A Guide to Wearing Hats With Wigs
Sometimes, putting on our wigs feels like an arts and crafts project.
There’s the equipment: wig glue, clips, liners, wig caps, wigs, extensions, and hair products.
Then there’s the project: countless hours washing, styling, attaching, and touching up our wigs.
That’s why, sometimes, we just want to wear a hat.
And, really, who could blame us? A hat is a universally accepted, ready-to-wear look that takes just minutes, or even seconds, to create.
Now you’re thinking, “I know. I look cute as all get out in a baseball cap, but I can’t wear one with my wig.”
Well, ladies, we aren’t sure who told you that, but it’s a rumor.
Not only can you wear a hat with a wig (or a wig with a hat, for that matter), you should! It’s a great way to switch up your style without investing in a new wig.
Unsure how to accomplish a covered wig look? Keep reading.
Hats With Hair
Like we said, some days we just don’t feel like going through the hassle of putting on our wigs. But wearing only a headscarf can feel too intimidating or revealing for some women.
Enter: hats with hair.
Hats with hair are exactly what the sound like: they’re hats with hair already sewn in.
Most brands offer hats with hair in a number of styles and in a full range of hair colors, but not in as many lengths. To match your length, buy a hat with hair that’s longer than your typical length and have your stylist trim it down.
Hats with Hair, the DIY version
Can’t find a style of hat with hair already sewn in that you like? Make your own!
To attach hair to a hat, you’ll need a hat (obviously) and an extension halo.
A halo is a ring of fabric with hair sewn 3/4 of the way around the rim (the front of the ring has no hair attached to it).
There are three ways to attach a halo to the inside of the hat:
- With velcro
- With double-sided tape
- With a needle and thread
If your hat is double rimmed (has an extra layer of fabric on the inside), you can choose any of the three options. If your hat isn’t double rimmed, you can use velcro or double-sided tapes. You can’t stitch a halo into a hat without a double rim because the stitches will show on the outside of the hat.
If you’re planning on trimming/cutting your halo, do it after you’ve attached the halo to your hat. The halo will sit in a different spot on your head when it’s attached to a hat than it did when you placed it directly on your head.
Wear a Hat on Your Wig
Wearing a hat on top of your wig can be a conundrum.
In the summer when your wig is already making you overheat, hats can you feel even hotter (not in a good way). Wearing a hat on a wig can make you itchy or sweaty, and it can definitely mess with your style.
In the winter when you need something on your head to stay warm, wigs aren’t quite warm enough. But wearing a winter hat on top of your wig can be disastrous when it comes time to take off the hat (search: ‘wig coming off with a hat’ on Youtube).
Wearing a hat on top of a wig can be extremely precarious.
But it doesn’t have to be.
Follow these tips to stylishly and safely wear a hat on top of your wig.
Summer Tips for Wearing a Hat on Top of Wig
Buy the right type of hat
Hats made of thick, heavy materials, will only make you warmer in the summer (which we’re guessing is the opposite of what you want to do). Choose something made from a lightweight material - a linen baseball cap, a basket-woven floppy hat - to stop yourself from overheating.
Don’t ‘squish’ your hat onto your wig
Pulling your hat all the way down on your head/wig is not the best way to make your wig stay in place. If you squish your hat all the way down onto your wig, the wig will move when you adjust your hat. Place your hat lightly on top of your head and secure it to your wig with two bobby pins on either side of your head, and two or three at the nape of your neck.
Use anti-frizz serum
Some people call summer bikini season. We call it frizzy hair season. Humidity and heat don’t do much for straight, sleek looks. Add a hat on top of that, and you’ve got the beginnings of a world-record-sized rat’s nest of hair on the way. Ideally, you should be using an anti-frizz serum on your wig every day, but you should especially use it on the days you’re wearing a hat on top. Serum will help your hair stay silky straight, even under a scratchy straw hat.
Attach your wig extremely well
On days you decide to wear a hat on top of your wig, firmly attaching your wig to your head isn’t just a necessity, it’s mandatory. Use wig glue, a magic band, extra wig clips, or whatever else it is you need to make sure your wig stays on your head when your hat isn’t.
Winter Tips for Wearing a Hat on Top of a Wig
Wear conditioning spray
Conditioning spray is to winter wig-and-hat looks as anti-frizz serum is to summer wig-and-hat looks. Winter is when everything is at its driest - the air, our skin, and definitely our wig hair. Conditioning spray is a necessity when things get chilly come December, or October if you’re from a state that starts with M (shoutout to our friends in Maine/Minnesota/Montana). Apply conditioning spray to your wig after you wash your wig as its drying.
Buy a hat one size too big
Winter hats typically fit pretty tightly on our heads. Ski caps, toques, headbands: they keep us warm by fitting snugly onto our heads, which means you basically have to peel them off when removing them. Buy winter hats a size larger than your normal size so that they fit a loosely and are easier to take off.
Take your hat off in the bathroom
Even if/when you wear a winter hat that’s bigger than your normal size, there’s still the risk of your wig moving around when you take it off. When you take off your hat, do it in private, so you can make readjustments if you have to.
Use wig glue
What’s the number one con of using wig glue? It’s hard to take off. What’s the number one pro of using wig glue? It’s hard to take off. To make sure your wig stays in place before, during, and after you take off your winter hat, use wig glue.
Have a tip about wearing a hat with a wig that we missed? Let us know in the comments section!
Want to learn more about wig alternatives? Read these posts:
