What makes a good toupee, and what makes a bad toupee?
How do distinguish good toupees from bad ones? What are the key differences?
Before choosing what they call a good toupee, many people are confused or intimidated by the numerous toupee-related terms before deciding on what they call a good toupee.
Let’s clarify all the toupee-related terms. Then we should be more than able to tell what’s required of a good toupee and how to keep ourselves from picking a bad toupee.
Toupees are Not Really Wigs
Toupees are not really wigs. Though they are similar in function, many people rarely put them in the same category, as they are indeed of different origins.
The first toupee was created back in the mid-1700s. The term originally came from the French, toupet, meaning a tuft of hair, as in a lock or curl on the top of the head.
Toupees didn’t initially have much to do with covering the bald head.
Wigs, however, are of ancient Egyptian origin; the ancient Egyptians created the wig to shield their shaved, hairless heads from the sun.
The Greeks and Romans, later on, also inherited the wig as their everyday fashion.
The Key Difference Between a Toupee and a Wig
In simple terms, a toupee is mainly used to cover baldness; it only covers a particular area of the head that’s hair deficit.
A wig, however, is usually used to cover the entire head, regardless of whether the wearer has hair or not.
Most wigs are portable; the wearer can take it off anytime, anywhere they want; but most toupee wearers can’t do the same with their toupee.
Over 95% of toupees are glued or taped to the wearer’s scalp to cover their baldness.
Most of the time, it requires a highly qualified and richly experienced stylist to install or remove the toupee for the wearer.
A good toupee should blend perfectly with the wearer’s natural hair to create the illusion that the wearer’s not wearing a toupee.
Other Names the Toupee is Known for
We’ve just talked about how wigs are different from toupees. Now let’s count all the other names the toupees are commonly known for.
Toupees are also commonly known as hairpieces (or hair pieces), hair systems, weaves, and hair replacement systems. Their complete technical name is non-surgical hair replacement systems.
Throughout this post, anywhere you see one of the bolded names above, please know that they all mean the same thing.
Now let’s continue talking more about the difference between a bad toupee and a good toupee.
What was a Bad Toupee Like in the Old Days?
Indeed, the quality of a bad toupee or bad hairpiece in the past was hardly comparable to modern toupees.
However, easily spotted, easily slipped, and daily taken off were perhaps the three major attributes that portray a bad toupee.
Easily Spotted
In the past, people used to say, “you could easily spot a bad toupee a mile away.” Sounds a little exaggerated, huh? It rhymes, though.
Toupee technologies in the old days were surely not as developed as they are today.
The old-school methods of using toupees and weaves to hide male baldness are a thing of the past.
If you could spot a bad toupee from a mile away, surely the bad toupee was easily detectable. Its unrealistic color, bulky shape, and unnatural seams are used to be a bad toupee wearer’s nightmare.
Look at this bad toupee wearer. How old are you, grandpa? What have you got under that fluffy brown blob?
A well-fitting toupee is meant to blend with your natural hair, so people will see you have a full head of hair, not to give yourself away like this.
Next time, you have two options: get your sides dyed to brunette or get a gray hair toupee.
Are you two brothers? It looks like you guys share the same gene.
Nobody has ever said your hair looks too bulky and unreal? Or maybe you just enjoy treating all your occasions like a dress-up party.
If the latter is true, your stylist might have overcharged you. Were you trying to be funny? A $5 wig from a dollar store could do a much better job.
And the fella on the right, be sure you tug that little white thing properly under your fur next time. The base looks like French lace to me, isn’t it?
Hello, Grandpa! Is that your natural gray hair on your head, or is it just a hat?
It looks like you are wearing a toupee that’s not good enough.
Yeah, that’s a head of bad toupee hair, it’s too obvious, grandpa. We can clearly see the edges.
Maybe a fur hat could look much better on you than this bad toupee.
The Bad Toupee Used to Fall off the Head Easily
Modern toupees are stick-on or tape-on. The stylist sticks it to the wearer’s scalp and then it can sit still for several weeks without falling off even if you shower and swim with it on.
But glues or adhesives for durable and waterproof use, have only recently been developed.
In the old days, hairpieces get clipped on and they are very easy to slip or fall off the head accidentally.
Imagine when you walking on the street and your toupee gets flowed off by the wind.
The wearer of a bad toupee couldn’t be bothered.
Daily Putting on and Taking Off
As mentioned above, thanks to the evolution of glues, adhesives, tapes, and bases, most of the toupees today are stick-on or tape-on toupees.
But in the bad old days, this was not the case. Many male wearers wore clip-on hairpieces or wigs, to be exact.
