Coping With Medically Related Hair Loss
Hair loss during chemotherapy can affect your self-esteem, your identity, and your self-confidence at a time when you need them most. That is why Joseph Paris Naturally offers natural-looking wigs and hair prostheses for patients in New York, New York.
Don’t Lose Your Hair to Chemo
Some people would suggest cutting your hair short as soon as you know you will start chemotherapy because wearing a wig would be easier with a shorter hairstyle. However, if you want to save your long hair, you might be interested in our yourHAIRx’s patented design.
yourHAIRx Medical Hair Prosthesis
Our patented design process involves harvesting a portion of your hair before you begin your chemotherapy treatment and incorporating this into the hairline of your hair prosthesis.
We believe that nothing looks more natural than your own hair. This method helps us create hair prostheses that perfectly blend with clients’ natural hair before they experience hair loss.
Removing the MHP Hair System
Here’s how you can safely remove your MHP hair system without damaging the lace or hair of your wig:
- If you use clips, release them first before you release any taped areas. Using the 99% alcohol and the Q-tip/sponge applicator, gently release the tape from your scalp from the back of the neck and sideburns before you release the hairline.
- Use a Q-tip/sponge applicator with 99% alcohol and gently swab and lift the lace of the hairline until the system is removed. Be careful not to stretch or pull to prevent stretching or rippling of the lace when removing.
- Once removed from the head using the same alcohol and a paper towel/sponge tip applicator, gently remove the double-sided tape from the foundation tape. Foundation tape can be changed once a month from the hair piece.
- Once you have removed all of the tapes, you can then place the wig on your head block.
- You must use the proper-sized head block that corresponds with your head measurements to avoid shrinking or stretching your wig.
- Pin the wig onto the block and use corsage pins only. The proper way to pin your wig is to place a pin every ½ inch apart all along the hairline. This way, your wig will stay in place, and the lace does not rip while being handled.
Cleaning Your MHP
It is important to clean a wig regularly to keep it looking natural for a long time. Here’s the proper way of maintaining your MHP:
Human Hair
The following method is solely for 100% human hair MHPs:
- Using a rinse sprayer like you might have in your shower or at your kitchen sink, rinse the hair from about an inch away from the knot in the direction of the hair toward the ends and in the same direction the hair falls. Do this with cold water and avoid getting the foundation of the wig or the knots wet. Human hair is porous, so it expands when it gets wet, which causes the knots to unravel and the hair to fall out more quickly.
- Pin the wig to a canvas wig form using corsage pins. If the wig has a lace foundation, pin the material every 1/2” around the base so that it will keep its shape while drying.
- Take 1/2” thick sections about 3” wide between your fingers, and apply shampoo to the hair, working from 1” above the knot and working the shampoo towards the ends of the hair. Do this until all the hair is shampooed. Only use a shampoo designed for color-treated hair and dilute it with water.
- Let the shampoo sit for no more than 60 seconds and repeat the rinse process. Take note to rinse out all the shampoo.
- Once the shampoo is rinsed out, blot the excess water away from the hair with a towel.
- Lightly wipe the inside of the base of the wig with a terrycloth towel and then again with a sponge or cloth soaked in 99% alcohol. The alcohol will draw out any excess water or shampoo that has reached the knots allowing them to dry quickly.
- Put the wig on your head while it is still wet, making sure that the hairline is the width of four fingers from the top of your eyebrows and that the temples are approximately three fingers’ width from the corner of your eyes. Then, slowly comb through the hair, starting at the ends and working toward the roots. Comb and style it as you normally would.
- These steps will ensure your wig will come out as you desire, without any surprises.
- To preserve the color of your wig, it is recommended not to shampoo your hair more than once a month.
Synthetic Hair
The cleaning process for a wig with synthetic hair is much simpler since it doesn’t absorb water like human hair. Just keep in mind to avoid using warm water on curly and wavy hair because it causes the hair to lose its curl. This is how you clean your synthetic hair MHPs:
- Before shampooing, gently brush through the hair using a wet brush, remembering to always start brushing from the ends and working up towards the root area.
- Dip the wig into a bowl of cold water mixed with a teaspoon of shampoo designed for color-treated hair. If you use a lot of hairsprays, add a teaspoon of ammonia to the shampoo to remove any buildup.
- Allow the piece to sit in shampoo for 60 seconds and then rinse with cool water. Once rinsed, the wig should be towel blotted to remove any excess water. With a spray bottle filled with 99% alcohol, spray the entire inside of the wig. It should be saturated with alcohol.
- To comb the hair, it is important to use a wide-toothed comb and gently begin combing at the ends of the wig and work up towards the roots until all the hair is completely combed through. Style as needed.
- We recommend that you apply 99% alcohol into the foundation of your wig weekly to maintain a clean, bacteria-free environment in your hair system.
- To prevent hair loss, it is recommended to purchase a knot sealer. It is applied in 3 separate applications. Apply the first coat of knot sealer onto the roots of the wig, let dry, and repeat two more times.
- Once dried, the wig can then be placed back on the scalp (Note: Make sure to use knot sealer in a well-ventilated area).