From "Hair"stylist to "Wig" Stylist: The new trend?

So Beyonce was selected to lead the "Beautiful Woman" issue of People Magazine 2012. Halle Berry was the first Black woman to accomplish this. Both are beautiful Black women, but Beyonce is known for lace front wigs, extensions, ponytail extensions, etc.

So it's official! Wigs are the new style!

1) You don't have to worry about your flips flopping. 2) You don't have to worry about getting caught in a light rain. 3) You don't have to worry about hot tool damage. 4) You don't have to worry about sweating out the style 5) You don't have to worry about haircolor damage 6) You don't have to worry about going to the hair salon as often.

Wigs are "Hollywood!" 1) Meryl Streep wore a lace front wig in "The Devil Wears Prada" movie. 2) Many of the female cast members of Tyler Perry's plays are historically known for wearing wigs to have a consistent look for each showtime. 3) Madea wears wigs too! LOL! 4) "Dancing with the stars" contestants are interchanging in and out of wigs.

It's Wig Mania! I remember on the "Housewives of Atlanta" series when "Derek J" had the title "Celebrity Wig Stylist."

I also remember attending a class at a Bronner Brothers hair show where the platform artist typically carried an integration unit or wig for all celebrity photo shoots. The wigs and hairpieces saves time, money, and the photographers get great pictures.

Society is sooooo driven by the perfect image that very few people are going to be able to avoid reaching for a wig.

Angelina Jolie keeps her hair in a loose ponytail in her downtime. She never complicates her hair. Even for events, simple, elegant, and probably some flexible hold hairspray.

So hair stylists - if you can't "beat the wig trend" then you may as well join it!

Consumers - keep your own natural hair clean and trimmed every three months.

So how do the men feel about all of this? We need a "documentary." Men, let me hear from you!!!!

Lace Front Construction and Wig Partition Pattern

Many people have questions about lace fronts. Pictured is the inside of an inexpensive ($40 US Dollars) lace front "synthetic" wig that has been worn for about a month and is time to be disposed of. You can see remnants of tape and adhesive/glue for those who have enough forehead and may be lacking enough hair to support the side comb attachments. Notice it looks like a regular wig for 75% of its construction. Just the front hairline fits flatter and more snug.

If you do have plenty of hair, then pictured is a great way to part and plait your hair to support the two side combs within the lace front wigs. Also, the middle cornrow gives the wig a little natural lift with a natural hump in the crown area. Careful, the inexpensive lace can cause traction around the hairline. Keep the hairline moisturized daily if you are removing the wig each night. If wearing the lacefront wigs for glamour, then take them off during your down time. Those with hair loss will generally have the wigs glued and taped on for removal once a month or bi-weekly.

Protective Styling: Longer Look

I'm experimenting again with "It's a Wig: B. Singer." Color: DX3427 I cut a couple of inches off of the back, but it is still a slightly longer look than the B. Morning.

Same style. Different color: 1B/30 (a little darker look)

Wig Review: "It's a Wig" brand

"It's A Wig" brand is one of my favorite brands for over the counter purchase. It is definitely the brand that I ask for first! Pictured is me in their synthetic lace front wig. Style: B. Morning. The top picture shows full length. I cut off some of the length in the bottom two pictures.

If you have been following this blog, then you know that I just published a protective styling article. So I did weigh my wig as part of my quest to protect my own hair from the wig being too heavy.

I tucked all the hair in the cap inside out and weighed it on my food scale that I keep in the salon to weigh hair. It weighed over five ounces! I immediately started thinning it out until I got it to just under five ounces.

This wig does have the monofilament in the top! I loved it! The cost was about $40 US Dollars. I did not try on the wig in the store because most wigs with a monofilament give a very natural look. Plus I trust this brand. The lace front is a hard, inexpensive lace-like fiber. Carefully, not to rough up your own hair while wearing.

Cranial Prothesis Review

Cranial prothesis look like a wig, but typically, the inside of the unit is more detailed for partial replacement or repair. Full lace wigs are more simple and now much more cost effective to replace the whole unit as needed. Pictured is a cranial prothesis. Notice the inside of it. It also has a lace front. The front is a delicate, fragile lace. The lace frontal can be replaced with another partial lace frontal. The cranial prothesis is built to last.

