Lace-front wigs are the next "miracle product" designed to give black women what society tells them (and what many now believe) is perfect hair. Meaning, long and straight.
The fad started with transvestite RuPaul almost a decade ago. Within the last five years, many silky-maned black celebrities, from Halle Berry to Vivica Fox, began wearing the wigs.
The lace-front wigs grew in popularity mainly because they give the impression that the wearer's hair is growing directly from the scalp. So once the wig is fastened securely around the hairline, a woman can part her hair or pull it up into a ponytail without fear of exposing indentations where the hair has been sewn or glued in (otherwise known as tracks).
"It just affords me more options," said Andrea Wright, 42, as she sat in Lisa Johnson's chair at the Wyndmoor salon Shapes -N- More.
Wright, an event planner who lives in Mount Airy, walked into the shop sporting a short, relaxed style. She walked out with straight dark brown hair that fell well below her shoulder. Her face was framed with soft curls.
"This is so nice. It's not so severe a look for me. I can put it in a ponytail and still feel professional ... feminine."
When lace-front wigs first hit the scene, they cost anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 because they looked so real. But these days, the wigs, most made from human hair, can be found for $300 to $1,000. There are demonstrations on YouTube.com that show people how to apply the wigs themselves and Web sites that tell people where to find them.
The wigs come in different shades, from dark black to white blond, and a variety of hair textures from kinky/curly to straight. Some wigs are real, some are synthetic. Most of the hair used to fashion the wigs comes from women of Asian descent, and most are manufactured in Asia.
