Wigs have a number of different uses in the world including personal adornment, religious reasons, disguise, or symbol of office. These are just a few reasons why people wear wigs but let us learn a little more on where wigs came from. As far as most people can tell the use of wigs started in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians would were these wigs to shield their bald heads from the sun. Those that had hair and wore wigs would use resin and bees wax to keep the wig in place. Other ancient cultures that wore wigs would be the Greeks, Romans, Assyrian, and Phoenicians. These groups would wear wigs for everyday fashion.
After the fall of the Roman Empire wigs were scarcely seen until the 16th and 17th century. This is when people started wearing wigs for a couple reasons. The first reason would be to cover up hair loss and the other would be because of unhygienic condition of hair care of the time it was easier to shave a person’s head and give them an easy to clean wig then it was to remove lice from their natural hair. One reason why wigs became so popular during this time was the use of wigs by the royal family. This would in time lead to men of social rank wearing them out of obligation. In this time human hair wigs were made as well as wigs made from goat and horse hair.
Later in the 18th century men would powder their wigs in order to give their wigs a distinctive look. Surprisingly enough women of this time did not wear wigs. It was not until the mid to late 18 hundreds that elaborate and many times themed wigs were used by women. Women would adorn their wigs with jewels and other ornaments to show prestige. This was around the time that wigs were worn by judges in European countries. The wigs in the 18hundreds were the same style of wigs that were worn by the first five United States Presidents.
In these modern times you should be able to see many people wearing wigs there are some wigs out there that you would not be able to determine if it is a wig or not. Around the world people still have many uses of wigs such as in Britain most of the nations that comprise the Commonwealth have special wigs that are worn by their judges, barristers, civic officials, and certain parliament members. In Hongkong one can see that they require their barristers and judges to wear wigs as part of their court dress.
In America you will find that there are many reasons why people wear wigs. For example, people might wear wigs for a costume party. There is many times where actors and actresses will wear wigs as part of their role in a theater production or movies. There are some men who wear cross dresser wigs to get a more feminine look. There are others out there that wear cancer wigs which are specially designed for those that do not have hair to grab onto. There are wigs that are worn around Halloween by people of all ages. There are also hair extensions that will fill in one’s hair or make their hair appear longer than it is.
In the past they were limited on the type of wigs that were out there unless they went to a wig making specialist. Now you have a number of options when it comes to your wig. The first thing that you will need to determine is the type of material of wig that you are going to want. There are three basic materials used to make wigs these days. The first material that is used is a synthetic material that is created in a factory which if you do not care if people know you are wearing a wig than this is great for you. The next material that is used to make wigs would be real human hair. This is the type of wig that will look more natural. The down side to this type of wig is that it is generally more expensive than other wigs that are out there. The last wig material that is most commonly used would be a blend between real human hair and synthetic hair. There are some out there that look real while there are some that are noticeably a wig.
The next option that you have when you are selecting a wig is the length of the wig. You can get a short wig which means that this would be a wig that is above your shoulder. There are medium length wigs out there that are wigs that come to your shoulder. The last length of wig that you can select is a long wig which is a wig that will run down to the center of your back or longer. When you have a real hair wig you should be able to style it in a number of different ways. You will need to determine how much time you are going to want to spend styling and washing your wig. The less fuss you want the shorter the wig you will want to go with.
The next decision that you will need to make when you are looking at wigs is the color that you will want. There are some wigs out there that are bright colors such as pink and purple while there are other traditional colors out there such as brown and blond. Depending on where you go you might be able to find wigs out there that are streaked. When you get a wig you will want to make sure that you have a clear idea as to what type of wig you are looking for to ensure that you are able to get the look that you want. You might be able to take a human hair wig to your stylist for additional styling. When you get human hair you should be able to dye it any color that you want. Generally a synthetic hair wig does not dye well you would need to discuss dying options with the wig specialist that you are working with.