A wig is a head of hair Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. The human body, apart from the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fine vellus hair. Most common interest in hair is focused on hair growth, hair types and hair care but hair is also an important made from horsehair Horsehair refers to hair taken from the mane or tail of horses. It has various uses including brushes and the bows of musical instruments. The word is also used to refer to haircloth, a hard-wearing fabric made from horsehair. The term can also refer to horsehair plaster, a wallcovering material formerly used in the construction industry and now, human hair, wool The term wool is usually restricted to describing the fibrous protein derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles in sheep, feathers Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They are among the characteristics that distinguish the extant Aves from other living groups, buffalo hair, or synthetic materials which is worn on the head for fashion or various other aesthetic and stylistic reasons, including cultural and religious observance. The industry choice, however, is yak The yak, Bos grunniens, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population hair, which is not only inexpensive, but close in consistency and appearance to human hair as well.^[1] The word wig is short for periwig and first appeared in the English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of around 1675.

Some people wear wigs to disguise the fact that they are bald Baldness is the state of having no hair or lacking hair where it often grows, especially on the head. The most common form of baldness is a progressive hair thinning condition called androgenic alopecia or "male pattern baldness" that occurs in adult male humans and other species. The amount and patterns of baldness can vary greatly; it; a wig may be used as a less intrusive and less expensive alternative to therapies for restoring hair. Wigs may also be used as a cosmetic accessory, sometimes in a religious context. Actors An actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity. The ancient Greek word for an "actor," ὑποκριτής (hypokrites), means literally "one who interprets"; in this sense, an actor is one who interprets a dramatic character, on the other hand often wear costume wigs in order to better portray a character A character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr (χαρακτήρ), the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of "a part played by an.

Contents 1 History 2 Military Wigs 3 Current usage 4 Manufacture 4.1 Measurement 4.2 Foundation 4.3 Hair preparation 4.4 Adding the Hair 4.5 Styling 4.6 Fitting 5 Notable wig designers 6 Notable wig wearers 7 See also 8 External links 8.1 Sister projects 9 References

History

Wigs 17th century Nicolas de Vermont Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I was Queen regnant of England and Queen regnant of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Oriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of Henry VIII, she was born a princess, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a, pictured in 1588.

The ancient Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia. Its history Egyptians Egyptians is the name of the nationality and the Mediterranean North African ethnic group native to Egypt wore them to shield their shaved, hairless heads from the sun. Other ancient cultures, including the Assyrians Assyria was a kingdom centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur (Akkadian: 𒀸𒋗𒁺 𐎹 Aššūrāyu; Arabic: أشور Aššûr; Hebrew: אַשּׁוּר Aššûr, Aramaic: ܐܫܘܪ Ašur. The term,^[2] Phoenicians Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, Syria and Israel. Phoenician civilization was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean during the period 1550 BC to 300 BC. Though ancient boundaries of such city-, Greeks Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian and Romans Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world, also used wigs. Wigs are principally a Western form of dress—in the Far East The Far East is a term used in English mostly equivalent to East Asia (including the Russian Far East) and Southeast Asia, sometimes to the inclusion of South Asia for economic and cultural reasons they have rarely been used except in the traditional theatre Theatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion. By this broad definition, theatre had existed since the dawn of man, as a of China China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity and Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is. Some East Asian entertainers (Japanese Geisha Geisha , Geiko (芸子) or Geigi (芸妓) are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance, Korean Kisaeng) wore wigs (Katsura and gache respectively) as part of their traditional costumes. After the fall of the Roman Empire The decline of the Roman Empire refers to both the gradual disintegration of the economy of Rome and the barbarian invasions that were its final doom. The English historian Edward Gibbon, author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire made this concept part of the framework of the English language, but he was not the first to speculate on why, the use of wigs fell into abeyance in the West for a thousand years until revived in the 16th century as a means of compensating for hair loss or improving one's personal appearance. They also served a practical purpose: the unhygienic conditions of the time meant that hair attracted head lice Head lice infestation is a human medical condition caused by the colonization of the hair and skin by the parasitic insect Pediculus humanus capitis—the head louse[citation needed]. Typically, only the head or scalp of the host is infested, although the disease can occur in other hairy parts of the body, like leg hairs[citation needed]. Head, a problem that could be much reduced if natural hair were shaved and replaced with a more easily de-loused artificial hairpiece. Fur hoods were also used in a similar preventative fashion.