Wearing toupees in the old days is tedious, the wearer needs to take them on in the morning, ensuring they blend in well, and take them off before bed.
And the same work the next day.
How is a Good Toupee Like Today?
Today’s toupee is to help you gain a look that has a full head of lush hair that looks like your own.
Today’s toupee is semi-permanent, just like female hair extensions, they can last as long as the adhesive can hold them, typically three to four weeks.
Now let’s dig even deeper into what a toupee is like nowadays as well as the advanced craftsmanship in making a quality toupee——the modern hair system.
Realistic Hairline
The hairline is a significant factor in making a good toupee look like the real deal.
It is common sense for us that most toupees get glued or taped on our heads, so the base needs to be melted into our scalp so that no one can tell the difference. So if the hairline doesn’t look real enough, it will give us away immediately.
A lot of people who favor slick-back quiff or buzz, with a quality toupee on, the hairline will just remain seamless and invisible to anyone who sets sight on it.
The hair on the base, especially along the hairline, will look like natural hair growing out of the wearer’s natural scalp.
A few methods have been developed to make the most realistic-looking hairline.
The V-loop Technique
Today we have developed the V-loop technique to make a realistic-looking hairline that resembles the wearer’s natural hair roots, especially when making frontal.
With the V-loop technique, 100% human hair gets injected into the PU base in a V-loop, and no knots are seen around the hair roots, making it look like the hair has grown out of the wearer’s own scalp.
Various Front Contours
Front contours are also considered. At New Times Hair, we have CC, C, standard, A, and AA five contour options that encompass all existing human hairline shapes, making the toupee undetectable to the naked eye.
Transitional Hair Density
Hair density is also designed with more details. A transition zone consists of the first 0.5 to 1.0 cm of the hairline.
Initially, it appears irregular but gradually takes more substance as it reaches the crown, achieving a more natural look.
Bleached Knots
With lace or mono-base hairpieces, the hair usually gets tied to the base in double-split knots, making the sturdiest grip, so the hair will never come off the base.
However, in this way, the knots will appears obviously, especially at the front hairline and hair parting line.
To make the knots invisible around the hair roots, now bleached knots is widely used on lace hair systems.
After getting bleached from the underside of the base, the knots are no longer visible to the naked eye, giving the toupee the most natural, authentic look.
Use of Natural Human Hair
Human hair always makes the best toupees or hairpieces in the world; it is more durable than synthetic hair and gives the wearer the most natural, authentic look.
Human hair is collected from the real person. Its natural sheen and texture in every way resembles the wearer’s natural hair, and thus blends perfectly with the natural hair; no one is able to tell that the wearer is wearing a toupee, for it is purely human hair.
Synthetic hair can never match up with human hair in terms of texture and hair quality, as it just doesn’t look and feel real.
As a high-end human hair system manufacturer, here at New Times Hair, all our toupees are made of 100% human hair collected from ethical sources worldwide.
There are mainly three types of human hair we use to make toupees: European hair, Indian hair, and Chinese hair.
European Hair
European hair is generally thin, delicate, and with a silky texture that many people prefer; it is among the most premium types of hair available.
It mostly comes in blonde, brunette, or red tones, making it a popular choice for wearers of Caucasian hair systems.
Indian Hair
Most of the hair we use to make our good toupees is Indian hair; it is excellent quality, durable, and soft-textured.
Indian hair mainly comes in black, and is naturally straight in general, and easy to process; but it can also come in wavy or curly textures.
Chinese Hair
Chinese hair is high quality and regarded as premium; it is perhaps the most durable on the planet.
Chinese hair is highly heat-resistant and can be permed and curled into various curly and coily styles.
All our kinky African hairpieces are made of Chinese hair.
Different Levels of Hair Density
Apparently, not everyone on this planet has the same hair density.
Some people’s hair is thin, some people’s hair is soft and fair, and most Asian pacific people’s hair is extremely thick and puffed up.
The mass-produced fake-looking toupees and wigs in the past certainly can’t meet everyone’s needs.
Today, things are much different. From design to production, every step is computerized.
Based on the facts presented by big data, we make our good toupees in varying levels of hair density: extra-light(60%), light (80%), medium-light (100%), medium (120%), medium-heavy (140%), heavy (160%), and extra-heavy (180%).
Above all, our hairpieces are customizable; hair density and everything else can be customized to suit the exact needs of the wearer.
Various Bases for Various Purposes
All hairpieces have a base for the hair to be installed, and with the underside of the base stuck or clipped on the wearer’s head.
