How good are you?

[whiteisle]

At spotting wigs? And I don't mean crazy-that's-so-obvious ones. I've never given it much thought til my mom had to go through chemo and has been sporting one when she goes out or when she has company. She's been extremely private about what she is going through and no one but immediate family knows. So I find it interesting to watch other people when they are around her. I guess I'm trying to figure out, "do they know?" To us it seems so obvious but everybody else seems to be hoodwinked.

Kinda funny story....our farrier is a great friend also and is obsessed with my moms "hair". Every time she comes she talks about it, how good the cut is, when is she going back to get a trim?, who does it?, can she come too?. LOL And she tries many times to get her hands in it but I must hand it to my mom, she's slick. She somehow manages to dodge the wandering fingers with finesse. And I suppose I thought surely by this point she, our friend, must have it figured out but apparently not. And if she does, she ought to be nominated for an Emmy or Oscar or something. :p

So, back to my original question, can you spot 'em?

[Kris Dove]

Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't- it depends how good the wig is and how well it's been styled I think.

Hope your mum gets well soon.

[whiteisle]

Hope your mum gets well soon.

Thank you!:flowers:

[Tinose]

Never. I'm not very observant.

[Thinthondiel]

I'm not sure, because I don't think a lot of people around here really wear wigs. Unless, of course, they're going through chemo or something like that. But I never expect to see people wearing wigs around here, so I never think about whether a person's hair is a wig or not.

[skay]

Hi whiteisle, sounds like your mom is the one who's good! ;)

That's a great story. I wish you're mom a speedy recovery, healthy journey and best of thoughts to your family.

I don't make it a point to find if someone's wearing a wig, but the thought will enter my mind if the person's hair looks kind of thick for their head, a little too perfect...and especially if they are older.

For example, they are a lot of Asians in the city I live in and once in a long while I'll spot a woman who may be 70 (?) with kind of big, black, curly, hair.

At first, I may think, oh, she dyed her hair & permed it. But then, at times, I might look at it a little longer to see if it's a wig because the size proportion doesn't seem to fit the head or something...bless their hearts...

[LawyerGirl]

Hmm I think people aren't as good as they think... when I got extensions and my hair grew 12" overnight... people looked at me funny for a few days before they asked me if I'd gotten my hair cut!

[pinchbeck]

I am sorry your mom and family is going through such a difficult time.

Yes...I can spot a wig because it the hair usually looks unusual under the canopy (near the neck) and there is no natural part.

What your mom's friend is doing is hurtful. But it's hard to not be curious about changes in the appearance of someone we know.

[MemSahib]

Hmm I think people aren't as good as they think... when I got extensions and my hair grew 12" overnight... people looked at me funny for a few days before they asked me if I'd gotten my hair cut!

How funny! Shows how much people really truly look at others, doesn't it?

whiteisle, I'm not sure I can spot 'em. Let me just waffle a bit and say sometimes I can but I am sure I often don't. I, too, hope your sweet mother recovers soon. May God be with her!

[whiteisle]

Thank you everyone for the well wishes!

I had never really sought to try to pick them out either before this experience. My mom is so convinced everyone knows when they look at her but I've told her that I don't think anyone has a clue. Echoing a pp, I don't think people are as observant as they might like to believe they are. ;)

[Tornerose]

A wig made to look real? No, I probably can't tell the difference..
A wig that's "just a wig", like for halloween etc when people just needs a 1-night change of hair, yes I can tell.

[shadowclaw]

I wish a speedy recovery to your mum!

As for wigs, I don't think a lot of people I see actually ever wear full wigs. Extensions and other small hair pieces, yes. I knew one lady who wore some kind of hair piece, but I'm not really sure how it worked. She did have wonderful volume to her hair and it was rather big. I just assumed it was natural because she was a hair dresser and knew how to do that stuff. Then a girl from Taiwan one day was looking at her a bit strangely, and suddenly asked if she wore a wig. Then the truth was revealed!


IYes...I can spot a wig because it the hair usually looks unusual under the canopy (near the neck) and there is no natural part.


I disagree on there being no natural part. My brother's mother-in-law wears a wig that is actually very nice and would be convincing on a younger woman. It has an excellent part down the middle and it actually looks like real scalp in the part. However, it is a little obvious that she's wearing a wig, because it is too perfect and if it were rally her hair, she'd have to dye it, and it wouldn't be so smooth and lovely!

[2peasinapod]

Sorry about your mom. :( I hope she gets well soon.

I usually can't tell if hair is fake unless it's really obvious (ie, looks like plastic, grew 12 in overnight, etc). I'm glad your mom seems to have found one that works for her!

[RocketDog]

I'm better at spotting extensions than I am at spotting wigs.

[CaraLynn]

There was a lady at a church we used to go to whose hair never moved 1/16". I mean, it looked so much like a wig that I was surprised to find out it was quite real when I ran into her in the ladies' room redoing it one day. I guess she just always put her hot rollers in the exact same spot!

[JamieLeigh]

I'm not really sure - I've never paid much attention to shorter hair...I guess it just doesn't interest me. :p

I'm REALLY good at spotting extensions, though. :D I think some wigs look way more real than most extensions do.

[pineapple pea]

I have no idea if people are wearing wigs or not most of the time, because I certainly don't ask for confirmation!
Also, let your mom know that probably 99.9% of the population isn't even considering whether any given person is wearing a wig or not.

[Maddy25]

I'm not good at all at spotting it. Especially in movies! Call me silly but Lord of the Rings had me totally fooled! And I spent forever last night trying to figure out if it was Drew Barrymores real hair in Ever After haha

[Alia]

Sometimes, I can tell, especially if it is a typical cheap wig style--you know, short with blobby curls far too regulated to be real that you see in the back of women's magazines. Last winter, on the flight to Phoenix, there was a lady in front of me , and something made me look harder at her head :eye:: yup, a wig. Before we landed, she fluffed it up, and it really showed. The creepy thing was when, a week later we flew back, she was on the same flight, a row ahead of me. :bigeyes: Her wig looked like it had had a wild time, though.

Good wigs can be hard to spot. Drew Barrymore's wig in Ever After baffled me until I read about her using a wig in an on-set interview.

[Topaz]

You can usually tell in the movies if you look at their forehead, right up there along the hairline. The wigs are glued onto their foreheads, and you'll see a very slight discoloration of the skin along the hairline, or a miniscule wrinkling, or maybe something just doesn't look quite right up there. Maybe they started out the day perfect, but after hours on set, and maybe sweating or whatever, THEN you can see the glued-on part. So sometimes it appears and disappears from scene to scene, but yes, if you know what to look for you can see it. Once you notice it, you cannot NOT notice it.

With folks in real life, who do not have the same $$$ make-up and hair artists to send them out into the world that the actors do, I think it depends completely upon the quality of the wig. Average and cheap wigs are pretty noticeable. I think the nicer ones --- and it sounds like your Mom's wig is a very nice one --- can easily pass as real hair.