Wigs are cute, convenient, and incredibly versatile, so they’re super easy to fall in love with. However, they can also cause a great deal of damage if you don’t care for your air properly. Between all the friction from lace and combs, and pulling and tugging on your braids, wigs can be a huge burden on your hair health.
Your edges are in a special kind of danger because proper wig installation requires a whole bunch of glue, sewing, and melting right around the perimeter of your head.
Now this doesn’t mean wig wearing is off limits if you want to maintain healthy hair, but it does mean that you’ll need to take extra precaution so they won’t do you dirty!
Are your edges thinning or balding because of your lacefronts, headband, or even u-part wigs? Here are a few ways to get around it.
Pinpoint what’s causing the tension.
The main cause of breakage and thinning from wearing wigs obviously comes from tension. The even bigger, sometimes not-so-obvious question is: where is the tension coming from?
To be very honest, the answer is probably extremely obvious because the very thing breaking off your hair is probably also causing you a great deal of irritation, frustration, and even some discomfort or pain somewhere on your head.
Here a few things that could be causing the tension when you wear wigs:
- The combs or clips used to secure it.
- Elastic bands limiting blood flow.
- Rubbing and friction from lace causing thinning.
- Braids or twists are too tight or too loose
- If sewn down, the thread is sewn too tight.
- Tugging from brushing, combing, and other styling.
- Applying heat to leave out for u-part or v-part styles.
Of course, there can be a number of other causes that we didn’t mention here, but you get the general idea. Once you pay a little attention to how you wear your wigs, you’ll be able to pinpoint what’s causing the tension and then move forward with finding a solution.
Get crafty with how you wear your wigs.
At this point, there is only one thing we know for certain: something about how you wear your wigs is causing your edges to thin and break. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to stop wearing wigs altogether, but you do have to get crafty with how it lays on your edges.
That might sound difficult to figure out, but it’s genuinely not! Here a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing:
- Satin/silk cloth pieces. We know that satin and silk head covers really do a great job of protecting our hair while we sleep, so try cutting and gluing pieces of the same fabric inside of your wigs to further protect your edges.
- Wig grips. These adjustable headbands are supposed to be worn under your wig as a way to prevent slipping and sliding. This protects your edges by limiting friction from lace, combs, and any other part of the wig interior on your real hair.
- Comb and clip removal. Simply put, take out those hair combs and clips. They may make your wigs feel more secure, but you don’t actually need them at all.
Change up your wig wearing habits.
If you know you’re being reckless and careless with how you wear your wigs, simply stop. This sounds like common sense, but when we’re on the go, we often throw caution to the wind in the name of convenience and cuteness—that’s no longer going to cut it.
Yes, this means taking off your wig before bed if you feel it pulling; It means finding an alternative to glue if you can’t appropriately oil or wash it out of your hair when it’s time; and it definitely means refraining from wigs as a whole if you don’t want to put in effort.
Wigs are convenient, yes, but wearing them in a healthy way means that you will be putting in some work to maintain both the wig and your hair. So please think twice about this before you install your next wig.
Please, let your hair breathe.
Lastly, give wigs a break. I don’t care if this means washing, drying, and placing your hair under a bonnet for a week until you’re ready for your next style.
Your hair isn’t meant to be placed in braids, constantly under wig caps, and layered in crazy amounts of gel and glue for months at a time. Please, sis. Let your hair breathe!
