Exercising In Your Wig

One of the most common questions I get asked at the moment is….  


What do I do when I exercise in my wig?

So many of us (me included) do not feel comfortable to go without our wigs even when we exercise… although it would make life a whole lot easier and more comfortable!!  

In the past I have either set aside a wig just for exercising in… I have an old one that I do not use anymore or a synthetic style that can be quickly washed and the style dries quickly.  I make sure my exercise wig has a base that is not made with any polyurethane inside.  The polyurethane is the smooth shiny material inside your wig that you attach wig tape to or it grips to your skin.  This stuff makes my head so hot so I avoid anything like this.  I am trying to move away from this material all together but for now it is what is inside my favorite wigs.

I have been thinking of another option...  I have not tired it but you could get a wig that has an integrated head band section at the front.  It would be much cooler than a full wig and there would be no hair getting in your eyes.  I am tempted to give it a try...

I use to run first thing in the morning before work so it was much quieter and I felt more comfortable just wearing a head scarf or a hat in the winter.  I have not got any magical suggestions but just knowing that we are are all finding it difficult is kind of nice to know in a funny sort of way!? If anyone else has some suggestions that would help us all out it would be great to hear from you.


I would like to start running in my lunch hour at work, with a baby I no longer have time in before or after work... I can't help but worry about what I would do with my hair.  The main issue is that the hair I wear in work is very different to the hair I would run in and would be totally obvious to any colleagues passing me.  I tell myself off in my head... pull yourself together Aimee you are Mrs Alopecia Beauty Tips!  But it does not stop me from wanting to keep my look consistant.


I am about to be sent some samples from a company called iwig who make wigs with a material in the base that keeps your head cool and dry.  I am really excited about this and will keep you all informed if its any good.

Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

My Wig History

I have been wearing wigs since I was 16 years old I thought I would talk you through each one so you might learn from my experience.

My first wig was an off the peg synthetic wig from a really old fashioned wig salon.  Even the man who fitted it looked like he was out of the 1970's!  I cried when he fitted it as it was just so awful… they kept bringing out more styles for me to choose from but each one was worse than the one before.   I went home with the wig in a bag and I never even wore it.

My mother and I then went to the hospital and I was given a prescription to take to A&A wigs in Edinburgh as I lived in Scotland at the time.  A&A were fantastic and the girl who did the fitting was really lovely, fashionable and young.  She fitted me with a wonderful human hair custom made wig that was so comfortable.  It was really long and the dark brown colour was gorgeous.  It took me a while to actually wear it out in public… I started just wearing it to the shops and walking the dog and finally I wore it to a party and I got so many compliments!  Ever since then I have not looked back and just got more interested in wigs.

I wore A&A wigs for a few years but then I moved to Manchester to go to University.  I was worried that I would have to keep traveling back to scotland for my wigs but I was put in touch with Hudsons who are part of the brand Trendco.  Although I did not find Hudsons until my current wig was on its last legs, so my once dark brown hair had lightened beyond recognition to an unsightly orange colour and had lots of things wrong with it!  My wig from them was the most eagerly awaited wig ever!  Unfortunately the NHS system in Manchester was not the same as in Scotland so I did not get a prescription and had to pay a whopping £2000 per wig.  I was a struggling student though so my family helped me out.  One wig tended to last 2 years if looked after well.  So once you divided it up over time it was about £80 a month… the same as what most women pay every 4-6 weeks to have their hair  cut and coloured.

I wore wigs from Hudsons for years!  I have such a petite head size that I could not buy off the peg wigs.  I needed the ones that were custom made to measure.  Every year I would order the same style, colour and length.  I daren't try anything too new or different as if I did not like the style it was a very costly mistake.  

I learnt that if I ordered the hair colour to be too light that by the time the following year came round the hair had lightened so much I was nearly blonde!  So I would always order my hair colour to be very dark brown so it just lightened naturally over the year and was much cheaper to maintain.  

I decided to try something new from a wig company called NU Hair Technology and that was just a disaster.  The whole base of the wig was made with PU and my head just got so hot that after wearing for half and hour it was sliding all over the place.  The way they knotted the hair into the PU at the base made the hair look a mess in seconds.  For expert wig makers I was just so disappointed in the wig and felt like I could have done a better job!  They would not even give me my £2000 back and just made me another one which still had the same problems as the first.  They were based in New York and I just kept calling them and eventually I found the whole thing so upsetting I gave up and wrote it off as a mistake that I would never make again!  