Royal patronage was crucial to the revival of the wig.^{[citation needed]} Queen Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I was Queen regnant of England and Queen regnant of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Oriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of Henry VIII, she was born a princess, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a famously wore a red wig, tightly and elaborately curled in a "Roman" style while King Louis XIII of France Louis XIII was King of France and Navarre from 1610 to 1643. Along with his First Minister Cardinal Richelieu, Louis "the Just" is remembered for the establishment of the Académie française and participation in the Thirty Years' War against the House of Habsburg. France's greatest victory in the war came at the Battle of Rocroi, five (1601–1643) and King Louis XIV of France Louis XIV , known as the Sun King (French: le Roi Soleil), was King of France and of Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, and is the longest documented reign of any European monarch (1638–1715) pioneered wig-wearing among men from the 1620s onwards.

Perukes or periwigs for men were introduced into the English-speaking world with other French France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, styles when Charles II Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland was restored to the throne in 1660, following a lengthy exile in France. These wigs were shoulder-length or longer, imitating the long hair that had become fashionable among men since the 1620s. Their use soon became popular in the English court. The London diarist Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, (23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for his diary. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and recorded the day in 1665 that a barber A barber is usually someone, most often male, whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaves, and trim beards of men had shaved his head and that he tried on his new periwig for the first time, but in a year of plague The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but this view has recently been challenged. Usually thought to have started in Central Asia, it had reached the Crimea by 1346. From he was uneasy about wearing it:

"3rd September September 3 is the 246th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 119 days remaining until the end of the year 1665: Up, and put on my coloured silk Silk is a natural protein fibre, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity . The shimmering appearance of silk is due to the triangular prism-like structure of the silk fibre, which allows silk cloth to refract suit, very fine, and my new periwig, bought a good while since, but darst not wear it because the plague was in Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and 0.5 miles southwest of Charing Cross. It has a large concentration of London's historic and prestigious landmarks and visitor attractions, including Buckingham Palace and Westminster when I bought it. And it is a wonder what will be the fashion after the plague is done as to periwigs, for nobody will dare to buy any haire for fear of the infection? that it had been cut off the heads of people dead of the plague."

Wigs were not without other drawbacks, as Pepys noted on 27 March 1667:

"I did go to the Swan; and there sent for Jervas my old periwig-maker and he did bring me a periwig; but it was full of nits The head louse is an obligate ectoparasite of humans. Head lice are wingless insects spending their entire life on human scalp and feeding exclusively on human blood. Humans and chimpanzees are the only known host of this specific parasite, but many other species of lice are known which infest most orders of mammals and also birds, so as I was troubled to see it (it being his old fault) and did send him to make it clean."

With wigs virtually obligatory garb for men of virtually any significant social rank, wigmakers gained considerable prestige. A wigmakers' guild was established in France in 1665, a development soon copied elsewhere in Europe. Their job was a skilled one as 17th century wigs were extraordinarily elaborate, covering the back and shoulders and flowing down the chest; not surprisingly, they were also extremely heavy and often uncomfortable to wear. Such wigs were expensive to produce. The best examples were made from natural human hair. The hair of horses and goats was often used as a cheaper alternative.

Charles-Alexandre de Calonne by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun (1784) London, Royal Collection The Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as tapestries, furniture, ceramics, books, and other works of The Vicomte de Calonne is shown wearing a powdered wig; the powder that has fallen from the wig is visible on his shoulders.

