Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Do you remember wiglets?

Actress Elke Sommer with a wiglet look.  My mom's was not this exaggerated.
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If you remember your mom going to the beauty shop to have her wiglet styled along with her actual hair, you might be a child of the 70's like me.

My mom wore a wiglet for several years.  She would go to the beauty shop weekly and have the wiglet styled into her hair and hair-sprayed like crazy.  She would then maintain that hairdo throughout the week...regardless of sleeping, baths, whatever.

There were ways that women would preserve their wigleted do's.  One of them involved wrapping the entire hairdo in toilet paper while you slept.

Which leads me to a funny story.  My grandmother was searching for a particular toilet paper brand at the grocery store many years ago.  When the grocery boy pointed out a different brand that was on sale, my grandmother said, "No, that kind sticks to my hair."

 Referring, of course, to preserving her hairdo while sleeping.

I would have loved to have seen the look on that boy's face. :)



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They're baaaaack

Well, my sister Beverly got to thinking. With all the extensions available today...why not wiglets?

And she found out wiglets are alive and well.  No, not like the one in this picture....and you don't have to carefully preserve your hairdo between salon appointments.

She got one! And she loves it.  She just has to secure it into her own hair, smooth it all out, and voila, instant volume.

Here's just one of the companies that currently sells wiglets.

Below...a couple of current examples of wiglets, also called "additions", from Ultimate Looks:

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Further proof that there is nothing new under the sun.

By the way, my mom always bemoaned her thin locks, and often wished out loud that wiglets were still in style.  If she had only known!

Do you remember wiglets? Would you ever consider wearing a contemporary one? Let me know in my comments!

6 comments:

Becky said...

I worked with a woman probably 12 years ago who wore one like your mom did :)

I suppose they are a lot like extensions!

Unknown said...

My whole life is a lie! I'd never even considered that all those fabulous movie star hair styles were "enhanced" - I'd always assumed it was their own hair. Can I tell you how much time I wasted in high school trying to achieve that look with mere hot rollers and hair spray?

(As I write this my own hair is currently in an impressive bun that is "enhanced" with a sock in the middle of it. Oh the irony.)

Amanda said...

Oh wow, I never knew that these existed. I will have to go through my childhood photos to check and see if any of my female family indulged in these...my grandma does still wrap her hair in toilet paper every night...hmmm....

http://queenofthelandoftwigsnberries.wordpress.com

Unknown said...

LOL I never knew these existed, I love the part about it sticks to my hair. LOL this is great thanks for the laugh. :)

a joyful nusiance said...

I don't think I could do a wiglet.

Gigi Ann said...

Back in the 70s I had a wiglet, as well as wigs. I recently started wearing wigs again. So much easier in the winter months than wearing a hat. My hair is short and thin, so when I wear one of the wigs I feel like I have hair again. ; )

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