How to Measure Your Head for a Wig - Find Your Perfect Wig Size

Choose The Correct Wig Size

Wigs are a great way to instantly change your hair's length, style, and color, without doing anything to your natural hair. However, you need to know how to measure your head for a wig because the size affects how comfortable and how good the wig looks on you.

After reading this guide, you won’t have to ever second guess if your wig is the correct size.

Wig Size Chart

Wig sizes are quite fixed, so you can expect a wig from any company to fit once you know what size wig you need. But here is a quick breakdown of the size categories and measurements they are made of to identify which you are under. 

For pre-made wigs, the measurement that decides which size you are depends mainly on the circumference.

Video Guide

Measuring Your Head for a Wig in 6 Steps

There are 3 general sizes of wigs, small, average, and large, but you can also get a wig customized to your head if you can’t find a good fit from an off-the-rack wig. It’s imperative to get correct and accurate measurements, but the good news is that it’s very easy to do.

A sewing or flexible measuring tape is almost a must for getting these measurements accurately.

Step One: Measure Circumference

The circumference measures the distance around your hairline. Start measuring at the forehead and position the tape at your hairline, and then bring the tape behind the ears. Bring the tape down and around the nape (the top of the neck where the skull begins to bulge out) behind the other ear and back up the starting point.

When bringing the tape to the ears, it has to be at the uppermost point of the ear and not tucked behind the ear. Ensure the tape is tight, but not tight to the point where you feel pressure on your head. This will make the wig uncomfortable.

Step Two: Ear-to-ear Measurement

This is the most important measurement because if the wig doesn’t hug the crown of your head, it won’t look good. To measure, start by taking the edge of the tape and place it on the skull level with the uppermost part of your ear and bring it across the crown to the other side. Make sure that is no slack, and the tape is drawn straight across.

A common mistake is measuring below the top of the ear, thus causing the ear-flaps of the wig to rest tightly on the ear, which becomes very uncomfortable.

Step Three: Front-to-back Measurement

This measurement is straightforward. Start measuring at the forehead from the hairline all the way down to the nape while keeping the tape centered and tight. If this measurement is too long, it causes bulging and causes the wig to slide off.

Step Four: Forehead Measurement

To get this measurement, you have to start above the ear and move the tape over to the same place on the opposite ear while tracing along the hairline. The mid-point of this measurement should be the center of your forehead, where your hairline is the lowest.

Step Five: Measuring The Back 

This measurement can be a bit tricky. You want to start by placing the tape at the end of your eyebrow near the temple and then pull it back and around your head to your other eyebrow. The most common mistake is that people often allow the tape to slip, and the measurement ends up being incorrect, so make sure to keep the tape level and tight.

Step Six: Measure The Nape

The base of the wig will sit at the nape of your neck, so to keep the wig looking tight and without bulges, we have to have an accurate measurement of the hairline at the nape of the neck. Start by placing the tape so that it is level with the bottom of your earlobe and trace all the way around the hairline on the back to the same position on the other ear.

While this might seem like a lot of measurements to take for a wig, steps 4 to 6 only need to be taken if you're getting a wig customized because it requires more detail than your standard off-the-rack wig.

Preparation Your Head for Measurement

You might think that you’ll need to do a lot of preparation to take measurements, but it’s not the case.

Almost all wigs are adjustable, so as long as you pull your hair tight and make sure it doesn’t get in between your head and the tape.

When measuring the circumference, bring the tape under the hair to get an accurate measurement.

However, getting a customized wig is a different story because they aren’t adjustable, so the measurements must be more precise. Follow the instructions below to learn how to prepare your hair to take measurements for a custom wig.

• If you have long hair, pull you away from your face and style it upwards in a low ponytail, or braid it tightly from front to back.
• Shorter hair is easier to deal with, but you’ll need to have a wig cap handy. You want to start using a product to maneuver your hair down and then use the wig cap to press it down even more. Make sure to style it in the way you would when wearing your wig.

Adjust Your Wig for Better Fit

Off-the-rack wigs don’t always fit perfectly, no matter how accurate your measurements are. But isn’t the end of the world.

Most wigs design with straps and elastic bands for you to adjust the size of the wig, either making it larger or smaller to give you a snug fit.

The adjustable straps come in 3 forms: elastic straps, Velcro straps, and hook straps. Let’s break down the types and how to use them.

• Elastic Strap: The wig has two straps (much like bra straps) that will get tighter if you pull the strap, which adds tension, and it’ll get looser if you stretch the strap, which reduces tension. 

• Velcro Strap:This one is pretty straightforward. Like any other product that uses velcro, simply pull the strap towards the middle to make it tighter or outwards to make it looser.

• Hook Strap:The straps have hooks on them and multiple slots at different intervals. The closer you put the hook towards the center, the tighter it is, and the opposite is true to make it looser. 

Almost 90% of customers buy average-sized wigs, and the reason one size can fit multiple people is because of the range of adjustment. Most wigs can be adjusted to about 1 inch in each direction. 

More Factors

There are a few more factors involved in getting that perfect fit. The length, volume, and thickness of your hair all affect how the wig will sit on your head, and as you can imagine, people with more voluminous hair have a harder time with wigs than those who don’t.

The easiest solution for this is to get a wig cap, but those factors have to be considered when shopping for the cap as well.

We Are Here To Help

We are always eager to help our customers get the best product and look they can. We have multiple sizes (small, medium, and large) of wig to make sure you get the right fit. We also offer custom wigs to give your a perfect fit.

If you have any questions about determining your wig size or want to know more about using a wig, please reach out to us. Our wig experts will surely find you a solution.

The Wrap Up

After reading this guide, we hope that you can find your perfect wig size by putting a bit of effort into measuring your head for a wig. If you are off by a few tenths of an inch, don’t worry about it, the adjustable straps will ensure that your wig will fit snugly every time.

Once you have them, cross-reference it with our wig size chart above to make sure you choose the right size wig.

The right size wig with proper install will not seem like a wig at all, and that’s what this guide set out to do, to make sure you can confidently purchase a wig that you know will fit perfectly, without any issues.