Hair loss due to medication can be easier to deal with if you are aware of what is available in today's technology of hair replacement and what's right for you. The transition can be easier and more natural than you realize if you go about it correctly.

Here are some important tips to help you understand how best to plan your transition into a hair replacement:

Depending on the type of medication used, you may have several weeks before you will really need a hair replacement or a wig. During this time it is advisable to seek advice from organizations such as "Look Good-Feel Better" chapters who have a lot of experience and knowledge in such matters. Secondly, visit one or two wig specialists who specialize in hair replacements. Remember the best time to visit a hair replacement specialist is before you lose your hair. Why? It will afford the stylist who helps you to see your present hair style, your own hair color, and to possibly measure your head size to be sure your head will fit within an average size wig. If your head is exceptionally large or small a custom wig may have to be made for you, and this can take a number of weeks to make.

Why is this important to you? For Example, trying on a wig before you lose your hair will force you to stuff all your hair under the cap of the wig; but after you lose your hair the bulk of your hair is gone and the cap may feel looser. The establishment should know this and must be able to alter the cap should this happen down the road.

Plan the care and maintenance of your wig as well as what type of support products (such as shampoo, conditioners, brushes) to use. This can effect the longevity of your hair replacement.

Because wig fitting and care is a specialized craft, it takes special training and education to be good at it. There will be times you will have to have your wig cleaned and restyled to look like new again and it can make quite a difference when done professionally. Be sure the establishment you purchase from offers this service.

Be sure to look for what is called tape tab material inside of the wig. The tape tab areas inside the wig cap allow you to use little pieces of double faced tape that really make the wig cap cling to your scalp, keeping it in place hour after hour, all day, all night long. You can even brush and style your hair replacement without any movement or sliding. This is a wonderful feature to have and only by experience can you appreciate the feature.

It will be advisable to do what you need to in order to make your experience of living in your new hair alternative (wig) a better and more secure experience. Remember, if you are active in you daily life, you will be living in your new wig every day. Anything you can do to make it more pleasurable is what should be done. (For example) When your own hair lose is about 50 to 60% the stylist should suggest cutting off the remaining hair at the points where the tape tab material within the wig cap touch your scalp; thereby enabling you to start using double faced tape to secure the wig to your scalp. This will eliminate the fear of the wig slipping or coming off while brushing or pulling on the hair itself.

From the time your treatment stops, it usually takes about one month or so for your own hair to start growing in. Hair usually grows at the rate of about 1/4" to 1/2" per month, and at this point it will still take several more months to have enough hair to wear on its own; even in a new short hair style. In most cases, from the time your hair loss starts to the time it grows long enough to wear on its own, it may take up to 10 to 12 months time, depending on how you want your hair to look before you no longer wear the wig. During this time of using a hair replacement you will be living in it day and night, seven days a week. Therefore, you may want to consider owning two of them so you can alternate, or leave one to be cleaned and restyled while wearing the other. It's a good thing to have a second wig.

Most insurance companies today will pay up to 80% of the cost of the new hair replacement. But there is an educated process insofar as how you prepare the paperwork to submit your claim. If you follow these couple of procedures you should have no trouble:

Ask your doctor for a prescription written as follows: "Hair prosthesis due to the effects of chemotherapy". When purchasing your hair replacement (wig) ask the establishment to make out your invoice stating: "Hair prosthesis as prescribed by doctor", then the amount. Submit your insurance claim and copies of both the doctor's prescription and invoice from the establishment where you made your purchase, and it should work well. Remember, insurance companies do not consider a hair replacement as a medical treatment and there are some who will turn the claim down if not done in a correct manner as outlined above; even then some still may reject it.

Tax Note: It is important to remember that a wig for medical reasons is also tax deductible when you file your federal income taxes. You can also legally deduct any state sales tax you may pay from your state income tax return at the end of the year. So it is important to save your receipts and copies of doctor's prescriptions.