Wearing Your Piece in Any Weather

Spring is here, which means unpredictable weather. How does this affect hairpiece wearers? Just like with natural hair, there are steps you must take to keep your hairpiece fresh, clean, and looking perfect.
Rain is one of the gentlest natural forces on your hairpiece, especially if you live in a rural area with low pollution. Air pollution and dust particles get trapped in raindrops that can get your piece dirty over time. If you have a custom made hairpiece, you won't have to worry about the style being ruined by a passing cloud. The hair in David Hansen's custom hair systems is ventilated by hand to achieve maximum mobility. If the rain tousles your style, your hairpiece is natural enough to just run a comb through it, and the style is done! All in all, a little rain won't hurt. But bring your umbrella!

Spending time in the sun can give your skin a great glow, but it can also bring some unwanted color to your hairpiece. When exposed to sunlight and air (especially near bodies of salt water), the hair in the piece can oxidize, or turn color. Pieces with grey or white hair can turn a yellowish color, blonde can gradually turn orange, and brunette pieces will display much more of a reddish tone.  This doesn't happen overnight, but a summer of fun in the sun can leave your piece looking lackluster after only a few months. There are options to both prevent and combat sun exposure. The first and most obvious is a hat. David Hansen's custom hairpieces use a lightweight yet durable mesh-type base that lets your scalp breathe just like it would with regular hair. Wearing a hat with one will not overheat your head like other hairpieces. The other option is talking to your stylist about shampoos used to tone yellow and red colors in the hair. These shampoos, like ShimmerLights, are purple or blue colored, and gradually remove yellow, orange, and red from hairpieces that have had too much sun or have aged considerably.

If a strong gust of wind blows past, your LAST thought should have to be worrying about your hairpiece staying on. If you have a custom hair replacement system from David Hansen, then your hairpiece is shaped perfectly to your head for an undetectable fit. If your scalp and piece are clean, and you are using the proper double-sided surgical tape, your hairpiece will stay on, even in winds that could blow YOU away!  The wind is not the danger to your hairpiece, but the wrong styling products are. NEVER use hairspray on a hair system. The alcohol, aerosol, and propellants in hairspray dehydrates hair and causes it to break easily. There is also alcohol in most generic hair products for natural hair. These chemicals are much too harsh for hair in hairpieces, so there are plenty of alternate styling tools and products that are alcohol-free.  You can buy Wet Look, a holding spray for hairpieces, at our studio. The best styling product for a hairpiece is just plain water. Custom hair replacement by David Hansen always styles easily, and can be combed back into place.

With the weather warming up, the beaches and pools will open. But before you take that dive, here's a few things you should know. Swimming in a hairpiece is one of the quickest ways to age it. Not only does the act of getting it wet and matted pull hairs out of the base and cause terrible tangling, what is IN the water can hurt the piece, too.  Chlorine from pools dries hair out, and will cause hairpieces to thin rapidly due to all the breakage. Salts from the ocean or salt lakes also have a drying effect on the hair. This combined with the matting of the hair can take years of life out of your piece.  There are a few alternatives to this, David Hansen suggests wearing a swim cap or even using an old hairpiece that has seen better days. The new ones, though, should be kept out of the water.

No matter what the weather may bring your way, you can keep you hairpiece looking undetectable!

The Purchase: The Best Place To Buy

If you intend to invest in a high-quality and well-fitted hairpiece, trust only an expert. You can avoid the most common disappointments in the finished product if you start right--by selecting someone who knows his business.

Let us use David Hansen as an example. He has won every hair styling competition available: State, Midwest, National, Canadian, and World Championship. More recently he has receive recognition in the field of hairpiece construction and styling. This is the type of man you can put your trust in.

Stay away from mail-order hairpieces and prestyled creations! You have distinct characteristics which must be analyzed by a professional before your hairpiece is designed. Ideally, you should buy your hairpiece from a stylist who manufacturers his own pieces. Only then will you receive a truly customized product.

When asked his opinion of mail-order hairpieces, David Hansen was very adamant in his judgment, insisting: "I would be amazed if a man could take his own measurements and hair samples, determine his most complimentary hairstyle, and then shape and style the hairpiece. He'd have such a rare talent, I'd probably offer him a job! In the case of mail-order pieces, there's only one person who comes out smelling like a rose, and that's the seller! That's not what this business is all about. We're here to please the customer. Doing that through the mail is quite inconceivable. I not only refuse to handle hairpieces from out-of-town sources, I insist on making my own. This is the only way I can guarantee a perfect match."

Even if you take a mail-order hairpiece to a local stylist for the cutting and fitting, chances of satisfaction are very limited. Prior consultation is a necessity, just as personal instruction in the handling and care is required.

You'll be able to tell if a man is serious about the quality of his hairpieces just by taking a look at the premises on which he conducts his business. Does he have a private consultation area and fitting rooms that are modern and well-equipped? Are there ample supplies and sample pieces on hand? Is the atmosphere a professional one in which transactions are carried out in an orderly and efficient member? Do his employees and customers respect him?

If the answer to any of these questions is negative, find another distributor, someone who is serious about serving you. Just take a good look around you when you enter a shop, keep your eyes and ears open, and you'll have no trouble deciding whether or not the man is a pro.

The man you are looking for will be innovative and progressive. He'll be willing to give his personal guarantee of satisfaction, and he'll be willing to take the extra time required to guide you in the wear and care of your new hairpiece.

In most cases, your instinct will be a satisfactory guide. But if you'd like some assurance, check with your local Better Business Bureau, consult with previous customers, and take a look at a competitors' offers before you're willing to say that one man's services look like the best.

Check out www.davidhansen.com

The Hairpiece: You Get What You Pay For

Think of a hairpiece as you would a new suit, as something to compliment your appearance.

    If you visited a tailor to have a suit made, he would take your precise measurements, inquire as to your intended use for the outfit, and then, together, you would select the cloth for the garment. After you left his shop, he would spend hours carefully sewing the suit to meet your specifications.

    If the price of a tailored suit were above your means, but you still desired quality, chances are your next choice would be a selection from a reputable men's store. You would have several ready-made outfits from which to chose, most of which would be carefully-sewn copies of creations by well-known designers. Of course, the fit wouldn't be as perfect as that of a tailor-made suit, but most of these stores have someone available to make required alterations, enabling you to still be a well-dressed man.

    The final alternative available to you would be to settle for a ready-made suit off the rack in some discount house. In most cases an alternations man wouldn't be on hand, so you would have to settle for a suit closet to, but not exactly, your size. More than likely, this would not be a suit in which you would gain extra pride by simply feeling its cloth or by examining its workmanship, but at least it would serve its purpose. Your outfit would be another one of many mass-produced garments that is just a suit, nothing more.

    And so it is with hairpieces. They range from the tailor-made exclusives all the way to those that will just get by. If you are concerned enough about your appearance to even consider buying a hairpiece, you should ask for one that is the closest to your natural hair as possible, one that will serve you well and be a wise investment.

    Remember, a hairpiece should be the most personal and individual component of your wardrobe.

davidhansen.com