A Brief Look at Wigs

The use of wigs has a long history; the oldest known uses being in ancient Egypt, Assyria, and other contemporary cultures. Since then, they have been in and out of fashion. They’ve been used to hide baldness or to represent one’s status, and, as fashion has been used as both a political and social tool, it’s served those two purposes as well. An example of the latter would be the parodies of the extravagant wigs worn during the Rococo within caricatures, plays, and operas (as can be noted regarding the popularity of blonde wigs after the death of Robespierre).

Beyond those uses of fashion and status, they’ve also been used for religious reasons. Since Jewish religious law requires married women to cover their hair, some have chosen to wear wigs for that very reason. There’s a multitude of other reasons as well, beyond the first few that have been mentioned, and the truth of it is that no one truly needs a reason to wear a wig. 

Wigs are possibly the easiest way to transform into a character within the world of performance art. They’ve been used in different theatre traditions for centuries and have become their own art form. Like all art forms, they require constant practice and there’s a multitude of tutorials available online for beginners who are learning to style their own wigs. There’s another option available when it comes to wig styling: commissioning a custom wig.

Custom wigs can run anywhere from $90 to upwards of $1,200, depending on the style and from who the wig is commissioned. The latter price range isn’t necessarily in the budget of most cosplayers and performers, but it can be seen more often in the invoices of big theatre productions. There’s also a multitude of techniques for taking care of the different types of wigs (in order to prevent damage to the wig and any possible health issues to the wearer). It’s easy to look at a wig and think that nothing can go wrong with slipping a wig in place, but improper and prolonged use can cause anything from headaches to damaging the scalp and leading to hair loss.