Do I need a wig cap underneath?

Yes for almost everyone. A wig cap flattens your own hair, gives combs and adhesive something to grip, and keeps the inside of the unit clean. A nude stocking cap under a lace front also stops your own hair color showing through the lace. The exception is a U-part or half wig, where your own hair is meant to be out.

WIG GUIDE 01

How to Buy a Wig

Six decisions, in the order that makes each one easier than the last. Settle them before you open a product page and you will not be guessing at checkout.

Most wigs get returned for one of three reasons: the cap did not fit, the density was wrong, or the color looked different in daylight. All three are decided before you buy, and all three are avoidable.

Order matters here. Cap construction narrows the catalog more than anything else, so it comes first — if you know you need a high ponytail, ten of the twelve wig types are already out. Color comes last, because it is the only decision you can partly undo.

If you have not settled on a construction yet, start with the Wigs 101 guide, then come back here.

IN THIS ORDER

Six decisions, easiest last

Each step narrows the catalog for the next one. Done in this order, the last two decisions are made from a handful of options rather than a hundred.

Pick the cap construction
This is the decision everything else hangs off. Lace front, closure, glueless, headband, U-part, 360, full lace — each one is a different answer to how the wig parts, how long it takes to put on, and whether you can pull the hair back. The Wigs 101 guide compares all twelve side by side with a diagram of each cap.
Do not start from a photo you liked. The same hair is sold on five different caps, and the cap is what you will live with.
Measure your head
2 minutes
Run a soft tape measure in a full circle: across your front hairline, above your ears, and around the bump at the back of your skull. Under 21.5 inches is a small, 22 to 22.5 is a medium, 23 or more is a large. Roughly eight in ten adults are a medium, which is why most wigs sold as one size are cut to one.
Do not assume one size fits you because it fit a friend. A cap that is half an inch tight gives you a headache by lunchtime and a cap that is loose lifts at the nape.
Choose a density
150% is right for most people: full enough to photograph well, light enough to read as hair that grew from your head. 130% is closer to the average adult’s own density. 180% and up is noticeably full and belongs on long straight and wavy units.
Do not buy thinner than you think you need. A stylist can thin a dense wig down in twenty minutes. Nobody can add density to a sparse one.
Choose a length
Lengths are measured straight, from the top of the cap to the ends. On you: 10 to 14 inches is chin to collarbone, 16 to 20 is collarbone to mid-chest, 22 to 26 is mid-chest to waist. Curly and deep wave lose three to five inches of apparent length to the curl pattern, so a 22-inch deep wave hangs like an 18-inch straight.
Do not order your usual length in a curly texture. It will arrive shorter than the number says, every time.
Choose the texture
Match it to your own hair if any of yours will be showing — a U-part or half wig lives or dies on this. If the wig covers everything, choose on maintenance instead: straight shows the lace and the part most clearly and needs the least work; body wave and loose wave hide the perimeter and forgive a rough install; deep wave and curly need the most conditioning and the most patience.
Do not buy your first curly unit and your first install at the same time. Learn the install on something forgiving.
Match the color in daylight
Take the color decision to a window, not a bathroom mirror. Natural black and off-black are safe everywhere. Anything lifted — blonde, balayage, copper, rooted shades — costs more to keep looking right, because lifted hair is more porous and drinks conditioner. If you are between two shades, size down in brightness: a wig can be toned darker at home, and cannot be lifted lighter.
Do not judge a shade from a product photo alone. Studio lighting is the single biggest reason a color arrives looking different.

Every Mayvenn order has thirty days from delivery to return or exchange, wigs included — so if a decision here is genuinely a coin flip, buy the one you can live with and use the window.

Cap size, density and length

Three numbers appear on every wig product page, and two of them are the ones people get wrong. Here is what each one actually means on your head.

Cap size

Small — 21 to 21.5 in.: Measure a full circle: across your front hairline, above your ears, around the bump at the back of your skull.
Medium — 22 to 22.5 in.: Fits roughly eight in ten adults. Almost every wig sold as one size is a medium.
Large — 23 to 23.5 in.: Order this if a medium leaves a mark on your forehead after an hour.

Adjustable straps take about half an inch off a medium. They cannot add any.

Density

130%: Close to the average adult’s own hair. Reads natural in person, thin next to a salon blowout.
150%: The default. Full enough to photograph well, light enough to look like it grew there.
180%: Noticeably full. Best on long straight and wavy units, where weight is the point.
200% and up: Editorial volume. Heavy on the lace and hard to make look real up close.

You can thin a dense wig down. Nobody can add density to a sparse one.

Length

10 to 14 in.: Chin to collarbone. Bob territory.
16 to 20 in.: Collarbone to mid-chest. The most-bought range by a wide margin.
22 to 26 in.: Mid-chest to waist. Straight hair looks longer than curly at the same number.
28 in. and up: Statement length. Heavy, and it needs the most conditioning.

Curly and deep wave lose three to five inches of apparent length to the curl pattern.

Before you order

Spend the least that gets you a cap you can actually install. A glueless closure wig or a headband wig in a shorter length is the cheapest honest entry point, because there is nothing to cut and no adhesive to learn, so the money goes into hair rather than into a skill you do not have yet. Save the 13x6 HD frontal for your second or third unit, when you know what you want to fix about the first one.

Virgin hair has never been chemically processed — not permed, dyed or bleached. Remy hair may have been processed, but all the cuticles still run in the same direction, root to tip. Non-remy hair has mixed cuticle directions, which is why it tangles at the nape after a few wears no matter how you care for it. Cuticle alignment matters more for daily wear than the virgin label does; a good remy unit outlasts a badly collected virgin one.

Yes for almost everyone. A wig cap flattens your own hair, gives combs and adhesive something to grip, and keeps the inside of the unit clean, which is most of what determines how often you have to wash it. A nude or skin-tone stocking cap under a lace front also stops your own hair color showing through the lace. The exception is a U-part or half wig, where your own hair is meant to be out.

You have thirty days from the day your order is delivered to return or exchange it, and every product Mayvenn sells is covered — bundles, closures, frontals and wigs. Full terms are on the returns and exchanges page.

Between 16 and 20 inches. It is the most-bought range for a reason: long enough to feel like a change, short enough that the weight does not pull on the lace or tangle at the nape while you are still learning to care for it. Go shorter than 14 inches only if you actively want a bob, and save 26 inches and up until you have washed and stored a unit properly at least twice.