How many times have you purchased a wig because you loved how it looked it the stock photos, but when you unboxed it at home, you thought they must have made a mistake in shipping? You think, “This can’t be the same wig; it looks nothing like the picture”. The color looks different, its flatter, poufier, lighter, darker, longer, shorter, curlier, straighter – it just doesn’t look like wig you bought. This happens to me quite often.
It is important to remember that stock photos often show the wigs, on models, professionally styled. Some manufacturer’s photos look like they are going more for artistry than accuracy. It’s no wonder some of us may be disappointed when we try on a wig straight out of the box. There have been more than a few customers who became disgruntled when they found out a certain curly wig they bought based on the stock photo, had been scrunched with styling spray.
This happened with my Verona by Estetica. The stock photos show beachy waves but mine is less wavy, more
towards straight. Sure, I can style her, but that’s not the point. Why show me a photo if that’s not what I’m getting?
For myself, it’s usually the color that disappoints me. Several times, I’ve bought a wig in a color based on the stock photo, just to get it and it looks nothing like that color. Again, in the professional photo shoots, they use multiple lights, backgrounds, and settings. I mean, you’ve never seen a stock photo taken in the model’s bathroom, have you? I didn’t think so.
Here are a couple of examples: I bought Joy by Envy Wigs in the color Medium Brown; because I loved how rich and chocolatey it looked in the photos. When I got it, it didn’t look like that at all. My first thought was that maybe they had sent me Light Brown by mistake. They hadn’t; it was just the differences in the lighting and every wig may look a bit different.
I recently purchased another Joy in Medium Brown from a wig sister and the color on that one was much richer.
It happened again with my Mega Mono by Ellen Wille. I bought it in the color Hot Mocca Mix – I was in my red phase – but when I received it, it looked more like light brown or dark blonde. Look at the stock photo – their Hot
Mocca Mix looks really intense. Now look at mine – not so much.
When I want to see what a wig really looks like, or what it will most likely look like for me, I look at photos and watch videos from my favorite reviewers. Most of the time, reviewers show the wigs right out of the box and un-styled. Then they work on it right in front of you in the review. I have lots of favorite reviewers and I especially like to find those who have similar coloring, face shapes, and even body shapes to mine. It helps to see the wigs on someone who is somewhere near my age; maybe someone who doesn’t look like she has a professional makeup artist in her bathroom, someone who looks like she frequents the dollar store, like me. I mean, the model in the stock photos is gorgeous, but the wig she’s showing isn’t going to look the same on me, anymore than a model’s bikini would look the same on my body. Nope, no way, uh uh. Fortunately, there are many reviewers out there to represent all types of people, of all ages, shapes and sizes.
Even then, I watch several different reviews because every reviewer has different lighting and makes the same wig look very different. I almost didn’t buy Ensley by Rene of Paris because in one review, I didn’t like the color or the style. But then I watched another review of it by someone else and loved it so much, I bought it immediately. By the way, Ensley looks nothing like the stock photos.
There was a time I had considered getting Presley by Henry Margu but the stock photos make it look flat and boring. So I decided against it, and then just the other day, I saw Tia’s review of it, and OMG! It’s completely different and now she’s on my wish list!
It isn’t that manufacturers are trying to trick us. They are making their products look the best they can and showing us the full potential of the wigs. However, if you are like me, and you can’t afford to make mistakes, it would be more helpful to show customers what they are actually getting.
With too much time on my hands, I decided it would be fun to do side-by-sides of all my wigs and their respective stock photos. All in all, I think many of my wigs are pretty close to the stock photos, but more so after I play around with them. I still don’t trust stock photo colors and don’t get me started on the color swatch boxes – that’s a whole other blog post!
Here are some stock photos of my wigs vs. reality (or Rheality). How do you think they match up? How do yours?
About the author: Rhea Parsons, of The Rheality of Wigs, has been wearing wigs for over 25 years due to autoimmune disorders. Follow her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/theRhealityofwigs and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/therhealityofwigs.