Many women feel ashamed and embarrassed about their hair loss; making them reluctant to open up and be public about it, but, you might be surprised to learn that female hair loss is more common than you think. A staggering 80% of women will experience hair loss and approximately 60% of these women will wear a wig. Hair is personal and so is the loss. While there are dozens reasons why women lose their hair, like postpartum hair loss, hormonal imbalances such as PCOS, thyroid, medical induced hair loss such as chemotherapy, and autoimmune conditions like alopecia, what remains, is that hair loss weather male or female is completely out of our control and very little is medically understood about why hair loss happens.
By the end of the guide, my hope is that you feel comforted knowing that millions of other women are also experiencing hair loss and that I have inspired you to find ways to help normalize female hair loss and break some of the stigma commonly associated with it.
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My Hair Loss Story & Perspective
Hi, I'm Allison, and I am the founder of Encelia Hair. I lost 80% of my hair when I was eight months pregnant with my son and then four months postpartum, I lost everything, including my eyelashes and eyebrows. I want to to normalize conversations around the taboo topic of female hair loss and eliminate the shame associated with being a bald women who wears wigs or hairpieces. There is a lot of pressure for women to accept their hair loss. There is a lot of pressure within the hair loss community and outside our community to embrace our hair loss so I thought I would take a moment to share my perspective.
Please know, whether you wear a wig or not, that I believe it all is beautiful and it all continues to generate awareness and helps to remove any shame or embarrassment that women often feel because of their hair loss.
The reality is that some of us NEVER wear wigs. Some of us do BOTH (wear wigs and go bald). Some of us ALWAYS wear a wig. We all do it for different reasons. Some of us go bald because it has helped us embrace our true selves. Some of us choose to leave the wig behind because, honestly, wig life is pretty awful. And some of us will never go bald and that's okay. Some of us wear wigs because we are just so tired of always talking about our alopecia and we just want to live a normal life. Some of us will never go bald because we just feel more like ourselves when we have our hair (aka wig) on. This is where I sit within our beautiful community so I thought I would share my perspective.
To help, others understand my choice to wear a wig, please understand that I do not need the wig to live a normal life. I have and do go bald at home and occasionally in public. In other words, I am not dependent on the wig nor am I depressed about my hair loss. I, in fact, have embraced it. I am very transparent and open about being a bald woman. There is a common misunderstanding that women who wear wigs have not accepted their hair loss. Perhaps you are like me, and you simply don't feel the need to go bald and you love the way I feel with hair on. Why is that a bad thing? I feel more at ease with hair; after all, hair is something we are all born with. It's something that everyone has so why is it that those of us who don't have it feel guilty because we want it?
I am sharing my perspective to help bring awareness to the mounting pressure that women with hair loss feel on a daily basis. By talking openly about female hair loss and openly sharing the role that wigs and hairpieces play, we can break down the stigma surrounding this condition, normalize these conversations, and change perceptions of wigs. Hair loss does not define you and wearing a wig shouldn't make you feel shameful or any less beautiful. I see wigs as a tool, some need it and others don’t. Either way is right or wrong. My hope is that by raising awareness, it can and will help women understand that we are all doing the best that we can and that there is no right or wrong way to deal with your hair loss. Follow your heart, stay true to who you are and know that I am cheering for you on the sidelines. It is all beautiful, empowering, and incredibly uplifting!
Why Is Wearing A Wig A Secret or Taboo?
At first, wearing a wig was something I could not even bring myself to admit. The mere thought of it was overwhelming. Visions of the Golden Girls are the only thing that would pop into my head - aka the granny wig. In fact, the first time I walked into a wig shop, I quickly turned around, left, and said, nope - not today! I was overwhelmed and unsure of how to manage the wig. However, I quickly learned that the wigs of today are far more comfortable and natural-looking than the puffy, shiny bouffant wigs of the 1960s. But, with that said, the wigs of today still undoubtedly have a long way to go.
1960's | The Heyday Of Wigs & Hairpieces
Allow me to back to the 1960s, when wigs and hairpieces were all the rage! The era was defined by voluminous hair, which could only be achieved with wigs and falls, and featured iconic styles such as the bouffant and beehive. Today, these styles are still mirrored but toned down a lot in hair extensions and ponytail extensions. The US wig market boomed, expanding from $10 million to whooping $1 billion in just ten years. At this time, nearly half of American women owned a wig, because they were a quick and easy ways to change your hairstyle. Wigs and hairpieces were prominently displayed wigs on their main floors Macy's, Bloomingdales, and Selfridges. Can you imagine that? Wigs were in fashion, fun and coveted. Every women wanted one. Wearing a wig wasn’t a shameful or hidden taboo so why is it today and what happened? Well, for starters, the introduction of hair gel was made in the late 1960s and women could achieve the same look using a teasing comb, hairspray, and hair gel which caused the wig industry to plummet, marking the end of an iconic era. Below are some fun pictures that I found online.
