Comfortable Wigs for Chemotherapy: Alternatives to Traditional Wigs

If you're looking for a comfortable wig for chemotherapy, you don't necessarily need a traditional full wig. Human hair hat wigs are a lightweight alternative consisting of real human hair attached to a comfortable headband, designed to be worn underneath hats, beanies and scarves.

Comfortable wigs for chemotherapy

The moment you are told you are going to lose your hair is almost as confronting as being told you have cancer. For some people, it's even worse. There are no words for how it feels. And soon enough, you may find yourself Googling: 

"What are the most comfortable wigs for chemotherapy?"

I know I did.

My search for the right wig

Synthetic wigs

Synthetic wigs are often an affordable and convenient option. They don't usually require much styling or maintenance, and there are now some very good synthetic wigs available.

But the synthetic wigs I tried during chemotherapy weren't for me. I found them itchy and uncomfortable, and I felt they looked shiny and obviously like a wig.

Human hair wigs

Human hair wigs can look incredibly natural and can be styled much like your own hair.

The downside is that good-quality human hair wigs can be expensive, and they can require considerably more care and styling than synthetic wigs. A full wig can also feel like a lot of hair when you're already dealing with a sensitive scalp.

Hats, beanies and scarves

Another option is to simply wear a hat, beanie, scarf or turban.

This can be wonderfully comfortable, particularly when your scalp is sensitive. But for some people, looking in the mirror and seeing no hair at all can be confronting.

And this was a particular pet peeve of mine: losing your hair doesn't necessarily mean you look or feel sick. It's the chemotherapy that makes your hair fall out — not necessarily the cancer itself.

Or you can embrace being bald

Some people feel completely comfortable going without a wig or hair covering.

Hats off to you — literally — if that's you!

But if you'd like the comfort of your favourite hats and the appearance of having some hair, there's another option that you may not have come across before.

Explore our Human Hair Hat Wigs →

A comfortable alternative: human hair hat wigs

A human hair hat wig is a small amount of real human hair attached to a comfortable headband. Instead of covering your whole head like a traditional wig, it is designed to be worn underneath your favourite hats, beanies and scarves.

This means you can keep wearing the hats you already own and love — while adding natural-looking human hair around your face and underneath the hat.

It's a little bit of hair, but it can make a surprisingly big difference.

Why choose a human hair hat wig?

For me, a human hair hat wig offered the best parts of several options:

• An affordable human hair option, providing all the benefits of natural human hair, with much less styling and maintenance than a full human hair wig 
• Comfortable enough to wear all day, without the heat and scratchiness I experienced with some full wigs
• The versatility of wearing it under my own hats, beanies and scarves

Most importantly, it helped me feel a bit more like me while I was going through chemotherapy.

Why I created Hair for Hats:

This is me before chemo, with short hair:

When I knew I was going to lose my hair, I started looking for something that would make me feel comfortable and still look like me.

First, I went to the wig library and found this synthetic option with darker roots. It wasn't bad — but I found it shiny, itchy and obviously a wig:

There was also a synthetic fringe wig. It was shiny and curly, and because it was synthetic, there wasn't much I could do to change the way it looked.