The Right Way to Buy a Wig Online

Here's a horror story in three words: online wig shopping. "It's so hard to find a wig online—you're not sure about the fit, the style of it, the quality of it," says Brittney Ogike, founder and CEO of the North Hollywood beauty store BeautyBeez. And with wig prices ranging anywhere from $20 to $100—and that's just for synthetic wigs—online wigs can be a risky investment. To help you go from rookie to pro, we asked Ogike exactly how to tell a good wig from the digital crowd, and which brands and styles she personally recommends.

Where To Start When Wig Shopping

Start out with a clear goal in mind when you begin looking for a wig. "First, determine your objective for the wig. Are you looking for just an everyday look? Are you looking to do something dramatic? You can get down to the nitty gritty about your face shape," says Ogike. "So, you have your style that you want, I think the next best thing is determining the type. And when I say type, I'm referring to hair quality, cap construction, all of those things. They're very important." For true beginners, Ogike says recommends starting with a synthetic wig, "because the price point is lower and you're trying out styles."

Pay Attention To The Cap

If you're after a seamless look, it's not all about the hair. "The cap kind of determines how natural the wig will be," she continues; this means the fabric or lace that the hair is actually attached to. "Obviously the most popular caps are lace front wigs. And that's where the lace is in the front and you can cut it to make it look more natural, blend with your scalp and your hair," adds Ogike.

A good lace front is hard to find, though. Ogike says that she buys for her store and for herself personally based on reviews. "The thing about online, it's so hard, because they can say one thing but you get another," she explains. "Because they can say oh, the lace is Swiss lace or HD lace, meaning that it’s going to blend in perfectly, it's kind of seamless, but then you get a lace and it’s thick—a thick lace is not good at all, you don't want a thick lace at all. It'll look wavy, it'll look unnatural. You want to more find something like a Swiss, which is thinner. It's a softer material. Or HD, which means if you're being photographed in it, you're not going to see like the individual lace pattern." It's a lot of info, but from here, you're ready to start your shopping spree.