The wearing of wigs dates back to ancient times. One of the first groups of people who wore wigs were the Egyptians. Before they were worn as stylish additions to an ensemble, they were worn to protect Egyptian heads from the sun and vermin. Though there were wigs made of human hair, cheaper units made with palm leaf fibers and wool were used more often.
We then fast forward to the 1500s, where wigs started their transition into being more fashionable items. The French wore an elaborate headdress complete with rings and coils of false hair stacked on each other, referred to as a perruque. The perruque, was informally referred to as a peruke or a periwig. Oddly enough, perruque directly translated from French is wig, and that is what this item was called after a couple hundred years of being worn.
A little later on, the wig made its reappearance but in the fashion space. Those in power tended to wear them as a style statement to events as well as a way to denote social status. Even those who could not afford the powdery headpieces would try their hardest to make their natural hair resemble them. Though they had their rise crypto news and fall of popularity throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, wigs never quite went out of style. Different trending hairstyles called for different needs and wigs weren’t always the first option to achieve them.
We then hit the 1950s to the late 60s where wigs reemerged as a staple in the hair industry. This was due to new machines allowing for mass production of synthetic fiber units, causing wigs to decrease in cost and increase in accessibility.
Today, wigs are widely used for a number of reasons. They aid in coping with hair loss for men and women, switching up your boss look and more. No matter if it’s a synthetic unit or real hair, wearing your wig with confidence is always the best look of them all.
Sources:
https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fashion-history-eras/history-wigs
A Brief History of the Wig
https://www.britannica.com/topic/wig
