What is hair replacement?

Wearing prosthetic hair to cover and replace part or all of your natural hair.

It's also known as Wigs or Hairpieces.

What does hair replacement do?

• Head hair

  Hides hairline or balding, allows flexibility

How long does hair replacement last?

The lifetime will vary depending on the type of hair used and the amount of care taken. Lifetime can range from a few months to a few years of regular use.

Are there other options?

Possible alternatives to hair replacement systems include hair colouring, hair extensions, and hair transplantation, depending on your specific circumstances and requirements. Hair loss can also be slowed or halted using treatments such as minoxidil or finasteride. Other options that can help include micropigmentation, tinted powders, and camouflage hairdressing.

How do I get hair replacement?

Hair replacement is a complex topic and seeking professional advice is recommended if you intend to use this approach on a regular basis. You may be able to find specialists in your area using a search engine.

How much will it cost?

Funding for hair replacement varies by region:

• in Scotland, guidance can be found on the NGICNS website.
• in the rest of the UK, you may wish to contact a NHS gender service to ask for advice.

If no funding is available in your region, and you believe an exception to the funding rules should be made in your case, the following documents give information about to apply for this:

• England: Interim Commissioning Policy: Individual funding requests
• Scotland: Adult Exceptional Aesthetic Referral Protocol
• Wales: Patient guide to Individual Patient Funding Requests (IPFR)
• Northern Ireland: Individual Funding Requests

If you decide to pay yourself, costs can vary greatly depending on the size, type, and quality of the piece, with a short length machine wefted cap of synthetic hair costing as little as £50, while a quality hand tied lace fronted human hair cap may cost more than £2000. There a complex range of products, with particular advantages and drawbacks, and researching your options is wise. You will need to factor in the need to periodically replace the wig, which may be as often as 3-6 months with synthetic hair, up to 3-4 years for a quality human hair product 1.

References

1. 1.
   Saed, Stephanie, Ibrahim, Omer and Bergfeld, Wilma F. (2016) “Hair camouflage: A comprehensive review.” International Journal of Women’s Dermatology, 2(4), pp. 122–127. Link

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