How did I get here?

It’s 7:15pm. I have a dinner reservation at 7:30. I'm standing in my bathroom in a good dress, holding a root spray in one hand and my dignity in the other.

I sprayed. Touched up. Nodded at myself in the mirror like someone who has things under control.

I did not have things under control.

I found out after the entire dinner that I had a brown stripe along my hairline.

My best friend saw it the moment I walked in. She didn't say anything. She told me three weeks later, over wine, and I appreciate her for both decisions.

That was month three of what I now call "The Hair Situation."

How the hair situation began

How the hair situation began

The sneaky thing about hair thinning is that it doesn’t send you a calendar invite.

First I thought the lighting in a photo was bad. Then I thought my ponytail felt weird. Then I was on YouTube at midnight watching tutorials called things like "styling FINE hair (not thin - FINE)" and adding super expensive hair-growing products to my basket.

Spoiler: those products didn’t do anything to my hair.

CHECK OUT THEIR COLLECTION ->

I was 34. Nothing dramatic had happened. No diagnosis, no event. My hair was just… slowly, quietly, inconveniently thinning.

And I was spending an increasing amount of mental energy trying to pretend it wasn’t.

ATTEMPT #1 · $24

The root concealer spray met my pillowcase

The root concealer spray met my pillowcase

I bought it at 11pm. Reddit said it was life-changing. Four-point-seven stars. Before-and-afters that looked like hair commercials. 

Mine looked fine. For about two hours.

The instructions didn't mention this, but the product works best under these conditions:

"Stay perfectly still. No sweating. No wind. Don't touch your hair. Remain indoors in controlled lighting. Do not lean on anything white."

I leaned on something white.

Used it six times total. It now lives at the back of my bathroom cabinet next to an expired self-tanner and a jade roller I bought during lockdown. They're all very happy back there together.

ATTEMPT 02 · $68 + $68 refill

The growth serum that asked me to wait 90 days

The growth serum that asked me to wait 90 days (I did not wait 90 days)

This felt more serious.

This was me addressing the actual problem. Not covering it up, fixing it. Very adult. Very responsible.

I set a daily phone reminder that said "SERUM (do it)" which I found motivating for exactly nine days.

The instructions said results in 90 to 180 days.

Here is what happens in 90 days of real life:

My sister's anniversary dinner. My company's end-of-year event. My nephew's first birthday with approximately one hundred cameras.

My own birthday, which I would like to exist in photos of.

Day 47 I bought the refill because I'd convinced myself I could almost see something.

Day 61 I accepted that I am not a patient person and never have been.

I had always assumed wigs would look obvious or feel uncomfortable, especially for something as important as a wedding. But after seeing a bride on Instagram transform her hair so naturally using one, I reconsidered. Eventually, I decided to try a human hair wig from Irresistible Me.

When it arrived, I was genuinely surprised. The hair felt soft, smooth, and natural, not overly shiny or artificial at all. It also came in a luxurious box that I still keep in my room for storing the wig. When I tried it on, the difference was immediate. My crown looked full again, the hairline blended well, and everything moved naturally. It didn’t feel like I was wearing something extra. If you want to see the exact wig I used, you can check it here.

For the first time since getting engaged, I stopped thinking about my hair.

ATTEMPT 03 · the one I almost didn't try

The natural hair wig I'd been quietly judging for years

The natural hair wig I'd been quietly judging for years

I want to be upfront about something.

I thought wigs were for other people. Not in a mean way. Just in a "that's not really my situation" way. My situation was thinning. Not gone. There's a difference, I told myself, repeatedly, at increasing volume.

A full wig felt like a very dramatic solution to what I kept insisting was a moderate problem.

Then it was 1am. I couldn't sleep. I was on TikTok, because of course I was.

A woman came on my screen with hair that looked a lot like mine: fine, flat, and sparse at the crown. She put on a wig from Irresistible Me.

Forty seconds later she had a full head of hair.

I watched it three times. Then I screenshotted the brand name and put my phone face-down like I'd done something embarrassing.

The thing that got me wasn't the volume. It was the hairline. It looked like it grew there. Slightly uneven. A few fine hairs at the front. Not a costume, actual hair that moved like actual hair.

I added one to my cart. Stared at it for two days. Then I thought, you have spent almost $200 on things that didn't work. What is $200 more at this point?

And, I clicked on purchase.

I opened the box in my kitchen and held it up

I opened the box in my kitchen and held it up

My exact thought was "okay." This is either going to be great or I'm going to look like a grandmother.

It was great.

The lace front sat flat. The hairline looked like it grew there. I moved my head. The hair moved with me.

I stood in front of the mirror for four full minutes just turning my head slowly.

"Is this what my hair used to look like? Because this is what my hair used to look like."

I wore it out the same afternoon. Just the supermarket. Low stakes, good test.

A woman in the produce section said my hair looked really healthy. I said thank you. Put four avocados in my basket. Had a small internal celebration next to the courgettes.

Nobody has asked if I'm wearing a wig. Not once. People ask if I changed my routine, got a treatment, if I'm "doing something different."

I tell them I found a good product. Which is true.