The hair community has greatly changed over the last few decades. The 90s and early 2000s showed a huge population of women perming and relaxing their hair. In fact, these chemical changes seemed to be the norm among women. As the 2000s progressed, the hair industry started to include more weaves and extensions as part of the relaxer trend. However, when the 2010s began, there was another shift in the fads. The natural movement began.
At the beginning of the decade, women stopped relaxing their hair and started doing “the big chop.” This is where they would cut off parts of their hair that were once relaxed. Moving further along in the decade, the most recent hair trend came to life – wigs.
Wigs have always been around, but in recent years, the trend has become more mainstream. Those with natural hair began braiding their hair down and wearing wigs as a protective style. Women traded in their weaves and extensions for wigs. Or as Cardi B once said, “kill a weave, rock a lace.”
You might think all wigs are the same, but all wigs aren’t created equal. You have synthetic versus human hair. There are lace frontals versus lace fronts. When choosing a wig, one of the most important things to decide is what type of lace to get. Truth be told, some wigs have no lace at all. If you want your wig to look as natural as possible, you’re going to want lace.
If you’re up to date with the hair industry and its trends, you probably already know there are a few different types of lace. It can get confusing. What are the major types of lace? What are their similarities? What are their differences? Let’s find out.
While the hair industry often refers to it as regular lace, it is also known as French lace. Starting with a regular lace wig is ideal for beginners for several reasons.
One, regular lace is thick and durable. Wig lace looks like a bunch of circles in a grid. Depending on the way your wig comes, you might find that you have to pluck a few of the hairs out to make the hairline look more natural. While plucking your wig can be done with your hands or tweezers, it is very possible to rip the lace since the process requires physically ripping the hair from the unit.
Two, while there are softer alternatives out there, regular or French lace can still be soft on the skin. You’ll always want to protect your hair and edges, so make sure you’re pairing your regular lace wigs
with a wig cap.
Regular lace can be ideal, but there are a few reasons why some choose to skip it. The holes within the lace are slightly smaller which makes it more visible. Also, picking the wrong lace color can be
detrimental to creating your natural look. While brands have recently released transparent lace, this lighter alternative only works on women with fair to medium skin tones. Women with darker skin tones need to be sure to pick the right light brown or brown tone to match their complexion.
Swiss lace is one alternative to regular lace. Similar to comparisons between France and Switzerland, there are very few differences between regular lace and Swiss lace. When it comes to the circular grids on the lace, they are slightly larger than that of French lace. This alone gives it a more natural look. Swiss lace is also thinner than regular lace which makes it a better alternative for those who are familiar with their wigs. As mentioned before, plucking is a common way that women choose to customize their wigs. Since Swiss lace is both thinner and more fragile, it is exceptionally easy to tear it during the process.
While the biggest pro about Swiss lace is that it looks more natural, one big con is that the lace is less durable.
As wig lace continues to change for the better, HD lace is the most recent change we’ve seen. As wig techs continue to build on the basics, HD lace could be considered an advanced version of Swiss lace.
There is a lot of preparation that goes into creating HD lace wigs that slightly differ from Swiss lace. One, HD lace is lighter. While this gives your hair great room and space to breathe, it allows for the wig to look more natural. You’ll hear people mention that they want their wig to melt into their skin, and this is the ideal way to achieve it. The best difference is that HD lace is even more transparent. HD lace is made for the sole purpose of being undetectable against the skin. You can kiss goodbye the visible grid lines and welcome a scalp-looking appearance.
Now how do you know which type of lace is right for you? If you’re a beginner who plans to customize the wig yourself, go for regular (or French) lace. This will help you get the hang of cutting the lace to fit around your hairline as well as plucking any unwanted hairs. Rather, if you’re a beginner who would rather stay away from all the necessary work it takes to make a wig appear natural, get an HD lace wig.
Alternatively, if you’re familiar with wigs and are skilled at customizations, a Swiss lace wig is an option but HD lace wigs are perfect for a seamless, natural look.
Wigs and lace can be intimidating in the beginning, but no one starts like a pro. Everyone accidentally rips their lace or weirdly cuts their hairline. There are growing pains. The longer you stick to it, the easier it gets.
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