This particular unit is made with 18 inch Indonesian human hair. From front hairline to longest layer is like 26" inches. This unit can cost as much as $2500 USD. Due to the dip in the economy, this exotic, long unit averages around $1000 to $1500 USD. Due to the high quality hair and thickness of the unit, I would recommend this unit to those who work television, motion pictures, film, stage, magazine covers, anywhere length and volume benefit your pay. The hair on this unit is too expensive to be cutting several inches off.

I keep it in a locked display waiting for that perfect customer. Hair color is 2/4.

From what I am told cancer patients may get reimbursed for cranial prothesis, but not wigs.

Protective Styling Options

Hair by Benita Blocker. Pictured is an invisi-part quick weave using "Gro-Protect Solutions" Serum. My client's hair is all underneath the quick weave. Please see separate article on "Glue-free quickweave." The scalp shown is her scalp! That's the beauty of the invisible part.

The Glue-free quickweave is one protective styling method that I DO approve for those who do NOT have scalp issues! The growth serum does allow the hair to grow and stay moisturized. However, you can NOT shampoo this style without full removal of the quickweave style.

How about wigs? Synthetic half wigs/full wigs are not good for long-term protective styling because synthetic hair is heavier than human hair and can cause trauma to the scalp. (i.e. thinning) Remember wherever the wig is anchored is where you will get traction and potential thinning. Just like wearing a baseball cap too often . . . it will thin where there is traction. Also head scarves, hair bonnets - when worn too often -- you can get traction and thinning in those areas.

Human hair half wigs/full wigs are good for long-term protective styling as long as they are not heavy. See my separate article on "wig weight" or "worry about weight."

Thin out all wigs that are heavy or thick. Some wigs are being made a lot thinner now; so there is less worry about thinning the wig out. Texturizing shears are great for thinning out wigs.

Lacefront wigs are good for protective styling only if you have the forehead for it. Please see separate article about "head shape for wigs." Lacefront wigs attached to the forehead in front of the hairline is perfect for less traction, but some women do NOT have the head shape to do this. That is why some lacefronts look natural on some women, and others - it screams "wig."

Sew-in weave is a good protective style for one up to 2 months at a time. After two months, the new growth will push the weave out and cause extra hair and scalp trauma from the dangling extension hair. Remember hair grows a half inch of new growth per month. Two months is an inch or more of new growth.

Box braids are a good protective style for up to 2 months. Same scenario as the sew-in weave. After two months, the braid extensions can get too heavy on the new growth. Also, if too much braid extension hair is put onto the hair then it will weigh the hair down and cause trauma as well. Sometimes braid extension hair is braided into the sew-in weave to support thinner hair, but long-term - the weight of all that extension hair is going to take its toil.

At this point, you wonder . . . is there such a thing as protective styling? Yes, but it is not cheap! The human hair half wig- thinned out seems to be the quickest protective styling that allows easy access to your scalp; however, married couples may not find this a romantic asset. So the human hair sew-in weave may be the next best option; so that you will not have to worry how you toss and turn . . .

How to cut lace fronts, frontals and lace front wigs

If you are buying a lace front wig, lace frontal unit, etc, then as you know, there is extra "lace" material that should be cut away to custom fit your own face. Please do NOT use regular straight scissors/shears to cut this extra material off. I want to scream whenever I see a perfectly straight cut around the hairline!!!

Instead buy some "pinking shears." They have zigzag teeth. They can be found in the sewing areas of the department stores or in fabric shops. Do not be afraid to cut into the wig's lacefront hairline some with the pinking shears. A slightly "messy" cut will deliver the most realistic hairline!


Typically, you would have to pay for a lace front class like I did in order to learn the proper technique, but I felt the need to let my followers know as a gift. So please keep our secret to yourself unless become a follower of this blog site. Smile. Regardless, please show your support by clicking on "Follow" and get connected to me! No extra emails will be coming your way. Visit as often as you would like at your own convenience! Thanks!