If you’re looking for a wig you might be wondering, how much does a human hair wig cost?
Human hair wigs start at about $400 and go all the way up to $10,000! In this simple, step-by-step guide by Encelia Hair, you'll learn how a high-quality “medical wig” is made and why the price for human hair wigs varies so much. By the end of the guide, you'll know everything you need to know prior to purchasing your first human hair wig.
Human hair wigs don’t need much introduction as they are one of the most popular wig choices for women around the world but the quality of the wig varies greatly. Wig wearers often have buyers remorse because they often believe they are buying a premium wig, when in reality the wig falls short. Our hope is that this simple step-by-step guide will help you understand other critical aspects of wig to consider prior to making a purchase.
Table of Contents
1)HAIR QUALITY
The hair quality of a human hair wig is the first part of the wig that we want to dive into.
Brands often tout about the origin of their human hair wigs. You can buy human hair wigs from almost any origin around the world - Russian hair, Brazilian hair, Malaysian hair, Indian hair and the list goes on. With the leader, being European human hair, which is often believed to be one of the highest quality human hair wigs making it one of most expensive human hair wigs to buy.
Before you go down a major rabbit hole of finding the best European human hair wig, it's important to consider these two things when determining the quality of the human hair.
a) THICKNESS OF EACH HAIR STRAND
The easiest way to understand the main difference between different kinds of human hair wigs is to know the thickness of each hair strand, known as hair denier or diameter.
Human hair really comes in one of the three diameters: fine, medium, or thick. In general, the thinner the hair is the more expensive it is. European hair is typically a fine denier, Asian hair is typically a thick denier and Indian hair is typically a medium denier. Keep in mind, just because you buy "European" hair it doesn't guarantee that is it high-quality. Super confusing, right?
At Encelia® Hair, we dedicated to celebrating the beauty of all human hair types. We strive to offer you all three variations of thickness. Our premium, Remy human hair wigs, carefully selected for its medium denier. This hair type strikes a perfect balance between being not too thin that the hair breaks or split and not too thick, so the hair feel buttery soft and has the same movement and fluidity as healthy human hair. With Encelia® Hair, you can rest assured that you are receiving top-notch wigs that will continue to look good throughout its lifespan.
b) REMY VS NON-REMY HUMAN HAIR
Premium, Remy human hair is considered the highest quality hair because of the meticulous care taken to preserve its cuticles and keep the cuticle aligned. When the cuticle is preserved and kept aligned meaning the hair falls naturally from root to tip, it retains the same natural movement, fluidity, and silky texture as healthy, normal hair making particularly desirable. This hair also tangles less and requires less maintenance meaning the hair should air-dry smooth.
Non-Remy human hair, on the other hand, is also known as cuticle-free hair or fallen hair. It is not collected or organized in a way that keeps the cuticle aligned. As a result, the cuticle most be removed to prevent the hair from tangling. This quality of hair will not last as long as Remy hair and requires heat tools like a flat iron to make the hair soft and smooth again. The best way to think about Non-Remy hair is that it is processed or damaged hair. Non-RemyIt is often coated with silicone to give it the desired silky, smooth texture but when the silicone wears off the hair will show its true character.
At Encelia® Hair, we only sell Premium, Remy human hair - learn more about it here.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY WIG IS REMY HAIR OR NON_REMY?
The easiest way to know if your human hair wig has Remy hair or Non-Remy hair is to simply feel the hair for resistance by touching the hair with your fingers. If you feel resistance when sliding your fingertips from bottom to top, it's likely that the hair is Remy and the cuticles are intact.
2) CAP DESIGN
Now that you understand the hair quality, let's talk about the how the wig cap is designed because simply having great hair isn't enough. You are about to learn why some wigs look real and others don't, you'll learn why comfort and security isn't a priority for most wig brands. The making of a great wig is no easy task; every few companies have cared enough to figure all these details out but it's these little details that matter the most. This is what will determine if a your wig life going to be being awful or absolutely incredible!
a) CAP SIZE MATTERS
Right now, you probably want to learn about Lace front wigs, but the cap size is probably the single, most important aspect of the wig but it is often over looked! If your wig is too tight, you will have a headache a few hours. If you wig is too big, you be always worried that your wig is going to fall off.
