Ah protective styling! As a Black woman, hair is a topic I will revisit time and time again because although I am currently shaven, my affinity for a good protective style is forever on my radar.

I’ve touched a bit on protective styling before but if the term is foreign to you here’s what it is: ‘A protective hairstyle (a term generally used with reference to Afro-textured hair) is a hairstyle that keeps the hair tucked away for minimum manipulation from the weather. (Thank you Wikipedia).

Hair has always been a passion of mine and I’ve always enjoyed finding new ways to update my look. After being forced to learn how to take care of my own hair once I moved away from home (Kenya) to reside in Asia, and later Europe, I had to become innovative and creative in picking out what worked best for me. I talk a little bit about my hair journey here.

Now as the days are getting colder (pray tell why did Summer go by so fast?), I am naturally starting to gravitate towards either 1. growing my hair back so I can get box braids or 2. buy myself a wig. The latter being the preferred option.

I was never a wig person before moving to France and my hair would often switch between box braids or my natural hair. Then I had to rethink my whole strategy because at one point I got tired of having to style my hair everyday so that’s when the idea of wearing a wig came to mind.

There were ultimately 5 main reasons why I never really like wigs. First, and for the most part, I didn’t like them because I felt like they often looked fake. Images reminiscent of shiny looking helmets atop a woman’s head made me ponder why one would subject themselves to wearing them. At the time the options were few and far between where I lived with the options available to us being of lacklustre quality and not very flattering (IMO). A lot of brands during that era were creating wigs which didn’t offer much variety in terms of texture and often mimicked Caucasian hair which looked nothing like my natural hair. I was often put off because I wanted something that looked more like me.

The second reason why I was ‘wig averse’ was due in part to book I read in my younger days which scarred me for years! The book in question was Witches by Roald Dahl, a classic and favourite of mine to this day, but really not a book for young kids to read cause that thing had me side eyeing and afraid of anyone in a wig. The book depicted witches as being women who often wore wigs to hide their bald red-itchy looking scalps, an image that stayed with me for most of my youth!

But that was only a small part of it (a reason none the less!) The third reason was I disliked the fact that a lot of them were extremely shiny (I later learnt in order to dull the shine of your wig you need to add a little baby powder puffed out onto your palms and then dab it around your wig. You’re welcome!) which to me gave off the impression of looking like plastic and further accentuated the whole ‘fake’ vibe and I was not having it no ma’am!

The fourth, and this one irks me to no end to this very day is the hairline & parts!! Jesus take the wheel! You know when you take the wig right out the bag and pop it on your head and the hairline just looks like one straight ass line?! If you’ve ever owned a wig you know what I’m talking about cause that hairline often gives department store mannequin vibes and ION WANT IT! I can’t stand them! And then to top it off, if you did want to get that ‘natural hairline’ look there was a whole performance that needed to go into acquiring it from plucking, to bleaching lace, to adding scalp coloured concealer, to glue! So I naturally had to ask myself what was I getting into! Could I not find something I could just easily put on and call it a day? This was supposed to be an easier option to spending hours braiding my own hair so why am I supposed to do the absolute most?

I’m someone who once I’ve put in my protective style, want to do the bare minimum when it comes to maintaining it (hence why box braids were my absolute go to!) So worrying about whether my wig ‘looked natural’ or was in place made me anxious that that’s all I’d be concerned about while wearing one.

Needless to say my hesitation to start wearing wigs was met with a lot of apprehension for all the reasons stated above but because I was so used to braiding and crocheting my own hair I rationalised that this didn’t seem like too far a stretch into the work I would have to put into. So I decided to open Pandoras box and see what newness they could bring to my already growing repertoire of protective hair styles. No harm in trying right?

We’ve surely come a long way in terms of wig options that mimic our own 4c hair and what a time! Gone are the days when searching for a good wig was like going on a never ending quest to find the Holy Grail to now being able to have endless possibilities delivered to your doorstep at the click of a button. From huge brands like Outre, Sensationnel & ShakenGo, to smaller Black owned brands like Heat Free Hair, Rad Swan & Her Given Hair doing the Lords work in representing Black women and offering up a variety of options (I stan a Black owned business always!)

