Realistic Wigs

Creating realistic, invisible wigs isn’t done with any one single technique or specialty, it is instead the product of perfecting almost every part of a wig: the hair, the density, the hair line, and the part.

The Hair

Hair is one of the most undervalued aspects of realistic wigs. Hair has to look like your own, and this means using hair like your own in every way. Color is the most obvious way that we can make wigs realistic. In people who don’t have black hair, natural hair color is produced by hair shafts of many different hues together, but all of the same base color. Hair near the roots is subtly darker than hair at the ends. Recreating these is elemental to realistic wigs.

And then there is both hair density and hair shaft thickness (denier). Interestingly, the two often go hand in hair. European hair, which is thinner in denier, is also thicker on the scalp (and more costly in labor to tie onto the wig by hand), and because of these characteristics it has a distinctive appearance when it moves or is caught by the air. Asian hair is the opposite, yet Asian hair is used to create most of the wigs you see today. Here is the simple and (hopefully) obvious truth: Asian wigs on European wearers often look fake, just as a light, airy European wig doesn’t look realistic on an Asian wearer.

The Wig

It’s very common with wigs to have the bangs/fringe combed forward to hide the hairline of a wig. While under-ventilation (tying a few hairs to the underside of the hairline) and use of baby hairs can certainly help, combing forward is still necessary to give the appearance of natural growth. But there are also lace fronts, and here realism is largely a choice made by the wearer. Lace fronts are inevitably more fragile and harder to care for. We do our best though, to keep these wigs as strong as possible by using the best Swiss lace available today. We also provide both short lace fronts and full lace fronts, the latter being the hardest to maintain and the most fragile but by far the most realistic wigs you can buy, and the former being an excellent balance between realistic and durable.

Then there is the part.  French parts, or skin parts as some put it, have no return hairs and no knots and set the industry standard for natural looking parts, but there are trade offs. They are thicker, with several layers of material, and therefore much warmer than lace tops. They are harder to wash and care for, and must be set out to dry: they can develop mold if worn 24/7, bonded, and washed on your head. With much cooler lace tops knots can be bleached, but only at  distance will the skin of the part will look realistic.