Wear a wig with confidence and style

Wearing a wig doesn't have to be a dirty little secret. Wigs can be stylish, shiny and worn with confidence.

If a wig looks right, the wearer won't see it as "a thing on my head," says Joelle, senior stylist at Avon Salon & Spa in New York. It'll just be "the hair on my head."

She adds, "Even I was surprised how much it can look like someone's own hair."

Donna Tuttleton, manager at Cape Wiggery in downtown Cape Girardeau, said even she's been surprised by some wigs that look like natural hair -- and she's been in the business for 30 years.

While some customers are uncertain about wearing a wig, this isn't the 1970s when everything was styled in a bouffant and looked like it was a wig, Tuttleton said.

They "have done so much improving and it's so close to human hair," she said, adding that the shop only sells synthetic wigs.

Wig stylists urge people seeking a wig to wear during chemotherapy treatment meet with their regular hair stylist before their treatments begin so they can discuss together the hair loss, getting a wig and the growing-back phase, and to make sure the hairdresser feels comfortable handling all the stages. The last thing a cancer patient needs to worry about is having a stylist who doesn't approach the situation with a sympathetic, kind and professional touch.

Kit Rogers, who founded Wigs Without Worry 10 years ago to teach hair stylists about wigs, says ideal wigs are an equal blend of natural and synthetic hair. The synthetic hair helps the wig keep its shape; the natural hair makes it look, well, natural.

No wig was to be worn in "out-of-the-box" condition since it can be cut to the wearer's own preferred look.

While you can't cut or color synthetic wigs, they can be worn in different styles. Some brands even hold curls set by hot rollers, but high heat and steam can be detrimental over an extended period. If a wig is cared for properly, it should last about a year, Tuttleton said.

The average price is about $80. You're not going to the salon or taking the time to style your hair so it doesn't take long for a wig to pay for itself, she said.

A wig is shampooed and conditioned just like any other head of hair, Joelle explains, just less often. Once a week is usually enough but for very special occasions, she says the wearer should do what she'd normally do: Go to the salon and get a wash and blow out.

With synthetic wigs, washing is necessary only every four to six weeks.

Features editor Laura Johnston contributed to this report.