History

The craft of wig making is thousands of years old. Some similar techniques are still used today which are in evidence in surviving wigs from ancient Egypt. The craft reached the height of popularity between 1760 and 1800, as wigs were fashionable for men and women. After this period, smaller, more natural looking hairpieces continued to be made into the 1900s, falling out of fashion in the early part of the 20th century, with a brief resurgence in the 1960s. Most professionally made wigs are now made to service the theatre, film and television industries, however there is also a branch of the industry which services alopecia suffers, Orthodox Jewish women and people undergoing chemotherapy.

More wig makers are specialising in Afro-Caribbean wigs and there has also been a upsurge of amateur makers who are interested in making Afro-Caribbean wigs.

 

Techniques

Constructing a base from fine net and hand tying hair (human, animal and synthetic) into the lace net using a very small hook (this process is called knotting in the UK and ventilating in the US). Each wig is made to measure and constructed to design requirements (usually to replicate natural hair growth).

Weaving involves knotting the hair between strands of thread under tension, then constructing wigs and pieces with these lengths of weft.

 

Local forms

 

 

Sub-crafts

• Knotting
• Foundation making
• Weaving
• Switch making
• Diamond cluster making
• Hair mixing
• Postiche (facial)
• Pre-curling hair

 

Issues affecting the viability of the craft

• Raw material (hair) has increased in price in recent years. Cheap, lower quality wigs are now readily available from China and India.
• Changes in vocational training have lost some aspects of teaching the craft.
• Many practitioners are freelance and work from home, which makes traineeships/apprenticeships difficult.

 

Support organisations

• The UK Wig School 

 

Craftspeople currently known

• Campbell Young
• Ray Marsten
• Peter Owen
• Alex Rowse
• Raoul – makes a wide range of wigs including Afro-Caribbean wigs.
• Bloomsbury of London
• Banbury Postiche
• The Wig and Makeup Studio – Corinne Young and Philip Carson-Sheard, run wig making courses
• Ede & Ravenscroft (legal wigs)

 

• Campbell Young Associates
• Ray Marsten Wig Studio
• Peter Owen (Bristol)
• Alex Rouse Wig Company
• Hum Studio
• Samuel James Wigs
• Shepperton Wigs
• The Big Wig Company
• Raoul Wigmakers
• Wigs Up North
• Sarah Weatherburn Company (Facial Pieces)

• Royal Opera House
• English National Opera
• Glyndebourne
• National Theatre
• Royal Shakespeare Company

• The Wigs and Makeup Studio (London)
• WQ Hair (Birmingham)
• Isobel Donald (Scotland)
• Katie’s Wigs (Leeds)
• The Wig Academy (Eastbourne)
• Campbell Wigs (London)

Other information

The entertainment industry currently provides enough employment for the craft to continue. The National Theatre has an apprentice programme.

 

References

• Bouviet, Melanie, A practical guide to wig making
• BBC, Why are England’s wig-makers thinning out?