Once I set up Alopecia Beauty Tips and went on GMTV and was in the Daily Mail I had a few wig salons that gave me some made to measure wigs.  There was Optima hair in Birmingham… They were great but I felt I still preferred my Hudsons wigs but they were free so I tried to wear them as long as I could.  Then I had an offer to wear a wig from Hairoom in Leeds as they were developing a new wig they they wanted my feed back on.  This too was ok but still no where near as nice as my wigs from Husdons.

When I appeared in Marie Claire Trendco Provided an off the peg wig that Trevor Sorbie styled for me… it was so exciting as I decided to go for a short style as I wanted something different to my usual long hair.  It was fantastic.  I was just about to get married and was going on Honeymoon to lots of different places all over the world and this off the peg synthetic wig was so easy to look after.  It meant I just washed my hair quickly and it was dry and styled in minutes.  Perfect holiday hair. 

The next year I moved to a different area just outside manchester that provided real hair wigs on the NHS!  I was so excited and I was given a prescription that I could take with me to Hudsons.  I found it funny that all those years I purchased my wigs from them thinking there was probably something even better out there I should try… I tried loads of different things and found that what I had been wearing all along was the best.

Although I feel I have found the best I am still on the look out for an off the peg option.  My dream is to have a wig wardrobe with blonde, brunette, long, short, curly straight!  I would really like to find a company that can provide a perfect fit for my tiny head off the peg so I can have some fun with my hair.

Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

My next chapter...

About a year ago my big plan was to become a permanent make up artist for women who have lost their eyebrows and eyelashes to Alopecia.  I love my permanent make up and feel that a great wig and permanent make up is the answer to leading a confident life with Alopecia.

I was so lucky and managed to win a competition to win free training and the equiptment.  I was so excited and took to the training with so much enthusiasm and motivation.  

I decided to do my training while I was 8 months pregnant!?  It was tiring but if I waited till after my baby was born I just knew I would have no time.  So I did the first part of my training and I had to go off and do all my case studies on my own on real people!  This was the scary bit.  My plan was to have done all my case studies before my baby was born and be a fully qualified permanent make up technician.  

But…. This was not the case.  I did not quite manage it.   I took a 4 month break to have my beautiful baby before I started back doing my case studies again.   I did a couple of treatments that went really well and I was confident enough to rent a room off my local hairdressers and was excited about my future.   

Unfortunately I did a treatment that really knocked my confidence and I started questioning my ability and if this is what I really wanted to do.  Even though I had the training and the equipment paid for it was still going to be a finical investment that I was not 100% sure about.  It was also really stressing me out and to start up this new business would mean a lot more training, practice time and money that I just did not have.

I feel this treatment is perfect for women with Alopecia but the up keep is expensive as it needs topping up every 6-12 months.  Personally I am willing to invest this money, but people need to realise what they are getting into before they have it done.  The same goes for any woman who is having it done for purely cosmetic reasons.  It may say "permanent" but it needs topping up every year to keep the colour right.  This grey area for the costumer also worried me and I could find myself talking people out of having it done as I am too honest!

It is deeply upsetting as I was convinced this was going to be my way of helping women with their Alopecia.  But now I can just recommend the best permanent make up artists out there if you choose to have it done.

I am still looking for my place within the hair loss industry other than being the positive face of Alopecia.  I feel I have so much more to give but I am yet to find this...  I would love to work with wigs and I have been down a few possible paths but not found the right thing yet.

My passion lies with helping young girls as I was a young girl myself when I developed Alopecia. 

There are so few petite wigs in the market place and wigs are often just so full with too much hair.  I naturally have a small head so this issue has plagued me my whole life.  Maybe this will be my next chapter….?

Stay tuned :o) xx

Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

I have my down days too...

I always try my best to be a positive role model for anyone coping with Alopecia.  Helping others with my Alopecia Beauty Tips website has been the driving force behind my own acceptance.  The response I get from so many people on a daily bases really motivates me to continue creating positive awareness, but it also helps me when I experience any negative feelings about my own Alopecia. 

For the majority of the time I am very accepting of my Alopecia, but sometimes I can go a bit quiet on my blog, Facebook or tweets… this is mainly due to being a busy working mummy, but recently this has also been to do with experiencing a few negative feelings.  I feel that I need to stay positive for everyone else, but to be positive when I am feeling down myself is hard.  I have recently come to the conclusion that many of you would love to hear that I too have my down days.  

