This page provides answers to our most frequently asked questions and expert guidance for those that are new to wigs. There are subtle differences in wig styles, sizes and colors that can make a big difference in overall appearance. If you are not ordering something that you have previous experience with, this page will also give you some insights into style and color selection that we have picked up over our 35 years in the wig business. You can scroll down or click on the buttons to jump to sections you are interested in.

WIG SIZES | STYLE/SHAPE SELECTION | WIG CARE | COLOR DECISIONS
PUTTING ON CLIP-ONS | PUTTING ON FALLS | INSURANCE
ABOUT US | EMAIL US | HOME PAGE

HEAD SIZES FOR WIGS

First of all, for hairpieces you don't have to worry about head sizes. Hairpiece sizing concerns itself with your hair length, body size and style preferences. But to own wigs you need to know something about your head size. Fortunately almost 19 out of 20 women can wear average head size wigs. That means your head size when measured is between 21" and 22½ you can wear average size wigs, which is most of the market anyway. If you are not sure that you have an average size head by looking, measure your head with a tape measure going around the forehead at the hairline, under the hair, behind the ears and around the nape of the neck. If this is too difficult to do by yourself, have someone help you.

Ultra-Petite or Child's - Fits very small head sizes - 19.5" - 18"

Petite Fits most petite head sizes - 21" - 20"

Petite-Average Fits a small average or a full petite - 20.5" - 21.5"

Average Fits Most Women - 92% off all wigs are sold as average - 21.5"- 22.5"

Large-Average Fits average and a tad larger than average - 22" - 23"

Large Fits larger head sizes - 22.5" - 24"

REASON FOR CONSIDERING WIGS

There are two basic reasons to consider owning wigs:

• Style Changes
• Hair Loss Replacement

If you are thinking about wigs or pieces for fun fashion style changes, the sky is the limit! You can go from short to long, from straight to curly, blond to redhead, and the only real rule will be "does it look good?" For the fun fashion customer these guidelines are great tools. They cue you into some basic cosmetic knowledge that takes years of experience to become one's second nature.

For the hair replacement wig, selecting a wig close to your own natural style is usually the most comfortable decision. Still you might want to think of your style as a general guide. For example, "my hair is short and curly, but let's look at this short lifting wedge which is the same general shape as my hair outline but fuller and not curly." That's a good idea. So you might not need this guidance if you are just choosing a wig just like your own hair style.
Remember, wigs do not come in excessively thinned styles. That is because fullness is one of the main reasons that people buy wigs. Fullness, body and shine in hair are universally symbolic of health and beauty. In fact the three attributes that convey beauty in a woman across all civilizations and spanning the generations are:

• healthy hair
• clean complexion
• body shape

And healthy hair is ranked first!

USING YOUR FACE SHAPE TO CHOOSE WIGS STYLES THAT ARE MADE FOR YOU

This handy guide will help you choose wig styles like an expert! The first thing you must consider is FACE SHAPE. There are seven basic face shapes. Stand in front of a mirror and ask yourself which face shape is yours!

OVAL | ROUND | SQUARE | DIAMOND | HEART | PEAR | OBLONG

After you decide what face shape is truly yours, use what you learn below to eliminate styles that may not be ideal for you. Why does this work? Hair style is all about drawing the eye to your good points. OVAL is deemed to be ideal. Use hair/style to work the 6 other shapes more towards an oval, and you've got the big picture. Keep that in mind as you read through the face shapes. Soon, you will get the knack of it. When you see the beautiful results, you'll like being your own personal wig expert. Read on...

The OVAL Face Shape has MANY CHOICES

As its name implies, the OVAL Shaped Face is longer than wide, with a jaw that's narrower than the cheekbones. Because the oval shaped face has no dominant areas and is so proportional, the oval shaped face looks good with just about any hairstyle, length or texture.

AVOID WIDTH with the ROUND Shaped Face

The ROUND Shape Face is characterized by a wide hairline and fullness below the cheekbones. The client may be overweight and the neck may appear short. These faces look very good with a geometric or linear style, which breaks up the "round" appearance. ADD HEIGHT, when possible, and long, wispy side areas to make the cheeks look narrow. Comb hair close to the head on the side and at the neck.

AVOID STRAIGHT LINES with the SQUARE Shaped Face

The SQUARE Shape Face is characterized by a wide hairline and jaw. Square shaped faces need height or waves on top and narrowness at the sides, to break up the "squareness". Comb the hair off the forehead to add height to the face. CURLY or WAVY texture and wisps of hair around the face break the wide, straight lines common to the square face.