In the 18th century, men's wigs were powdered in order to give them their distinctive white or off-white color. Contrary to popular belief, women in the 18th century did not wear wigs, but wore a coiffure supplemented by artificial hair, or hair from other sources. Women mainly powdered their hair grey, or blue-ish grey, and from the 1770s onwards never bright white like men. Wig powder was made from finely ground starch Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store. It is the most important carbohydrate in the human diet and is contained in such staple foods as potatoes, wheat, maize , rice, and cassava that was scented with orange flower, lavender The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia (Cape Verde and Canary Islands and Madeira) across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India. It is thought the genus originated in Asia but is most diversified in, or orris root Orris root is a term used for the roots Iris germanica, Iris florentina, and Iris pallida. Once important in western herbal medicine, it is now used mainly as a fixative and base note in perfumery, as well as an ingredient in many brands of gin. Wig powder was occasionally colored violet, blue, pink or yellow, but was most often used as off-white. Powdered wigs (men) and powdered natural hair with supplemental hairpieces (women) became an essential for full dress occasions and continued in use until almost the end of the 18th century. The elaborate form of wigs worn at the coronation of George III George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. He was concurrently Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and prince-elector of Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire until his in 1761 was lampooned by William Hogarth William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects". Much of his work poked fun at contemporary politics in his engraving Five Orders of Periwigs. Powdering wigs and extensions was messy and inconvenient, and the development of the naturally white or off-white powderless wig (made of horsehair) for men is no doubt what has made the retention of wigs in everyday court dress Court dress is worn at hearings in open court in all Senior Courts of England and Wales and in county courts. However, court dress may be dispensed with at the option of the judge, e.g. in very hot weather, and invariably where it may intimidate children, e.g. in the Family Division and at the trials of minors. In the Supreme Court of the United a practical possibility. By the 1780s, young men were setting a fashion trend by lightly powdering their natural hair, as women had already done from the 1770s onwards. Often they would use their own hair and not a wig. After 1790, both wigs and powder were reserved for older, more conservative men, and were in use by ladies being presented at court. After 1790 women hardly powdered their hair anymore. In 1795, the English government levied a tax on hair powder of one guinea per year. This tax effectively caused the demise of both the fashion for wigs and powder by 1800.^{[citation needed]}

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and Emperor Francis I wearing the distinctive pouf style coiffure: her own natural hair is extended on the top with an artificial hairpiece.

Among women in the French court of Versailles Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre. Located in the western suburbs of the French capital, 17.1 km (10.6 mi) from the center of in the mid-to-late 18th century, large, elaborate and often themed (such as the stereotypical "boat poufs") were in vogue for women. These combed-up hair extensions were often very heavy, weighted down with pomades, powders, and other ornamentation. In the late 18th century these coiffures (along with many other indulgences in court life) became symbolic of the decadence of the French nobility, which helped to fuel the French Revolution The French Revolution was a period of radical social and political upheaval in French and European history. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years. French society underwent an epic transformation as feudal, aristocratic, and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from liberal political^{[citation needed]} (although its influence is highly exaggerated).

During the 18th century, men's wigs became smaller and more formal with several professions adopting them as part of their official costumes. This tradition survives in a few legal systems. They are routinely worn in various countries of the Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states. All but two of these countries were formerly part of the British Empire. Until 1823, bishops A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the Anglican churches, bishops claim Apostolic of the Church of England The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches. The Church also extends to the Isle of Man via the Diocese of Sodor and Man, while the Channel Islands form part of the and Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland is a Protestant church, an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland, and the largest non-Roman Catholic religious body on the island. Like other Episcopal churches, it considers itself to be both Catholic, in that its beliefs and practices are based on a continuous tradition dating wore ceremonial wigs. The wigs worn by barristers are in the style favoured in the late eighteenth century. Judges' wigs are, in everyday use as court dress Court dress is worn at hearings in open court in all Senior Courts of England and Wales and in county courts. However, court dress may be dispensed with at the option of the judge, e.g. in very hot weather, and invariably where it may intimidate children, e.g. in the Family Division and at the trials of minors. In the Supreme Court of the United, short like barristers' wigs (although in a slightly different style) but for ceremonial occasions judges and also senior barristers (QCs) wear full-bottomed wigs.^{[citation needed]}

