My Uniwigs Courtney hair topper review. I’d been watching this one for a while – it kept appearing in threads whenever someone asked about budget-friendly human hair toppers that didn’t look budget-friendly, and I was curious whether it could actually deliver on that. Spoiler: mostly yes, with a few caveats.
Use code NEVEEN for 15% off your Uniwigs order – full details and the copy button are on my Uniwigs discount code page.
About the Uniwigs Courtney
The Courtney sits at the more accessible end of the Uniwigs range price-wise, which is part of why it comes up so often when people are just starting out with toppers and don’t want to spend a fortune on their first piece. It’s a solid entry point for seeing whether a hair topper works for your hair loss before you invest in something higher-end.
Here’s the bit that actually explains the price, and I don’t think anybody spells it out properly. The Courtney does have a mono top – so you get that realistic scalp look where the hair looks like it’s growing out of your head. But it’s a middle-only parting with a wefted back. You can’t move the part around. That’s the trade. On something like the Claire you can part it wherever you feel like that morning, and that flexibility is a big chunk of what you’re paying extra for.
Which matters less than it sounds, honestly, if you’re a middle-part person anyway (I mostly am). And you can cheat it a little – clip it in slightly off-centre and you get a soft side-part out of it. Not a true side part. But enough.
First impressions straight out of the box
Everything in the video and the photos is the topper with zero customisation. No cutting, no thinning, no taking it to anyone. Straight out of the packaging and onto my head, which is not usually how you’d wear a piece long term but it’s the only honest way to show you what you’re actually buying.
It’s low density and light-weight, and I liked it immediately for that. A heavy topper announces itself all day. This one doesn’t. If you’ve been putting off trying a topper because you’re picturing something hot and dense sitting on your scalp, this is not that.
One thing you’ll spot in the photos that has nothing to do with Uniwigs: the ends of my own hair still had that faded ombre from years back. I kept meaning to just cut it off as it grew. My hair grows at a snail’s pace these days, so that plan went about as well as you’d expect.
The exact piece I’m wearing
- Piece: 7″ x 8″ Courtney, mono part, middle part, Remy human hair topper
- Colour: 211 Espresso Brown
- Length: 16″
- Density: 130%
I’ve also reviewed the Uniwigs Claire and the Uniwigs Melanie if you want to compare across the range and figure out which suits your situation best. And if you haven’t measured your hair loss area yet, do that before you order anything – getting the base size wrong is the most common and most expensive mistake.
The cap, and where the money is saved
Four clips, two at the front and two at the bottom. You can add more if you want, or use wig tape, or velcro, which a fair few people do instead of clips.
Looking inside, the difference against my Claire is obvious. The hand-tied mono section on the Courtney is only the parting strip itself. Everything else is wefted. That is precisely where the cost comes out, and it’s a sensible place to take it from, because the hand-tied bit is the part you can actually see.
The parting itself looks incredibly natural straight out of the packet. I don’t think mine needs plucking or widening at all, which isn’t something I could say about every piece I own.
It’s also a lower density piece, and I like that. It goes up into a ponytail or a clip easily, and in summer I can wear it when my silk tops and my denser toppers are unbearable in the heat.
A warning if you tilt it
You can clip it on slightly off-centre to fake a side part, and I do. But there’s a consequence nobody mentions.
If you tilt the topper, the clips no longer land where they were designed to land. They end up gripping a different patch of your head.
If that patch is where your hair loss is worst, don’t do it. You’d be clipping into your thinnest, weakest hair every day. Either buy a piece where the parting genuinely moves, or wear this one centre parted and accept it.
How I add coverage at the hairline
Before the topper goes on, I show what I’m covering, because I think it’s the only way for you to judge whether you’d get the same result. My loss is mainly through the parting with a bit at the back, and what you see is freshly washed hair with volumising product in it. That’s as much volume as I can get.
If I’m not wearing the topper right forward to my hairline, I use a root touch-up powder at the front. Mine is the Color Wow one in dark brown, which comes with its own brush. I’ve also ordered the Boost n Blend root powder to compare, since they do much the same thing but you get more product in the Boost n Blend.
To be clear about what this is for: I’m not using powder to cover my patches. That’s the topper’s job. This is purely for the hairline, the strip where my own hair meets the front edge of the piece and either blends or doesn’t.
Eyeshadow works too if you don’t want to buy a dedicated powder. One caution: be careful with the tone. Too warm or too ashy against your own hair and it’ll show up in daylight even if it looked fine in the bathroom.
Fibres are another route, something like Toppik or Boost n Blend, mixed into your own hair to blend it up into the topper. Uniwigs sell their own powder as well, which I haven’t tried.
