This question comes from M., who is currently preparing to deliver twins (!!) very shortly.
I’ve gotten this question several times over the years.
Usually it stems from women getting ready to give birth, but other times readers have wondered about other hospital stays.
During the births of both of my children, I was in the concealing stage and not wearing hair yet (I remember being hot and sweaty and checking to see if my concealers were running!).
But, I’ve heard MANY first-hand accounts from women giving birth vaginally or having c-sections and how they’ve navigated wearing hair in the hospital.
It goes without saying, but I’m not a medical professional. I can only recount what I’ve been told about others’ experiences when it comes to wearing a wig or topper in the hospital.
Check out my video below:
Please share your experiences with wearing a wig or topper in the hospital…did you discuss with your doctor? Did you run into any snags wearing it?
Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂
Hi I’m a 61 year old male and I’ve been wearing a “system” from the HairClub for Men for 2 years now. I’m being scheduled to have an MRI pretty soon and it says not to wear wigs or Toppers. Is it okay to wear my hairpiece which is held in place with tape?
Should be!
What do women with weaves do if they go in for surgery? I had sinus surgery, wore my full LF even though the nurse kept telling me how great my hair was, I didn’t tell her. I felt she was trying to get me to admit it was a wig.
99% of sites like this deal with women and wigs, yet men wear them too, and for the same reasons: hair loss due to cancer, or to conceal baldness, which can be every bit as worrisome for some men as it is for women. I’m male, in my 50’s and have worn wigs for years to boost self esteem, etc. Despite being “real” looking and not too “perfect”, I’ve been stared at at times, and have also been asked rude questions. A doctor once asked me (in front of others) if I wore a wig, and when I said “yes” he replied, “Why? Because you’re bald?!” A store clerk once asked me if I wore a wig. I told her “no” (none of her business) and she replied, “I think you do! Take it off an show me!” (A call to her manager got her fired.) Once when I was having a wig cut while wearing it, another customer came up to me and complimented me on my hair. I thanked her and as I did the brainless stylist cutting it blurted out, “It’s a wig!” I asked her why she would say that and she replied again, “Because it’s a wig!” Well gee, dufus, isn’t the whole point in wearing to convince others that it ISN’T a wig? No idea why women wearing wigs is “okay” but men wearing them = “a joke”. For 200 years men in the west DID wear wigs, and it was okay.
Since this blog is all about me specifically and me experiences, it’s going to be about women. 🙂 But, you’re right – we do need more male voices out there and in all seriousness, I urge you to write about your experiences. It will help so many. And what your stylist did is RUDE.
Experience #1 – Had a baby and wore a topper. Didn’t tell anyone, no one said a word, everything was fine! I was a little nervous when I got the epidural bc I had to put my head down and I was certain the nurse standing in front of me was staring at the top of my head!
Experience #2 – Ended up in ER with appendicitis and was wearing a wig. Told no one and almost freaked out when I was told I had to have a CT scan bc I knew about the magnets. I confirmed it wouldn’t go near my head (didn’t say why) and everything was fine. Ended up in surgery with one of those surgical covers on my head and unless they peeked while I was under, no one was the wiser.
Experience #3 – had another baby, wore a wig, didn’t tell, no one said anything.
Of course I was a wreck worrying about my hair during all 3 experiences but either I got super lucky 3 times, or…it’s no big deal!
Love this, thanks for chiming in, Ally!
great advice and some very valid comments.
This hair loss and covering up can be such a burden….a headscarf/bandanna can be another option
Yes! A great, stylish idea.
I had already transitioned to a wig when I had my daughter. I didn’t want to get hot and sweaty in my wig and I didn’t want it to super frizz out while I was laying in a hospital bed. I made sure to have head bands packed in my hospital bag. When the nurse left, off came the wig. I then put my remaining bio hair in a pony tail and threw the bandana on my sparse crown. I lost my bandana at some point during labor but I didn’t care at that point and no one was focused on my hair at that point either. Lol! After delivery, my hair was one of the last things I thought about. I just rocked my bandana and pony tail and continued to for most of my maternity leave. Shortly after returning to work, I decided to go shorter and then buzzed my bio hair down to 1/8″. I had been thinking about it and decided that it was time. I had too many other things to worry about besides taking care of my wigs AND my bio hair. My wigs are my hair now!
Thanks for sharing, Heather!! Hope you are doing well. 🙂
My first thought is GERMS! I am hypersensitive about germs due to being on immuno-suppressants for auto-immune disease. I can see where a maternity unit would be ‘clean’, but I , personally, would want to minimize what I take in, and therefore have to take out, of the hospital.
Thanks for sharing!
When I had my son I was wearing a topper, and had no problems! I knew I was getting induced so I made sure that it was extra secure that morning, as I would probably not be paying attention to my hair! My hair looked great in the pictures, so I can’t complain.
I am a nurse who has worked on different units at the hospital. On most units it is perfectly acceptable to be wearing hair and it will not interfere with treatment. I worked on labor & delivery for a season, since most c-sections use spinal anesthesia, you are still fully awake during the procedure with a cap over your hair. On the rare case your c-section required general anesthesia (or if you are going to the operating room for any other type of procedure), it might not be a good idea to wear hair since anesthesia will be messing with your head quite a bit. MRI’s use super strong magnets, so def not a good idea to be wearing hair, they will pull out your topper, or if your wig has any metal bits! Hope that adds a little clarity to some of the common healthcare procedures!
Thank you so much, Effie! Completely insightful!
Last year I had to have open heart surgery to repair a heart valve. You are not permitted to wear a wig/ hairpiece into the or …I have to say this worried me more than the actual surgery! I wore a headband the whole time, but asked my husband to bring my topper when I was released – I didn’t want our neighbors to see me without it when we got home!
Thanks for sharing, Sylvie. <3