The wearing of wigs as a symbol of social status was largely abandoned in the newly created United States and France by the start of the 19th century, although it persisted a little longer in the United Kingdom. In the United States, only the first five Presidents since George Washington until James Monroe wore wigs.^[3][4]

Women's wigs developed in a somewhat different way. They were worn from the 18th century onwards—although at first only surreptitiously—and full wigs in the 19th and early 20th century were not fashionable. They were often worn by old ladies who had lost their hair. In the film Mr. Skeffington (1944), when Bette Davis has to wear a wig after a bout of diphtheria, it is a moment of pathos and a symbol of her frailty.^{[citation needed]}

Military Wigs

From the late 17th to early 19th Centuries, European armies wore uniforms more or less imitating the civilian fashions of the time, but with militarized additions. As part of that uniform, officers wore wigs more suited to the drawing rooms of Europe than its battlefields. The late 17th Century saw officers wearing full-bottomed natural-coloured wigs, but the civilian change to shorter, powdered styles with pigtails in the early 18th Century saw officers adopting similar styles. The elaborate, over-sized court-styles of the late 18th Century were not followed by armies in the field however, as they were impractical to withstand the rigours of military life and simpler wigs were worn.

Whilst officers normally wore their own hair short under a powdered wig, the rank and file of the infantry were not afforded such luxury. Instead of wigs, the men grew their hair long and according to the prevailing fashion in a nation’s army, hair was either allowed to grow long with simple modeling, as in the French army of the 1740’s, or else was elaborately coiffured as in Prussian and British armies. In the case of British soldiers of the 1740’s, contemporary artwork suggests that they cut their hair short, which was not the case. Instead, the men used tallow or other fat to grease the hair, which was then fashioned into pigtails and tied back into the scalp hair to give the impression of short hair. It was then liberally dusted with powdered chalk to give the impression of a powdered wig. Later in the century, hair was likewise tied back, greased and powdered, but false hair pigtails were adopted, kept in a tubular queue and tied back with ribbons to the soldier’s own hair. The overall effect was that of a wig with a long tail and bow. The Prussian army took personal hairstyles to an extreme during the time of Frederick The Great, each soldier commonly having a long pigtail hanging down the back nearly to waist level.

By contrast, in the 1780’s Russian General Potemkin abhorred the tight uniforms and uncomfortable wigs and powdered coiffures worn by his soldiers and instigated a complete revision of both. As well as comfortable, practical, well fitting uniforms, his reforms introduced neat, natural hairstyles for all, with no wigs, powder and grease or hair-tying evident.

Formal military hairstyles lasted until beyond the end of the 18th Century and it was the French Revolution which spelled the end of wigs and powdered, greased hairstyles in modern, Western armies. However, powdered hair and pigtails made a brief return during Napoleon’s reign, being worn by infantry of his Foot Grenadiers and Foot Chasseurs of the Old Guard and the Horse Grenadiers of the Guard.

Current usage

Colourful wigs for costume parties

In Britain and most Commonwealth nations, special wigs are also worn by barristers, judges, and certain parliamentary and municipal or civic officials as a symbol of the office. The original purpose of the legal wig was said to provide a form of anonymity and safety (i.e. disguise).^[5] Today, Hong Kong barristers and judges continue to wear wigs as part of court dress as an influence from their former jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Nations. In July 2007, judges in New South Wales, Australia voted to discontinue to wearing of wigs in the NSW Court of Appeal.^[6] New Zealand lawyers and judges have ceased to wear wigs except for special ceremonial occasions such as openings of Parliament or the calling of newly qualified barristers to the bar.

