Let’s Talk About Artificial Hair.

Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH!

So, let’s talk about a topic that has been pretty popular for the last couple of years: hair. If you know me or you’ve read the blog before (i.e. this Hair Color/Guide post), you would know just how much I am addicted to hair. There’s something about it that I love about it, and I am notoriously known for switching it up. I’ve had almost every hairstyle and hair color you could possibly think of. In the recent years, many other people have been gaining this obsession with hair as well, it most likely started because of Kylie Jenner and her teal ombre hair back in 2014. Since then, people are at beauty supply stores more than ever, hairdressers are now making hair tutorials on YouTube, and hair is just as important as an accessory in fashion.

I am naturally a brunette crossing the line of black hair. My hair is very dark. To even dye it a lighter brown would include in using bleach. I’ve had success and horror stories with bleach, and in recent times, they’ve all been bad due to the black hair dye build up in my hair. If you know me, you’ve might’ve heard me complain about this all of 2017.

My current hair color is back to black because I am on the journey (again) of getting it back to health after messing with it and cutting it in the majority of 2017. My current hair status? It’s growing and everything is going well, but I do get tired and impatient of waiting for it to grow to at least have my front layers touch my shoulders. It’s torture to wait. Since then, I’ve been getting more and more interested in finding alternative ways to get some length on my hair while I wait. I religiously watch Tasha Leelyn on YouTube and she is currently going on a healthy hair journey as well, and she passes the time by putting human hair tape-in extensions on. While those cost about $300 to get and do, it just made me more interested in finding ways I could enjoy having the best of both worlds without actually damaging my own hair.

Recently, I went searching for a wig. Today, I received her.

Obviously, I have no idea how it’s going to look or if it’s even wearable, but it does not hurt to try. Seriously, I’ve thought about buying a wig for months, but I constantly told myself that I was going to look stupid with it and there’s always this stigma that women with artificial hair such as extensions, weaves, or wigs meant that they were ugly or fake.

Extensions seem like they’re more accepted into society because you’re just clipping (or taping) pieces of hair to your existing head of hair. Women would happily say that they have extensions in their hair, yet be too embarrassed to put a wig on their head and say the same thing. Why? Because wigs and weaves always meant to other people that you do not have hair to showcase on your own. That a woman needs to put artificial hair on because she doesn’t have natural hair, which ultimately brings her down from a 10 to a 5 if she doesn’t wear her real hair. What about those who actually wear wigs because they are chronically ill? What about those who develop diseases that result in hair loss? Women who wear wigs and artificial hair in that scenario aren’t constantly frowned upon for doing it, so why is the concept of artificial hair still associated with “being ugly” or “being fake”?

I will admit this; At first, even I was embarrassed to tell my mother and my partner know that I purchased this wig, despite knowing they were not going to judge me.

But why can’t women just wear what they want? In what harm are they bringing you that they are wearing fake hair on their heads? It’s it offending you or hurting you in any type of way? Wigs were never accepted into society until recently, and half the women who are wearing wigs on their head have an excessive amount of hair on their heads already. Wigs are more than ever in style because of celebrities choosing wigs to transform their hair without the long process of cutting and coloring it. Personally, this wig isn’t going to be on my head 24/7. This wig will be on the days that I want to have long hair. There will be days when I want to wear my short natural black hair. I sought out for a wig for that I am able to have both while my actual hair remains untouched, protected, and regains its health, and, newsflash: many women are.

We are in 2018, you guys. If you want to buy a wig just for the experience or because you are planning to rock it out in public, do not be afraid to do so. I hope to follow my own advice when it comes to wearing mine out in public myself, but hey – 2018 is the year of the fearless: so fuck what everyone else thinks.

-Liz. (: