Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Pam (Julia's mom) on February 12, 2009 at 3:01pm

Hi Tanya,
My dauhter is 7 yrs. old and we just got her a hairpiece (made of real hair) that attaches to the scalp with a bonding material. She has lost all of her hair on top and loses more on the back and sides daily. She absolutely loves this system. The scalp looks so real and it stays on for a few weeks. I think she is going to get a full wig made with the same material as well in case it is needed in the near future. I am with you - tired of putting chemicals on her and only wish she could continue the cool laser treatments, but maybe in the summer. I just want her to be happy, and she sure seems to be. The only thing she complains about - she cannot scratch her head if it is itchy....The place that we got it said you can also swim in these systems. You need to get it reapplied on an average every 3-5 weeks I believe. Does it sound similiar to what you are looking into? Good Luck!

Pam

Permalink Reply by Tanya (Ash's mom) on February 12, 2009 at 3:42pm

Pam,
Yes very similar. We would have to go in for monthly maintnance but it seems like its worth it. With this program she will get 9 haipieces a year so when they feel it needs to be replaced they can. It is very pricey but seems worth it just to have her comfortable at school again and happy when she looks in the mirror. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Good Luck and I'll keep your daughter in my prayers.

Permalink Reply by Pam (Julia's mom) on February 15, 2009 at 8:55am

Hi Tanya,

I am still looking into those vacuum wigs as well, have you heard anything about them? As I told you before, my daughter loves the hairpiece, but I wish she could still get the cool laser treatment to see if it helps with hairgrowth. How old is your daughter? These are such difficult decisions....My prayers are with your daughter as well!

Permalink Reply by Tanya (Ash's mom) on February 17, 2009 at 10:09pm

Pam,
Ashton is 13 and I did look into vacuum wigs but my daughter is so active she is in competitive cheerleading and tumbles and manufactors of the vacuum wigs could not guarantee the wig would stay on. Ashton also wants to wear her hair in a pony tail and with the wig you can tell its a wig around the hairline. Another benefit is wigs start to look brittle even the 100% hair and with this system thay renew it continuously. At this age kids play with other kids hair I just wanted the next best thing to her own hair. I hate that i have to decide whats best for my daughter in this area because I think she's beautiful with or without hair so I started including her on the decisions and have since she was about 9 yrs old. I left it up to her if she wanted to strt the injections. I educated myself first on side effects then educated my daughter. I didn't feel like I had the right to inflict pain on her to "hopefully" get hair growth if she didn't think it was worth the risk. Recently they sensitized her skin to an acid treatment and it has left a horrible, painful, and itchy sore on her arm and she refuses to proceed with it on her head. I have to respect that. I'm just so worried something I do now for something (hair) so superficial will cause health problems later and its just not worth it to me.

Permalink Reply by Tanya Stone on October 17, 2010 at 6:03pm

HI-my name is Tanya also. I am looking into virtuesse also but they cant seem to give me an exact cost it would be-after the initial $450 they told me. Seems strange-what did they tell you?

Permalink Reply by Tanya (Ash's mom) on November 12, 2010 at 9:16pm

Hi Tanya,
Sorry for the delay in my response. I pay almost $7000 a year for Ashton's system that gives her a new hair piece a month. We did have cheaper options but Ashton is very active and a teenager so she is constantly straightening her hair. Life has changed for Ashton since we started with Virtuesse system. Although it is expensive it has been worth it. I am lucky enough to have a flexible spending account through work so it helps. Hope this helps.

Tanya

Permalink Reply by sarita on February 20, 2009 at 8:32pm

my daughter is 11 and she goes to hair club for kids they provide free wigs for children under18.

Permalink Reply by Sara and William on March 7, 2009 at 10:18pm

We just went (via 3 hour drive each way) to the Hair Club. I don't think I still understand what they're going to do, and I felt stupid that I didn't know, so I didn't ask (I guess I'm going to have to get over that, aren't I?)

Anyway, I knew I had a few weeks before they actually put it on him or I would have pursued it more, but this way I figured I could come here and ask parents instead of people who are used to working mostly with bald adults.

Will they shave his head? Is there really no way to get it off without going back to the Hair Club (I'm not PLANNING to take it off, but I'm just a bit hesitant to put something on his head that I can't take off without driving 3 hours somewhere--what if a spot would come loose and he looked weird, would I have to take all my kids out of school and drive off on a moment's notice, or could we remove it and use a backup wig or let him wear a hat till the next weekend, etc, etc)?

Thanks in advance!

--Sara

Permalink Reply by Tanya (Ash's mom) on November 12, 2010 at 9:25pm

Sara,

Not sure how Hair Club works, but with my daughters system we cant take it off. It stays on pretty well. Our hair specialist gives us glue for around the edges in case we need it and Ashton does have to touch it up around the front nd sides every now and again, but it has never come off. She is a competitive cheerleader so she tumbles alot and is very active. We are also located in Fl so beaches and water parks are part of our everyday lives and she does it all. Sometimes when its close to time in getting a new hair piece and she has swam alot it does become loose in spots and lift but it has never come off and thats only happened maybe twice and we've done this for almost 2 yrs now. Hope this info helps.

Tanya

Permalink Reply by Supportive Mom on April 4, 2011 at 3:01pm

Just wondering about this system. How much hair loss does your daughter have, and does it block new growth from coming in if she has any? How does that work and is it hard to take the glue off. I heard it can be painful at times.

Permalink Reply by Tanya (Ash's mom) on April 4, 2011 at 5:45pm

My daughter only had about 20% of her hair. It is not painful, when they remove it of course they do it slowly and use a solution that makes it easier. It does allow hair to grow, but every month (thats the plan we have) she gets a new hair piece and they shave any new hair growth off. I'm not sure what we will do if ever we see full hair head of hair. But we live in Fl and she is involved in competitive cheerleading so she needed something that would allow her to do the waterparks, beaches, and tumbling without worrying if her was gonna come off. Overall we are happy kids dont pick on her anymore. There are times when it gets a lil itchy, but she doesnt complain about it much. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Permalink Reply by KWM on June 8, 2011 at 3:59pm

Hi Tanya,
I have a 12 year old daughter with a type of ectodermal dysplasia. Her hair is very thin, brittle and breaks easily. I am considering the Virtuesse system and I am wondering if you and your daughter are still happy with it. I called our local salon to set up a consultation and I was told that Virtuesse was not very successful with children. My daughter is a dancer and is quite active. She also sweats more than normal through her head due to her condition. I think the system sounds like a great solution because she can wear it 24/7 and because she would not have to worry about it coming off. Could you please share your thoughts with me. I am wondering how your daughter says it feels on her head. Is it itchy or hot? Thanks so much!

Kelli