i waited a little while before reviewing because i wanted to wear the topper for a while to really see how it worked for me. also i find any negative reviews mystifying bc this topper is fantastic. it's not a wiglet - it's a topper - so you need to still have some hair. if you don't and need fuller coverage, you need a wiglet. i'm in my late 30s and i have very long hair but am battling an illness and the meds i'm currently on cause hair loss, which has been heartbreaking to deal with. i bought the 5x5 8 inch in natural black bc the 12 inch was out of stock at the time. things to know:
- it's absolutely real hair, not synthetic. at least i can say the natural black is bc that's what i bought although i would think all the shades are. the hair is healthy and soft.
- color matched my hair very very well without me having to do anything to it (obviously pics show: 2 pics of my hair loss, 2 with topper on, 1 to show my hair length and the close up of the top crown of the topper. all were taken in different lighting. most accurate color of the 8 inch are the 2 darker pics with me wearing it. the12 inch (unfortunately for me) had a lot more reddish tones in it so i'll be dyeing it.
- the 8 inch version has a good amount of hair for coverage (i bought the longer 12 inch version to better blend with my own length and while the length is longer, there's more hair on the 8 inch one)
- didn't cut the bangs (i like them longer) and all i did to blend the topper with my own hair was brush it through my hair with a wide tooth comb . i've read other reviews where the purchasers have said "oh, i took it to my hair stylist to blend it". thankfully i didn't need to do that and maybe you won't either. with a husband, 2 kids, pets, bills and these times we're in, i wasn't looking to spend more money.
- the swirl of "scalp" at the top/crown is really quality workmanship and looks extremely realistic even under very close scrutiny. it will never look as perfect as it arrives once you've washed the topper but the cowlick-ish swirl design is easy to play with when styling to still look great.
- why the 4.9 stars? as the seller shows there are 3 clips to secure it. and despite the "popping" sound in the product video, my topper clips are plastic. metal ones are heavier and to me, just grip what hair you have better. so i bought a bag of metal wig clips here on amazon for about $5 and it literally took me 15 minutes to swap them, sew the metal ones on. i also added a 4th clip.