Top 5 Mistakes Women Make With Hair Toppers

So you’ve decided to finally make that move and buy your first hair topper? Buckle up, because I’m here to share some real-talk wisdom from my own escapades. Get ready to dodge the pitfalls as I spill the beans on the mistakes I’ve made, so you can rock that hair topper like the ultimate style maven!

1] Buying a hair topper that is too dense

Like most things in life, even in the world of hair toppers, greed is not a good thing. When choosing your topper, avoid going for excess volume or a bigger size than what you need. The logic being, no one is a better designer than nature. So go back and think about the time that you had a hair full of head, before the hair fall started. What was your ‘natural’ look? How thick was your hair then? Then buy a topper that mimics that look or a little lesser volume than that. As we age, we all lose hair and your natural look would be to have a little lesser hair than what you used to have in the past. A heavier, denser topper will look fake and people will immediately identify that you are wearing hair. So, remember, do not be greedy.  Choose a low or moderate density topper. So try to stick with a topper that covers your thinning/bald areas and gives you sufficient hair to style and play around with, but your hair should not overshadow your face or look like a separate entity floating on your head. It should seamlessly look like a part of you.

2] Wearing the hair topper too ahead on the forehead

A big mistake I often notice is people clipping their topper too ahead, making their forehead look smaller. Do this if you want people to immediately tell that you are wearing hair. Even if you don’t mind people knowing that you are wearing a topper, pulling forward your hair line just looks unnatural and dare I say, silly! It makes you look like a mannequin for a hair topper commercial. We may be tempted to do that because of our thinning or receding hairlines, but there are solutions to tackle that. To avoid this mistake, comb your hair as you like, then draw some strands of your hair on the forehead [ for the natural look] and then place the topper exactly where your hair line ends. Then comb the hair strands back over the topper and merge them.

To you it may seem like a difference of only a few millimeters, but that can make or break your entire look. This small change can take you from looking like a mannequin to a real human with an actual hairline.

3] Securing the topper too tightly

For all of us wearing toppers, one of our biggest nightmares would be to have the toppers fly off our heads when we are out in public, or anytime for that matter. And to ensure that this does not happen, we may pull the topper and secure it tightly, taking too much hair in the clips. This is painful, may even lead to headaches and can reduce the life of your topper. The correct way of securing the topper is to place it on the desired position and the secure it taking little hair into the clip. There should not be any pain.

4] Not changing the position of the clips

The clips in toppers do cause traction alopecia, but remember this can be avoided and also reversed. I learnt this after using my first topper. Within 6 months of using my first hair topper, I noticed hair thinning at the spot of one of the hair clips.  Then I would be careful while wearing the topper to make sure I kept changing the position of the clip. With the next topper I purchased, I chose a different shaped lace. This ensured that the clip was not placed at the same spot and my hair soon grew back on that area. Now I make it a point to change the position of the clips often so that one spot is not facing the pull of the clips too long. Also, since I wear my topper always, when I am at home, I loosen 2 of the 4 clips of the topper, or just wear a hair band to keep the topper in place. While stepping out of home, of course, I always clip in the topper securely with all 4 clips.

5] Forgetting to take care of your real hair

I’ve seen women who totally let go of their hair, once they start using a topper. And I have been guilty of this myself, especially in the early days of using a topper. I was in my honeymoon phase. But then it struck me, this can’t go on for long. I had to continue taking care of my hair, even if I had little of it left. C’mon women, it’s your hair after all. Continue to give it TLC. Yes, hair loss deeply impacts how we feel about ourselves and we may even ‘hate’ our hair and finally feel like our renewed selves once we have a topper. But take care of your own hair. Remember now you have two sets of hair to wash, condition and care for…your own and your topper. It’s just what it is.