I am a very positive and sunny person.  So when I am a bit down my Husband, Family and Friends naturally worry.  I don't like to worry people so sometimes I keep my feelings to myself. But this is no good as keeping feelings bottled up inside over a period of time makes everything worse.

The most important things in my life are my Family, Friends and my Hair!  I don't like to admit that but it is true.  It just feels so vain but it is important to me.  When my wig is looking its best I am at my most confident, but when my wig is not right I feel everything else suffers.   


I took a trip down memory lane and was looking back on the most positive points of my life so far and the wig I was wearing at the time... I realised that my wigs were not always the best and had their issues, but I was happy and didn't care.  


So I have come to realise it is not always my hair that is getting me down, but my Alopecia is first on my list to blame.  I think from now on when I get down about my wig or my Alopecia I am going to try and take a step back and ask myself is my Alopecia really to blame here?

I am sure anyone with a body image insecurity can relate to this.  I am not able to change how I feel but I know it is only natural to have these feelings.   The supportive e-mails that I get from all my followers has been so amazing over the past 5 years and I am sure I would have a lot more down days without you all by my side.



Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

Being a new Mummy with Alopecia

I cannot put into words how much I love my baby girl.  She is amazing.  Yet, having her turned my whole world as I knew it upside down. Everyone warns you and you know life will change but nothing quite prepares you for it!!    I love love love being a mummy but I have had to learn how to live my life with only a spare moment here and there for myself.

I had always spent a great deal of time and effort to look my best as it made me feel more confident and it was also my way of dealing with Alopecia.  I used to have my hair looking perfect, full face of make up and false eye lashes every day!  As I got older I grew to be more excepting of my Alopecia and I have relaxed slightly with my morning beauty routine.  However, I could still spend ages getting ready!   I am very much your typical girly girl in that sense.   If I did not have the time to look my best my confidence would really suffer and I would not be Aimee. So it has always been a priority for me to have that time to myself.

In preparation for the birth of my baby girl I got myself a short style wig that my little babies clingy hands could not pull at and I also had my permanent make up... In the end the shorter wig style did not massively help as my baby girl was still pulling handfuls of it out.  All I can say is that this is a benefit of wearing a wig... my other mum friends inform me that this is rather painful!  Also, to be quicker in the morning I have not been applying wig tape and I kept on having visions of my hair being pulled off my head while sitting in cafe!

Worrying about silly little things is something that I have always done... I could have so many little concerns running through my head that sometimes I could not sleep!  I find talking them through with friends (or anyone who will listen to me!!) and writing lists have been my way of coping with this.  Since having my baby I have found that so many of the concerns about myself have gone out the window, only to be replaced with new ones for my baby mind you!  But still, I am so much less caught up in my self and my Alopecia.  Now I just want to make her proud of her Mummy and do the right thing by her.

Lots of people ask if I am worried about my baby girl developing Alopecia...  When she was born she had a very full head of hair and I was delighted! However,  I am not that worried as it is not a hereditary condition in mine or my husbands family.  If she were to develop Alopecia I would be a great role model for her and help her in a way that no one else ever could.

My ambition is to work with wigs and become a permanent make up artist to help other women with Alopecia.  This is my dream, but I am going to have to work hard to get there with a young baby in tow.  But for now I just want to enjoy my life with my husband and my baby.  Life is for living and not wishing it away to future aspirations, places and circumstances.

Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

Alopecia Hitting The Headlines Again!!

It has been an exciting week in the media for Alopecia I am delighted to see!

Not only did we have a fantastic children's program by the BBC called  "My Life Without Hair" which was about 2 inspirational kids Kim and Dan, who are both growing up without hair... It shows how they both find it difficult but they both realise that life really can be ok without hair.

I loved this programme and brought back so many memories for me as a child.  However the support network out there now is just amazing and I would have found life so much easier if this support existed 15 years ago.

Yesterday Joanna Rowell won gold at the cycling world cup, millions of TV viewers watched as she threw off her helmet and stood proudly on the podium to collect her medal. With her bald head uncovered, the 23-year-old Olympic hopeful had no idea she would become an overnight ‘poster girl’ for alopecia sufferers.  Indeed, after losing her long auburn locks aged just ten, she spent years covering her hair loss under hats and wigs.  But after finding her confidence through top-level cycling, she now feels at ease with her condition. In fact, she credits the alopecia for creating the determined and tough young woman she is today.

Joanna is such an inspirational lady... I love how she mentions that having Alopecia has made her more determined to succeed.  I know having Alopecia has made me the strong person I am today... I have taken a lot of mean comments and had my fair few strange looks over the years and now I just don't care.

