With more and more people choosing non-surgical hair loss solutions to deal with hair loss, the hair replacement system market has seen a significant increase in the types of hair system products in many countries that are designed to cater to people’s needs more precisely and specifically. Therefore, many terms in the hair system world often get mistaken with one another. And the most common pair of words must be none other than “toupee” and “wig,” as their differences are still bewildering to many hair replacement system wearers.
In order to select the right fit for yourself, it is pretty helpful to have a general idea of what toupees and wigs are, respectively, as they differ from one another in quite a few ways that are highly relevant to your decision making.
Wig vs. Toupee: The Basics
The fundamental difference between a wig and a toupee comes down to the difference in the area of the wearers’ scalp to be covered. As many of us are aware of, both toupee and wig products are supposed to be worn on people’s heads mainly for the purpose of hiding hair loss and presenting a full hair look. A toupee usually refers to a small hairpiece made of natural human hair or synthetic hair worn at the top of the wearer’s scalp to cover the baldness area. Whereas a wig is meant to offer complete coverage of the whole head. Due to the differences in hair loss patterns between men and women, toupees are widely used by male hair loss groups to cover the top area of the head that is more prone to baldness. In contrast, wigs are more prevalent among women who experience hair thinning problems. And that is basically why toupees are a lot smaller than wigs in most cases.
Toupee Categorization & Method of Measurement
Hair system products under the toupee category are mainly men’s hairpieces, hair frontals, crown hairpieces, and hair toppers. One thing these hair system products have in common is they are all designed for partial coverage of the head. In order to get the right measurement for hair toupee products, you usually only need to get the width and length of the area to be covered.
It is relatively easy to get the correct measurement for a hair toupee compared with getting one for a hair wig. The first thing to do is to mark where the front hairline is at the very middle, so you will get the length of the area using a measuring tape by measuring the distance from that point all the way to the back to where the hair meets the bald area at the back. Next, use the measuring tape to get the width in a similar way, which is the vertical distance between the hairline at the left side of the head and the one at the right side over the top of the scalp. After getting the measurements, you will know what size of a toupee would best suit your own hair loss condition.
Wig Categorization & Method of Measurement
Speaking of what hair system products fall under the category of wigs. There are quite a few common ones, including full cap wig, women’s wig, medical wig, Jewish wig, and hair integration. Such wig products are designed for full head coverage instead of partial coverage. And they are typically used by women to hide hair loss or add hair volume to their thinning hair. With that said, users do not necessarily need to have complete hair loss to wear a wig. As many people are familiar with, medical wigs are specifically designed for people suffering from severe hair loss caused by medical conditions of different kinds, such as cancer. They are usually used by patients with complete baldness. In comparison, hair integration works by allowing the wearers to pull their own hair through the mesh base to instantly present that flawless hair look with larger hair volume, so the wearers must have a certain amount of existing hair volume if they want to wear a hair integration.
Compared with getting the measurement of a hair toupee, getting the size of a hair wig turns out to be much more complicated and time-consuming. And there are typically seven different measurements you need to take to get the complete measurement for a wig product.
- Head Circumference
This measures the distance around your head. Starting at the center of the front hairline, place the tape flat against your head, going just above the ear towards the back of the head, keep the tape at the nape of your neck and go around to the opposite side of your head, just above the opposite ear and return to the center of the front hairline.
- Front to Back
Place the tape at the center of your front hairline and measure directly across the middle top of your head to the nape of your neck. To determine where the nape of your neck is, tilt your head back and look up. Where your neck bends and where you may have developed a skin fold is where your nape is. You want the bottom of the wig to sit right above this area so that when you do tilt your head back that far, your wig will not shift on your head. If it does not, the base will be too long. This area is often right at the occipital bone but be sure to take the measurement with your neck bent down so that you are looking at your shoes.
- Ear to Ear over Forehead
Place the tape at your temple, just in front of your ear. Measure from your hairline at the base of the sideburn and go up across the hairline along the forehead to the same point in front of the opposite ear.
- Temple to Temple
Place the tape at the bottom edge of the sideburn in front of your ear and go directly across the top of the head to the bottom edge of the opposite sideburn. This measures your temple to temple length over the top of the head.
- Ear to Ear over Top of Head
Place the tape from the hairline edge at the top of your ear and go directly across the top of your head to the hairline edge at the top of the opposite ear.
- Temple to Temple over Back of Head
Place the tape against your head at the front edge of the hairline (temple area). Go around the head above the occipital bone to the opposite front edge of the hairline (the opposite temple area).
- Width of Neck from Side to Side
This measures the width of the hairline across the nape of the neck.
Place the tape at the lowest point on the bone behind your ear (mastoid bone) and measure the opposite mastoid bone across the neck.
Wig vs. Toupee: Pros & Cons
Despite wigs and toupees being designed for different hair loss patterns, they come with advantages and disadvantages that wearers want to be informed of.
Compared with toupees, wigs are more of a user-friendly option in the sense that they are easy and convenient to handle in many ways. For one, since a wig is worn for complete coverage of the head and your existing hair will not be exposed in most cases, as opposed to toupees, you would not need to go through the hassles of matching the hair color, hair length, and hair density to make it appear natural. For another, Unlike toupees that are usually attached with the assistance of tape or glue adhesives, many wigs can be instead directly secured to the head or with a few clips. So there is much less attachment, as well as maintenance work needed for wearing wigs, which is also a reason why wigs generally last pretty much longer than toupees. Lastly, before wearing a toupee, the wearers usually need to shave off their existing hair on the area to be glued or taped, which is not something that needs to be done before putting on a wig. And this is what makes so many users, especially women, go for wigs instead, as they are not as accepting of shaving the head just for that purpose.
Toupees, in comparison, have their advantages as well. Since toupees are much smaller than wigs, it takes a lot less hair material and hair knotting work to produce a toupee than it takes for a wig. So toupees are more of an affordable and value-for-money option with lower prices on the market. In addition, toupees feel much lighter and more breathable due to their smaller size. In contrast, a wig can feel somewhat heavy and stuffy for many wearers, especially on hot days. Lastly, toupees are deemed a more flexible hair loss solution than wigs, given how much they can cater to the needs of people differing significantly in hair loss conditions in the most exact manners. They can blend seamlessly with people’s existing hair to present a very natural and rejuvenating appearance wanted by the wearers. Things like base size, base shape, hair density, front contour, hair wave, and hair direction can be easily customized in accordance with the wearer’s own needs and situations.
Wig vs. Toupee: New Times Hair
As a highly recognized hair wig and hair toupee manufacturer globally, New Times Hair is where you can wholesale top-class stock and custom wig and toupee products from China at the lowest direct factory prices. There is a vast range of wigs and toupees available in different designs, as well as hair colors and base sizes.
Visit their website to explore: https://www.newtimeshair.com/
