Anyone got any tips for combining wig-wearing and skiing?
I have a ski trip planned soon and am wondering what to do regarding The Wig. If I don’t wear it when skiing and just cover my baldie head with an ordinary ski hat, then I’ll be stuck having to keep the hat on all day, even indoors at lunch etc. (I haven’t got to grips with scarves but perhaps I’m going to have to try.)
But how would the wig fare, both squashed under a ski hat and in the cold temperatures and snow? And will it stay put when (sadly not ‘if’) I fall over? I don’t really want to be a candidate for YouTube
I never wore my wig at all during my chemo, I was very comfortable wearing hats and buffs, which are really soft cotton headwear worn by walkers, hill climbers and probbly skiers. They can be worn in a variety of ways. They are available in walking shops in a variety of colours and patterns.
I’ve never been skiing. However I did some horseriding while having chemo. The wig got squashed a bit but recovered. however I actually think you might be morecomfortable and better insulated wearing say 2 layers of soft beanies/buffs under your helmet, then in the evenings make an appearance wearing your wig if it’s important to your image. it was for mine; one time during chemo we had a beach holiday with friends in the west country. During the day I wore scarves or a swim hat if in the sea. They all knew about my treatment. But some evenings I wanted to wear my wig in the restaurant just so I could feel half normal in front of strangers.
You definitely don’t want to wear your woolly hat in a crowded mountain restaurant, you’d explode!
Unfortunately I don’t have the same dilemma (I love skiing and love snowy mountains even more) and I haven’t bothered with a wig (been bald since August 2010). But just wanted to say when I go out, I wear a scarf and a hat. I simply make a triangle and tie the scarf at the back of my neck, and tuck in the tip. Then when I go from outside to inside, I take off the hat. You can tie a scarf pretty tightly so that it stays in place well, especially a thin silk scarf.
I know you say you haven’t got to grips with scarves but might be worth a try? After a lot of deliberation and various attempts to look ‘normal’, I’ve found this the best solution.
Have a fab time on the slopes, I’m so envious! xxx
An interesting dilemma, the buff Carolyn suggested is a good idea.
I didn’t go skiing while wearing a wig, but did go not too long after finishing rads before I had much hair. I wore a fleece headband, so the heat could escape out of the top of my head (it was very warm when we went). You could wear some kind of scarf or headband under your hat (or helmet! I would never ski now without a helmet these days!)
Good luck and enjoy your holidays, that was the first thing I asked when diagnosed with secondaries to the hip…Will I ski again? Unfortunately the answer is no! I am not jealous…much! :o)
I think the scarf/hat combo, or buff/hat combo sounds like it might be the way to go. I have a couple of cotton buffs but see that they do fleece buffs too - maybe that would be good.
And I think I’ll have another go at this scarf lark - see if I can come out looking ‘normal’ like Jane
Mountain warehouse do a lovely thick balaclava (not their silk one - the thicker one) I’m going skiing feb half term and I’m a but nervous as well (I’m not a wig wearer I just wear hats all the time). So I’m going to wear the balaclava with my helmet on top and hope for the best
Tarragon - just seen this thread pop up again and realised I gave the wrong impression because there is no way on earth I look ‘normal’, just that my attempts to do so resulted in a big shrug of shoulders and decision that at least with the scarf there was no attempt to hide it - I’m obviously abnormal at the moment!
Good conversation starter though, I’ve found! OH tried to persuade me to get a wig but I was just way too scared my toddler would pull it off in public and there would be a horrible GASP!! moment.
Nicky - sorry to hear you can’t ski. If I find myself in the same position, I shall go on a skiing holiday and sit in a cafe with a moutain view, a book and a hot chocolate.
I don’t ski but I Ice skate. Last year whilst having chemo I skated outside wearing a wig and a hat and it was fine! When I went inside for a coffee I would just take the hat off. But I always carried a mirror just to check it was in place or asked my friend.
I’m now skating inside and only wear my wig. The few times that I have fallen over the wig has stayed in placed!
When I’m skating it’s the only time I don’t think about the wig.
Hello Tarragon,
Since having cyberknife for skull mets, I have to wear a wig permanently (as the rads destroyed hair follicles on the right side of my head). Consequently, I did quite a bit of research about wigs, to find out the most natural and the most secure.
Anyway, I sought advice on the Alopecia Forum, and the consensus was that human hair lace wigs with a silk insert are the most natural looking, and the most secure. I now have three of these wigs (two full lace, and one full lace with a flesh coloured silk insert), and even when I’m looking really closely in the mirror, I can’t tell that I’m wearing a wig.
The hair in these wigs is knotted onto a lace, so that it gives an illusion of hair growing our of the scalp (if you have a silk insert put in it’s even more realistic). Also the wig is secured to the scalp with double sided tape, around the perimeter, so they don’t budge no matter what (in fact to get them off you have to spray what they call lace release onto the edge of the wig). They are also very convenient, because once on, you leave them on for several weeks at a time (you just wash, as you would wash your natural hair).
The other good thing is that they are probably a bit cheaper than other human hair wigs. My two full lace human hair wigs, were ready made (they are slightly stretchy so they fit most heads), and cost about £180.00 each. My other one is custom made, with a silk insert (sized to my exact head shape and colour requirements), and cost £350.00.
I am told that the only down side is that they don’t last for more than about six months - but the first one I bought I have had since Christmas 2010, and there is no sign of wear as yet.
PM me if you want details of where I got mine.
I have several fringes which attach to hat,scarf or buff with velcro. I buy two the same colour and have one as a fringe and the other on my neck thus creating the illusion of a full head of hair.
You could wear a scarf/buff with the fringes then put your hat on top.Works for me!
A full lace wig would mean that you have to shave your hairline to bond the wig to your scalp.
A better option might be for you to look for a glueless full lace wig whose stretch lace and tight-ish fit would keep it on without shaving and using adhesives other than a bit of tape. There are many vendors in the UK, PM me for details.
“buffs, which are really soft cotton headwear worn by walkers, hill climbers and probbly skiers”
Definitely worn by skiers!
I have a polar Buff that I use as a neck gaiter when skiing and it is easy to adapt it to wear as a hat.
TBH, I find that so long as my ears are covered, unless it is extremely cold it’s easy to overheat when skiing hard. I don’t wear anything under my helmet but if I was skiing bald, then I’d wear a thin summer Buff under it to prevent chafing.
