The following interview was conducted with Isadore Hoffman of FeatherLite Hair Systems to help first time wig-wearers sort through the good, the bad and the ugly in purchasing a hair replacement product for the first time.  To avoid pitfalls, gimmicks, and highly priced low-quality products, read on!

Buying Your First Hair Piece

Isadore Hoffman of FeatherLite Hair Systems Answers Your Questions

Isadore Hoffman is the owner and creator of FeatherLite Hair Systems.

Isadore Hoffman is the owner and creator of FeatherLite Hair Systems, a company specializing exclusively in the use of ultra high-quality virgin Slavic hair and undetectable hair replacement pieces for women and children with hair loss.  She is an expert wig maker who has refined and developed her product over the course of 8 years in order to provide women with one of the best products in the hair replacement industry. 

FeatherLite Hair Systems is known around the world for sourcing and using the highest quality hair in the hair replacement market. The amount of attention to detail and quality control that goes into each individual piece makes FeatherLite Hair Systems one of the leading brands in hair replacement today. Let’s find out what Isadore Hoffman has to say about your first-time hair purchase…

Head & Shoulders Review: Head And Shoulders Above The Rest!

What are some of the top considerations most first time buyers don’t think of when purchasing a hair piece?

Firstly, a client who has never purchased a hair piece before has to know that regardless of how perfectly made and well contoured a wig is, it is not going to feel like your own natural hair right away. This is the first thing wig makers should ensure that their clients clearly understand before helping them choose a hair piece.

I always tell clients to be prepared for this reality, because most people do not accurately imagine what it will be like to wear one when they see one on someone else. When you see beautiful, light, flowing hair, your natural instinct is to imagine that it feels the way that it looks. This is not the case. 

Of course, there will be some pieces that are much lighter than others and some will be drastically more breathable and wearable than others. The bottom line is that if you have never worn a wig before, it is going to feel a lot like a hat. It will take a while before you get used to it, no matter how wonderful the piece may be.  A few other important considerations to make are:

1) Do you plan on wearing a wig long term, or will this be a temporary situation?

2) Do you want something that looks just like your hair, or do you simply want the nicest hair you can find within your budget regardless of how well it matches your own hair?

3) Are you the type of person who changes your hair style often, or do you need a hair piece to last in the same condition for 5 years plus because you prefer to keep the same style?

4) Are you active?  

5) Will you be wearing the piece up a lot or mostly down?

Common Questions About Hair Wigs Answered

6) What type of hair-loss do you have and how much coverage are you looking for (less is more!)?

 7) What is the weather like where you live?  For example, it’s not a good idea to go with a curly haired wig if you live in terrible humidity unless you want to look like Cyndi Lauper in “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.

8) Is your scalp more sensitive or less sensitive, and will clips bother you after hours of wear?  

9) Do you prefer a tape-on option?

 10) Do you prefer a bonded piece you can sleep and shower with or would you prefer to remove it every night?

These are just a few of the considerations you should make before making any long term commitments about what hair replacement solution is right for you. Contacting a genuine expert in the field who can help you sort through it all is helpful, as long as you find someone with real knowledge of the industry who is primarily interested in your well being.

What are some things a woman can do to make sure her hair piece is as unnoticeable as possible?

So natural looking!

This is a great question because regardless of the hair type and quality you choose, there will always be things you can do to enhance how natural it looks.  I would say that the number one detail a woman should pay attention to is the scalp. These days, you can find inexpensive wigs made with a multi-directional skin top made to mimic the look of a person’s own natural scalp. Naturally, you will find a spectrum of skin tops ranging from completely undetectable to passable. 

However, in general, a multi-directional skin top is the way to go.  The second consideration is how well the skin top of the piece matches your own scalp.  If you will be wearing a partial piece, it will be especially important that the contrast between the skin of the hairpiece and the hair on the piece matches the contrast between your own scalp and your own hair. Sound complicated?  It’s actually quite simple.

Hold the wig up to your scalp and see if artificial skin top is the same color as your scalp. The closer it is in color to your own scalp the more seamless the transition will be between your own scalp and the “skin” of the piece.  The 3rd most relevant detail about the piece will be the shading pattern of your hair piece. In most cases, natural hair is slightly darker at the roots than it is at the ends. This is especially true for lighter colors.  It is ideal to get a virgin hair color that matches these criteria.

If that’s not possible, it’s a good idea to get the roots slightly darkened or the ends slightly lightened.  If you are starting with a darker piece, having highlights of a slightly lighter shade added throughout, starting one inch away from the root will work wonders to enhance the overall natural look of your piece.

What is the best way for a woman to figure out how much coverage they need in a hair replacement piece?

FeatherLite Hair Systems has a variety of different cap styles, sizes, and types to suit every client’s need. However, I would normally suggest purchasing a few synthetic pieces at first and wearing them around the house just to get an idea of how it feels and what your need. 

I generally recommend going with as little coverage as you can get away with unless you like a full look. Get your spouse or a friend to take pictures of the back and sides to get an idea of how full it looks all around as well. We rarely have an accurate 3D view of ourselves, and pictures go a long way in helping to give perspective on what is needed.

Be sure to check back for more hair care news and information at Maple Holistics!

What is the best hair type to get and if I want virgin hair, how do I know I am purchasing an authentic product?

This is not a simple answer, to say the least!  There are a lot of good articles that can be found on this topic as well as a wealth of misinformation and misunderstanding by actual people in the industry.  To answer the first part of your question, there is no such thing as “the best type of hair.”  There is what you need and what most closely matches what you need. 

Having said that, there are definitely differences in quality and longevity that can be expected and it’s important to know what’s what before you purchase.  The first thing to know is that terms used in the hair industry do not necessarily have the same meaning you would normally ascribe to them.  For example, “European hair” does not always mean that the hair is actually European. It could also mean that the texture of the hair, in terms of denier and texture, is like European hair.  

Confusing?  Yes, it is. To make matters worse, it could be called European and may have the texture of European hair, but it may have been chemically stripped of its cuticle to make it seem that way.  Stripping hair of its cuticle, either totally or partially, will make the hair appear finer and, at least for a short while, shinier. It’s important to purchase from a hair vendor who has actual ponytails of hair that you can see if you want to make sure you are purchasing authentic virgin hair. 

A simple test you can do to test if the cuticle has been stripped from the hair is to take a small piece of hair between your thumb and pointer finger. Run your fingers up the length of the hair and if you find resistance, the cuticle is still intact.  If you find no resistance, then you can safely assume the cuticle has been stripped.