The first time I saw one was on the head of that famous transvestite Ru Paul — and it was in stunning blond.
Then I saw it on the head of Beyonce and yet again on Tyra Banks.
The first time I got to touch a lace front wig it was at a store in a downtown mall.
You would have thought there was a giant magnet in the stoe pulling at a tiny one on my backside or something because I literally froze.
Inside the hair place, which could barely hold five people, one customer sat on a stool holding the stem of an oval mirror up to her face and turned her head this way and that as the store clerk framed her face with the fine netting attached to the wig.
The netting blended into her forehead seamlessly and gave her a hairline.
While one customer edge up closer to the stool for a closer look, two women kept the assistant clerk busy telling her about the wigs they wanted to try.
I managed to slip into the corner of the cramped store and that's whee I came face to face with Michelle Obama -- not the first lady of the US but the lace front wig in her name.
Sleek, straight in a number 2 (hair extension speak for dark brown), it was an asymmetrical bob cut that really captured the essence of the First Lady's do.
The net (lace front) , which framed the hairline extended to just above the mannequin's nose like a veil.
I was told later that once purchased the net is cut to the wearers hairline for a believable look.
Tabs with glue on them , bigger versions of what they once sold in those Lee Press On Nail kits , are sold with the wig to ensure that it stays put.
The cost of the lace front in T&T started at 700 TT (just over 100 US) and I actually convinced a friend to buy one at that price. She only had to put on the wig at the store for a few minutes before she was convinced to buy the synthetic hair.
Poor woman was so in awe of her new look that the following day she raided her man's shoe box of savings and pinched the $700.
That, of course, is another story.
I also talked my neighbour into investing in a lace front. The woman used to wear those heavy and bothersome hair hats before she met me. Would you believe that she has two lace front wigs now and is shopping around for a third.
As for me, I own just one lace front wig -- for now. It's a human hair straight bob that was originally long past my shoulders. I cut it short in order to make it my own, unique to me (see pic)
If you're going to invest in a lace front wig ensure that the quality is good. Try to stay away from synthetic hair if you don't know much about it. The thing with synthetic hair is that it's troublesome, too shiny and has mad fly-aways. Another minus is that it tends to make the wearing look like a human Barbie doll.
Also watch those tabs. To be honest there is really no need for them. In the long run you'd pay the price of hairline loss if you keep using them.(see pic)
Last but not least, ladies please don't go to sleep with your lace front. You may think your man wouldn't notice but honeys hair extensions have a different smell to real hair no matter what product you use in them. And trust me when I say a man has a nose that sniffs that smell out.