A number of celebrities, including Dolly Parton and Raquel Welch have popularized wigs. Cher has worn all kinds of wigs in the last 40 years- from blonde to black, and curly to straight. They may also be worn for fun as part of fancy dress (costume wearing), when they can be of outlandish colour or made from tinsel. They are quite common at Halloween, when "rubber wigs" (solid bald cap-like hats, shaped like hair), are sold at some stores.

Orthodox Jewish religious law (Halakha) requires married women to cover their hair for reasons of modesty. Some women wear wigs, known as sheitels, for this purpose.

Wigs are used in film, theater, and television. In the film and television genre Jidaigeki, wigs are used extensively to alter the cast's hair styles to reflect the Edo Period when most stories take place. Only a few actors starring in big-budgeted films and television series will grow their hair so that it may be cut to the appropriate hair style, and forgo using a wig.

Today, wigs are worn by some people on a daily or occasional basis in everyday life. This is sometimes done for reasons of convenience, since wigs can be styled ahead of time. They are also worn by individuals who are experiencing hair loss due to medical reasons (most commonly cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy or those who are suffering from alopecia areata).

Another use seen in modern day society is for men who crossdress as women, wigs are used to make the men have more feminine hair in all sorts of styles.

A common form of wig that has resurfaced since pre-historic times is the Native American Indian Chieftain's headpiece. Although some public commentators would classify this as a 'simple headpiece', denoting said garment as anything other than a wig is extremely insulting and grossly inaccurate in the context of wig literature.^{[citation needed]} It is widely accepted amongst wig scholars that the chieftain's headpiece is a wig.

Manufacture

Historical reenactment of wig making in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

There are two methods of attaching hair to wigs. The first and oldest is to weave the root ends of the hair onto a warp of three silk threads to form a sort of fringe called a "weft". The wefts are then sewn to a foundation made of net or other material. In modern times, the wefts can also be made with a specially adapted sewing machine, reducing the amount of hand labour involved. In the 19th century another method came into use. A small hook called a "ventilating needle", similar to the tambour hooks used for decorating fabric with chain-stitch embroidery at that period, is used to knot a few strands of hair at a time directly to a suitable foundation material. This newer method produces a lighter and more natural looking wig. High quality custom wigs, and those used for film and theatrical productions are usually done this way. It is also possible to combine the two techniques, using weft for the main part of the wig and ventilating hair at the edges and partings to give a fine finish.

Measurement

Making custom wigs starts with measuring the subject's head. The natural hair is arranged in flat curls against the head as the various measurements are taken. It is often helpful to make a pattern from layers of transparent adhesive tape applied over a piece of plastic wrap, on which the natural hairline can be traced accurately. These measurements are then transferred to the "block", a wooden or cork-stuffed canvas form the same size and shape as the client's head.^[7][8]

Foundation

Depending on the style of the wig, a foundation is made of net or other material, different sizes and textures of mesh being used for different parts of the wig. The edges and other places might be trimmed and reinforced with a narrow ribbon called "galloon". Sometimes flesh colored silk or synthetic material is applied where it will show through the hair at crown and partings, and small bones or elastic are inserted to make the wig fit securely. Theatrical, and some fine custom wigs have a fine, flesh colored net called "hair lace" at the front which is very inconspicuous in wear and allows the hair to look as if it is coming directly from the skin underneath. These are usually referred to as "lace front wigs".^[9]

Hair preparation

Natural hair, either human or from an animal such as a goat or yak, must be carefully sorted so that the direction of growth is maintained, root to root, and point to point. Because of the scale-like structure of the cortex of a hair shaft, if some hairs get turned the wrong way, they will ride backwards against their neighbors and cause tangles and matting. The highest quality of hair has never been bleached or colored, and has been carefully sorted to insure the direction is correct. For less expensive wigs, this labour intensive sorting process is substituted for by "processing" the hair. It is treated with a strongly base solution which partially dissolves the cortex leaving the strands smooth, It is then bleached and dyed to the required shade and given a synthetic resin finish which partially restores the strength and luster of the now damaged hair. Synthetic fiber, of course, is simply manufactured in the required colors, and has no direction. The wigmaker will choose the type, length and colors of hair required by the design of the wig and blend them by pulling the hair through the upright teeth of a brush-like tool called a "hackle" which also removes tangles and any short or broken strands. The hair is placed on one of a pair of short-bristled brushes called "drawing brushes" with the root ends extending over one edge, and the second brush is pressed down on top of it so that a few strands can be withdrawn at a time, leaving the rest undisturbed.^[9]

