Extensions for thinning hair?

I'm sorry if this has been covered before, but I'm new to this board.
I am 42 and have female patterned baldness (basically, thinning hair, especially in the front and along the middle part). It's getting to the point where I want to do something, I just don't know what. My mom has always worn a full wig and that is one thing I refuse to do. I want it to look and be as natural as possible. I also have a large forehead so would love to have bangs. What is the safest method, if any, for extensions for my hair type? I read I should stay away from fusion because that could be too damaging. Any recommendations?
TIA!

Hi Dina,

Welcome to the boards! Your question is a pretty complex one, so let me begin by saying that I think it's great that you're taking the step to find a cosmetic solution. It can be very difficult--and overwhelming--but the good news is, there are various options out there; the key is finding what's right for you.

Extensions may or may not be an option, depending on the extent of your hairloss. Extensions are primarily best for adding length, and to some extent volume, to healthy hair, but if you have significant thinning (a very wide part, bald spots), extensions will not address those issues and could, in fact, make matters worse. Also, because any extensions method puts some stress on the hair, you really need to have enough hair to begin with--without excessive shedding--for them to work out. Particualrly the hair on the top of your hair needs to be long enough and voluminous enough to cover the bonds, locs, links, wefts (or whatever method you're using) that would be attached underneath.

Without actually seeing your hair, it's hard for me to guess whether you'd be a good candidate or not. As far as bangs go, extensions would not enable you to have bangs, although a topper would. In fact, there are toppers and integration pieces that many women are using with great success that look incredibly natural and nothing like a traditional wig. I've seen some photos of toppers that look so natual that I would never know they weren't real hair. In many cases they look a lot more natural than extensions do.

As far as fusion goes, I would definitely not recommend it. Some people have success with fusion--even some people with hairloss--but it's way too risky, imo.

There are many extensions and hairloss resources on this thread: http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum/viewthread.asp?forum=AMB_AP934431446&id=2633

More specifically, I would suggest that you visit the heralopecia.com forums, under cosmetic solutions. It's a great community of women there, and they've tried lots of different methods and are very helpful. I'm a member over there myself, and have found those boards phenomenally valuable.

As you may have guessed, I've experienced some hairloss myself, although I'm now thinking it's more stress- and environment-related than genetic. That said, because my hair's quite thin, it's pretty hard to conceal the extensions, especially on a windy day. I think with my level of thinning, I can get away with extensions, and my hair appears to be growing back somewhat, so hopefully everything will improve. But for anyone with more advanced hairloss, I would not recommend extensions at all--toppers and integration pieces would be much better.

Here are some resources:
Hairloss Sites
Heralopecia: http://www.heralopecia.com/forum/
Keratin: http://www.keratin.net/forums/
Hairsite: http://www.hairsite4.com/dc/dcboard.php
Hairloss Groups
MSN Hair Habits: http://groups.msn.com/HairHabitsProgress
MSN Wig Support: http://groups.msn.com/WigSupport

Again, welcome to the boards, and congratulations on taking this step. Please let me know if I can be of any help, and if you drop by Heralopecia, tell the girls Jenny_RR says hi!

:)

Hi Dina...the girls are right the worst thing u can do for thining hair is to wear extensions as the extensions will cause weight on the hair and it will pull out. I work at a place called LucindaEllery in London UK and we deal alot with thinning hair etc...take a look at the web site www.LucindaEllery.com we do some amazing stuff there and I'm sure if u are elsewhere in the world then there are places which carry out the same techniques we use.

x

Yeah, you've got to be careful not to put -too- much weight on the hair. But this can sometimes be as simple as just making bigger sections on the scalp to attach the extensions to.

-Rae

for thinning hair I wouldnt recommend hair extensions at all, I would recommend an intergration wig.

I use a topper after trying varios extension methods for a year - the topper looks much more natural and costs me less - i wear it attached with a few micro links so that it stays in 24/7

with extensions I found that they are too visible - if your hair is thin on top the very area you need to thicken up - you cant because the attachments show

 

wehn i ook at some of the picturs of me in extensions now i think OMG how coudl i go out in public like that

 

also my natural hair is fluffy and frizzy as a result of the alopecia - it looks so much smoother and healthier now

 

noe one knows its a topper except a few friends I have told & they say my hair looks waaay better with it and that they'd never knwo if i hadnt told them