Baby hairs and the little brushes
Uniwigs also sent a set of three small brushes in a pouch, in three sizes, meant for applying concealer around the parting.
I use the pointed end for something else entirely: teasing out baby hairs and the little short hairs at my front hairline so they sit over the edge of the topper. That does more for blending than any powder.
The brush end I use with a concealer, in my case a matte one, right at the very front.
Powder on the part line, and how to take it off again
Same rule I apply on all my pieces: no cream or liquid concealer on the mono section.
Most concealers are moisturising and carry oils, and oils near the knots can loosen them. Loose knots means hair coming out of the base. So cream concealer only goes right at the front hairline, never in the parting, and for the parting itself I use a flesh-toned powder instead.
Same brush, a little powder, rubbed gently across the part line. It helps a bit with blending, and this parting is good enough that a bit is all it needs.
And here’s the part I wish someone had told me: it comes off again. If you overdo it or decide you don’t like it, you don’t have to wash the whole topper. Put a little micellar water or any non-oil-based makeup remover on a cotton round and gently dab it away. Plain water works too.
Not a facial oil, and nothing oil-based, for exactly the same reason as above.
A five minute trick for flat hair
If the topper has gone flat and you’re in a rush, this is what I do.
Hold it upside down by the cap. Spray a volumising or texturising spray over it from a distance, then give it a shake.
The point is that it dries with the hair falling away from the base rather than lying against it. When you turn it the right way up and clip it on, it sits with more lift. Brush it through afterwards and blend it into your own hair as normal.
On the colour, and my verdict
211 Espresso Brown is warmer and redder than my own hair, noticeably so side by side. It isn’t a match.
I can work with it though. It reads as highlights more than as a mismatch, especially since my ends still carry a faded balayage that’s lighter and warmer anyway. I’ve been thinking about either toning the topper down or warming my own hair up with one of those colour depositing treatment masks.
Coverage at the back is decent, though bear the lower density in mind if your loss is concentrated back there. Mine mostly isn’t.
The cap is genuinely comfortable and it doesn’t shift. The hair is soft. And here’s the thing that surprised me, having been very keen on the Claire: I think I actually prefer this one. It’s the larger cap. I’m fine with a middle part, I’m fine with where the clips sit, and the extra cap size wins.
For a budget human hair topper, when the higher-end pieces run towards a thousand pounds, I’d recommend this without hesitating. I’ll add some face-framing layers to mine, and I’d like to come back to it in a couple of months once it’s been cut and properly worn in.
FAQ
Is the Uniwigs Courtney a good budget hair topper?
Mostly, yes. It kept coming up in threads about affordable human hair toppers that don’t look affordable, which is why I tried it, and it largely delivers. Mine is low density and genuinely light, which I liked straight away, because a heavy topper announces itself all day. The trade-off against something like the Claire is the fixed middle parting.
What is the difference between the Uniwigs Courtney and Claire?
Both pieces have a mono top, so both give a realistic scalp appearance. The difference is the parting. The Courtney is middle-part only with a wefted back, so the parting cannot be moved. The Claire allows multi-directional parting, which is the main reason it sits higher in the range and costs more. If you wear a middle part anyway, the Courtney gives you a mono top for less.
Does the Uniwigs Courtney have a mono top?
Yes. The Courtney has a mono part top with a middle parting and a wefted back. The mono section gives the look of hair growing from the scalp, but the parting is fixed in the middle and cannot be moved to the side. Clipping it on slightly off-centre gets you a soft side part, which is what I do, though it isn’t a true one.
What is the Uniwigs discount code?
Use code NEVEEN at checkout on the Uniwigs website for 15% off your entire order. No minimum spend, no expiry date, and it works on repeat orders.
What is a good starter hair topper for hair loss?
For a first hair topper, look for something from a reputable brand with a clear returns policy. The Uniwigs Courtney is often mentioned as a more accessible starting point. Measure your hair loss area first, and order colour ring samples if the brand offers them.
More Hair Topper Help
- Uniwigs Claire Review – the multi-directional parting option
- Uniwigs Melanie Review – larger base for more coverage
- Uniwigs discount code page – 15% off sitewide, no minimum spend
- Hair Topper vs Wig: Which One Do You Actually Need?
- How to Measure Your Hair Loss Area for a Hair Topper
- The Hair Topper Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To
- Human Hair Topper and Wig Maintenance Routine
- Buyer Beware When Buying That Hair – how to spot scam sellers
- Androgenic Alopecia in Women: What It Is, What to Expect and What Helps
This topper was gifted to me by Uniwigs for review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
Oh wow this wig looks great.