With the fast-paced progress of toupee-making technologies, numerous toupee bases have been developed for numerous purposes.
For example, for cheaper prices or one-off occasions, PU base is a good option. For a combination of durability and authenticity, without worrying too much about price, the wearer can get a customized silk-top hair system.
Here are a few main base materials we use to make hairpiece bases at New Times Hair.
Skin-like PU Base Material
The PU base is made of polyurethane skin with thickness ranging from 0.03mm to 0.08mm; semi-durable, the skin base melts perfectly into the wearer’s natural scalp, giving the wearer a natural look.
Lightweight Matte Lace Base Material
Lace bases are the lightest, whose hair ventilation is superb, giving the scalp the most excellent breathing, ideal for wearers living or vacationing in tropical areas.
Lace bases are also the most realistic-looking bases, allowing the hair and the base itself to blend perfectly with the wearer’s natural hair and scalp, absolutely natural-looking and undetectable.
Durable Mono Base
Mono or monofilament bases are the world’s most solid and durable bases; they can hold heavy to extra-heavy hair density.
Apart from being absolutely solid, the hair is tied to the base in double-split knots, making the sturdiest grip, and the hair will never come off the base.
Cuttable, Stylable, and Mixes Well, Just Like our Own Hair
A good toupee mixes well with our own hair; most good toupees use human hair, which answers to one of the purposes of using a hairpiece, and that is authenticity.
A good toupee looks absolutely natural, requiring it to mix perfectly with the wearer’s natural hair, and no one should be able to tell the difference.
At New Times Hair, each toupee we make in every way mimics our natural hair; they are cuttable, washable, and can be styled into any top-notch styles celebrities wear.
Good Toupees Stay on
Are you familiar with some of the catchiest commercial scenes? Following a dramatic sneeze, the person’s hairpiece shoots off like a sparrow.
Good toupees remain stuck on the wearer’s scalp. Unlike mass-produced wigs, today’s toupees are mainly glue-on or tape-on.
Thanks to the advancement of glues and adhesives. You can expect the toupee to stay on the scalp for several weeks without worrying about them falling off. They stay still in wind, when you take a shower, exercise, or swim.
We have numerous customers testifying that they can go swimming, diving, sky-diving, or riding a motorbike with the hair systems on, and they don’t go anywhere.
Check out the test below on how glue-on toupee performs when they get showered.
Good Toupees are Customizable
Most good toupees today are customizable. This is one of the primary services we provide at New Times Hair.
You just need to measure the head and bald area and send the measurements along with your preferences regarding color, thickness, etc.
We will then be able to make a hairpiece that’s precisely what you want.
A Good Toupee is Easy to Clean and Maintain
Unlike bad toupees, a good toupee makes cleaning and maintenance a piece of cake.
Skin Base Toupees for Super Easy Cleaning
One great advantage of skin base toupees is that they are the most easy to clean.
Skin base toupees have a smooth underside; it can be attached to the wearer’s scalp with either tape or glue.
Professional, harmless solvent could be used to easily loosen up the glue or tape residue; then it is very easy to rinse it clean with tap water or wipe all residue off with a wet cloth, and the underside of the base will be restored to its original clean and smooth state.
To save time in cleaning or maintaining your hair system, you can also choose our disposable hair system——0.3mm ultra-thin hairpieces.
They can only last a month or so, so you just need to throw them away after each wear for about four weeks. Of course, this hairpiece is much more affordable than other units.
Hybrid Toupees, Easily Maintained
The lace base is welcomed for its breathability and lightweight. However, they are often complained for hard to clean the adhesives stuck on them.
Hybrid hairpieces, which combine a lace base with a PU perimeter, are made for easy attachment, removal, and cleaning.
The purpose of making hybrid bases is that the PU perimeter has a smooth and soft surface, which is super easy to clean and maintain.
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Final Words
Overall, much more than just covering baldness, a good toupee is meant to grant the wearer a hairstyle that looks real, resembling our natural hair in every way.
The so-called bad toupees or wigs were mostly clip-on and flip-on. Especially after synthetic hair was developed, many toupees or wigs were made to be cheap and easy to wear. However, that somehow lowered the bar of good toupee criteria.
It is exciting for us passionate hairstyle makers that the bad old hair days are forever bye-bye; with the fast-paced development of toupee technologies, we can now bring any hairstyle from this planet to reality.
New Times Hair only makes good toupees.
Having coped in the hair system industry for over a decade, we have over 2000 clients from over 200 countries. They are qualified hairstylists, salon owners, regional distributors, etc.
It’s time to unload your needs to New Times Hair. We are here to help!
