Hair replacements are used to cover, disguise or conceal partial hair loss or baldness. One such hair replacement is the toupee. Toupee is a hair piece made of synthetic or natural hair. It is also sometimes used for theatrical purposes. Hair pieces are characteristically associated with male wearers although there are some women who choose to wear them to lengthen their existing hair or also to cover exposed scalp. Nowadays, there is a decline in the manufacture of toupees due in part to other methods of dealing with hair loss and also to the greater acceptance of baldness in the modern culture.

Proper care to toupee:

Caring for toupees is very important. Lavivid hair can help in caring toupees so as make their appearance barely and virtually indiscernible. Although even the best cared for toupees will need replacements on a regular basis because of wear and tear. Also as time goes by, the growing areas of baldness of the wearer can change the shade of the hair. The wearer will look awkward to have his natural hair color turns gray while the color of the toupee retains its original color.

Things to know:

Activities such as swimming and other water sports may cause irreversible damage to toupees. Chlorine and saltwater may cause toupees to wear out rather quickly. Soaps and shampoos can also damage the fibers of the toupees. It is highly recommended that people who wear toupees must own at least more than one unit. By having two units, they can have an alternative in times when the other one is being cleaned.

Why toupees are used?

Toupees and wigs are often used as interchangeable words but their history and purpose have been quite different. Wigs were originally used in ceremonies for such things as religion and other cultural events. They therefore have a long history. They were usually very obvious and may have been strikingly different in style to natural hair. Toupees on the other hand are specifically designed to try and disguise the fact that the wearer has a certain amount of hair loss. These are the methods used in this disguise. One of the most secure ways is to weave the hairs on the toupee with the remaining hairs of the person. This will not come loose but, as with other hair weave techniques, it can initially feel a little painful and it can put a strain on the existing hairs possibly making them more likely to be pulled out.

They include hair pieces that are designed to cover up small areas of hair loss and larger ones designed to cover the whole of the head. Wigs have been used by people to cover their baldness but they are often seen as the cheaper alternative. Toupee therefore have to merge with the person’s natural hair to make a single head of hair so that the natural and replaced hair cannot be distinguished. Indeed the big fear of wearers is that they might be identified as wearing a hair piece. There are therefore particular design problems and a great deal of thought that has gone into solving them.