It takes a while to come to terms with Alopecia and each person finds their own way to deal with it.  My way was to look and feel the best I could do by wearing the best wigs and having Permanent Make Up applied.  This is why I set up my website and this blog to help anyone else out there who is new to having Alopecia.

Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how I have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

Stamp Me Fabulous

It has been a while since I have been THIS excited about a product that could help us girls with our Alopecia!

Firstly, I was excited because a lady with Alopecia I very much admire called lady Georgia Van Cuylenburg contacted me about this product when I reached out about great products on Twitter. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6bT8FIbPI8 


Secondly, I was excited because I could instantly see how this product could help so many women who have lost their eyebrows and are not hugely confident about drawing them back in with pencil themselves.


Before I launch into why else I think this product is so fabulous I will tell you a little more about it.

The product is called Stamp Me Fabulous. It is a kit that comes with an eyebrow shaped stamp and some long wear ink and a few other tools too easily create natural, beautiful looking brows.

Although I have always been happy to draw in my brows, every now and then I would have an off day where I could not get my brows to look right!  This product would take away all of that as it applies beautiful looking brows every time!


I think this product would be perfect for...

• Anyone thinking about having their brows tattooed... I found going from no brows to full on tattooed brows quite a shock!  I think if i had been using this product for a while beforehand the transition would have been far easier.

• Children.  Children should not have permanent make up till they are 16 at the very youngest.  If you have a brow tattooed in when you are too young they could become the wrong shape for you in the future.  These are a fantastic substitute until you are older. 

• Anyone who wants permanent make up but can not afford it... Permanent make up although fantastic, is costly and worth saving up for.  But this is the next best thing!

• If you have only just lost your brows and you think that they could grow back as they so often do.  This is something you can use to make life easier...  

Watch this how to video!

Go to the website http://www.stampmefabulous.com/home.shtml for more information.


Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

Training to be a Permanent Make Up Artist at Nouveau Contour with Karen Betts.

I have been having Permanent Make Up applied for the past 6 years and have loved the confidence this make up has given me to get on with my everyday life.  I thought about training to become a Permanent Make Up Artist a few years ago and had been saving up for the very expensive equipment and training.  I was so keen to have this skill as I really wanted to be able to continue helping other women with Alopecia, which I had been doing with my website Alopecia Beauty Tips , but I really felt I could do so much more...   to me being able to apply Permanent Make Up was the perfect way to do it.

About 4 months ago I applied for a competition to win a state of the art Permanent Make Up machine, all the equipment and training by the industry leader in Permanent Make Up Karen Betts.  To my absolute astonishment I won this prize!

 Please Visit My Facebook page to see loads of pictures!

Since then I have been mad crazy busy with my studying and training. This has been by far the best opportunity I have ever been given to do what I am truly passionate and devoted to. Helping women, some like me with Alopecia or other conditions...  Whatever it is I am going to be able to give back confidence to so many women, I just can’t imagine how fulfilling my new life is going to become.  

First of all we were sent out a training manual with lots of worksheets and activities to do before coming into class. There was over 40 hours of work to do so I set to work as soon as I got my hands on it!  Then I went to South Yorkshire for my first few days of training which were...  Artistry Day and Blood Borne Viruses Day with Anesthetics Understanding. You can read about these classes in my previous blogs...

http://alopeciabeautytips.blogspot.com/2011/04/permanent-make-up-cosmetic-artistry-day.html 

http://alopeciabeautytips.blogspot.com/2011/04/permanent-make-up-blood-borne-viruses.html

After this we were then given even more studying to do in preparation for the 5 days of intensive training the following week.  The training days are so intensive but after each one I would go home with so much motivation to find out more and really understand my new specialist subject.

The next step was the five days of intensive training.  For two days we were given lots of tattooing exercises.  We started off on Grapefruits, progressed on to practise mats, then on to dummy heads called Betty! 

On the last 3 days of the course we were tattooing real women...  First I treated two ladies and gave them new eyebrows with a lovely shape with all the individual hairs.  Please note that all the colours fade to beneath the skin once the treatment heals!

 The next day I treated another two ladies with eye enhancement which really enhanced their eyelashes.  I learnt the importance of stretching the eyelid to get a great crisp line and to make it as comfortable to the client as possible.  

Then on the final day I worked on two ladies who wanted their lips filling with colour.  I gave them a great lip shape with a neat line and then blended that line into a lovely lip blush. 