REDUCE WIDTH at THE SIDES with the DIAMOND Shaped Face

The DIAMOND Shape Face is characterized by a narrow chin and forehead with wide cheekbones. Diamond shaped faces need narrow sides and fullness at the chin. Bobs work very well for this shape. Avoid wearing height on top or volume on the sides. Use some fringe or bang to cover narrow forehead.

ADD VOLUME at THE CHIN with the HEART Shaped Face

The HEART Shape Face is characterized by a wide forehead and a narrower chin. Bring some hair onto the forehead to disguise its width. Keep hair close to the head at the eyes but make it slightly full around the jaw, and below and in front of the earlobes.

ADD VOLUME ABOVE the JAW LINE with the PEAR Shaped Face

The PEAR Shape Face is characterized by a small or narrow forehead and a rather large pouchy-appearing jawline. Comb hair to add width from the eye level through the crown of the head. Set and comb hair close to the head on the sides and at the nape.

ADD SOFTNESS to the OBLONG Shaped Face

The OBLONG Shape Face is characterized by a very long and narrow bone structure. The client who has an oblong facial shape often has a long, thin neck. Use a fringe or half-bang across the forehead by creating soft waves or curls in the crown and nape areas. This helps to create the illusion of an oval.

MORE ON FACE SHAPES -

This was our original face shape guide from 1998 - it still works! The face shape advice herein is just a real good guideline, and not a hard-fastened rule. There are plenty of exceptions to these suggestions, but if you have not stumbled upon your perfect alter ego style you might want to try to apply these guidelines and see what they can do for you. Anyway, it's good to know if you don't already, just what is your face shape, professionally speaking.
So stand in front of a mirror, look straight ahead and ask yourself, which of these face shapes most closely approximates my own? Pay careful attention to the chin and cheekbones and after you have made your best decision click on the face shape, which will take you to a page of suggested wig styles. Then come back here.

PUTTING ON A CLIP-ON HAIRPIECE

Clip-on hairpieces are by far the easiest and quickest way to go, if you have enough hair to attach the combs. Below are two diagrams showing the easy ways to form a ponytail secured with a coated ponytail holder elastic band. The higher ponytail usually looks best, sweeping up as much neck hair as possible, and the sideburns also usually look best when just swept into the ponytail. Some can get away with leaving out some wispy sideburns. The idea is to create the illusion that your hair was swept up into the combs, which will probably show a bit, and then fell out the other side, creating the "fall".

Not shown is one alternate method of putting up the ponytail which we developed. We call it the pigtail method. If your hair is not long enough to put into a ponytail, but can be put into two tiny pigtails, you can use the pigtails as anchor points to attach the combs. The combs will not come together in this method, but they will simply get stuck in the pigtails and become very secure. You'll have to experiment to see what method of application you like best for yourself. Sometimes you can just switch around from one way to the other.
Clip-ons are very secure. In Atlantic City, we have plenty of showgirls who use these in their acts, and once properly in place, they don't fall off even during active head-bobbing modern dance.

PUTTING ON A 3/4 COMB OR FALL

Most of these pieces come with excellent instructions in the box with the piece. Falls do not have combs to attach themselves to your hair, but instead have teeth that sink into your existing hair to secure themselves. The trick is to position the fall perfectly. This does take some experimentation, but the accepted best way for most people is to start the piece in the front lined up with an imaginary line drawn from the front of one ear to the front of the other and over the top of the head of course.

So first, brush all the hair that would lay in front of this imaginary line to the front as bangs! Then, if you can, create a small ponytail as an anchor, but this should be low near the neck. Then sink the teeth of the fall into part line that you have created in the front, and stretch the rest of the piece over the anchor near the neck. If you have lined things up right, there should be just a bit of tension, not too tight, but certainly not too loose either.

Then brush up or lift with your fingers, your bang hair in the front, and sort of integrate your hair with the hairpiece. With a fall you should select a color that matches or is slightly darker than your own hair, because you are going to layer your hair on top, and hair looks more natural when it is darker underneath, at the roots.

You can use a wig spray, bobby pins, or a fancy clip to attach your bang hair to the top of the hairpiece as a final touch. With a fall you can wear the hair back, or move it semi-forward, even in front of the shoulders if it a long enough fall. The effect is a fullness without an obvious ponytail or combs. They are a little more work to do up than a clip-on, but they offer a versatility that a clip-on can not duplicate.

INSURANCE COVERAGE?

Wigs purchased in conjunction with many medical treatments are usually covered by your health insurance policy. To find out what you need to know to get reimbursement click here.

COLOR DECISIONS FOR THE FASHION WIG BUYER

Again we differentiate between the fashion buyer and the hair replacement wig. Fashion buyers are usually open to color changes in wigs. It's a very personal decision to change color, and if you are thinking of dyeing your hair, and a wig is a great way to find out what the other color will do for you, without damaging your own natural hair.

