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What are hair toppers and how do you select one?
Hair toppers are the perfect confidence booster if you’re looking to add volume to your hair or conceal hair loss. They come in many shapes and sizes as well as various fibers and textures. If you’re overwhelmed by the amount of choices to choose from, read on and we’ll help simplify the process for you!
Selecting a topper
Step 1: Size
Toppers are designed in many sizes– some provide light coverage for smaller areas of concern and others provide fuller coverage for more advanced hair loss.
Measuring the target area you’re looking to cover ensures you pick a hairpiece with a base size large enough for your needs. Be sure to add an inch to each measurement so that you’re clipping to a sufficient amount of healthy hair.
Step 2: Fiber
Toppers are made in both regular and heat-friendly synthetic fibers as well as human hair and human hair/synthetic blends.
Regular synthetic toppers are the most low-maintenance, low cost option with around a 6 month lifespan.
Heat-friendly synthetic toppers can be styled with hot tools, but the fibers tend to break down quicker making their lifespan around 3 months.
Human hair toppers provide ultimate realism and stylability, and while being at the top of the budget, they also have the longest lifespan of up to 12 months and oftentimes even longer.
Human hair/synthetic blends offer styling benefits and you would never know they weren’t 100% human hair except by the lower price tag. Like their cost, their lifespan falls right in the middle.
Step 3: Texture
Wavy
Straight
Whether your natural hair is straight, curly or wavy, toppers offer various textures to match. The beauty of human hair and heat friendly synthetic toppers is that you can heat style them to match your curl pattern.
Step 4: Hair length
Picking a topper that matches your hair length is important. To do this, measure your natural hair from the crown of your head to the longest layers. If it's 8" or less, you have short hair. If it's between 8.25" and 13", your hair length is medium. And if it measures 13.25" or more, your hair islong.
If you can’t find the perfect length, don’t stress– you can always take your hairpiece to a professional stylist to have it cut or blended in.
Step 5: Color
Think of picking out a hairpiece like shopping for a swimsuit…you want the right amount of coverage where it’s needed most! A topper with too small of a base can cause more hair loss and one that’s too big can feel bulky or tack on unnecessary cost.
Our color ring program allows you to purchase a professional color ring to help you match color and you can return it for store credit or keep it for future use. Be sure to pick the fiber that corresponds with the brand of topper you’re interested in because colors can vary between brands and fibers. You can find more tips on color matching by visiting our blog here.
For further assistance in picking out your hairpiece, check out our online topper quiz!