Make a

Wig from your own hair

woman wearing long wig made from her own hair

Are you interested in making a wig from your own hair? You’ve come to the right place!

We know how beneficial a wig made from your own hair or the hair from a loved one can be in the healing process. As an internet run business, we have the unique advantage of being able to help clients all over the world so we’re confident we can help you too! 

Whether your hair loss is a result of chemotherapy treatment, alopecia, trichotillomania or female pattern balding, we promise…

Tress Transformations is here to help save your hair! 

From start to finish every step of the process can be completed over email and through the mail so there’s no need to visit us in person. 

Have any questions or concerns? You can reach us through our contact page or by email at: info@tresstransformations.com. We typically reply within 24 hrs Monday-Friday.  

Breakdown

We request that you email us a few reference pictures of the wig recipient before they experienced any hair loss so we can see how they liked to wear their hair.

We also need to see pictures of any potential hair donors that will be involved in the creation of the wig. Any hair you collect from friends and family members must be similar in length, color and texture to ensure everything will blend well together in the completed wig.

Unfortunately, not everyone’s hair is a candidate for our particular style of wig making due to the way we hand tie the hair. It’s best to share pictures with us before anything is cut to make sure the hair is suitable for wig making.

before and after photo of client in her custom wig
We will need the wig recipient’s head measurements in order to build their custom fitted wig cap. The measurements we need are listed on the client information sheet and each step is demonstrated in our Head Measurements video tutorial. You can find all of our instructional videos on our tutorials page and our YouTube channel. Please use a soft measuring tape like the kind you find in a sewing kit and not the metal kind that you use for construction. It’s best to wait until after the haircut and/ or head shave is complete so the hair doesn’t affect the numbers you get. If you still have hair on your head, try to get the hair to lay as flat to the head as possible. You want the wig to be a snug fit so it’s important to hold the tape measure tightly without any slack.
black woman in custom wig made from donated hair

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 is complete. All of hair will undergo a brush out process to remove all the damaged and unusable hair so only the longest and healthiest strands remain for hand-tying. The wigs come back weighing less than what we send, typically between 95-145g depending on the length and texture of the hair.

Most people only have 40-150g of hair on their head which means we need hair submissions from around 2-4 people in order to have enough hair to build a wig. We understand collecting 300g of hair is a difficult task so we purposely keep an inventory of hair on hand in case our clients need extra to complete their wig. Once we get your submissions, we will weigh the hair to see how close you are to meeting our weight requirement.

If we need to incorporate supplemental hair with your own, we will prepare an option for you to approve. Any supplemental hair you need is already included in the cost of the wig.

child in wig made from her own hair

The minimum length of hair we can use is 10” or 25.4 cm. Anything shorter than will not work for our style of wig making. You should expect to lose about 3” of length from any hair submission due to the hand-tying process. Because of this anticipated loss in length, it’s important to cut your hair from the root so you can save as much length as possible. The hair closer to our root is also healthier and stronger for wig making compared to our ends which have a lot of damage and breakage. 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.

If you were told you will lose your hair as a result of treatment, why not save it and contribute the maximum amount or hair possible for the construction of your wig? We have more information about hair loss on our chemotherapy induced hair loss page. If you want your wig to resemble your former hair, we strongly urge you to cut from the root so you can save the maximum amount or hair. Please follow the cutting instructions in our How To: Cut From the Root video if you intend to cut from the root.

wigs made from your own hair

Once we receive your submissions, we will wash and air dry the hair so we can see the natural texture. We will then weigh the hair to see how close you are to meeting our weight requirement. If you are under 300g, we will prepare a supplemental hair option for you to approve.

When we choose supplemental hair we try our best to match the color, texture, and length of the hair that is provided to us. We do not offer any cutting or coloring services so we cannot alter the submissions once they are received. If you want your wig to be a particular color or length, it’s important your hair submissions match what you would like to see. We can usually match hair submissions up to 22” in length or 55.88 cm. If your hair submissions exceed that length, please let us know ahead of time so we can try our best to prepare.

