My wig journey is just a tad over ten years old.  The first wig I ever purchased was Scorpio by Revlon Wigs.  You have no idea how difficult and emotional it was to click the button on the wig website and purchase that fake head of hair.

Scorpio by Revlon –the first wig I ever owned and it’s still a popular seller!  I still have this as a reminder of how my hair loss journey with wigs began!

The thing is, that wig meant so much to me that I still have her. I don’t wear her anymore but I kept her as a memory of an event that changed my life in my hair loss journey.

Those first steps of wearing a wig out in public are the hardest—and with time it gets easier.  And ten plus years ago, I had nobody to guide me.  I didn’t know about YouTube videos at the time (did YouTube even have wig reviews that long ago?), nor was my wigucation in the advanced placement class.  There was a lot to learn and over time I learned through trial and error.

So much went into trying to find that “right” wig that would look natural on me!

The other “first wigs” I purchased weren’t lace front.  They were rather wiggy looking but I tried my best to make them appear more natural.

It’s true!  There was sooooo much that I needed to learn about wigs and I had to figure it out on my own!

Oh..I did venture out to Long Island for a weekend to my sister’s when I first got Scorpio, but after the eyerolls and laughs, I placed her back in the box and continued to cover my bald spots with my Toppik hair fibers.

This stuff was my saving grace when my hair loss started to become visible.  You can read more here–or hair:  TOPPIK

But the loss became so great that I could no longer hide the fact and wigs became a regular part of my life.  And I can’t look back because I’ve come to appreciate and love my wigs (most of ‘em).  I’ve learned the beauty of a good wig and the value of a budget wig.

On the left–Jamison, my all-time favorite wig ever; by Estetica Designs.  On the right, the budget-friendly Justine by It’s A Wig!  

2018 was a great wig year for me.  I made new friends and began reviewing wigs for those in the wig wearing community.  It’s my mission to normalize wearing a wig.  No woman (or man) should feel incomplete due to hair loss and those who are blessed with a full head of hair need to stop the snark.  In all honesty, I would love to have all my bio hair back—but it’s not gonna happen.  And, so, I’ve learned to embrace my fake hair.

Embrace the fake hair–even if you don’t suffer from hair loss–it’s fun!

So, read on about my favorites from 2018.  This is the “Bridge” edition.  For me, Bridge wigs are in between the very expensive wigs and the budget wigs.  They can be found for the price point of around $100 to $400.  I’ll also be doing a favorite Budget Wig blog post too!

Without further ado, my Number One favorite from 2018 is………. (drum roll please)…

Jamison from Estetica Designs:

THE Ultimate Classic Bob!  Estetica topped it and nobody else can compare with Jamison!

Jamison is my favorite wig for a number of reasons, one of them being a very sentimental reason. Jamison is the wig that started my friendship with the folks at Estetica! I can’t begin to tell you what this means to me.  Working with this brand is amazing.   I love the people and we can discuss everything in earnest about the units.

I absolutely adore Jamison. She comes in at Numero Uno!!  And with good reason! She’s perfect!

She also comes in as my Number One because of the classic bob style and the quality.  Bobs are popular, but to find the perfect classic bob can be daunting.  Either the part can be wonky or the shape of the bob really isn’t a true bob.  Many pontificate bobbed wigs but few are genuine classic bobs.  And Jamison is the true classic.

The shape is consistent throughout –and I have four of these babies to prove it!  The parting space is stellar as is the hairline.  The fibers are lustrous without being shiny or doll-like. She is lightweight without being flimsy and she is dense enough without being thick.

The more I look at Jamison, the more I love her.  Maybe I should get a new one for Oona’s wedding!

Jamison is also ridiculously versatile.  You can wear her out and about for casual times, she’s a great wig to wear to work and she can also be worn for dressy occasions.  She’s all-age friendly and—for a first wig—man oh man, she is a beauty!

Second on my list is another unit from Estetica Designs.  Finn.  There’s something about a full blown, tons of layers, shoulder-length, shaggier wig.  Very up-to-date but with a 70’s to 80’s vibe. She’s big hair but not over-the-top big.  The face framing layers are extremely flattering to the mature woman whose facial structure may have changed over the years.  I find the layers hide the jowls and the skin that is beginning to sag.  The fullness is stellar and the style just blows me away.  Estetica blew it out of the park with this wig that was introduced last year.  She’s been so popular that she’s been on backorder!  I have two in the shade Caramel Kiss and I just adore her!

Finn and the face-framing layers.  So many layers.  Such a gorgeous head of hair!

And part of the beauty is that she can be combed down a bit to fall into softer layers.  She made 2018 a great hair year!

Now—in no particular order are more of my favorites from last year!

Chloe by Envy Wigs.

This.  The wig that surprised me the most.  My husband got Chloe in the shade Chocolate Cherry for my birthday last year!  I was astounded—both by the wig itself and the color.  Trust me, this wig looked a million percent better in person than in the stock photo!

This Chocolate-Cherry color is everything and a bag of chips!  My husband did good in his choice–he’s got a great eye, doesn’t he?  I’ve already told him I need another Chloe in this shade for my upcoming birthday in April!

