Fear, Coasters, and Alopecia Awareness

September 9, 2019 supriyasurenderLeave a comment

September is Alopecia Awareness month. It is the month where us baldies shout from the rooftops and edumacate our hairy friends on what is like to have your immune system go haywire and sign you up for a Rock look alike contest. For me, alopecia and fear go hand in hand. Actually, if I’m being completely fear has ruled everything around me since birth. Probably since the womb. All alopecia has done is given me a boat load of new things to be afraid of. Last weekend, I got to erase one of those items off the list. Amusement parks. Not just any amusement park. Cedar Point. If you grew up anywhere near northeast Ohio, you know that Cedar Point is basically the best amusement park ever times 10. However, in my mind, wigs and roller coasters were never meant to go hand in hand. Unless you are trying to end up in a viral video where the whole world witnesses your wig flying off mid ride. This is why I put roller coasters on my list of things I “can’t” do (by can’t I mean won’t because I may poop my pants from fear). I LOVE roller coasters, but I had no idea how I would manage the logistics of it all. So, I just avoided it. Then I started dating a Colorado native who had never been to Cedar Point. Since it is an Ohio must, we made a decision in May that we would go back to Ohio in August to give him the full adrenaline experience. I had exactly 3 months to concoct a plan. Yet I was going back and forth and back and forth on what I was going to until the week of the trip.

Obviously, going wig-free would have been the easiest option and I did seriously consider it until my anxiety crept in and told me to consider something else. Next, I thought of wearing my Yaffa wig. It has an adjustable band and I can get it to sit pretty snugly on my dome. However, my Yaffa is a $3000 wig. I just couldn’t risk the chance of 3 grand literally flying off my head. So, I scoured my Amazon for days looking for a suitable synthetic. Buying cheap wigs on Amazon can be so hit or miss. You can end up with something surprisingly adorbs, or you could end up with something that looks like a straw mop. I must have had a wig angel that day because what I ordered was PERFECT!! A wig with an attached headband that I could wear in a HIGH PONY! You heard it folks. Momma rocked a high pony for the first time in FOUR YEARS!!! For added insurance, I used my Milano wigs wig-grip to keep that puppy in place. Finally, I found a tank top with a hood to add an extra, extra level of security. And guys let me tell you it was *chefs kiss* PERFECT! I think I would have been okay without the hood, but I took comfort in the fact that the hood would catch the wig if it fell off. I had SO MUCH fun! It was also entertaining to see the looks I got when tying up my hood before each ride. I will take those looks over the looks of people witnessing my wig flying off any day of the week. So, if you are an adrenaline junkie baldie who is missing the coaster life, you MUST try my method.

The next thing I’m going to erase off my fear list is a bit scarier. This Friday I am going to go to work for the very first time without a wig. My stomach is doing puke flips just thinking about it. Its happening friends. Stay tuned for that post!

Drop It Like Its Hot

August 20, 2019 supriyasurenderLeave a comment

On Saturday I dedicated my evening to a wild night of sipping beers and washing wigs. Nothing says party like awkwardly sitting on the bathroom floor while washing an expensive pile of hair in a bucket. After 2 hours of air drying, I set up my normal drying station. Blow dryer, hair products, flat iron, brush, and ipad. I don’t fully understand why it takes me 78974545512 times more time to dry my wig hair than it did my bio hair, but this is just one of the many medical mysteries of alopecia. To help kill some time, I always throw on a bingey TV show. I am one of those weirdos who will binge watch the same show 1-2x a year for the rest of eternity. This week’s choice was Sex and the City. Do you guys remember the episode when Samantha and Carrie go wig shopping after Samantha lost her hair to chemo? It goes something like this:

Wig shop owner: [places wig on Samantha] This is Candy. Shes very popular.

Samantha: I dont think you’re listening. I dont want to look like Candy, I just want to look like myself.

Wig shop owner: Ma’am, these are wigs. They’re not ever gonna look exactly like you.

Samantha: That is not acceptable

Wig shop owner: We could style the bangs.

Samantha: Don’t touch my head.

Wig shop owner: I’ve worked with many women with cancer.

Samantha: I don’t have cancer. I have a premier and I don’t want some second rate wig named after a hooker. My hair is my thing. This [hands wig back] is bull shit.

I just sat there and laughed. Holy relatable batman. “I just want to look like myself”. There came a point on my alopecia journey where I realized that no wig was ever going to make me look like my old self. No matter the price, no matter the brand. Sure they help me feel more like my old self, give me confidence, and hide my alopecia from the world. However there will never be a day where I slap a wig on my head and think, “Oh man that looks like 2014 Supriya! No doubt!” Yeeeeah that is just not a thing.

