The Wig Buyer's Guide
The Wig Buyer's Guide
If you have looked at our ‘About Us’ page you will know that Liberty Wigs.co.uk is owned by professional hairdressers that have a wealth of experience within the hair loss and replacement industry. Therefore, you can truly be sure of honest help, support, and advice alongside a discreet service. If you need any help, you can call us Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm or alternatively via e-mail support@libertywigs.co.uk.
If you are new to the wonderful world of wigs you may be unclear on how to pick or find the perfect choice for you. Let us help you with our Wig Buyers Guide that will help you to make an informed choice and help you choose the style, colour and fit that will work best for you. So, let’s look at the various essential information that you need to establish to find your perfect wig choice
Let’s Start With Style
We have designed our website with you in mind to make it easier to navigate and search through all our beautiful wigs. You can easily narrow your search by length, texture and hairstyle. Most clients are more comfortable at the beginning of their journey sticking closely to a style and colour they are familiar with. We would suggest a more of a drastic change be made later once you get used to wearing a wig and gain your confidence and believe me that is where the fun starts. Imagine being like a child in a candy store, so much choice and variety to choose from. Experimenting with your new locks is certainly exciting but you still need to take into consideration your face shape.
Follow this useful face shape guide for the first step in choosing a suitable wig with confidence:
Top tip – Take your hair away from you face before you decide what shape you are.
Square – has a wide hairline and jaw. Square shaped faces need height or waves on top and narrowness at the sides to break up the square appearance. We suggest combing the hair off the forehead to add height to the face. A curly or wavy texture and wisps of hair around the face will break the wideness.
Round – has a wide hairline and fullness below the cheekbones. Round faces look fantastic with a geometric or linear style, this will break up the round appearance. It would also be good to add some height, and/or long, wispy side layers to narrow down the appearance of the cheeks. Comb the hair close to the head on the side and at the neck. Try to avoid lots of width.
Oblong – tends to be a very long and narrow bone structure. We would suggest a style with a fringe across the forehead and soft waves, or curls in the crown and nape areas. This will help to create the illusion of an oval and will add softness.
Heart – has a wider forehead and a narrower chin. We would suggest bringing some hair onto the forehead to balance its width. Keep hair close to the head at the eyes but slightly fuller around the jaw, plus below and in front of the earlobes which will all add volume towards the chin.
Diamond – is narrow at the sides with fullness at the chin area. Bob styles suit diamond shaped faces very well. Avoid height on top or volume on the sides. A soft fringe to cover a more of a narrow forehead will also work to reduce the width at the sides of the face.
Oval – is longer than wide, with a jaw that is narrower than the cheekbones. The oval shaped face has no dominant areas, it is completely in proportion and looks great with just about any hairstyle, length or texture.
What Is The Right Colour Choice For You?
Most brands and styles offer a huge range of colour choices. Once you have found your desired look you can then begin to review the colours available. If you click next to your wig choice the colours will become available to view
Top tip - if you're new to wearing wigs, we would suggest that you stay as close to your natural shade as possible, this will ease the transition.
Top tip - if you're new to wearing wigs, we would suggest that you stay as close to your natural shade as possible, this will ease the transition.
When it comes to changing your wig hair colour, deciding what colour to pick may be daunting. If you choose the wrong colour, you can go from looking beautiful to awful in an instant. So that provokes the question: how can you know which colour is best for you?
First, you need to determine your skin tone
‘Melanin, a pigment found in the body of humans, determines the color of your hair, eyes, and skin. It also influences the colour change in your skin due to changing environmental circumstances. Different skin hues are caused by variations in melanin in your body, such as its distribution, size, and shape.’
You can check to see if you are warm-toned or cool-toned person through the following methods:
Firstly, hold out your wrist in normal sunlight. If the veins in your wrists look green, then you are warm-toned. If they look blue or purple, you are cool-toned. If you cannot tell if your veins are green or blue, you may have a neutral skin tone, olive complexions usually fall in this category.
Next, have a look at your skin tone
Wash your face, wait 15 minutes, and go and sit in natural sunlight with a white piece of paper. Whilst looking in a mirror have a look and see how your skin looks in contrast.
- If your skin has a yellowish or sallow appearance you have warm skin tone
- If you have a pink, rosy or blueish- red you have a cool skin tone.
- If you look grey in appearance, you are most probably olive skinned with a neutral skin tone and you can therefore experiment with both neutral and warm tones as you fall in-between the two.
Hair Colour For Warm Skin Tone
Those that have warm skin tones, in general, should stick to warmer hair colours. Think rich mahogany, caramels, chestnut, gold blondes, honey blondes, strawberry blondes, coppers and warm reds
Avoid ashy and icy blonde tones
Hair Color For Cool Skin Tones
Cool tones like ash blonde, platinum, white blonde, and ash brown are ideal for cool skin tones. But you can also pull off softer warm tones like red, burgundy, light chestnut brown. Avoid anything that is golden or orangey.
Hair Color For Dark Skin Tone
Dark tones like jet black, bright reds, dark auburn, red copper, dark red, dark golden blonde, silver blonde, honey blonde, lilac blonde, rich coffee brown, chocolate brown are ideal. Avoid ashy and ice blonde tones
Next Up, What Is Your Capsize?
Wig sizes are mostly determined by the measurement taken around the circumference of your head, see the table below showing how to measure your head circumference. There are some other measurements you can take too to help you determine the right size wig for you, these are, ear to ear and the front of your hairline to the nape of your neck. Simply write down your measurement then consult the table below.
