I got to thinking recently about how long does a fibre wig last and how amazingly wigs have evolved in the 30 years I’ve been wearing them. The range of styles has increased enormously, and the technology available to us in terms of natural bases and hairlines has improved hugely too. When I started wearing wigs, lace fronts didn’t exist outside the bespoke, theatrical wig makers, and most wigs looked bulky and fake.
Contrast that with the choice we have now. There are so many great wig brands offering everything from classic styles and no-nonsense crops, through glam bouncy waves and sleek bobs, to the latest trends in rooted styles and hot new colours. To coin a phrase, we’ve never had it so good!
“So what differentiates one brand from another?”
What about the developments in wig fibre? Again, I think the wig companies have made great strides over the years. Back in the 80s, even when wigs were new they looked dry and a bit wiry. These days every wig I’ve ever bought or reviewed has looked glorious when I’ve tried it on; the fibre is lustrous and bouncy, with judicious use of permatease to give shape and lift without the wig being too full.
“Why do some wigs cost £60 and some are £300+?”
Well, as with most things in modern life, I think you generally get what you pay for. I’ve tried lots of wigs at different price points, and with different types of wig fibre. Some fibres prioritise shine, others smoothness, and others have used the very latest technology (really, chemistry) to allow you to heat style your synthetic wig. Generally speaking, the more expensive wigs have a hand tied cap construction and lace fronts, and often but not always they have ‘better’ fibre too.
As with everything, there are compromises to be made. One type of wig fibre cannot yet excel at everything. Although I really like the idea of being able to gently heat style my wig, I would prioritise smoothness and frizz resistance over heat resistance, as frizz is my biggest bugbear. So leaving aside the heat resistant ranges, which brands do I think offer great smoothness? For me there are two important factors to this – which brands resist frizzing the best, and which respond well to using a steamer to reduce frizz once it’s set in?
For me the answer to both those questions is Gisela Mayer. I’ve worn several of their wigs in recent years, and they stand up to day to day wear better than a lot of other brands (note though that I haven’t tried every brand available). I’m pretty tough on wigs – I wear suit jackets which are bad for the fibre at the nape, I run around getting all sweaty at kickboxing, and I swim in chlorinated pools. No wig is every going to withstand that without frizzing after a while, but I’ve found Gisela Mayer wigs resist it for longer than most. I’ve also found the fibre will take repeated steaming sessions to smooth out the fibres once they’ve frizzed really successfully, which is something not all brands cope so well with.
My current wig is by Revlon, and this is the first time I’ve tried their products. I’ve been wearing this one daily for 2 or 3 months now and so far I’m impressed – there is little frizzing so far and it’s not yet at the point where it starts to accelerate and steaming becomes necessary.
‘ So field reporter Lizzie can’t yet comment on how it responds to steaming, but I’ll update you when I’ve given this wig its first steam treatment! ’
Comments (38)
Another good tip, thank you Jane. Is this for synthetic fibre wigs?
Great tip about the vinegar water soak to remove excess oils. Thanks very much, Christine.
Yes, colour is even more important than fibre/hair: as important as style. About half of the dozen or so wigs that I own are in colours that I don’t particularly like, but I have to wear them because I need to rotate 3 to 4 wigs at any one time.
It would be useful to have a 360 degree representation of all of the brands and colours on Colour Queen. What is there at the moment is a collection of colour chips and descriptions, which we know to be totally unreliable. I have tried checking the manufacturers pictures on my phone, my tablet and my computer,, to check for variation. I also check out You Tube reviews, but it makes no difference. I have have had to return 3 wigs recently ( Thank you, Simply Wigs Jodie) just because their colour looked completely different from the photos on-site. In the end, I paid over £500 for a lovely wig that is darker than I really wanted, just to restock. I find Jon Renau the closest match, colour-wise and Raquel Welch the worst. I wear blonde wigs. Thank heavens for Jon Renau’s, very gentle, purple toning shampoo for human hair wigs. It tones down brassy and red tones and stops me from looking like a canary!
Hi, I have just read your post, can you give me more information about the hair piece you are recommending. Many thanks. Eileen
Thanks a lot. Have several old wigs I can try this on. Still think more petite wigs are necessary without lace front. X
Do you have to wear a full wig Janet, or can you get away with wearing a hair piece? I’ve foud the nly hair piece which has enough hair on it to be the Berlin, it’s a smasher and covers well. I’m in my 60’s now too
I also find during the summer that I get too hot with a wig on and sometimes I’ve actually worn a scarf around my head cos of that or a turban, but they can be hot also.
I’ve got a beautiful wig recently the Beso from Ellen Willie stimulate collection and I have it in Light champagne rooted and it’s so real looking, Just had my hairdresser round to cut my own hair and showed her the Beso on me, and she said it really is lovely and looks like your own hair. It has a mono front so you can brush the fringe off your face and as my real hair is white now it can be blended in with that in places. It’s light and very comfy.
Yes I would love to be able to purchase colour swatches. I find it incredibly hard to choose colours on line.
Not sure if this helps but I have 20 plus Hairdo wigs. All ‘rooted shades’ I put them into a big bucket once I have worn them for a while each…some baby shampoo leave for 5 mins, rinse everyone out and put a dollop of conditioer in and do them all together. I then rinse out ,shake outside and leave them all on plastic stands to dry. Perfect, just comb them into place once fully dry! They all look as good as new all of the time..I am a long term wig wearer after breast cancer, so I will be wearing them for years to come! AND I feel 10 years younger in them!
I love my Trendco Wendy in almond sugar. Once it starts to feel old! I leave it in half and half cider vinegar and water, I find it does rejuvenate it. I am so happy I have come across your site ladies… perhaps men too! I haven’t spent ages on your site yet!
I’ll be back!
I agree about the Gisela Meyer wigs lasting a long time and also leaving them to soak in conditioner for a while. I’m on long term chemo so wear a wig all the time and have tried different brands from Noriko, Natural Image, Raquel Welch and Ellen Wille. For the last few months I’ve been wearing first of all Ginger by Gisela Mayer as her Champagne Rooted is the same shade through all her styles so I can then wear a slightly longer version, Lizzy, and it hopefully looks like my own hair has grown. Her wigs are shiny and a bit synthetic looking when you receive them so I always wash before trimming. I really loved Ginger but at one side the wefting shows through the blonde hair, I have two of these and they are both the same so had to use a little hair spray to make sure it was covered. It’s obviously something in the manufacturing. Hairspray shortens the life of the wig so I wash more often. I then progressed to the Lizzy which is a similar style, slightly longer without any wefting showing through so I feel confident wearing it. To give my fibre wigs a longer life I wash them regularly, at least once a week, sometimes twice, with wig shampoo and conditioner, using conditioner makes all the difference to the hair looking realistic and behaving like real hair. So to extend the life of your fibre wigs I would suggest washing and conditioning regularly using wig products. I use a wide toothed comb to loosely put it back to it’s original style, then I place it on a plastic wig stand and when it is drying, I give it a shake every couple of hours.
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