Speaking of, I had a moment of alopecia disdain on Friday. I was out on the town for my girl Alanna’s bachelorette party! We posed for a photo together and my eyebrow had the classic alopecia sheen. The one that comes hand in hand with having no actual hair growing from your brows. Yes, my brows have tats and makeup, but no matter what I do that sheen always remains. I looked at our pic and the first thing I noticed was the glimmering shine coming from my brow. Seriously, why is that?! There has got to be some makeup magic that fixes it and I am just too much of a newb to figure it out. To top that off, we were dancing our booties off and my head felt like a hot tub of sweat and heat. At one point I went into a bathroom stall, took off my wig, and used some TP to dry it off. Can’t a girl just drop it like its hot without having to worry about the aftermath to her wig?! Minus those two things, I had an amazing night out. Alopecia can work my nerves, piss me off, and make me embarrassed, but you better believe I am NOT going to let this shit ruin my nights out with my gals!

Wigs And Insurance

April 14, 2019 supriyasurenderLeave a comment

Every now and then I have dreams that my hair has grown back. Last night was one of those nights. My hair was back and I was so excited that it was FINALLY long enough to wear in a sloppy bun! For whatever reason Miley Cyrus was also in my dream and she was stoked for me. Needless to say, I woke up with no sloppy bun and no hype girl Miley. Shoot!

Today I wanted to write about alopecia and insurance. When I lost all of my hair, I was shocked to find out my insurance did not provide coverage for wigs. After some research I learned that this is an all too common thing in the alopecia world. Apparently having your immune system attack all of your hair follicles leaving you with less hair than you had at birth is not reason enough to provide coverage. It is cruel and so completely unfair. Especially since human hair wigs typically cost $1000+ on a good day. Reality is that most HH wigs are at least $2000 – $5000 depending on length, density, and cap. If you want a cap that adheres to your scalp without tape or glue, you have to shell out the big bucks. The human hair wig industry is designed for the rich and fabulous, but alopecia doesn’t give a crap about your income bracket.

So, what should you do? Try to get your insurance to pay for it even if they say they won’t! I’m not saying that this will work for everyone, and even if they decide to pay, it is very likely that they will only pay a percentage. Either way, money is money and its worth a shot! I submitted a claim for my first wig and ended up getting 6% back! This sounds like nothing, but my first wig was expensive AF and 6% was WAY better than nothing. Especially since insurance said they’d cover 0. Here is what you should do:

• Get a prescription or a letter from your doctor explaining the reason why you need a cranial prosthesis. This should include a diagnosis code.
• Purchase your wig from a salon that knows how to create an insurance friendly invoice. The receipt should not say ‘wig’ anywhere on it. Your purchase should be billed out as a ‘cranial prosthesis’ (because that is exactly what it is).
• The salon will need to include the proper insurance code along with their Tax ID.
• Submit the claim and hope for the best!
• If they deny it, CALL! Call and talk to supervisors or whoever you need to until they understand that this is not a normal claim. My claims have always been denied until they get sent to the complex billing department. Be your own advocate! A no does not always mean no. To me a no just means you haven’t talked to the right person in the department who can help.

After my first wig, my company’s insurance switched over and they now offer partial coverage. Even so, it has taken me months to get each claim processed correctly. Each time it is initially denied. Then after months of phone calls it gets approved and processed. Every. Single. Time. This is why I say you MUST be your own advocate!!

For me, beautiful wigs helped me with my healing. If it weren’t for Follea, Yaffa, and Shuly, I don’t think I’d be at this place of peace that I am. I want insurance to get on board with helping every alopecian get to this same place of peace by eliminating that financial hardships that come along with hair loss. My hope is that one day they will hop on board, but until then keep fighting for yourselves friends!

You Get A Wig! You Get A Wig!

March 4, 2019 supriyasurenderLeave a comment

Diamonds may be a girls best friend, but wig salons are mine. I took a little trip over to Littleton, Colorado to visit my dear friend Hana at Hana Designs. Her salon is so wonderful. You walk in and it feels like a trendy, but oh so cozy home. The salon is filled with unique furniture, jewelry, makeup, and wigs galore!! This trip was extra special because my boyfriend came with me. You heard that right. I’ve found a sweet soul that is sweet enough to be my partner in crime at a wig salon. My baldie heart couldn’t be more full! *swoon*

I went to the salon to have a gloss treatment done on my Shuly wig. I like to do this a couple times a year. Living in Denver means I live in a very cracked skin, ashy elbow dry climate. Great for eliminating frizzy poofs, but can also make a human hair wig oh so dry. Getting these treatments will help extend the life of your wig and keep it looking so fresh and so clean clean. Hana recommends deep conditioning for newer wigs and gloss treatments for wigs that are close to or crossing the 1 year threshold.

