How Do I Select a Wig?
Updated 2/24/2005

Well this was a surprise. I lost my original page so this will be a short and sweet one. Part of what you want to know will be found in my wig FAQ links on the Cosmetics, Hair, etc. page.

Let me sum up the shopping experiences (from mid 1999 to mid 2003). They have been hell. Nawww just kidding. They have proven to be fun, challenging, maybe a bit more money than expected, and rewarding.

Lessons learned:

  • You will buy more than one. The first wig will most likely be your dream style and color, but will never work in the real world. Hey that's ok; that's part of the fun. I look really good in a light cyan page boy *giggle* Ummmm no that wasn't my first.
     
  • Each wig will improve on the previous.
     
  • They don't have to be human hair to be good. Also, synthetics can be easier to care for and certainly costs less.
     
  • Your first color choice will not be your last. Actually, my first matched my original hair color, but I have since moved on to Davita's own color. The lady who last styled my wigs said that women just don't have that color, but then I see it on the rare GG who wants to stand out. Your first color can be anything, but you will eventually move to a color that seems less obvious. You will notice what color(s) go better with your skin tones and features.
     
  • The length of your hair will be all over the map until you decide what you want to manage. I have one that is shoulder length and one that is about 4 to 5 inches longer. I have had short short and ones a bit shorter than shoulder length. I like it setting on my shoulders or lower. I guess it's the boy side in me liking longer hair on women. Check the FAQs; your face shape makes a difference in what is a good length and style for you.
     
  • If you get a human hair wig, don't expect it to be easy to find a place that will cut/style it for you. I guess no one wants to make the mistake that can't be fixed like it can be on a real head of hair. At least when it's too short then, it can grow out, but not you wig. I wound up paying as much for the styling as I did for the wigs in the first place.
     
  • Not every place will let you spend the day trying on wigs. I only tried a few places and one simply said it up front that you could only try on three. I guess they had a lot of people coming in to play all the time. As for trying on wigs, not every place has a private corner for you; you may be out in the open. If that happens, I can only suggest you relax and have a little fun with it. You can still ask serious questions while you play.
     
  • Some stores sell the same lines as the catalogs. Paula Young is a brand that shows up in wig shops; They cost more in the stores, but you get personal attention. If this will be your first wig, I'm not so sure you shouldn't just order one and save the money.
     
  • If you get a human hair wig, the tools you need to manage it will cost as much as your first wig or maybe your first two combined. I got a styling head, I needed a new curling iron and then would you believe hair spray too? Oh, a key item to buy is the little nylon cap (or better) that you wear under the wig. The wig will itch without something between you and the bands on the wig.
     
  • Don't be your own judge of what looks good. If at all possible, get another opinion. This is not just for style, but for color too. Remember, you may not be a twenty year old and well, your hair should be a bit convincing for your age. A fifty year old lady is not likely to have hair down to the middle of her back. I'm sure people believe my hair is dyed based on my age. Hey, does that make mine more convincing? Well you know what I mean; some colors are just not natural.
     
  • You will learn why girls brush their hair they way they do. I catch myself brushing from the back bottom under neither since that is the only way to be sure it's not tangled back there. I saw girls doing that all the time with longer hair, now I know why. As you get comfortable with your hair, you will learn how to brush it while you have it on. This is a lesson you will need to learn. I tend to fix my hair in the car just before going into the stores or to meet my friends. Sound familiar? I also touch up in the rest room when I feel just enough out of place.
     

Like I said, it's been fun shopping for my hair. It's like clothes shopping but ever so much more important. You have to feel good in it--all day sometimes. It's not like shoes you can take off in the middle of the day. You will need to feel right in your hair from the beginning to the end.

If you decide on a human hair wig, you have two things you can do with it that you don't do with synthetics -- you can cut it and you can style it. Now the hard part; try and find a place you trust to cut it. Few hair salons do wigs. Think about it; if they goof your real hair, it can grow back. If they mis-cut the wig -- OOPS. I wound up paying as much for styling (including cutting) my inexpensive wig as I did to buy it in the first place. I'm not saying this is bad, just something you will need to add in to the costs. A good styling makes all the difference in how the wig looks and how good you look because of it. Again, think inexpensive for that first human hair wig and learn from it before getting that ultimate wig. By the way, wigs wear out -- they lose hair, they mechanically age as does the hair from all the work you do on it over its life. One wig will not last you a life time.

With all this said, I am a customer of Paula Young. I recommend you hop over and see what they have. Go shopping (use my link cause they will pay me a penny)!