Choosing a wig: Length, color, and names

Save money and hassle with shorter styles - they tend to cost less and require less maintenance, such as frequent combing.

Longer styles tend to cost more becasue they require longer donor hair or more synthetic materials. They also tangle more easily and therefore may require combing more than just when you put it on and take it off. To help reduce tangling at the nape you can use oil on human hair pieces and Simply Stylin on synthetic pieces.

Number: 

Human hair uses a number scale from dark to light:

1 is darkest black 

10 is lightest blonde. 

Synthetic wigs use a similar number scale:

1-2 Black

4-12 Dark brown to light brown

14-26 Dark blonde to light blonde

27-33 Reds

34-60 Grey

101-104 Platinum 

Tone: Wigs (and individual skin tones) may be cool, neutral, or warm. If you're cool or warm, look for wigs that match your skin tone. If you're neutral you should match most colors well.

Starting out: Start with a color that is similar to your own, then when you get more comfortable with wigs in general feel free to branch out. 

Roots: Try to get a piece that has roots that match your bio hair (or eyebrows)

Ear tabs: If the wig color doesn’t match your bio hair color make sure it has ear tabs to cover up your bio hair

Dark human hair pieces (shades 1-5) tend to be less processed, so may be softer and tangle less compared to lighter colors. 

Lighter human hair (6-10) wigs are often more processed, so they may become dry or brittle more quickly or tangle more easily… but not always. You can use smoothing oil and conditioning hair masks to help with this.

Like other colors that don’t match your bio hair, make sure that th ewig has ear tabs to cover any bio hair, and if possible a root that’s close to your bio hair. Bright or bold colors in human hair wigs should be washed in cold water and expect them to fade a little with each wash, or possibly bleed early on.. Also consider that there are some “fun” colors that can’t be replicated in human hair like this cool opal brown that mixes orange, purple, and green strands of synthetic hair.

Synthetic wigs are typically have one name for the length and style (often a female name) and a separate color name or number for the color.. For example, this is Evangeline in cool opal brown and the piece directly above it is Fallon in cool opal brown. Both styles keep the same name when they are sold in different colors.

Human hair wigs are typically named by their color (usually a female name), so wigs that use the same name are the same color, but may be a different length or cut/style. For example, this color is Randi, and would  still be Randi in different cuts and styles as long as it was the same base color and highlight pattern