Yet, Today More Women Wear Wigs Than Ever Before!
Here is the shocking park, as of 2023, the wig and hair extensions market has become a $7 billion industry, with wigs making up 75% of overall revenue! North America takes the lead, contributing more than 40% of the market share. However, despite the industry's remarkable growth, the industry undoubtedly faces it challenges. Many women with medical hair loss still feel ashamed about wearing wigs and the technology used to make wigs really has not evolved all that much from it’s 1960 heyday, which raises two questions: why have wigs not improved and why is there stigma around wearing wigs?
Why Is There Stigma Around Wearing Wigs?
By now, you know that female hair loss is more common than you ever imagined. However, unlike In the 1960s, a wig or hairpiece was viewed as an accessory - wigs were trendy, and celebrities talked openly about wearing hairpieces. Today, the use of extensions is widely accepted, but wearing a wig remains taboo. Female hair loss is still a topic that is openly discussed. Yet, almost every movie, tv show and fashion magazine uses wigs to achieve the looks that they desire. In fact, celebrity "wig makers" earn a fortune making wigs for stars, but unlike in the 1960s, today very few celebrities openly share that they are wearing wigs or hairpieces. It is time to change that narrative. If influential people spoke up about wearing wigs, it would help revolutionize how women feel about wearing them. Just like how Oprah is educating women about menopause, wearing wigs should be normalized because over 60% of us are wearing them! Women should be able to wear wigs without feeling ashamed or like they are hiding behind them. Embracing hair loss and wearing wigs should be as normal as putting on makeup. By starting this conversation, we can help future generations embrace their hair loss, eliminate the shame and will empower women to openly chose to wear a wig or not.
Why is It So Hard To Find A Beautifully Constructed Modern Wig?
Although, the alternative hair industry is booming, it has yet to enter the modern era. As a bald woman and as someone who manufactures wigs, I can provide a unique perspective on the situation. The majority of wigs today use the same cap designs, the same materials, and the same sewing techniques and methods that were used in the 1960s, if not, even earlier. I can't begin to explain to you how extremely frustrating it is to see the same wig designs that my great-grandmothers would have worn. The majority of women who wear wigs today openly express are actually miserable in them. Why is my wig itchy? How do get my wig to stay on? Why does my wig look fake? I recently made this point to a group of possible investors by purchasing a vintage 1960s Christian Dior wig on Ebay (yes, Christian Dior used to make wigs) and then showing them a brand new wig for a mass-market brand in the states. The wigs were EXACTLY the same!
It's important to note that, in the 1960s, wigs were considered accessories so they were made cheap so they could be priced low, which resulted in an industry today that is full of cheap and low-quality synthetic and human hair wigs. Manufacturers and wig brands are selling the wigs of yesterday more than ever! The industry is exploding so why should they change anything? They don’t realize that women only buying these wigs because they have to literally have no other options. They don’t wear wigs so they don’t realize how awful they are to wear.
As the founder of a wig company called Encelia Hair, I have made it my mission to invent & innovate from the lens of how women feel when they wear my wigs. I felt inspired to make wigs better for women—wigs that are so comfortable, secure, and natural-looking that the woman wearing them would forget she was wearing one. It has been incredibly challenging to design a beautiful, well-constructed wig cap and then find quality factories that would attach the hair to the cap, but with persistence, I am proud to share with you that Encelia Hair is the first wig brand to incorporate modern athletic designs and materials into a wig and combine that with high-quality hair and you have one amazing wig! Resulting in a wig that is truly flexible, stretchable, and seamless, offering women unparalleled comfort, realism, and security that they deserve! I believe that if the wigs of today were truly modern, comfortable, realistic, and secure, wearing wigs would become mainstream and this would help remove the shame that so many of us feel.
My Closing Thought
So, I will close this post with this thought. I am a mother, and like most moms, I want my kids to know that their mother did everything she could to make something positive out of a bad situation. If you are a women with hair loss, ask yourself: If your daughter had to wear a wig, what type of wig would you want her to wear, how would you want her to feel in it, and what beliefs would you want her to have about wearing it? I have often asked myself these questions along with many others. My hope is that I have provided you with some insight, that I have inspired you, and that you will take some action to help normalize female hair loss. Together, I believe we can make a difference, change the stigma around female hair loss, and maybe, just maybe, we can change, revive, and modernize a massive industry as well! At least, that is my dream.
Much love, Allison