Often eye color helps our wig experts select a great color for our clients. They know that red is opposite to green and blue and as such, sets up a beautiful contrast. Blue eyes are a standout when framed with a red wig. Once we decide to go to red, we look at complexion to select the proper red, with fair complexions favoring the light reds, such as Irish Red, and dark complexions favoring the auburns.

Complexion is also a very important guide in selecting hair color. A strong contrast such as a pale complexion with jet black hair, is great for making people notice your face, but you'd better have a Snow White clear complexion as well. Strong contrast causes the eye to see complexions very clearly, and if that is not a good feature for you, you should consider toning down the contrast a bit.

Those with dark Complexions and eye colors can benefit from some contrast with their hair color. Often a dark brown complexion will be set of with light chocolate hair, or #1 jet black. Light brown complexions get set off against dark brown hair. It's a vice-versa sort of thing, with the big idea being to get some contrast. The amount of contrast is up to you. Consider that strong contrast causes the eye to focus and pay attention. After the eye is done paying attention, the brain makes decision as to whether or not it likes what it has seen, based on myriads of reasons which include believability. But even the unbelievable can be beautiful. Some girls can pull off pink hair. It's not believable. It looks cartoonish, but that may be exactly the kind of attention you want to get. That's one of the great things about wigs. They allow you to change, without really changing.

So as a general guide:
• set up some contrast to your complexion color
• and fine tune contrast according to your personal complexion.

MAILING IN YOUR HAIR COLOR SAMPLES?

We should be able to match your hair for a wig, by telephone conference, email, or by you viewing our color chart. Usually our wig colors are a little more "perfected" than most people's own hair, and so may be preferred to the precise shade of your hair. All of our wig colors consist of blends of various shades of a color, creating an airbrushed, as it is called, natural look. Mailing in hair samples is rarely needed.

For hairpieces, unless you have an obvious color (like off black), or have experience with a particular piece, or we can telephone conference a shade, and you may wish to send in hair color samples. You can also e-mail a sampled scan of your hair, which works fine if you can do it. Sometimes a wig just jumps at you, but if you are not sure of a color or style selection feel free to call or email us.

Another idea is to send us via email or selfie, a color pictures of yourself:
• one head shot
• you can facebook us as well

If you only have a head shot include height and weight information, which impacts on wig style selection. Let us know about yourself and what you are interested in. Your information is 100% private here. Our dedicated and caring WigSalon professionals can guide you into a proper color and style selection. We have been online since 1996 and have had wig shops in our family since 1969. The more we know about your situation, the more personal our help can be.

Our addresses for mailing and visiting our salon are:

WigSalon.com
1809 1/2 Manhattan Beach Blvd.
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
1-800-262-8437

COLOR DECISIONS FOR THE HAIR REPLACEMENT WIG

Often hair replacement customers come to us and ask if they should change color. If they have been on this earth for a while, their natural hair may be fading or going gray. We usually look to the eyebrows for the best guess at a non-gray color. We try to find their own color, but "perfected" or the way it used to be just before it started to fade. This is our suggestion for those who wish not to select grays and fading frosts.

We have a wide range of colors, including the grays and fading frosts and you can print out our entire color chart with 66 hair colors by clicking on the bold type. Then you can keep the color chart around for your future hair color decision making. (Some laminate our color chart for safekeeping.)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I wash my hairpiece or wig?

Synthetic

1. Fill your sink basin with cool water.
2. Add a capful of synthetic wig shampoo and blend in. Never use regular shampoo on synthetic wigs! If the wig has picked up the odor of smoke or other strong odors, you may add a teaspoon of baking soda to your basin, and blend in.
3. Gently swish the wig or piece in the water for about 30 seconds to a minute until saturated. Gently scrub the front of the wig cap, where it meets the forehead until clean.
4. Leave the wig soak in the basin for about 15 minutes
5. Empty the basin of water and rinse the wig or piece in cool water. It is very important to use cool water on curly wigs, as warm water will over-relax the curls.
6. Gently squeeze out excess water. Do not rub or twist.
7. Spread the wig out on a thirsty towel and leave in a ventilated area to dry overnight. You should spray on a little leave-on wig conditioner, when you start the drying process.
8. When the wig is entirely dry, and not before, re-style the wig gently. We recommend a pick and not a brush. Shaking and fluffing by hand is your best starting point for styling. We offer good quality wig shampoo and conditioner for our customers. Do not use regular shampoo. It is too strong even for human hair wigs.

