I had the exact same attitude you had for years OP and I realised it was just silly when I had a beautiful head of my own hair that could grow if I took better care of it. My own hair looks so much better than any weave I ever wore. Since then I have saved a lot of money too.

 

[Computer Blue]

Have never worn any fake hair. Part of it is from my upbringing. My parents were pretty conservative and would not have been for that because I had a lot of hair growing up, so in their eyes, a weave/wig would have been unnecessary and a n-o, had I been interested.

I never got to the point to desire one because my hair is dense and I sweat in it. When I was young, I always wanted to wear my hair down, but after a couple of hours, it would get hot and I wanted it put up. I would imagine a weave or wig would drive me crazy, also not being able to get to my scalp like I need to. I need to feel some air on my scalp.

 

[MonPetite]

I'd have to say:

I don't like the idea of someone's hair sewn onto my head.

I don't like the idea of taking care of someone else's hair sewn on my head when I could simply take care of mine and achieve the same look in time.

My hair is thick and dense and my scalp NEEDS a warm water rinse everyday.

My hair grows quickly and weaves would loosen within 3 weeks.

The expense.

The upkeep.

The time.

I tried it once and suffice to say it simply wasn't for me. I applaud women who truly know how to "werk" a weave, however. It is a definite science!

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

I've sworn off fake hair too. Although I've never worn a wig or weave, when I was a child, I wore many braided styles with fake hair. I took a break in middle school and then wore braids all four years of high school, nonstop. The vast majority of my classmates didn't even know what my real hair looked like until graduation day.

Even though it did work out for me, especially considering how little I knew about hair back then, I don't plan on ever going back to fake hair.
There are times that I do yearn for the ease and carefree-ness that comes with braids. And when I'm too lazy to rinse out my DC but have somewhere to be, I do wish that I owned a nice wig. But at this point in my life, I'm so attached to my own hair that I'm just not comfortable wearing fake hair. I love the assurance that comes with knowing that everything I have on my body is real and mine. I love letting people run their fingers through my hair without worrying. I love not being scared of a track showing, or of my wig flying off. It's true that my hair is short and not very fancy. But it's MINES. It's the same reason why I don't wear contacts or get acrylic nails. I'm not knocking anyone who does that stuff, but I'm just saying my perspective.

Plus, I'm mad scared of weave. I have no idea how to get in there and give my scalp a good scrubbing, or how to deep condition my hair under the weave. And I've heard so many horror stories about bad weaves giving people scalp infections, tracks coming out and taking the scalp with them, vanishing edges, and weave with nit shells in it. I can't be having such things in my life.

 

[IDareT'sHair]

Wigs(i.e. "Fake Hair") has given me the opportunity to take the extra "pressure" off my already fragile/weak hair and allow me to tuck it away while it's in Intensive Care and condition and treat it. I am wearing a Full Wig (have never had a "Weave")

Anyway, I can pay special attention to those really weak areas and nurse them along during the workday under the wig and do not have to handle/manipulate my hair as much as I would if I were wearing my hair. i.e. combing before meetings, lunch, bathroom breaks.....

For Me, it has definitely been both a Growth Aid & a Protective Style.

Some day, hopefully, I may not need that extra added protection. *looks to the sky and prays* But it's good to know that it's there.

 

[Emz Forever]

For me, my reason for not wearing that stuff is simple: I miss my hair TOO MUCH when it's put away. I love being able to play with it and when it's in weaves and wigs that becomes harder. I do like to experiment with different styles though and that has seen me add a few pieces in, like a coupla individual tracks here and there back in the day. I tried a full head weave once, and I lasted only a week before I got frantic and got SO to help me cut it out. Funnily enough, I am in braids at the moment and it is driving me insane. I dont even know why I bothered. I put them in to help me go further in my stretch but I have decided to remove them next week. I think I should just follow my natural inclination, which is to NOT have fake hair... although I do want to try a believable looking wig so that when I'm really busy, I can deep condition while I'm at work running errands, etc.

 

[frizzy]

Fake hair is just not my cup of tea. I have worn and will wear again, braids done by me with added hair.

I've contemplated a half-wig before, but nah, it's not me.

If I ever developed an issue where I ended up bald, I would wear a full wig before I wore a weave.

 

[thehairmaverick]

oh thank God someone feels the same...I truly just don't wanna wear fake hair. Its nothing against women that do. I wore sew-ins for 2 years straight and I never wanna go back. I retained a lot of length, but I just can't go back to them for some reason. I love braids and twist extensions, but my hair is entirely to frizzy to keep them in for long periods of time. I just really like my own hair by itself...

 

[Misshairdiva]

Before discovering LHCF I used to wear weaves because I didn't think I could ever grow my hair past shoulder length. Now that I have grown my hair in two years from sl to bsl, I would not even LOOK in the direction of weaves! I LOOOOVE to show my hair because it took so long to figure out how to grow it!

 

[brucebettye]

Before taking good care of my hair I would rock braids and half wigs because I did not really care about my hair and I could cut if off and it would grow back fast and I continued that cycle over and over again. Now I want to see how long I can grow my hair out and I don't wear weaves or braids or wigs, but I may in the future. I do however wear my phony afro puff. I see nothing wrong with wearing fake hair the problem is when you don't care about your hair underneath the fake stuff and abuse it.