The fit of the wig is paramount to helping you feel comfortable and at ease in the wig. Unfortunately, 90% of the wigs on the market are sized to fit an “average” sized head. The head is a small body part, compared to say our butt or hips, so a quarter-inch difference in the various sections of the wig makes huge difference in how the wig fits on your head. There is nothing worse than having great hair but the cap doesn't fit. Most women have to wear "bandaids" under the wig just to keep it on - wig grips, Itstays, wig tape, etc are just some of the things women have to do to keep their wigs on.
At Encelia® Hair, we believe that is not good enough. Like shoes, your wig needs to fit you well so that your wig life easy and stress-free. Putting a wig on should be super easy and take less than 30 seconds and you should have to think about it until the end of the day. Our wigs were thoughtfully designed by a baldie who understands that cap size matters! We proudly offer you five different cap sizes in our Lace front, gripper wig and two sizes in our headband wig so that you will feel comfortable and confident throughout your day.
b) HAIRLINE | LACE FRONT WIGS
The hairline is the single most important element of the wig that will determine if the the wig looks realistic or not so it is critical to get this part of the wig right!
The only way for us to recreate a hairline in a wig is with a lace front. A lace front is just a lace in the front part of the wig and as your about to learn the quality varies greatly.
Lace front wigs come in one of the three materials: welded/monafilament, French lace, or Swiss lace. Without getting into the weeds, like the hair quality, the thinner and softer the lace is the more realistic the hairline will be and the more expensive the wig will be. Swiss lace is the softest and thinnest, Welded lace or monafilament lace is the thickest and the itchiest, and French lace is in between the two. Keep in mind, just because you buy "Swiss Lace" wig it doesn't guarantee that is it high-quality. Super confusing, right? Let's drive deeper.
OTHER ASPECTS TO LACE FRONT WIGS TO CONSIDER
Sadly, most lace fronts fall short because of their itchy material and knots.
- KNOTS - Pay close attention to the knots. Nothing is worse than receive a Swiss lace front wig only to find that the brand used huge knots to secure the hair. Ideality, the knots should be single hand tied so they are invisible to the naked eye.
- DENSITY - your lace front should flow naturally meaning the hair should be dispersed to soften the transition from no hair (forehead) to hairline.
- SIZE - I know, your thinking how could the size and cut of the lace front matter. Well, the forehead is an interesting measurement because it varies greatly. If it's too tight, the lace will fray. If it's too loose, you will have to use glue to keep it down which dramatically reduces the lifespan of the Lace front.
At Encelia® Hair, we believe that a Lace front wig should look real, be comfortable to wear, sit snugly against your forehead without the need of glue or other adhesives and be durable. Our Lace Front, silicone wig features a 1/8 folded, soft, Swiss lace front with single, hand-tied, knots that are invisible to the naked eye! Our lace front not allow looks flawless but it stay firmly in place all day - no glue, sprays are required!
c) TOP OF THE WIG
When it comes to wigs, the top is almost as important as the hairline. If the top of your wig doesn't look real, you may not feel comfortable being close to people because you feel self conscious about how realistic the top looks. If the top of your wig is itchy, wearing the wig might be unbearable!
While there are many different terms for various kinds of wig tops, there is only only two options: 1) silk/skin tops 2) lace tops
1) SILK/SKIN TOPS
1) SILK/SKIN TOPSA silk or skin top (also known as a "French drawn top") hides the knots and lace material and should reflect the look of real scalp.
Although making a kind of top is fairly simple, it is very labor intensive. The hair is first hand-tied and attached to lace, then hair is pushed through a layer of glass silk. The use of "glass silk" conceals the knots and lace, giving the appearance of a real scalp. Then, the "return hair" is shaved off.
IMPORTANT NOTE
The color of the silk needs to match your skin tone. The color of the silk should be two to three shades lighter than your face. We find that most "skin tops" don't look realistic because the hue is too white or too pink so buy very close attention to the color of the glass silk before purchasing your wig.
VARIATIONS OF SILK OR SKIN TOPS
a) RETURN HAIRS vs NO RETURN HAIRS
- RETURN HAIRS. The industry standard for return hair is 4" (although I have shorter). 4" return hair is standard because the hair will sit flat without the need for heat tools. The return hairs gives the wig a tinyest bit of volume because the short hair grab onto the long hair which slightly lifts the hair, which is the same effect that happens when you add layers to your hair. I personally prefer blonde wigs so the return hairs are not as visible so I prefer this look because I don't want spend time adding volume to the top of the wig.
