The Best Wigs With a Fringe (or Bangs): 10 Styles and How to Wear Them

The best wigs with bangs, or a fringe, for most people are synthetic styles with a fringe that sits at or just below the brow, because synthetic fibre holds the fringe shape between washes and a slightly longer fringe can always be trimmed. A wispy or side-swept fringe is the most forgiving and suits nearly every face; a blunt full fringe is a stronger look that works best on oval and long faces. If you’re new to wigs, a fringe means you don’t need a lace front to get a natural hairline, though having both is the most natural of all.

Ask any of our team which single feature makes a wig easier to wear and most will say a fringe. Here’s why.

• It hides the hairline. The front edge of a wig is where people look for a wig. A fringe covers it completely, so there’s nothing to blend, no lace to trim and no baby hairs to fuss with.
• It frames the face. A fringe draws the eye to your eyes and cheekbones and away from the crown, which is exactly where you want attention on a wig.
• It softens. Forehead lines, a high hairline, a face that feels a little long: a fringe softens all of them.
• It holds its shape. Your own fringe needs blow-drying every morning. A synthetic wig fringe is set at the factory and looks the same every time you put it on.
• It’s a fringe without the commitment. If you’ve always wondered, a wig lets you find out in an afternoon.

Our guide to making a wig look natural covers the other tricks; a fringe is the one that does most of the work for you.

Face shape is a guide, not a rule. Our face shape guide will help you narrow it down, and if you fall in love with a fringe that isn’t “meant” for your face, wear it anyway. We’ve seen every rule broken beautifully.

Fibre. For a fringe, synthetic has a real advantage over human hair: the fringe is heat-set into the fibre and stays put. A human hair wig with a fringe looks wonderful but the fringe behaves like your own, which means blow-drying it into shape after every wash. If you want the option of restyling the fringe (sweeping a full fringe to the side, say), choose a heat-friendly wig; our guide to heat-resistant wigs explains what they can and can’t do.

Cap. A fringe means you don’t strictly need a lace front, because the hairline is covered. A monofilament top or parting is still worth having, especially with a side-swept or curtain fringe where a little scalp shows at the parting. If you want the most natural finish of all, a lace front wig with a fringe gives you both, and you’ll never wonder whether the front looks right.

Length. Buy the fringe a touch longer than you think you want. A long fringe can be trimmed by a stylist in ten minutes; a short one cannot be made longer. If you’re between two styles, choose the longer fringe.

Density. A very thick fringe looks like a wig. Most of the styles below have fringes that are lightly thinned at the ends so light passes through, which is what makes them read as real hair. If a fringe is too dense for your face, a stylist can thin it.

These are the fringe wigs our customers buy most and the ones we recommend in the shop, grouped by fringe type. All are synthetic unless stated; several are heat-friendly. Browse the full range in our fringe wigs collection.

Most of the wigs above come in a wide colour range, and our fringe wigs collection can be filtered by shade. A few pointers from the shop floor:

• A black wig with a fringe is the most searched-for combination and the one where fringe density matters most, because a solid black fringe can look heavy. Choose a wispy or side-swept fringe, and a black with a little brown or cocoa in it (Espresso Mix from Ellen Wille is a good example) rather than a flat jet black.
• A blonde wig with a fringe looks most natural with a rooted or shaded blonde, so the fringe has depth where it meets the forehead. Tori, Kenzie and Ignite all come in rooted blondes.
• A red wig with a fringe is a statement and a lovely one. The Ignite’s 35 colours include several reds; Carrie’s Auburn Sugar is a customer favourite.
• A grey wig with a fringe suits a soft, side-swept fringe better than a blunt one, which can look severe in grey. May and Kenzie both come in grey shades.

If you’re unsure about colour, our guide to matching wig colour to your skin tone will help, and we’re always happy to send colour advice by phone.

Yes. You can trim a wig fringe shorter, thin it, or reshape it, and you can even have a fringe cut into a wig that doesn’t have one, provided there’s enough length at the front. What you cannot do is make a fringe longer, because wig fibre doesn’t grow. That’s the whole reason we suggest buying a fringe a little longer than you think you want.

Have it done professionally if you can. Our wig services include fringe trimming and shaping, and any hairdresser who works with wigs will do it. It takes ten minutes and you’ll wear the wig for years.

If you’re trimming it yourself, a few rules from people who have seen it go wrong:

• Cut it dry, on your head, in front of a mirror, in good light. A wig on a stand sits differently from a wig on you.
• Take off far less than you think. A millimetre at a time. Check. Repeat.
• Point-cut, holding the scissors vertically and snipping into the ends, rather than cutting straight across. It keeps the fringe soft and hides small errors.
• Stop above where you think you want it. Fringes look shorter once they settle.
• Never cut a fringe into a wig yourself. That’s a stylist’s job, and a good one will shape it to your face.

If you have your own hair and just want the fringe, or you wear a wig without one and want to try, a clip-in fringe gives you the look in seconds and comes out the same way. Our fringe hairpieces include the Fringe Flair, a light, wispy clip-in that’s ideal if your hair is thinning at the temples, and the Easifringe by Jon Renau, a heat-friendly piece in 20 colours that a stylist can blend into your own hair. Our guide to attaching a hairpiece securely shows how they clip in.