Beauty comes in all shades, shapes and sizes. Changing up your look is fun and fashionable, but embracing your natural beauty will be most satisfying and actually – freeing. Yet, the majority of us lose track of what our natural hair color is; or, if your hair is naturally curly, what curl pattern was there before all the relaxers, keratin treatments and years of flat ironing

The “ideal” beauty standards of society and social media don’t match reality. Slowly but surely that image of “beauty” is being stripped down and exposed for what it is – unrealistic. And I’m all for it.

We’re often led to believe that there is only one recipe for beauty, that we need to conform, to straighten, to plump, to dye – but in reality, we forget that beauty is arbitrary. We must remember there are millions of variations of beauty standards in this world. As a wig stylist, educator and your resident wig pro, my goal is for you to look in the mirror and see that YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

Sophia Loren once said, “Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful” – what a powerful statement! The beauty of beauty (pun 100% intended) is that we do have the option to change it or enhance it. Whether you choose to alter your hair texture, color or length, embracing your natural beauty will always be in style.

Creating Texture in Wigs or Hairpieces

Tight Texture: To create a tight texture, use a metal rattail comb and a flat iron. Take small sections of hair and wrap them tightly on the comb. Next, take a flat iron and press it on the hair moving up, down, and all around – this will allow the hair to heat evenly.

Tight Crimp: To create a tight crimp, simply use a traditional crimping iron. Take thin, wide sections and press the crimping iron along the length of the hair leaving out the tips. You can use any crimper that has plates with thin lines. What I love about adding tight crimp to the hair, is that it mimics natural texture that is straightened or relaxed, you get texture without the curl. You can add tight crimp texture to any straight hairpiece or wig.

Large Waves: Large waves are the modern (way cooler, in my opinion) version of the 80’s crimp. A three-barrel curling iron creates beautiful waves that give a natural, effortless look. Take thin, wide sections and place the barrels over the hair, continuing to work down the length of the hair, leaving about ½” of the ends untouched.

Tight Curls: The tight curls texture is that “I wish I had” curl some were fortunate enough to be born with. To create tight curls, take a small section of hair and wrap it around a 3/8” curling iron. Let the hair heat for a few seconds, release and then separate the curl into two or three strands.

Remember, you can change the texture of your wig or hairpiece to match your natural hair so you don’t have to compromise on your look. Comment with your natural hair texture and what texture you want to try to achieve.