Review (4/5): Not quite like the picture as this wig is way too curly-not as loose wave or straighter on the crown.
Very soft hair, looks like my own, but it's way, way too curly. I bought the the 16" and it's more like 14" when dry, especially in the front. The back is a bit longer. It looks like I need to bleach the lace (never did this before) and it's not really 360--meaning that you can't part it all the way down the center as the skin top doesn't go down that far. Although, one could put it up in a bun. And the supposed - skin top is a very small patch in the front- maybe from edge to crown about 3 1/2"--which is fine with me for styling. I wear my own hair parted down the middle and on the sides, too. This wig allows me to do the variety of hair-parting.
I've also tried to color it with twice, first with an off the shelf, conventional hair color like L'oreal Preference and then with a more expensive Herbatint and the hair is way too black. The box color didn't alter the wig's natural 1B black color at all! Two fresh boxes wasted. The wig will have to be bleached to strip the color down to a lighter brown shade--level 4. I'll have to get it professionally colored and styled.
Also, I will add, the hair doesn't shed much. Since I have curly hair, I know how to handle any tangles to get a nice "slip" to minimize shedding. I did wash twice, tried to color twice and left a little leave-in condition to weigh down the curls a bit for a looser curl. The hair is still very soft and there is no residual heavy product feel.
My own hair sheds way more than this wig. Hence, buying the wig for a protective hair style to minimize breakage. The hair quality isn't bad. I am new to wigs. I've long hair, but need to have a rest from flat ironing, keratin, highlights and bi-weekly hair coloring of resistant grays. I did lightly flat iron this wig just to stretch the curls a bit, not to straighten it, and it does look like my original curl pattern prior to the keratin treatments that left my hair too straight! Still working with this wig. As I am new to this wig wearing (haven't worn it out yet as I need to have a professional work with it to trim the frontal lace, bring out the baby hair (I don't usually wear baby hair styles--they seem too rigid to me when they're too plastered down and don't look natural. I don't want to have any leave out edges--that's the part of my hair I need to grow in stronger--I've very curly hair in the front and the color breaks the hair off. This is where the gray is coming in, so some have broken off with flat irons and over processing).
For those who like big hair, when you brush out this wig, it is close to African-American hair and it looks much more natural than all the super straight hair coming in from Asia. It's clear this hair has been permed--as have all the curly hair coming into the market. This combats the unnatural looks of too super straight hair that don't seem quite ethnically, culturally authentic. So the curly hair, wavy hair looks much more natural when it is straightened. This wig is not so "remy" and has a slight "yaky" texture 'appearance' when flat ironed, which I like. To be clear, this is not yaky. This is good quality real human hair hair that has been processed with curly perms to give a more realistic "black, Latina or curly Brazilian/Peruvian" hair texture. It's a bit like mixed-hair, which my own hair is due to my mixed ancestry.
This is not a bad buy at all, and very good for the price. I suppose, because my own hair is curly, but now my texture is a bit straighter due to the keratin treatments, I am partial to a looser wave pattern. I think I will buy a looser, water wave wig, pre-colored to a #4 Brown; but this one isn't bad for the price point. I'm a hairstylist's daughter and grew up in the hair salon, so, I guess I need to customize this wig where I hadn't expected to.
If I decide not to keep it because I can't get the color correct, than I will give it to my sister, whose hair color and curl texture is much more simila to this wig. She also has a thyroid condition that has broken her hair off. Sadly, her hair now doesn't resemble the softer, finer texture that l have always admired. Her's is a 3b-3c straighter curl pattern; mine is a 3c coarser-looking curl yet "baby fine" (ironic, I know, but this is the beauty, and challenge with black hair) texture. The fine hair is what makes it much more prone to breakage if not handled gently. I've stopped the keratins and don't use relaxers. Black hair, even though it looks super strong and coarse is actually the more fragile of all hair as it needs moisture, moisture, moisture--not heavy oils, but natural products to retain moisture: coconut, castor oil, grape seed, shea butter etc, but used lightly.
Well, I'll see how this goes, but overall, not a bad buy. The only downside is the extra work I need to do to this wig as I like a more natural, realistic look.
OH, I forgot to add: another great quality: I love that it is so, so light weight. I've tried a synthetic wig and another human hair wig--both not 360 and they are so heavy with the internal weft construction. I wore a wig cap, the hair grip (I don't do glues) and I can't wear these types of wigs past a few hours! And I felt self-conscious wearing them, although my own hairdresser and friends thought the wigs were my natural hair! These had bangs but don't have the skin top to allow me to part for a natural look. Also, the wigs were similar to my own hair color. This wig is too black -- like deep Asian hair black, so I need to tone it down to a chocolate brown--a 4.
This curly wig is much lighter weight, with this kind of netting or lace as they call it. I will be wearing this with a hair grip or a cap and hair pins as it does fit my head very well--I'd say I have a medium to large, and this fits. I've also just parted my own hair, flattened it down into two ponytails and pinned my own hair and then put this wig on. It's lighter weight, and doesn't feel like I am wearing anything under it. A light wig cap will keep the hair protected I suppose and from breaking if I wear this for a long period.
I've added pictures. Some are of the hair slightly flat ironed to loosen the curl. I tucked the lace front underneath, I've not trimmed it yet. The baby hair shows in one of the pics and it looks natural. As you can see, the hair doesn't quite resemble the looser wave texture in the picture.
Hope this helps!