Your supplemental hair option will be shared with you over email using pictures and video. We always give our clients the final say on what hair will be used in the creation of their wig. That being said, if you have a rare hair color or texture we cannot promise we will always have enough similar hair in stock to complete your wig. If you are naturally blond, red, or some variation of gray/ white, it’s very important you save the maximum amount of hair possible for the construction of your wig. These colors are the hardest to come by on the virgin hair market and not always available for purchase. The more hair you can contribute towards your wig the less we have to rely on supplemental hair.

ponytails

You can send us hair that has been bleached or highlighted as long as the hair is healthy enough to withstand the hand-tying process. If you dye or highlight your hair, any supplemental hair you need will be color matched to your root/ natural color and not your highlight color.

We exclusively use virgin, unprocessed hair in the creation of our wigs because we want to use the highest quality hair for wig making. That unfortunately means we are limited to the kinds of hair colors you can find in nature.

Because the wig will be made entirely from human hair, you could always have it colored by a professional stylist to resemble the color you like to see. Your stylist knows your color combination best so why not include them in the customization process!

Woman wearing a blond wig made from her own hair

We purposely leave all of our wigs raw after construction so they can be customized by the client. If we’re combining many hair lengths together, it’s possible your wig will have noticeable layers or uneven ends.

That’s why we always suggest getting your wig personalized with some shaping and a trim once you receive it. 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.

woman and her hair stylist curling her custom wig

Starting from the date of payment, there’s an 8-10 week turnaround to receive your wig. We will provide a construction update and a sneak peak video of your wig around your 8 week mark.

This timeline guarantees the highest quality possible. 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.

woman in custom wig made from donated hair

The cost to make a wig from your own hair is $1,600 US and includes all of the following:

  • Any supplemental hair needed to meet our 300g weight requirement up to 22”. Rare colors and textures are subject to availability.
  • Sneak peek videos and pictures of your wig before shipment.
  • Free shipping and insurance to any address within the United States. There’s an additional expense for international shipping.
  • Full wash, conditioning and light styling of your wig before shipment.
  • Wig maintenance pamphlet.
woman in short custom wig made from her own hair

We accept payment by check, bank transfer or by credit card (no money orders please). All checks should be made out to Tress Transformations.

We include a 3% processing fee for credit card payments and a 1% processing fee for bank transfers. We charge a 5% processing fee for international clients.

If you would like to pay by card or by bank transfer, please let us know so we can prepare an electronic invoice for you on Quickbooks. We will need the full name, mailing address and email address of the person making the payment in order to prepare the invoice. You can send us this information over email or write it down on your client information sheet.

Invoices are typically sent after we have completed processing your order. We wait to deposit your check until we have your approval to use the supplemental hair option we prepared. Payment is required up front in order for construction to begin on any new wig order.

custom wig made from gray hair

Before you drop the hair in the mail, please double check all the rubber bands are securely fastened around the pony tails and that the hair is completely dry. Bunch all of the pony tails together and roll them up lengthwise in a paper towel. Place the wrapped ponytails in a large plastic bag for extra security.

If you have long hair, it’s okay to fold the paper towel in half so the hair will fit inside the bag. Try your best to keep the hair elongated so we can avoid the hair getting tangled during shipment. Do not braid the hair or add extra rubber bands to the ponytails unless they are at the root end of the hair.

You can watch us demonstrate how to package your hair in our How To: Mail in Your Submissions video. Please include a completed Client Information Sheet or a sheet of paper with the same information in your package.

The following address accepts all mail carriers and is a secure, safe location for your packages. Don’t forget to email us your tracking information so we can help keep an eye on your package!

Mailing address:
Tress Transformations

15532 SW Pacific Hwy C1B

#506 

Tigard, OR 97224

woman in custom wig made from her own hair

Here to help...

You can access our full library of instructional videos on our video tutorials page and our youtube channel. 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 see a list of frequently asked questions regarding our wigs and our hair donation requirements on our FAQ page. In our Resources and Tutorials section, we provide some general information regarding Chemotherapy induced hair loss and some online resources for Alopecia and Trichotillomania. We also have some information regarding insurance coverage and what CPT Codes you should use for your reimbursement claim.  

woman in long wig made from her own hair
asian woman in wig made from her own hair

What our clients say