Make a Wig from Your Own Hair
Compassionate Creations specializes in designing custom wigs for any type of hair loss including chemotherapy treatment, alopecia, trichotillomania or female pattern balding. As an internet-based company, we can help build the wig of your dreams no matter where you live. We’ve made the process of ordering a custom wig easy and stress-free thanks to our step-by-step tutorials and compassionate approach to customer service. We’ve built hundreds of wigs for clients all over the world and we’re confident we can help you too!
The Process
Reference Photos
The design process begins once we receive a few reference photos of the wig recipient before they experienced any hair loss. Once we see how they liked to wear their hair, we can offer advice on which donations would work best for their wig. Any hair donations you collect from friends and family must be similar in length, color and texture to ensure everything will blend well together in the completed wig. You can submit hair that has been dyed or color treated as long as it’s strong enough to withstand the hand-tying process.
Head Measurements
In addition to the reference photos, we also need the wig recipient’s head measurements in order to build their custom fitted wig cap. You can watch a video demonstration of the measurement process on our video tutorials page or you can contact us to sign up for help virtually. We will walk you through every measurement so you can rest assured the wig will be a good fit.
Please contact us directly if you’re interested in signing up for a Help with Head Measurements video consultation.
Weight
The minimum weight requirement for any new custom wig order is 300 grams. We need this much hair to ensure there will be enough left over to complete the wig after the brush out process. The full 300 g of hair will undergo a brush out process to remove all the damaged and unusable hair so only the longest and healthiest strands remain.
This process will also custom blend the hair together to ensure an even distribution of color and lengths. We understand collecting this much hair can be a difficult task so we keep an inventory of hair on hand in case our clients need extra to meet our weight requirement. If we need to incorporate supplemental hair with your own, we will prepare an option for you to approve.
We always give our clients the final say on what supplemental hair will be used in the creation of their wig. Any supplemental hair required to meet our weight requirement is included in the cost of the wig.
Length
The minimum length requirement to make a wig from donated hair is 10 inches. We cannot under any circumstances accept hair submissions that are shorter than 10” in length. We strongly suggest speaking with us first before anyone decides to cut their hair. You should expect to lose 2-3” of length from your hair submissions due to the hand-tying process. Please keep this in mind when you decide how much length you would like to cut.
You can see examples of wigs built from different hair lengths on our gallery page. To see our preferred methods for cutting your hair, please visit our video tutorials page. We cannot use hair that has already fallen off the head so it’s important to save your hair as early in treatment as possible. You can read more about this on our chemotherapy induced hair loss page.
Styling
We purposely leave all of our wigs raw after construction so they can be customized by the client. Once you receive the completed wig, we suggest getting it personalized with some shaping and a trim. It’s important to wear your wig while it’s being cut so the stylist can see how the hair will fall and frame your face.
Compassionate Creations does not offer any cutting or coloring services because our primary focus is on construction. We suggest having those kinds of services done by your personal stylist or someone comfortable working with wigs.
Timing and Costs
The Turnaround Time
We currently require a minimum of 8-10* weeks to construct any new custom wig order. This timeline guarantees the highest quality possible for your personalized wig. Each strand of hair is individually hand-tied by a professional wig maker, giving you the flexibility to style and part the hair in any direction you’d like.
The Cost
The cost to make a wig from your own hair is $1,600* US and includes the following:
- Any supplemental hair needed to meet our 300g weight requirement. Rare colors and textures are subject to availability.
- *$1,600 price only covers hair lengths between 10-22″. Price increases if hair length submitted is longer than 22″.
- Free shipping and insurance for your completed wig to your preferred address (United States only).
- A full wash, conditioning and oil treatment before we ship your completed wig.
- Lifetime access to our representatives for any future questions or concerns regarding your custom wig.
We're Here to Help
You can access our full library of instructional videos on our video tutorials page. There we demonstrate:
- How to Take Your Head Measurements
- How to Prep and Cut Your Hair Before a Head Shave
- How to Prep and Cut Your Hair for a Donation
- How to Mail in Your Hair
- How to Wash and Maintain Your Wig
You can also see a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions regarding our services and our hair donation requirements on our FAQ page.
In our Resources and Tutorials section we provide some general information on chemotherapy induced hair loss and offer a few online resources for people who suffer the appearance related side effects of alopecia, and trichotillomania. You can also find some helpful information we’ve collected regarding insurance coverage and how to file a reimbursement claim to cover the cost of your wig.
Read About Us in the Press
You can read all of our press articles, watch our feature news story on KGW 8 and learn more about our founders on our About Us page.