Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Dear Chavi: My Poor Freeda

Posted by Unknown at 3:55 PM
DISCLAIMER:  Every wig is different, and every sheitel macher has sold amazing, good, fair and bad pieces.  Every sheitel company has produced amazing, good, fair and bad pieces.  Unfortunately buying a sheitel requires mazal (luck).  Every woman will probably end up with at least wig that she is unhappy with in her lifetime.  None of my posts are intended as loshon hora towards a company or sheitel macher, rather just to discuss problems people have had with particular pieces.  Mentioning the brands are necessary in order to provide context into price and reputation of each individual wig. 
Dear Chavi,
When I was a kallah 8 yrs ago, and as a clueless BT, I was persuaded to buy 2 custom Freedas (a full and a band) for a small fortune. I never loved them, simply because I never ended up with a style that felt comfortable for me til a couple years ago when, the hair and hairline of the full sheitel were already way too thin. There was  a hole in the cap, too, and the hair was really oxidized, even after being dyed twice over the years. But the hair on both sheitels was still amazing, just thinner, after all those years. Silky, natural, gorgeous hair. But with a cut that was more "me" I knew what to look for when getting a new one.
I think most kallahs have this problem with their first sheitels.  It is hard to get used to ourselves in a wiggy style, as opposed to how our hair looked before marriage.  It looks like you spent a lot of money but they lasted for a long time.  You must have worn them a lot if you ended up with a hole in the cap!  Was that from washing or from general wear?  Have you considered adding more hair into the full sheitel and repairing the cap and maybe getting it cut?  You wore your two kallah sheitels for 6 years!!! and the fall still looks good??  That is INCREDIBLE
So, for my second attempt at buying a sheitel, I went back to the Freeda warehouse, no sheitel macher this time, and thought I would just get a precut.  I got the Riva Long in a medium brown. I tried to get one that had as little red as possible. Oxidation is a problem with Freedas. It has some natural highlights in it - I never dyed it. Who knows how much they processed it though before i got it. Also, I think it dries straight but I've never washed it myself. I never noticed any texture or frizzing problems til now. I don't need a special size, but i wanted the Freeda quality. I got a great sheitel. Hooray for me....then got a cool cut. A couple inches below the chin, angled bob with the front a bit longer than the back. Kind of modern looking. The problem? It's only been washed a few times over the past year and a half since I really only wear it 4 times a month but I just noticed that it is full of split ends and the actual ends feel a bit rough. My 8 yr old band fall has better looking hair at this point. The split ends go all the way up the locks.
When did you first notice the split ends?  How was it cut?  If it was cut with a blade on the ends instead of scissors it can cause split ends to form faster. 
1. I just moved and tried out a new sheitel macher, who is a friend so i would feel bad of accusing her of anything - but did she do something unintentionally? Was she too rough on the sheitel?
Do you think it is possible that maybe she just isn't a very good sheitel macher?  If you noticed in my videos, my sheitel macher pointed out that an improper blow dry can make the hair look frizzy and appear to have split ends which could be minimized if set well.  How many times has she washed it?  When did the problem start?
2. The climate here is hot and humid - is that making the split ends show? The band fall looks totally fine but maybe b/c it hasn't been outside in this weather is why it looks better. But i think it started to look like this in NY; i honestly was so stressed and busy about moving i just wasn't paying attention. But at a wedding I wore it to in November, it definitely didn't have this issue...
The humidity could be causing the frizz to show. 
3. Is my sheitel a lemon? Is it slowly getting "straw" hair? No $1700 Freeda should look like this after a year and a half!
As I stated above, every brand produces good and bad pieces.  Afterall, it is a sewn item and there can be defect.  MAYBE the current condition is a combination of how the sheitel was cut, how it is being washed, the weather and back luck?  I agree it seems like a lot of money spent if the piece is actually headed towards an early retirement after a year and a half.
I could call Freeda but it's not like they could fix one small part of the wig. The whole thing has split ends. They're not going to replace it at this point, so long after the sale and after 2 sheitel machers have handled it. The color and cut and fit still look great so people still think it looks nice but when you look up close you see all the split ends and when i run my hand up the hair, against the grain so to speak, they feel so rough. What do i do??? And I'm no longer in NY so I can't go to them in person....
It doesn't hurt to ask.  I mean, they can say no, they may not do anything, but maybe some good will come of it.  Maybe they can sell you a new one at cost or something or half off.  Again, maybe it just needs to be set with a certain hair product to make it look sleeker. I used to put hair serum on my naturally wavy/frizzy hair.
I'm really upset over this. I hate sheitel shopping, I hate the expense and I was so happy to have something i liked wearing after all these years. If I spent so much on a sheitel that's not gonna last more than 2 years, I'm tempted to buy a cheap one next.

Advice?
Cheap sheitels seem like an option.  You have a darker hair color so you may be happier paying less money.  Also, you are wearing a shorter bob style which would only cost about $500 in a cheaper brand.  When we pay over $1500 we expect our sheitels to last at least 3 years, so I understand your concern.  However, a cheap sheitel might only last one year or less.  I really hope that the Freeda customer service comes through.  

Another thing to consider: sheitels lasting 8 years is unheard of these days.  I only know a few people in that boat and they had really expensive custom sheitels ($3500-4000).  You should consider yourself lucky that your fall and kallah sheitel lasted for 8 years.  Maybe they aren't making them as well as they used to.  Or.. you could have just been unlucky with your purchase.  I would love to hear what happens and if styling products can help hold the style better.  Another comment: longer sheitels have more room to be trimmed after split ends form, whereas shorter styles like your bob do not have much wiggle room in case the ends do become broken.  


And don't worry, the sheitel doesn't look that bad in the pics you sent....
Regards,
Chavi

2 comments:

Devorah on July 22, 2010 at 11:39 AM said...

I love my Freeda, its comfy, the hair is nice, and I never noticed any frizzing, and I have a wavy one. I love it, I would definitely buy another one.

Unknown on July 22, 2010 at 11:41 AM said...

Yeah my Freeda was pretty nice too, I just hate the cut and it tends to get wavy even after blowdried.. but hey that's what less-processed hair is like.

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