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Wig Advice
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HEAD
SIZES FOR WIGS
To own wigs you need to know something about your head size.
Fortunately almost 19 out of 20 women can wear average head size
wigs. That means your head size when measured is between 21"
and 22½ you can wear average size wigs, which is most of
the market anyway. If you are not sure that you have an average
size head by looking, measure your head with a tape measure
going around the forehead at the hairline, under the hair,
behind the ears and around the nape of the neck. If this is too
difficult to do by yourself, have someone help you. Also keep in
mind that most wigs have a Velcro adjustment tab, that can give
you some room increase or decrease size.
 Average
Fits 21.5" - 22.5"
Petite Fits 2O" - 21"
Large Fits 22.5" - 24"
REASONS FOR CHOOSING A WIG
There are two basic reasons to consider:
- Style Changes
- Hair Loss Replacement
If you are thinking about a wig for fun fashion style
changes, the sky is the limit! You can go from short to long,
from straight to curly, blond to redhead, and the only real rule
will be "does it look good?" For the fun fashion
customer these guidelines are great tools. They cue you into
some basic cosmetic knowledge that takes years of experience to
become one's second nature.
For the hair replacement wig, selecting a wig close to your own
natural style is usually the most comfortable decision. Still
you might want to think of your style as a general guide.
Remember, wigs do not come in excessively thinned styles. That
is because fullness is one of the main reasons that people buy
wigs. Fullness, body and shine in hair are universally symbolic
of health and beauty. In fact the three attributes that convey
beauty in a woman across all civilizations and spanning the
generations are:
- healthy hair
- clean complexion
- body shape
And healthy hair is ranked first!
FACE SHAPE
The face shape advice herein is just a real good
guideline, and not a hard-fastened rule. There are plenty of
exceptions to these suggestions, but if you have not stumbled
upon your perfect alter ego style you might want to try to apply
these guidelines and see what they can do for you. Anyway, it's
good to know if you don't already, just what is your face shape,
professionally speaking.
So stand in front of a mirror, look straight ahead and ask
yourself, which of these face shapes most closely approximates
my own? Pay careful attention to the chin and cheekbones and
after you have made your best decision click on the face shape,
which will take you to a page of suggested wig styles. Then come
back here.
PUTTING ON A CLIP-ON HAIRPIECE
 Clip-on
hairpieces are by far the easiest and quickest way to go, if you
have enough hair to attach the combs. Below are two diagrams
showing the easy ways to form a ponytail secured with a coated
ponytail holder elastic band. The higher ponytail usually looks
best, sweeping up as much neck hair as possible, and the
sideburns also usually look best when just swept into the
ponytail. Some can get away with leaving out some wispy
sideburns. The idea is to create the illusion that your hair was
swept up into the combs, which will probably show a bit, and
then fell out the other side, creating the "fall".
Not shown is one alternate method of putting up the ponytail
which we developed. We call it the pigtail method. If your hair
is not long enough to put into a ponytail, but can be put into
two tiny pigtails, you can use the pigtails as anchor points to
attach the combs. The combs will not come together in this
method, but they will simply get stuck in the pigtails and
become very secure. You'll have to experiment to see what method
of application you like best for yourself. Sometimes you can
just switch around from one way to the other.
Clip-ons are very secure. Once properly in place, they don't
fall off even during active head-bobbing modern dance.
PUTTING ON A 3/4 COMB OR FALL
Most of these pieces come with excellent instructions in the
box with the piece. Falls do not have combs to attach themselves
to your hair, but instead have teeth that sink into your
existing hair to secure themselves. The trick is to position the
fall perfectly. This does take some experimentation, but the
accepted best way for most people is to start the piece in the
front lined up with an imaginary line drawn from the front of
one ear to the front of the other and over the top of the head
of course.
So first, brush all the hair that would lay in front of this
imaginary line to the front as bangs! Then, if you can, create a
small ponytail as an anchor, but this should be low near the
neck. Then sink the teeth of the fall into part line that you
have created in the front, and stretch the rest of the piece
over the anchor near the neck. If you have lined things up
right, there should be just a bit of tension, not too tight, but
certainly not too loose either.