Human Hair

1. Follow the same first seven steps as above using lukewarm water instead of cool, and the manufacturer's prescribed shampoo and conditioner for your human hair wig.
2. Wigs may be set in rollers if desired and placed under a dryer or left overnight to dry at your disgresssion. A hot curling iron may be used on human hair wigs. We offer human hair wig conditioner and shampoo for our customers.

How often should my piece be washed and styled?
Wash your piece as little as possible. Think of it like a fine cashmere sweater. Picking up odors and "hat" stains on the cap at the forehead, are reasons to consider giving it a bath. Depending on the piece's environment, this will vary from every 12 wearings to every 25. Use your eyes and nose to determine this. But as you can see, you wash your piece very rarely. If you wear a wig every day, it's a good idea to have a back-up piece, so you won't be "down" for washings.
You mini-style your piece every time you wear it, but with your fingers and a pick and very gently, If knots have accumulated at the ends a straight or slightly wavy wig, pick apart the knots by starting near the end of the hair and working your way back to the top, using a little spray-on leave-on wig conditioner/de-tangler as you do.(We offer this product.)

Printable washing instructions

Can I use a blow drier or curling iron on my piece?

Synthetic

No blow drier!! Excessive heat will melt or frizz the plastic in your Kanekalon fibers. Don't even think about it.

Some recommend a lukewarm curling iron for re-setting the curls in a curly piece. Here is a better method.

1. Pin the wig or piece to a styrofoam head or "block" so you can work on it.
2. Select rollers of the proper size to re-set your curls. Wire mesh rollers are best.
3. Wet the entire hairpiece with lukewarm water and set the curls. Use perm papers, which you can get at a beauty supply house to protect the ends of the hair. Use plenty of rollers with a little hair in each for best curly results.
   
4. Take the pinned up piece to the sink basin. If you have a spray nozzle at your basin it is best to "spray" the hottest tap water on each set curl for about 3-4 seconds. This process, relaxes the hair without damaging it like a curling iron.
   
5. When you are done relaxing all the curls, immediately spray each curl, in approximately the same order as you "relaxed" them with icy cold tap water. You can also use a mist bottle, filled with some ice and water. This "freezes" the curl into a new semi-permanent curl pattern.
   
6. Allow your hair to air dry overnight, and when dry, take down the rollers. Now you've re-set your curls the most professional way possible. In the "old days" we used to do these services for our customers, for a charge. Today's wigs are so easy to care for that we recommend the above these procedures for home care. It saves money, mailing charges, and this is what we would do anyway.

Human Hair

Yes a hot curling iron may be used on any human hair wig. The better method is to set them on rollers and use a hairdryer to set the curls.

About WigSalon.com - The Wigs you Want for Less

WigSalon.com started in 1969 in Atlantic City New Jersey. Back then, we were known as Albert's Wigs. Our founder, Albert Aaron Este had a famous corner shop where locals, visitors to the Jersey shore, and entertainers could come to enjoy what was then certainly one of the world's largest wig shops of nearly 3000 square feet. In the late sixties, synthetic wigs were bot fully on the scene, so women would bring there human hair wigs in to be set once or twice a month.

Joseph, our currect CEO, used to work after high school a few days a week and go home with dad. It was there learned the styling, cutting and fitting of wigs. After college, Joseph did not go into the family business, but set out on his own. However shortly after Albert passed on in 1982, Joseph re-opened Alberts Wigs. The world of synthetics was opening up, and Alberts moved from the Avenue to the famous Million Dollar Pier Mall also known as Ocean One Mall.

In 1997 Joseph's son Erik, today a brilliant computer programmer, said it would be soon possible to put the entire wig shop on something called the Internet. Working with his son in his father's business, WigSalon.com was created, and is today one of the world's largest and most respected sources of fine wigs.

What brands do you carry?

The Internet collection is our best sellers and time-tested classics. Don't See the wig you want? Give us A call or Email : [email protected].

Rene of Paris Wigs
Noriko Wigs
Raquel Welch Wigs
Eva Gabor Wigs
Henry Margu Wigs
Envy Wigs
Estetica Welch Wigs
Jon Renau Wigs
LUXHAIR Wigs
Louis Ferre Wigs
Motown Tress Wigs
Vivica Fox Wigs
Tony of Beverly Wigs
WigPro Human Hair

These are all very reputable firms who stand behind their products. If there is a particular other line that you think we should be selling, let us know. If we get enough requests we could consider taking on a new line. Remember, WigSalon.com is your personal wig salon, with years of experience and though we are on the Internet we still love phone calls. We have a toll-free number 1-800-262-8437If you are online now with questions, you can E-mail us and you are sure to get a quick response. We can overnight wigs and pieces, if necessary. And we do ship to anywhere on the planet. If you've found us, we can get it to you.