Mens Wigs
Mens wigs come in a variety of styles, shapes, lengths and colours. Their popularity is a great as ever for more reasons that you'd at first suspect. They range from the cosmetic, to the professional to the frivolous but in all cases they have a place and a use that each individual has in mind for them.
This article takes a look at these many varieties and uses for men's wigs, some of which may surprise you and others which will make you think about why they are used and what purposes they serve for so many people.
Cosmetic Mens Wigs
Still the most common use that men have for a wig is for cosmetic reasons, mainly to do with hair loss. It is more normal in middle aged or older men to wear fake hair in an attempt to hold back time by displaying an outward visual appearance of retained youth by sporting a full head of hair.
It is however not so common to wear a mens wig to cover a prematurely balding scalp in younger men. This could have a lot to do with the fashion trends and media design, making it a cool and popular look to be bald or have a shaved head. Footballers and other popular sportsmen have all contributed to this movement and for many it is a good thing as it means no loss of confidence through the loss of hair which dogged previous generations.
This is especially true of the 60s and 70s where men grew their hair long as part of the prevailing fashion and to have thinning hair at a young age was considered unfashionable.
Of course, wigs are also worn by men who suffer with alopecia, a skin complaint that causes sudden hair loss. In this case, clumps of hair fall out over large areas of the scalp leaving "holes" that look unsightly. This is easily covered with a hairpiece until the disease can be cleared up and the hair grows back normally. It should be noted that this is not always the case and the hair loss can be permanent in some people.
Professional Mens Wigs
Actors and thespians are probably the best known of all professional groups to wear specially made hair pieces. This is not surprising as their very profession entails the creation of many different characters throughout their career. It is much easier and more convenient to change what you're wearing on your head to each new characterisation than to get a new hairstyle.
Another professional group who make use of a rather different kind of male wigs are barristers, lawyers and courtroom judges. Those worn by members of the legal profession date back to a time when it was not considered safe to attend court to try a man and possibly sentence him to death, when the family of the man could easily identify the judge or barristers and then attack them physically after the event.
So wigs were worn in court to protect the visual identities of those involved in the direct trying and sentencing of the accused prisoners.
On a rather darker note, but still a valid one is the dubious profession of crime. In this case, criminals have worn hairpieces to disguise their appearance to avoid detection during activities such as bank raids, store hold-ups and other similar activities where they come into contact with other members of the public who could otherwise later identify them had they not worn a disguise.
Disguises are also worn by men who are not committing any illegal activity, but who for one reason or another need to go out in public unrecognized. Here, the wearing of a man's wig is the perfect disguise when coupled with dark glasses and wearing clothing that is not the person's normal attire.
Mens Wigs for Fun and Frivolity
When it comes to party time, there is nothing more fun and off the wall to wear outlandish clothes and a crazy wig to set it all off. Multi-coloured party wigs in all the colours of the rainbow and more besides can be bought or hired for parties and celebrations that call for an element of fun and foolishness.
Those designed for these occasions come in a variety of shapes, lengths, styles and colours from long, flowing hippy styles to afro styles, multi-colour punk styles, period and retro-styles and just about anything else you can think of. There are even hairless wigs for a fun bald look!
That's right, a wig doesn't have to actually have any hair. It can be the exact opposite and create the look of baldness without the wearer having to reort to drastic action such as shaving the head to produce the result. Of course, close up, it is possible to tell when someone is wearing a bald wig quite easily, but from a distance it can fool most people!
As you can see to the right of this page we have a great selection of men's party wigs that you can really have a great time with. They come in all types from that gruesome grave digger wig at the top, through long rocker types, multi-colour party afros, groovy 60's long hair and hippy styles some straight, some curly and some just, well, crazy!
There are even some tasteful black and grey Duke wigs that come with bows a deluxe judge's wig and for anyone wanting to ape their favourite magic man, a super deluxe wizard wig and beard combination that is sure to get plenty of odd looks from people if you are dared by your friends to walk down the street like it!
So there you have our look at men's wigs of several different types and used for several different reasons. Whatever your reason for wearing a man's hairpiece, don't be self conscious about it or you'll likely give the game away by your our of character actions rather than the detection of the hairpiece itself.