- NO RETURN HAIRS. Most women prefer this look because you don't see the short hairs at the top of the wig so it looks more realistic. The only downfall is that this top will sit flatter against the head but some women love that look.
At Encelia® Hair, our Lace Front, Silicone wig features a double-layered hand-tied top, coupled with an innovative technique that achieves the same scalp-like appearance, but at a fraction of the price and your skin tone will show so it will reflect your skin tone!
2) SILK TOP | INTERIOR ONLY
As if, explaining different kinds of wigs isn't hard enough, the industry uses the same term to explain this top. So confusing, I know.
Basically, some silk tops wigs just mean that a layer of most silk has been added inside the wig to make it more comfortable to wear but the knots and lace grids are still visible. This is a option is nice for anyone who finds lace top wigs very itch.
3) LACE & MONAFILAMENT TOP
3) LACE & MONAFILAMENT TOPLace and monafilament tops are standard wig tops basically the hair is hand tied and attached to the lace. In general, lace tops tend to be softer than monafilament, but this isn't always the case. The knots and lace grids are visible but can be concealed somewhat with makeup, see step-by-step guide here.
Also, pay close attention to the how much of the top is hand-tied. It can be fully hand-tied, which means you can change the part anywhere you want, or it can be partially hand-tied so you can only change the part in that "specific" section.
d) BACK OF THE WIG HAND-TIED vs WEFTED WIGS
Another critical factor that determines the cost of a human hair wig is how the wig is ventilated. Ventilation is just an industry term that refers to how the hair is attached to the wig cap. There are two main techniques used to attach ventilate a wig, hand-tied and wefted.
1) HAND-TIED WIGS
A wig the is hand-tied means that every single hair to be manually hand-tied and attached (knotted) to the wig cap. There are lots of different kinds of knots that manufactures use to attach the hair but, overall, more labor is required to make a hand-tied wig so they are more expensive. A hand-tied wigs is lighter and it is easy to wear or style the hair anyway that you want - up, down, top knots, ponytails, braids, etc.
Note: Not all hand-tied wigs are fully hand-tied. Pay close attention to the description, some are partially hand-tied.
2) WEFTED WIGS
A wigs this is wefted means that the hair is first attached to a weft (known also as a strip or ribbon) using a sewing machine and then the weft is attached it to the wig cap using a sewing machine. There are two wigs of wefted wigs 1) Open Wefted (also known as a Capless Wig) which means the weft is only tacked on to the wig cap so the back is opened meaning you can push your hands through the cap. These design is itchy because of the bulky wefts and because the hair inverts or comes back into the cap making it very itchy to wear. 2) Closed wefted means that wefted are attached to an actual wig cap which makes it more comfortable to wear.
Wefted wigs are less expensive than hand-tied wigs because less labor is needed to make them but the quality of wefted wigs can vary significantly, though..
The best wefted wigs have low density, meaning there is only a small amount of hair attached to the weft, which allows the weft to sit snugly against the head. The spacing of the wefts is also crucial to maintaining the dome shape of the head without adding unnecessary volume.
At Encelia® Hair, our Lace Front, Silicone wig is available in hand-tied or closed wefted. The inside is lined with a soft, cooling mesh so it's very comfortable to wear and our wefts feature a low density and our spaced closer together at the top and further away towards the bottom for a realistic look.
e) EAR TABS
Ear tabs are another crucial part of the wig, serving as the main guide for putting on your wig correctly and allowing for easy positioning and adjustments. Well-designed ear tabs should sit snugly against your head and begin about one index finger away from your ear. If the ear tabs sit too low and touch your ear, it can be painful and make it difficult to wear sunglasses, eyeglasses, or masks. This is why we offer five different cap sizes, as a quarter-inch difference can make a significant difference in your comfort level while wearing your wig.
f) BENDABLE METAL WIG STAYS
Finally, stays, which are small, bendable "L" pieces of plastic or metal located in the middle section or tip of the ear tabs and the nape or back of the wig. The stay plays a critical role in anchoring the
wig and keeps the wig firmly in place all day. Keep in mind that not all stays are created equal, and many brands use plastic or cheap metal that will not stay bent. If the stay does not "cup" or anchor in the front or back of the wig, the wig has no way to stay on the head and you will have to use wig tape, glue, or wig grips to keep your wig from moving throughout the day.
At Encelia® Hair, our Lace Front, Silicone wig features a high-quality metal stay that will stay bent all day, which will keep your wig secure all day without the need for any additional adhesives or wig grips.
