Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Wiggin' Out!

I meant to write this post days ago when I posted my picture, but I am just now getting around to it. If you haven't already guessed by the subject of my post, the brown hair is not really mine. It is a wig!

I've always wondered what it would be like to be a brunette, but I'm not daring enough to color my hair. Plus, if I wanted my blond back, I would have to either wait a very long time, or really damage my hair by bleaching it. I never considered a wig before because I assumed it was too pricey and would probably look really fake. Last week, a co-worker told me she got hers for only $25 at Mr. Lee's! That settled it. I was going wig shopping.

I took a friend/co-worker with me and tried on 5 or 6 wigs before finding "the one". Let me tell you, we had a lot of laughs! My wig came to a total of $37.44! Of course, for that price, it is not human hair; it's synthetic. The downside to that is that I can't curl it or wash it, but for the price difference, it was worth it.

I put it on in the store and have since worn it every day (6 days) and only taken it off to go to bed. I decided that it's crazy enough that I'm wearing the thing, but how much weirder would it be if I kept switching back and forth between blond and brunette?! Besides, if I didn't wear it consistently, I wouldn't be able to know what it's really like to be brunette.

So far, I've discovered some things I like about the color:
1. It really brings out my eyes. I've always felt like my eyes do not stand out and can look dead.
2. I can get away with more dramatic eyes. Wearing more eye liner doesn't necessarily make me look more made-up. It's complimented by the dark hair color.
3. I can wear certain lip colors that I couldn't with blond hair. I've not worn much lipstick lately, but I have a few colors that I love that just didn't look good with blond hair.
4. It makes me look older. This is something I won't want in a matter of a few years I'm sure, but it's nice for a change. I've always looked quite a bit younger than I am.
5. It looks better when wearing certain colors.

What I like about wearing a wig:
1. It's quick and easy.
2. I know I can take it off whenever I want to.
3. It's fun!

What I don't like about wearing a wig:
1. It itches! After awhile, my head gets numb to the feeling of having all my hair secured to my head with a ponytail holder, barette, bobby pins, and a little cap. . . but it does itch - sometimes more than others.
2. I have to be careful that my blond doesn't peek out on the sides of my face. Not something that you really want to have to worry about. I've bobby-pinned some strands that seems to take care of the problem, but occasionally I'll play with it and begin to see some blond showing through.
3. It's not very versatile. Right now I have the top pulled back which looks best and most natural, but it would be fun to be able to pull it all up or curl it.
4. I feel like I have to tell everyone it's a wig. The vast majority of people have thought it was real, because it is the same length as my actual hair (a little shorter actually). But I would feel like I was deceiving people if I didn't admit it was fake.

For the most part, I've gotten compliments and positive responses, though there have been a number of people that prefer my blond hair (me being one of them, though I like the brown). My grandmother is my biggest critic. She hates it and has told me so at least 20 times (that is no exaggeration). She then apologizes for telling me it looks terrible and asks me to take it off so she doesn't have to apologize anymore. . . . I think I'll take the criticism and keep wearing it for awhile.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

It seems like it would be really hot and itchy. :) But all the better for the winter months.

L said...

Surprisingly, it's not really hot (there are "holes"), but it IS itchy - just around my forehead and the nape of my neck where it touches. Most of the time I don't notice it, but there are times I want to rip it off!

k said...

I'm impressed! I think I'd be too self-conscious to wear a wig around confidently. I'd always be touching it or playing with it.

Anne said...

I KNEW IT WAS A WIG! I didn't want to say anything cause i didn't know if that sounded rude to say, "is that a wig?" if you really did dye your hair. But i think it looks nice, and it is an awesome idea to get one instead of making a perminant change. I love it!