Now wigs come in different forms (there are A LOT out there) and the possibilities are endless! In terms of figuring which quality wig you want to go for, you first have to decide whether you want human and synthetic hair wigs which are exactly what the name suggests. While legal, the human hair industry has been plagued by ‘murky ethical areas’. Long debates have surrounded the billion dollar industry for wigs, weaves and toupees questioning whether it is ethical as workers often perform labor-intensive work for very little pay and in an industry that has been argued to be entirely unregulated. Read more about it here.

I personally choose to buy synthetic wigs because they are cheaper for me & also because of the reasons stated above, leaves a lot to be desired in owning one. This in itself is a conundrum I will always have to battle with when it comes to the issue of ‘quality over quantity’ as often times synthetic wigs cause more waste due to the fact that they are not as long lasting, made out of plastic fibres unlike their human hair counterparts.

So before delving into this unknown territory, I did my research. And Lord did I do my research! Now mind you this was way back in 2013 and Youtube was THE place to be if you wanted to find out everything and anything about natural hair. Those were the days of Curly Nikki, MopTop Maven, Kurly Kichana, Naptural85 & Jessica Pettaway just to name a few who would educate Black girls the world over who were just starting to learn how to love and care for their Afro textured hair through tutorials and videos. I’m so grateful I grew up in a time where representation was rife and my Black hair was being celebrated in all its glory! The natural hair girlies were my go to when I wanted to figure out how to recreate a certain hairstyle or purchase hair products. But after a while, I needed to give my hair a rest and so ventured out into the unfamiliar world of wigs.

I would spend hours looking at reviews, videos and scoure through sites to find the one I thought would work for me.

Sensationnel was absolutely out of pocket for making this wig!

After what felt like weeks going back and forth between the different options available, I eventually decided to take the plunge and purchased my very first wig. I purchased this very wig on the right called the ‘Tatiana wig’ by Sensationnel thanks to this video by Twin Goddesses on YouTube which perfectly showed how to transform it to look like something that would work. Now looking at said wig she looks a mess! And thank the girlies for doing the Lords work cause chile! You think you know but you have no idea! Let me tell you! Straight out the bag this wig was not giving anything at all. Not an ounce, not anything! So why did I choose this particular wig even though it would take a TON of work to get it to look right? Because from the reviews, it was one of the very few wigs at the time which mimicked my 4C hair in look (the texture was abysmal so I had to soak it in conditioner to get it to feel soft) and that was available for me to purchase at the time. Plus, I like a challenge! I was ready with my required tools and set off to work. When I tell you I was determined to get the look I was DETERMINED!

Here I am with the transformed Tatian wig at Afropunk 2017. A look!

If you watched the YouTube video then you know the process was a long one! I basically had to comb out the wig, an arduous task that took ‘all the force of a great typhoon’ (Mulan fans will get the reference!), curl it using flexi rollers, put said wig into boiling water filled with conditioner (I already mentioned the texture was WILD!) and then proceeded to wait until it was completely dry to finally be able to style it and later wear it. But the results were more than I could have ever hoped for!

I wore the wig with a little leave out (which is a section of hair you leave out to cover extensions) at the front which gave the illusion that the hair was ‘all mine’. Despite its rough beginnings this hair blended like an absolute dream! I was pleasantly surprised as well that despite being a synthetic wig, it lasted me almost a year compared to the couple of months usually relegated to synthetic wigs. But that was also due to the fact that I had to maintain it frequently to get rid of tangling and refresh the curls, a labour of love if I do say so myself.

The thing with wigs is, and something I do like about them is you can continuously transform them to suit what style or look you’re trying to go for. And so at around the 6th month mark I decided to once again switch her up. This time I chose to make it into a ‘half wig’ and by the name suggests, is a wig that only covers part of your head while you leave your natural hair out at the front to ‘camouflage the actual wig. This required that I create a middle part and sewed in wig clips to secure it down. And boom! A whole new wig!

