Wigs have been worn as far back as history books record, from the Egyptians to royals to the men or the parliament and anyone of a particularly significant social ranking. However today wigs are worn for completely different reasons, for acting for costume or even for fun, but the biggest reason for wigs is to create a sense of normalcy for those who are undergoing (or have undergone) a form of treatment that caused their hair to fall out. There are many different kinds of wigs today and I’m going to highlight a few of them for you.
Human hair- just as it sounds, made from human hair donated or sold by it’s previous owner, matched in color and made into wigs that can be custom made to fit your hair (or ordered by size for a close match). These are the most expensive wigs to buy. Human hair wigs can be dyed or styled with heating appliances, a feat impossible to accomplish with synthetic. Most human hair used for wigs is derived from the continent of Asia and there are different grades of hair. The highest grade comes from young donors, and is gently processed in order not to damage the cuticles, this hair is called Remy.
Remy means that the hair’s cuticles are facing the direction in which they grew, this is called unidirectional cuticle. Cuticles protect the hair from damage and give the hair its natural look, they also prevent tangling. Buyers must be very careful; the market is flooded with imitations, abusively called “human hair”. Lower-quality “human hair” extensions are often diluted with animal and synthetic hair to lower the price. Yak hair can be curled, permed, relaxed, and colored but many people are allergic to yak hair. Synthetic- In our present times the most common wig is the artificial one, called synthetic because it is manufactured from plastic fibers.
Synthetic wigs are indistinguishable from those made from human hair, even to the most trained eye, and have the advantage of a much smaller price tag; this allows manufacturing wigs with a much larger color palette, and a larger variety of models. There are also mix wigs with both real and synthetic and fake hair attachments that can be added to your natural hair, like partial wigs and extensions (made in both synthetic and human). Now- where to buy these wigs???
If you want a custom fit wig you’ll need to go to a wig shop, you can send your measurements to a wig maker but the best fit come from being fit in person. For non custom your options open up drastically, you can stop by a local wig shop and try styles on until you’ve found your fit or if you’re the more adventurous type you can save some money by shopping online. Ebay- the world’s largest online market is a great place to find wigs, from the kind that’ll cost you a few dollars to a few hundred, just be sure to check the feedback of the seller before you bid on anything. Wigs.com- there’s so much on this site you might get lost, they even have tips for first time wig buyers, wigs are spit into categories by styles, brands, length, color and more. The world of fake looking obvious wigs is over! The sky is the limit- go out and have fun!
This article really helped me make my first purchase of a lace wig unit!