I was exhausted after all the training, homework and treatments but came away feeling hugely confident about my future as a permanent Make Up Artist.  I have been told I have a fantastic steady hand and real attention to detail.

Now I am fully trained to perform Permanent Make Up but I want to continue my training and keep going back for more... I am totally addicted! 

I am already booked to do a specialist brow course this weekend and I am attending lots more workshops in the coming months. 

Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

Permanent Make Up Blood Borne Viruses and Understanding Anaesthetics Training Day

Permanent Make Up Blood Borne Viruses and Understanding Anesthetics

Nouveau Contour Permanent Make Up Training with Karen Betts.
 
I stayed over in South Yorkshire after my Artistry Day as traveling back to Manchester was just that bit too far for me...  So this time I had a lovely peaceful night with no Hubby or Doggie demanding my attention.  I just went to the hotel and immersed myself in all the notes handed out and all the extra ones that I made and had a great sleep!

I arrived early again and fresh faced for the day ahead.  As I had already done my pre-reading of the days training I though it might be a bit boring as there was no creative parts to it and all just information based which I was fully read up on already.  But I was wrong!! I was totally fascinated by this topic too!

My family and friends will tell you that I am quite a clean and tidy person and as much as I like to deny it I do kind of enjoy a bit of cleaning... just knowing that things are just so makes me feel relaxed!  This might explain why I was fascinated by a few of the cleanliness topics covered and how sterile your treatment room needs to be kept when doing Permanent Make Up!

The blood born viruses part of the training session was all about how manage exposure to infectious diseases and what you can do to stop cross contamination.

We were expertly taught by the lovely Cathy Brown who really knew everything you could ever want to know on this topic.  She was really passionate about it and you could really tell as her passion came across in her teaching and was really infectious!  At the end we were all pestering her with a million questions!

• In great depth we discussed the lengths you need to go to to make sure your treatment room is sterile before and during treatment.  There are many things you should and shouldn't have in your treatment room to prevent cross contamination.  There should be no porous materials in the room eg carpets, wood flooring/surfaces, plants, towels etc... Every surface need to be wipeable so that it can be sterilised.

• We learnt all about the clients aftercare and how it is as important as the treatment itself.  

• We were told that for each premises we work in we will need to be checked out by our local heath inspectors from that particular council.  The local heath inspectors check up on how you work and how you dispose of clinical waste, how you keep your work area sterile, even how you wash your hands and what you use to clean everything with too!

• We were told all about what issues have happened in the past with Permanent Make Up... the history of how old permanent make up machines were found to cross contaminate and how the Nouveau Contour machine is specially designed so that this does not happen.  

• We went over how it is good to ask a GP of the client if you have any concerns as this shows your professional and competent in your medical environment even if it does take longer for the client to get their treatment.

• We also went into great detail on what you should do if cross contamination does happen, emergency procedures etc.  I have decided to do a 1st aid course so that I am knowledgeable in what to do if my clients ever need my help.

The next part of the course was all about how to manage your clients expectations of any discomfort they may feel from the Permanent Make Up.  

We were also taught how to get maximum effect from the anesthetics and how to help your client feel as comfortable as possible.  
It is often the state of mind and a client can get themselves worked up which makes the pain worse.  

This area was fully discussed and I feel very confident that my clients will feel relaxed and have a realisic expectation of what the treatment will feel like.  

As with the artistry course yesterday there was a lot more information provided but I don’t want this blog to be too long!! Think it is long enough already! But as you can see the training is ultra through and no questions are left unanswered and every possible issue is discussed.

I will be blogging about the whole course so if you're interested keep checking back over the next few weeks to find out more on my training.

Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'

Specialist Alopecia Permanent Make Up Training

When training with Nouveau Contour I will be taking a specialist training course that is all about how Alopecia affects people physically and emotionally and I will gain the skills I need to create the most realistic brows and eyelashes.  

These will be different techniques to those used on clients without hair loss to the brows and lashes.  

Obviously, from having Alopecia myself I will understand this area already but I am keen to learn all the specialist techniques to give my Alopecia Clients the best possible treatment and fantastic looking brows and definition around the eyes.

Many other Permanent Make Up Artists do not have this specialised training so if you have Alopecia and are thinking about having permanent make up I would check to find out if they have worked on clients with Alopecia before and if they have specialist training.

Please visit my website www.alopeciabeautytips.com where you can see how my story has been in the Daily Mail, GMTV with Lorraine Kelly, Marie Claire and how i have worked with the little princess trust charity and Trevor Sorbies Charity 'My New Hair'