The Experience of Wearing Wigs

My experience of wearing wigs and Tape extensions started out when I was about 16 in my sophomore year of high school. Since I was seven years old, my mother had relaxed my hair and growing up I used to wish my hair was longer, but the longest it ever grew was to my collar bones.

All of middle school my hair was relaxed until I hit Eighth grade, I finally got my first pair of box braids and became attached. I loved the look, the feel of something swinging on my back as I walked, and the hair laying on my back as I sat down in my desk. I felt like that was my look, long hair not just braids, but long hair that shaped my round head into something slimmer. Fast forward and in Tenth grade I get my very first sew in, I was so excited, all i could hear from my mom was “I paid good money for this hair, you better not mess it up”. Sure, it was Store bought hair, and it was curly, at that time my natural hair was damaged from all the years of perming we’d done to it, it wouldn’t naturally curl up to match the hair.

Every night I’d wrap my edges in a silk scarf, and put rods in to keep the curls of the hair tight. I loved the fact that with weave I could achieve any style, I could be as versatile as I wanted and do whatever color or style I desired. At this time, I’d kept that curly hair in my whole sophomore year and went to the salon to get it washed every 2 weeks just as I would with my natural hair.

Following that, I went to a new stylist at the very beginning of my Junior year of high school, he would slay my hair. I had gotten enough money to order some straight hair that summer for my back to school look. He’d install it and I had a leave out; it was bone straight, and flat as ever. I’d do my edges every night before school in the morning and needless to say they were swimming.

That was the moment in my 16 years of living that I just knew what my ideal, signature look was, I felt like I was more appealing with my 20’ inch bundles, which definitely booted my self-esteem and ego, to the point where nobody not even my momma could tell me nothing. I felt like I was cute no matter what I put on, just because my hair was done, in pajamas, at work, just waking up, I felt cute no matter what. Unfortunately, I went to a natural hair stylist and she told me that my real hair was damaged underneath my weave.

She recommended that I tried wigs, it’d be less stress on my real hair but I'd absolutely have to take care of my edges. After I did the traditional straight hair sew in for back to school, I decided to try and switch it up with some color. I did red, and blonde and let's just say neither worked out too well, I ordered blonde from a company that had extremely terrible quality hair. I mean it shed so bad I couldn’t keep wearing it, and then the red it was a no go a well because I ordered it colored so it came out hot pink instead. Since second grade I'd wanted to have red hair, I ordered it already died and it was hot pink. So, onto my senior year of high school, I was tired of paying around three hundred dollars for hair, and another two hundred to get it made into a wig, customized, and installed.

I asked my sister to teach me how to make wigs which actually turned out to not be much help, she helped me start it by placing the frontal and that was it. I ordered a 24’ frontal, and two 26’ and 28’ inch bundles of Brazilian straight from a company named “Kendras Boutique” that I'd found online; it was great quality, maybe 9A hair, however by the middle of the school year the wig didn’t fit all the way on my head anymore.

Finally, I ordered the perfect 613 blonde hair for my 18th birthday, a 24inch frontal, a 26’ inch bundle and a 28’ inch bundle, I made it into a wig with no help at all. I plucked, and styled it with no help just faith and hope that it would come out looking decent. Surprisingly it did, it was really good hair but for the price, I expected it to be, it was body wave and I left the roots blonde, it was extremely bright but it went well with my skin tone. I made the awful mistake later on, in dying the blonde wig, I change my mind so much that at the time I wanted jet black but couldn't afford it. Now I make wigs all the time; for clients, for myself, and it definitely comes in handy when I need my hair done, I can just install a wig whenever because I have multiple.

I take my wigs off every 3 months and do a protective style like box braids or faux locs just to let my edges and real hair breathe, I’ve learned that in order to feel beautiful with weave, you have to take care of what’s underneath and now I'm taking a lot of care of my real hair moisturizing, and deep conditioning. I now have a side hustle and a protective style that I know I can count on, and whenever I really want to step out, I just throw on a wig.