Then brush up or lift with your fingers, your bang hair in the
front, and sort of integrate your hair with the hairpiece. With
a fall you should select a color that matches or is slightly
darker than your own hair, because you are going to layer your
hair on top, and hair looks more natural when it is darker
underneath, at the roots. You can use a wig spray, bobby pins,
or a fancy clip to attach your bang hair to the top of the
hairpiece as a final touch. With a fall you can wear the hair
back, or move it semi-forward, even in front of the shoulders if
it a long enough fall. The effect is a fullness without an
obvious ponytail or combs. They are a little more work to do up
than a clip-on, but they offer a versatility that a clip-on can
not duplicate.
COLOR DECISIONS FOR THE FASHION WIG BUYER
Again we differentiate between the fashion buyer and
the hair replacement wig. Fashion buyers are usually open to
hair color changes in wigs. And then sometimes what we are born
with, just gives you your best color to begin with. It's a
very personal decision to change color, and if you are thinking
of dyeing your hair, a wig is a great way to find out what the
other color will bring you, without damaging your own natural
hair.
Often eye color helps us select a wig color. We know that red
is opposite to green and blue and as such, sets up a beautiful
contrast. Blue eyes are a standout when framed with a red wig.
Once we decide to go to red, we look at complexion to select the
proper red, with fair complexions favoring the light reds, such
as Irish Red, and dark complexions favoring the auburns.
Complexion is also a very important guide in selecting hair
color. A strong contrast such as a pale complexion with jet
black hair, is great for making people notice your face, but
you'd better have a Snow White clear complexion as well. Strong
contrast causes the eye to see complexions very clearly, and if
that is a good feature for you, you should consider toning down
the contrast a bit. You can go too far when toning down
contrast. With no contrast at all, your face gets lost
completely, like a painting without a frame. We often see this
at our salon very often. It can be an interesting effect, but
it's not one you normally would want to live with day in and day
out.
Dark Complexions and eye colors can still benefit from some
contrast with hair color. Often a dark brown complexion will be
set off with light chocolate hair, or #1 jet black. Then light
brown complexions get contrast with dark brown hair. It's a
vice-versa sort of thing, with the big idea being to get some
contrast. The amount of contrast is up to you, remembering that
strong contrast causes the eye to focus and pay attention. After
the eye is done paying attention, the brain makes decision as to
whether or not it likes what it has seen, based on myriads of
reasons which include believability. But even the unbelievable
can be beautiful. That's one of the great things about
wigs. They allow you to change, without really changing.
- So as a general guide:
- set up some contrast to your complexion color
- fine tune contrast according to complexion perfection
Sometimes a wig just jumps at you, but if you are not sure
of a color selection feel free to e-mail us. Another idea is to
send us a color picture of yourself. Let us know in a letter, an
e-mail or on the phone about yourself and what you are
interested in. Also you can Purchase a Color Ring, and alway
have the colors at hand. Go here to purchase a
HOW DO I STYLE MY WIG
Your wig can be styled by using a wire brush, a wire pick, or
your fingertips. Your wig was designed with a basic style but
the variations you can achieve through styling are limitless.
Added height can be achieved by gently lifting with the brush.
If you want added fullness as well, tease or backcomb and then
smooth the surface hair over the teasing.To return your wig to
it's basic style simply brush thoroughly, clean and allow to air
dry
HOW DO I CLEAN MY WIG
- Brush the wig thoroughly
- Add wig shampoo to wash basin and fill with cold water
- Let soak for 5 minutes
- Swish the wig gently NEVER RUB
- Rinse gently in cold clear water twice or until
thoroughly rinsed
- Apply generous amount of wig conditioner and gently work
through hair with fingertips
- Rinse thoroughly with cold water
- Drain and blot gently with towel DO NOT SQUEEZE OR WRING
- Allow to air dry on a wire wig stand or a slender object
like a can of hairspray DO NOT USE HAIRDRYER
- Brush wig only when completely dry
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