The newly transformed ‘half wig’ doing its thing. I left out the front of my hair and braided it into the wig to create this style.

Now because I felt like I had been initiated into a secret sorority of Black women who came from the trenches of doing the most with their wigs, I felt like I had very much earned my stripes to take a seat and experiment with other looks that didn’t need as much time to style and maintain. So I did what any well deserving woman would do and dove head first into searching for my next fuss free wig.

I was lucky to stumble upon this website SuperBeaute a company here in France which offered (and still offers) a lot of the wigs and products which were previously only available in the US. It had been so frustrating for me in the past to watch videos of all these wigs I couldn’t get my hands on because they weren’t available here.. And having them shipped over from the US would have cost me a kidney so I honestly felt like I had found a well kept secret and was absolutely besides myself with the options available!

This Outre ‘NEESHA’ wig was giving what it was supposed to give hunty! But I unfortunately didn’t like the middle part (it could be worn as a side part as well) so I desperately tried everything in my power to camouflage it. I think I did a good job here but it had to be ‘fixed’ multiple times a day and I wasn’t having it!

I expanded my search in terms of texture but stayed more or less to curly ‘blow out’ (or blow dried) styles which mimicked blow dried natural hair. Straight styles were a no-go for me (unless it had a bang) which I liked because they conveniently hide the hairline allowing you to just put it on and walk out the door without fussing about blending anything in.

Side note: I always get my wigs in colour 1B which is in between black and dark brown as it’s the closest colour to my natural hair colour. If you’re unfamiliar with how brands label their hair, let me give you a quick lesson.

Colour charts help you choose which shade you want and/or suits your natural hair colour. This particular chart is the standardised chart used by a majority of brands.

I made the costly mistake years ago and got some human hair clips in the number 2 (which is like a lighter brown) and wore them a few times before realising they were a very visible mismatch. The agony!

Following with the curly haired wigs. These two were also a moment & I liked the fact that they were giving voluptuous big hair (felt like a proper mermaid!) They left little room for styling and tangled up real quick unfortunately so that was a down side. Also the amount of product needed to maintain my girl on the right was enormous! I don’t think I’ve ever used that amount of mousse on a hairstyle before, except for my Bohemian braids which also tended to get mad tangled!

And finally my girl right here. I’ve also forgotten the name of this wig but she was a welcomed departure from the usual long styles I’d previously worn. And she had a bang! She was giving Adina Howard vibes and I loved it! Coupled with the dark lip & large hoop earrings I felt very much like a 90’s RnB girl in her element!

I’m now on the look out for the same types of wigs that mimic my natural 4C hair and has a natural looking hairline. Nothing new there. As mentioned up top I’m still weary as to go for human hair or stick to a synthetic wig and try make it last as long as I can. In the meantime, these two styles are on my radar once the funds start funding again. Both are by Sensationnel (they make some really good wigs I must say!) The ‘MONEY MAKER’ wig is in stock and available here while the ‘HEARTBREAKER’ is out of stock but you can still find it linked here.

So how does one go about finding the right wig? I am by no means an expert and like a lot of things in my life have done a lot of trial and error when it came to finding a wig that works for me. But from what I’ve learned, here are a few things I think you should look at:

Choosing whether you want a synthetic or human hair wig which will ultimately result in whether it lasts longer
The type of wig closure (Silk base and Lace base. Silk base closures are more popular because they give a more realistic natural look)
What type of wig cap you’re interested in (closure, frontal, full lace, u-part, head-band or demi wig)
What texture are you looking for (which can often be difficult to tell when ordering online but you can usually gauge by the pictures)
How much work you want to put in to the final look (i.e. glueing down edges, plucking of the parts, adding concealer etc)

I’m linking a great article which touches on basically everything you need to know if you want a beginners guide to buying a wig. Read it here.

But most importantly, do your research! Reviews are everything and will key you in on how the hair feels to the touch, the quality and lasting power. You got this!

I’d love to know what brands you like that offer quality wigs in 4C textures. If you know of any leave your recommendations in the comments and I’ll share them on my Instagram stories! x

A Black Girl & Her Protective Styling

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