Lace Front Wigs, what are they?

Lace front wigs have historically been available on a custom made basis for the theatrical industry for many years.  I made a totally lace wig in a wig-making class over 30 years ago, took about 300 hours of "ventilating", individually tying each hair to the mesh base.  Lace wigs were custom made to a person's head size and generally took about 250 to 400 hours to produce. As technology reduced the manpower needed to produce the various sections of the wig, manufacturers started experimenting with producing lace front and lace back wigs that could be mass produced for a lower cost.  Typically, the wig would be produced in the normal fashion with the exception of the wefts in front and at the back of the wig being replaced with a band of lace that had individual hairs hand-tied onto the cross sections of the webbing.

This band of lace would have individual or small groups of hairs knotted onto the lace and the lace then sewn onto the wig.  When the end user of the wig received the piece, they then cut the lace (see photos of before and after in this article) (generally the section that had no hair tied onto it) back to the hairline and basically customized the piece to their own needs.  Having the consumer or wig seller trim the lace greatly reduced the manpower required to produce the wig, thereby bringing the price down dramatically.

Below are pictures of typical lace front wig, before and after the front lace has been trimmed back.  In one picture you can see the lace trimmed to almost the first grouping of hairs.  The individual groups or hairs can be seen tied to the mesh.  When this mesh lies snugly against the head and is secured with tape or liquid adhesive, the mesh virtually disappears and the only visible feature appears to be hair growing out of the wearer's head, thus achieving the desired result.

As received, lace is full sized.  I placed a purple background so you could see the lace more clearly.

After being trimmed and another look after trimming...

 Some of the shortcomings of this type of wig is the fragility of the piece itself and hairs coming out. Recognizing that monofilament generally cannot be tied in a knot that actually stays tied, these hairs tend to become untied and will actually simply pull loose the next time the wig is worn.  Adhesives that are used to hold the wig line down will attach to the hairs and cause them to get pulled off the wig when the adhesive is removed.  The use of adhesives is necessary to achieve the perfect hairline in many cases.  Removing the hairpiece causes some hairs to come untied and get pulled off with the tape or dried liquid adhesive.  This shortens the life of the wig over the typical sewn weft wig where the hairs are very securely sewn into place.

My estimates for wig life on a typical inexpensive lace front wig is probably 50 wearings with tape or adhesive use before the front lace has to either be replaced or the entire wig is replaced.  Replacement lace fronts pieces are available but the price for the replacements and the need for fairly accurate color matches makes them un-attractive to the normal wig wearer.

The advantages tend to outweigh the wear factor for many of us and lace front wigs are gaining in popularity daily. The ability to French Braid a wig and not have a visible wig line, or to pull the hair off one side of the head to expose an ear or many of the styling tricks that are used to increase the attractiveness of a hairpiece are very positive. The costs of lace front wig just keeps coming down as the mass-produced  pieces get more and more refined.

Lace front wigs typically cost in the mid thousands of dollars, a piece generally worn by Beyonce is known to cost her about $6,000.  She is able to wear this piece for up to six weeks at a time, but it must be very carefully put on and taken off occasionally to cleanse. Today's lace front wigs can be found on eBay and other sites for as low as $50.  Obviously they do not compare to those worn by Beyonce, but for the price they can be replaced every few months to maintain that "perfect" look.

The color of the lace in the front, and sometimes in the back, matches the general color of the hair.  Therefore, if I wear a wig with hair much darker than my skin, the mesh or lace tends to be more obvious and I really have to watch how I wear the front section.  In many cases, I end up pulling a few bangs down into place and using a low temp flat iron to straighten the bangs to cause them to hang down rather than point straight up.  Since the newer lace front wigs use a new type synthetic fiber that can withstand heat styling (up to a certain level at least),  I can simply pull out the hairs I want for bangs and gently flat iron them down for a more natural appearance.

I am now getting to the point that I buy mostly blonde wigs to allow my skin color to show through and cause the lace to blend nicely.  When I wear a darker piece I really have to pay attention to the hairline and usually end up pulling and cutting bangs into place, simply because the hairline shows a darker grouping of hair knots and darker lace. 

Examples of typical lace front wigs..

Available under the brand name "Ozone" style 001SH is a typical and classic bob cut

and this is "Ozone" 006CH

and these two are great examples of lace front wigs sold under the Beverly Johnson label, intended for the ethnic market.

This piece has seen a lot of wear time, and coupled with a low-cut top, seems to draw a lot of very positive attention.. I have had many people come up to me and ask if this is actually my own hair, after seeing me in many wigs over the years.

For a number of years the only lace front wigs were manufactured for Black women, and generally were in very dark colors.  Within the past few years or so, much lighter colors have started hitting the market, including some pretty pale blonde blends. Beverly Johnson wigs have undergone a huge change and are very well made and seem to have a better life span than some of the thinner and lighter pieces.  Below are some of her latest offerings.

This is an example of not wearing any adhesive to hold the front hairline down, and having it look pretty good!  This is a typical eBay type lace front piece available from places like Jenney's Sense and a few other importers.

Same piece as below, the Lavender from Beverly Johnson in color 2216, with both indoor and outdoor lighting so that you can see the actual coloring.

These four pictures are of the same piece, Lavender in color P2216

Pictures below are of Beverly Johnson's Kimora in color TP613/27. First pictures are of the wig as it arrives while later pictures show her picked out a bit and pinned up.