Calls accepted from 8AM to 8PM.
Appointments must be scheduled in advance!
Hair Care
(Important notice to current customers – please make sure you wash and condition your hairpiece before sending it in for repair. the factory will start charging $25 per unit if it needs to be washed before it can be handled at the factory)
Care Instructions for your new Hairpiece
As time goes on, there will be daily wear and tear to your hairpiece just like wearing the same garment all day, every day. If you frequently sleep in the prosthesis, expect the weight of your head rubbing the hair against the pillow to cause hair breakage. Rubbing your head against a car headrest or playing with the same piece of hair in your fingers will also cause hair breakage.
Wash your scalp and the inside of your silicone cap daily
It is essential to wash both your own scalp and the silicone cap lining every day. This maintains the grip of the silicone cap and helps avoid unpleasant odours.
Use a small amount of Dawn dishwashing liquid and rinse off. (Just wiping with water alone won’t remove perspiration oil, and slippery silicone and odour may result.)
Should odour develop inside the cap, mix two tablespoons of baking soda in a cup of warm water and leave applied inside the cap for three to five minutes a saturated cloth will keep the solution against the cap lining. Then rinse off.
Wash your hair once a week
Like growing hair, your hairpiece should be shampooed at least once a week. This can be done under the shower while wearing it or by hand. Because most shampoos are formulated to remove oils from the scalp (which would dry out a hairpiece) we recommend shampoos and conditioners formulated for dry, coloured or permed hair. Many shampoos are fine to use although a shampoo for color-treated hair will help you to keep your hair from fading in the sun and under flourescent lights. We like Pureology Anti-fade in the purple bottle.
Before you wet the hair, gently brush out any tangles. Use a wide-toothed comb or vent brush, starting at the tips and gradually working up the hair length to the crown.
Wash the inside of the cap as you do every day (see above).
Using tepid or lukewarm water never hot hold the hairpiece under the faucet and allow the water to run gently over and through the hair in the direction the hair flows (a hand shower is perfect for this).
Once saturated, apply a capful of shampoo. Spread the shampoo down the hair length with your fingers and gently squeeze to work the lather through the hair. Do not rub or scrub the hair. Rinse thoroughly under the running faucet. Alternatively, you can premix the shampoo in a glass bowl in lukewarm water, dipping the hair piece in and out of the soapy solution and running your hands down the hair. You can repeat this process with the conditioner.
Squeeze the hair (not the cap) in a towel to remove excess water and apply conditioner. (If the hair is saturated with water, it can’t absorb the conditioner).
Spread the conditioner down the hair length with your fingers and gently squeeze through the hair. Use a wide-toothed comb to gently work the conditioner through, leaving it on for two to five minutes no longer.
Rinse out under running water thoroughly and towel dry. Pat or squeeze the hair with the towel to blot up the water be sure you don’t rub the hair or the prosthesis scalp with the towel as it risks hair breakage.
Put your hair back on and style normally!
Other Hair Care & Styling Tips
Swimming
Always wash and condition your hairpiece the same day you've swum in a pool or the sea.
If you plan to go into a chlorine pool, you should go in with WET hair. This advice is also applicable to all of your friends with their OWN natural hair. Chlorine is a bleach and it can seriously damage hair. Before you go in a pool, make sure that your hair is wet. Wet hair can’t absorb the chemicals as dry hair does. In addition, spray your hair with a leave-in conditioner and comb it through. This coats the hair with a protective layer that helps avoid damage by sun and chlorine. Tell all of your friends (especially the blondes) to do this as well!”
Hair Products
We encourage you to purchase quality products from a salon or salon supply store.
It may take a while to find the shampoo and conditioner that makes your hair feel the way that seems right for you. That's the same for everyone with growing hair, so keep trying! We like Pureology Anti-fade in the purple bottle. Redken also has a good line of products for color-treated hair. Our hair is NOT color-treated, but since we have the same hair for several years, using products for color-treated hair will help to minimize fading from the sun and flourescent lighting.
Use leave-in spray conditioners sparingly to avoid heavy, dull hair. Bumble and Bumble Prep is one that my clients really like to help avoid tangles and to avoid build-up. It will reactivate products you've used in your hair so you don't need to add more.
Do not leave the hairpiece wet with conditioners or other products overnight or for long periods as this could damage the silicone's bond to the hair roots, resulting in severe hair loss.