Adding the Hair

Weft structured wigs can have the wefts sewn to the foundation by hand, while it is on the block or, as is common with mass produced wigs, sewn to a ready-made base by skilled sewing machine operators. Ventilated (hand knotted) wigs have the hair knotted directly to the foundation, a few strands at a time while the foundation is fastened to the block. With the hair folded over the finger, the wigmaker pulls a loop of hair under the mesh, then moves the hook forward to catch both sides of the loop. The ends are pulled through the loop and the knot is tightened for a "single knot", or a second loop is pulled though the first before finishing for a "double knot". Typically, the bulkier but more secure double knot is used over the majority of the wig and the less obvious single knot at the edges and parting areas. A skilled wigmaker will consider the number of strands of hair used and the direction of each knot to give the most natural effect possible.^[10]

Styling

At this point, the hair on the wig is all the same length. The wig must be styled into the desired form in much the same manner as a regular stylist.^[8]

Fitting

The subject's natural hair is again knotted tightly against the head and the wig is applied. Any remaining superfluous wiglace is trimmed away. Hairpins can be used to secure the lace to the hair and occasionally, skin-safe adhesives are used to adhere the wig against bald skin and to better hide any exposed lace. Finishing touches are done to the hair styling to achieve the desired effect.^[8]

Notable wig designers

• Nina Lawson, ran the Metropolitan Opera wig department from 1956 to 1987.

Notable wig wearers

• Andre Agassi, wore a wig during the early 1990s to conceal his baldness.
• Terry Wogan, disk jockey.
• Bruce Forsythe, entertainer.
• Michael Fabricant, politician
• Mo Mowlam, politician.
• Lady Gaga, musician.
• Beyoncé, musician.
• Cher, musician.
• Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana, musician, actress.
• Borislav Mikhailov, goalkeeper

See also

• Hair prosthesis
• Merkin
• Toupée
• Lace wig or the related lace front wig

External links

• Royal Hairpieces (WikiTree), a brief account of royal wigs throughout history and around the globe.

Sister projects

• Media related to Wigs at Wikimedia Commons
• The Wiktionary definition of wig
• "wig". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (July 2009)

1. ^ http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/34899/costume_wigs___let_them_go_to_your_head/costume_wigs___let_them_go_to_your_head.html
2. ^ Dumuzid and Jectin-ana
3. ^ Digital History, Steven Mintz. "Digital History". Digitalhistory.uh.edu. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=567. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
4. ^ "Real Life at the White House: 200 ... – Google Knihy". Books.google.cz. http://books.google.cz/books?id=p1unoHtahSsC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=James+Monroe++in+wig&source=bl&ots=-z_X8rq_3b&sig=OR7Tzj7TWHiuZZ8KrR-E7t7H2Bk&hl=sk&ei=6-t2S5yVFNCK_AblyInbCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CDAQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=James%20Monroe%20%20in%20wig&f=false. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
5. ^ Dyer, Clare (2007-01-05). "Civil court judges prepare to cast aside their wigs after 300 years". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/law.ukcrime.
6. ^ Woolly headed? Not this verdict - National - smh.com.au
7. ^ "The Art and Craft of Hairdressing", Wolters.
8. ^ ^{a b c} "Wigs". How It's Made. Discovery Channel Canada. No. 71, season 6.
9. ^ ^{a b} "The Art and Craft of Hairdressing" Wolters
10. ^ "The Art and Craft of Hairdressing" ed. N.E.B. Wolters, The New Era Publishing Company, Ltd. London, 1963

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