We find that the average wig size will fit around 95% of our clients. If you discover you have a petite or larger head you will see some brands may not have all of their offerings in all cap sizes. An important reminder is that most wigs also have adjustable straps that can give an extra 1/2″ and therefore will achieve a comfortable and secure fit.
Wig Construction & Cap, What Is Best For You?
Cap constructions are the base methods used to attach to the hair whether it be Synthetic Fibre or Human Hair. The base of your wig is an important feature and therefore we have dedicated a video link to watch so you can see the difference clearly, click here to view. Alternatively keep reading to find out more – each cap has its own set of advantages.
Basic Wefted Cap
- Ideal if you are looking for a natural lift with height and volume
- Affordable and durable
- Most or all of the cap has open wefting for better air ventilation
- The hair is permatesed at the root to help mask the cap beneath
Monofilament Cap
- A full Monofilament top will allow some movement in the parting and is more versatile
- A natural look, as it gives the illusion of hair growth from the scalp where the hair is parted
- The top area from the front hairline to the crown is hand tied onto a shear base, this means each hair is individually tied in. From the crown down to the nape the cap usually has open wefting, giving ventilation
- Some monofilament caps have double monofilament which is an extra layer of soft material for added comfort
100% Hand Tied Cap
- The base that creates the most natural movement as each hair can move freely
- A natural look as it gives the illusion of hair growth from all over the scalp and head where it is parted
- Each Individual strand of hair is hand tied onto the base and over the entire cap. Did you know it can take up to 60 hours to hand tie a wig?
- The most comfortable cap, perfect for a sensitive scalp & total hair loss
- This base is also referred to as 100% hand-knotted
Lace Front
- Allows for styling hair away from the face
- A perfect illusion of a natural-looking front hairline
- Each hair is individually hand-tied into the sheer lace hairline
- Many lace fronts are from temple-to-temple and are ready-to-wear
- The sheer laceis delicate and should be handled with care
Synthetic Fibre or Human Hair, What Is Right For You?
When considering which hair type you would like you need to predetermine what you need it for, how long you need it for and what’s your budget. The wigs and toppers we supply are not for fashion or fancy dress, they are designed for purpose and all of the wigs and toppers we sell are all high, top quality grade.
If you click here you will see a short video on all wig hair type features and benefits or you can look at the chart below:
Human Hair
The most natural feel & look
Versatile and can be cut, styled, coloured, and permed to how you want
Re -styling is required – especially after washing
The hair is soft and has natural movement
Can last for more than 1 year depending on various factors such as quality, construction, and maintenance.
Overall, the better you look after it the longer it will last.
Premium & Remy Human Hair
The highest quality human hair available
Versatile and can be cut, styled, coloured, permed to how you want
Re -styling is required –especially after washing
The careful processing techniques result in a higher quality product
Can last for more than 1 year depending on various factors such as quality, construction, and maintenance.
Overall, the better you look after it the longer it will last
Synthetic Hair
Higher quality synthetic hair can look and feel fairly similar to human hair
The style is baked in and will not change. Hot tools cannot be used
Easy to maintain & they can be worn straight out of the box
Can last from 4 to 6 months, depending on various factors such as quality, construction, and maintenance and how often its worn.
Overall, the better you look after it the longer it will last.
Heat Friendly Synthetic Hair
You can style using hot tools – max temp. set at 180° F.
You can change the style e.g. curly to straight.
It has memory and will remember how it was previously styled before it was washed
To avoid tangling special wig care and products is a must
Can last from 4 to 6 months depending on various factors such as quality, construction, and maintenance. Not so durable if you change the style consistently.
Overall, the better you look after it the longer it will last
Human Hair
Premium & Remy Human Hair
Synthetic Hair
Heat Friendly Synthetic Hair
The most natural feel & look
The highest quality human hair available
Higher quality synthetic hair can look and feel fairly similar to human hair
You can style using hot tools – max temp. set at 180° F.
Versatile and can be cut, styled, coloured, and permed to how you want
Re -styling is required – especially after washing
Versatile and can be cut, styled, coloured, permed to how you want
Re -styling is required –especially after washing
The style is baked in and will not change. Hot tools cannot be used
You can change the style e.g. curly to straight.
It has memory and will remember how it was previously styled before it was washed
The hair is soft and has natural movement
The careful processing techniques result in a higher quality product
Easy to maintain & they can be worn straight out of the box
To avoid tangling special wig care and products is a must
Can last for more than 1 year depending on various factors such as quality, construction, and maintenance.
Overall, the better you look after it the longer it will last.
Can last for more than 1 year depending on various factors such as quality, construction, and maintenance.
Overall, the better you look after it the longer it will last
Can last from 4 to 6 months, depending on various factors such as quality, construction, and maintenance and how often its worn.
Overall, the better you look after it the longer it will last.
Can last from 4 to 6 months depending on various factors such as quality, construction, and maintenance.
Not so durable if you change the style consistently.
Overall, the better you look after it the longer it will last
Let’s Not Forget Haircare For Your Wig
In salon when we mentioned wig haircare we could see the look on the client’s face. It almost brought me back to the days of remembering of when you bought a pair of shoes at the shoe shop and they tried to flog you the shoe polish to match! However, wig haircare is so important. We have heard so many tales of using baby shampoo and even fabric conditioner but that’s all fables. Your great hair deserves great care. Once you have got your beautiful wig, you should and want to do all you can to keep it looking fantastic. Click here to see our fabulous wig care range.
Contact Us
We hope you have found this information informative and now have a better understanding of this glorious wig world. If you need any further information or advice, check out our education links or the videos on the Liberty Wigs.co.uk youtube channel. If still in doubt why not book a 1to1 eConsultation. Check out our blog for more information or in the shop section.