Hair products with UV screen protection are good to help reduce colour fading, as are water based colour rinses and semi-permanent colours, should exposure to the sun cause your hair to fade. Please tell your stylist to use semi-permanent hair colours instead of permanent products as the peroxides damage the hair.
Styling Tips
Check your wide-toothed comb and vent brush are smooth, with no sharp edges.
As part of your morning routine, we recommend using a water spray bottle to slightly dampen the hair before styling. That will soften and reactivate any styling products used the day before, avoiding combing stress on the hair and giving your hair a fresh look for the day.
If you must use a hairdryer or a straightening iron, use only warm (never hot!) settings.
Choosing Your Hair Color
Have you ever wondered if your hair color is right for you? In the pictures below, you can see how going to a color consultant can make a huge difference in how great you look. Rachelle always thought she looked best as a blonde but after she saw herself in this warmer color, she ordered her NEW piece is this lovely shade that is so much more compatible to her skin tone.
BEFORE and AFTER
Check in your area or ask your friends for a recommendation on a color consultant. They can also advise you as to the best colors for you in clothes and make up as well. As you can see in the pictures, it’s a worthwhile thing to do! Just in case you were wondering, we ordered her new piece in a combo of colors 18, 24 and a smidge of 16.
Choosing Your Hair Style
Rather than an elaborate evening do', choose an easy-care style that you can wash and manage on your own. Often a style with hair on the forehead works well as it keeps the front edge of the hairpiece covered.
You may want to note that if the hairpiece is cut too short or trimmed using an ill-suited technique, people with alopecia can be left looking very bald at the neck.
Remember this is the hairstyle you'll be living with for the next two to three years there's no need to rush the process!
Tips for Cutting a Freedom Hair Piece
Rather than a 'just had a haircut' or wiggy appearance, most people with a Freedom Hair prosthesis want a natural look for their finished hairstyle. This can be achieved with relative ease although your stylist may appreciate some helpful tips.
Razor cutting often helps achieve a natural look, although sometimes split ends create a problem at a later date. Because there is no natural taper to the prosthesis (the hair in the wig is almost all the same length), thinning scissors are sometimes the better alternative, giving a more natural, slightly uneven, wispy look.
It is advisable to leave the length of the hair a little longer than you initially want. If you are unsure about asking your stylist to take more off, then we encourage you to put your plans on hold go home; wash and wear your prosthesis for seven to 10 days; let your style settle. Then, if you still fancy some changes return to the salon. There's no rush!
When finishing the cut, the edge hair about two to three millimetres all the way around should be sectioned off and lightly razor thinned, so if the hair is pulled back, short wispy hair remains against the skin, giving a softer edge. In all cases, the edge hair should be shorter and thinner than the top hair, otherwise the edge hair will lift the top hair away from the skin, and people will see right back to the cap edges.
If you are having a shorter style, we recommend that the first section of the nape hair (a 25 millimetre/one inch strip along the cap nape edge) should be at least 10 millimetres / 3/8 inch shorter than the finished nape length. The next section up should be about 10 millimetres / 3/8 inch wide, cut to the finished length, and not layered. We advise the stylist to continue as normal with the sections above.
The aim is to achieve a bob effect, so the hair comes in against the skin. If the nape hairline is too heavy, we encourage the stylist to use his or her scissor points to chip into the finished length.
Tips for Perming a Freedom Hair Piece
If perming a Freedom Hair prosthesis, it is necessary to use lots of rollers and plastic T-pins to lift the rollers off the scalp so as to reduce rod marks. After all, these don't grow out!
Ask your stylist if he or she knows about air neutralizing. This is a method of neutralizing the perm without actually using the neutralizing solution. It requires that the permed and rinsed and blotted hair be allowed to dry naturally on the perm rods until it is 100% dry. This can take several days so it isn't something to do if you need the hair quickly. This process eliminates the damage from the neutralizing solution and will keep your hair healthier after perming. Call your representative if you need instructions on this process for your stylist.
The stylist should ensure that the hair is not lifted off the hairline let the hair lie flat against the skin (from the edge of the wig base) before the curl begins. Otherwise the hairpiece is ruined by an unnatural hairline that won't grow out. We strongly recommend your stylist to put in all the perming rollers while you are wearing the hairpiece except for the rollers around the edges.
For these, remove the hairpiece so the perm can curl the hair against the skin. If the rollers are put in while you're wearing the wig, the hair will be permed outwards, away from the skin not a good look!
Be sure to ask your stylist to show you how to scrunch the drying hair, to encourage the curl.
