Why More Women Than Ever Are Choosing to Wear Wigs

This is the decade in which taboos around hairpieces and women’s wigs have completely disappeared and we are seeing models, actresses and other influential fashionistas proudly show off their ever-changing artificial hairstyles on Instagram and other social media outlets. 

In fact, we are fast reaching an environment in which the women getting ahead are women wearing wigs: something that would have felt unimaginable just a few short years ago.

Call it the Kardashian effect, but more women than ever are choosing to wear women’s wigs in 2018.

Here is why more women than ever are choosing to wear wigs, and why we think this is something that everyone should be celebrating.

A Revolution in Affordability

Modern wigs are affordable, easy to maintain, and easier to buy and choose than ever. Women can now enter a wig store with their friends and have fun trying on the hair pieces, changing their look, and enjoying the social experience, just as they would if they went to a spa or a hairdresser. Because women are no longer simply using wigs to cover up thinning hair or pattern baldness, they have become more socially acceptable than ever.

Wigs are also more available than they have ever been before. As well as buying them online you can now walk into a wide range of stores designed to sell nothing but hair pieces, and many department stores now even have their own department dedicated to selling wigs, hair pieces and hair extensions. This is a nod to the fact the industry is now big business, and these retail behemoths want their piece of the pie.

Increased disposable income coupled with a reduction in the cost of choosing a wig (particularly if you opt for synthetic hair) means that it is possible to have two or three different styles in your armoury. You can have office hair, party hair, and hair for wearing around the house: wearing a new piece has become something fun and something that women are embracing and sharing with their friends, rather than something they are hiding away from them.

Update Your Look

We change our outfits and our make up every day. On Monday we’re wearing black jeans, on Tuesday we’re wearing a red dress. We start the week with nails that are pink and end it with nails that are green. No one even raises an eyebrow (which we also pluck and groomed beyond recognition). Now the same rules are beginning to apply to our hair: Kim Kardashian can start the week with her trademark long raven locks and end it with a short blonde bob and we simply accept this as part of her persona.

Kim Kardashian is just one example of a growing wave of celebrities who are very open about the fact that they wear wigs and hair extensions: they endorse products and share images of them across their social media. There is no longer a separation between their reality and ours (or at least, that’s the illusion they want to create) and their fans gobble this up, copying their latest style with glee. This isn’t just a Kardashian trend: other famous examples include Beyonce (who often changes her wig halfway through a concert, just to keep fans on their toes) and who can forget the 2015 Met Gala, where Katy Perry surprised us all by changing her wig, and her whole look, between leaving the Met and arriving at the after party!

Kinder to your Hair

It’s important to remember that if you want to change your hair regularly (particularly if you want to change the colour) then wearing a wig is much kinder to your hair than dying it, as well as being a less permanent solution. Whilst bleach strips your hair of colour, it also strips it of its strength, vital nutrients and flexibly, leaving you with hair that is brittle, dry and prone to breakages. Most hairdressers recommend that you allow between 6-7 weeks between bleaches in order to allow your hair to recover from the trauma that the treatment causes. That means that if you want to switch your hair from blonde to brunette on a weekly basis then the only way to safely do this is to wear a wig.  This same rule applies to ‘fashion colours’ such as pink and lavender, which would require the hair to be bleached before the shade you’re looking for is applied.

We also recommend experimenting with a wig before any big change of hair colour and style: this is the best way to ‘test drive’ a new look, giving you the opportunity to see if you the cut and colour suit your skin tone and face shape, and experiencing your friends and loved ones reaction to it, before you take the plunge and make a permanent change.

It is also important to note that whilst wigs are kinder to your hair, you should still take steps to protect your hair and scalp from damage and irritation if you choose to wear one regularly. Keep your hair and scalp clean and use a moisturiser or moisturising conditioner to ensure that it is as nourished as possible. Just because no one is going to see your hair doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look after it!

Save Time, Save Money

Whilst the initial outlay of buying wigs or hair extensions can be expensive, they are also a great way to change your style and keep your hair looking sharp if you don’t have the time or money to regularly visit the salon. We often say that modern women ‘have it all’: busy jobs, families, enviable social lives. But ‘having it all’ often means you simply don’t have the 5 hours left over that you need to have your hair cut, coloured, and styled. Wearing a wig can give you the appearance of a lengthy salon appointment without having to waste your time (or your money) in the salon.

And if you decide to change the length or style of your wig, or simply feel it needs a trim to tidy it up? Then simply drop it off on the way to work and your hair will be freshly styled when you pick it up on the way home: no nonsense, no time wasted.

This Season’s Status Symbols

In a lot of ways, wearing a wig or hair extensions has become a status symbol amongst women, particularly modern young women. Much like carrying a designer leather handbag or wearing expensive diamond jewellery, it is a way of visibly demonstrating their wealth and power. Wearing them says “Look what I can afford. Look what I have the disposable income to experiment with.” The style and colour of your hair immediately changes your whole look. It has more power than any other accessory you could choose, and these women are taking advantage of this.

There is another incredibly positive benefit that has come from the plethora of women choosing to wear wigs for fun though, and that is the impact it is having on the women choosing to wear wigs for medical reasons. Whether because they are experiencing hair loss as the result of alopecia or hair loss as the result of cancer treatments, thousands of women lose their hair every year. Because wearing a wig has become more socially acceptable, these women are much more open and honest about their own struggles, and more comfortable sharing that they wear a wig with those closest to them.

That these women who are in the middle of facing their own battles are able to talk about their hair loss and share their experiences of wearing and buying hair pieces with their peers, who are choosing to do it for no other reason than the fun of it, gives these two groups of women a link and a shared interest. It makes both groups feel more comfortable because they have something in common. And that is something we should celebrate.