The best part about all of this is getting to try on all of the synthetic wigs while I’m waiting. Blonde, pixie, red head, grandma and everything in between. You name it, I tried it on this fun day!

What do you think? Can you guess which one was the winner?

A Quest For Wigs

February 17, 2019 supriyasurenderLeave a comment

Finding the perfect wig can feel like a quest. I felt completely overwhelmed when I tried to figure out where to start. I was debating between using an online wig store, finding something on eBay, or going to an actual wig shop. After much debate, I decided I wanted to try before I buy. My first stop was a local wig Botik. I had two very different experiences here. The first was when I had some hair left and wanted to purchase a human hair topper. I walked into a small store FILLED with wigs of all styles and colors. I talked to a sales associate and explained my situation. She sat me down in a chair and placed the first option on my head. It was pretty, but on my head, it was heavy, thick, and didn’t feel like me. I asked her the price and almost fell over when she told me it was over $1000. I awkwardly asked her if she had anything under a grand. Up until this point, I had no clue that human hair wigs could be so pricey. I was in for a rude awakening LOL. My fellow alopecians know! The next piece she put on me felt perfect. It looked like my old hair, and that was all I wanted. To feel more like me. My second experience at Kim’s was not as good. It was a month after my first visit, and I had made a decision to shave the last of my hair and purchase a full wig. The sales associate sat me in a chair in the back of the store. I explained to her that I wanted a Follea gripper wig. I had done my research online and this seemed like the perfect fit. It had a silicone cap that “gripped” to a persons head. This meant no need for tape or glue and I was all about that life. She aggressively (and painfully) unclipped my topper taking many remaining hairs with it, and roughly plopped a Follea on my head. It felt a bit big and heavy, and the color was all wrong. I asked her if she was sure it was a gripper. She said yes and decided to yank the hair to prove to me it gripped. Ironically it slid back when she did. Probably because the cap was too big for me. I explained to her that the color was wrong. Rather than empathizing, or finding me a better solution, she told me that it would be fun to mix things up. She was extremely pushy and wanted me to buy something that was too big and the wrong color. Girl BYE. I told her I wanted to take some time to think about it and she immediately became very obviously irritated with me. It became clear that she was more concerned with making the sale than actually helping me. I left the store disappointed and unsure what to do next. It is kinda shitty when someone is trying to take advantage of your struggle to make themselves a quick buck. I left the store disappointed and unsure what to do next.

I got to work that Monday and did some intense google searching. I found a salon called Hana Designs. Hana was a breast cancer survivor and had experienced hair loss herself from chemo. Her ratings were good and I decided to give it a shot. When I walked into the salon, my experience was completely different. It was an Aveda salon that was so cute and cozy. My friends Amelia and Riley were by my side to help me choose the perfect piece. Hana was so warm and welcoming and immediately made me feel at ease. Right away she took the time to understand my needs. After trying on many beautiful options, we decided Follea was definitely the way to go. My wig was purchased and my friends and I collectively named her The Duchess.

About a year into rocking The Duchess, I started chatting with someone named Hannah in a Facebook group for women win hair loss. She had the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen, and I was shocked to learn that it was a wig! Hannah owned a salon in Florida that specialized in hair loss needs. She FaceTimed me and we instantly became friends. She was so easy to connect with and she shared her journey with trichotellomania with me. I knew right away that I wanted to order hair like hers from her. Enter my Yaffa. I flew all the way to Sarasota to pick this beauty up. I named my Yaffa her Princess Jasmine. She was long, luxurious, and stunning. Yaffa sewed in silicone panels which meant I could continue living my no tape/no glue life.

A year later, I had hit my insurance out of pocket max. I decided to get another wig because I thought it would be fully covered by insurance. I called up Hannah and she started looking for the perfect piece for me. This time she recommended a wig by Shuly. I had the utmost trust in Hannah and told her to order it. She shipped it to me and I was completely blown away. It was soooo beautiful. The coloring was amazing and the hair quality was unbelievable. I named her Lydia. Unfortunately my insurance did not cover the full cost of the wig. Either way, it was still so worth it to find my Shuly.

What’s next? If I had Kylie Jenner money, I’d be buying wigs left and right! Maybe that day will come, but for now I will just day dream about my next piece. I have my eye on the Shuly Fashionista because I really want something that is pretty naturally stick straight. Who knows though. I have a feeling that my wig quest will last as long as my body keeps me bald. I’m sure there will be many more fun and beautiful pieces to come!

Baldie Boo

Adventures of an Alopecian

Category: wigs