She’s a longer bob that can be worn messy.  And I love the messiness or rather, unkempt, look of this wig.  For my husband, she’s a true “French woman” wig.  Why?  Because French women don’t go for a completely “styled” look—they shy away from perfection and it seems that every French (and possibly European) woman dyes her hair a cherry/burgundy shade after she reaches the age of 50.

And shaken (not stirred) and a bit mussed up, Chloe looks even better!

Chloe is dense and slightly layered and just plain fun!

Hayden by Henry Margu. Shade 7H

I’ve become introduced to this brand in 2018.  And am I glad I did!  Henry Margu does color blending like no other wig company.  I swear the shades are blended better than natural hair can be at a salon! How does this family-owned wig company do it?

Hayden is a wavy-bob lover’s dream!  This shade of 7H is astounding.  I don’t know how Henry Margu does it but the person who comes up with the brand’s shades and color blends is a freaking genius!  I also love the slight choppiness of Hayden!  

Anyway, Hayden is a chin-length bob with layering.  I’m a fan of this kind of wig because I could never get my bio hair to look this good.  She’s lightweight but not thin.  Dense but not heavy.  Hayden is a great office wig because even though she is layered, she’s still got that professional polish that lends itself well for 9 to 5ing!

Isla by Tony of Beverly. Shade Rooted Sandstone.

Isla is the most intriguing wig I’ve ever seen.  From the stock photo she is a wig that you would pass by and I’ve passed her by many times.  However, when one of the women I follow on Instagram posted a pic I was blown away at how great Isla looked on a real person and not a mannequin head!

Isla love Isla!  And to this day she remains the most-complimented wig.  Even the hubs loves her which I thought unusual since he favors longer wigs!

ATTN:  Tony of Beverly finally changed the stock photo to a more flattering one!  See how cute she is?

The other great thing is Isla is a very affordable lace-front synthetic bridge wig. She is also the shortest of my favorite wigs.  At under $175, she is a great, great value because she is well-constructed, long wearing and always looks great.  This is one wig that I continue to receive tons of compliments on every time I wear her.  Tony of Beverly makes a great wig.  My only gripe with the brand is that they don’t partake in any wig site’s discount programs which is too bad because I would love to have more of the brands wigs but they are too pricey without that discount.

Estetica Designs Violet

Here’s Ms. Violet!  Another wavy bob!  My most-worn wig last summer!  

Violet. Last Spring.  She topped my noggin when I went to see Amadeus on the big screen at the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville!

Ahhhhhhhh. Violet. I swear she was my most-worn wig last summer.  She’s a great summer bob.   Just the right amount of wave and a great summer length, she always looks great.  I have a few Violets and wore her in various color rotation last summer but my favorite is Carmel Kiss!  She reminds me a bit of Hayden but not as dense.  Nice layering throughout and very, very warm-weather friendly.

Alice by Uniwigs LaVivid Collection.

Hmmmm. At first I was unsure of Alice–and what happened? She ended up to be a favorite of 2018!

Now this is an unusual one.  When I first got Alice I was a bit on the fence.  She isn’t “big” and I love bigger hair.  There’s no permatease and I love me some permatease.  And she isn’t thick. I love thick. But rather than three strikes your out, it ended up that Alice turned out to be one of my faves!  She isn’t dense but she’s got enough density that the wefts don’t show through at all.  The lack of permatease didn’t hinder the good looks of this long bob.  And even though she isn’t big, she is very comfortable and manages to always look good on—she never looks “little”.  I’ve worn her to work a lot and after a day at the office, she’s never tangled or matted up on me.  In fact, she was my Christmas wig and all the guests loved her.  She’s a lace front wig and for the woman who isn’t a fan of permatease—this is a perfect wig for you!

Alice. In the shade “Almond Frost”  I would safely say that this is LaVivid’s most beautiful wig–a true LOB–Long Bob!

The last two wigs are latecomers to my 2018 collection but made such an impression that I almost forgot about all the other wigs and fell in love.  Both of these wigs have been worn on a regular basis since receiving them.  And both were wigs that I’ve wanted for a long time!

Brooklyn by Estetica Designs.

Brooklyn also has a rather “sensual” side to her.  Layers longer than Finn but boy, is she a beauty!

She could be Finn’s longer-layered sister!  She’s about the same length as Finn, grazing the shoulders but her layers are long.  She has a very natural wave pattern without being over-the-top.  She is dense and slightly thicker, making her a perfect choice of wig for those who have bio hair that was/is thick.  That she grazes the shoulder means she won’t get tangled when you wear textured sweaters or wool blazers or scarves.  She is, a great, great fall/winter wig—even spring for those cool spring days!

A most pragmatic length that cuts the shoulders, she doesn’t tangle with textured fabric.  I just love her!

Kendall by Henry Margu.

This.  This!!!!  Look at that color blend. OMG. This is miracle blending!  And Kendall. She’s pretty-much as close to perfection as it gets!  The layering is so beautiful and face-framing!

Once again, Henry Margu knocks it out of the ballpark with their stellar color blends.  I swear the shade 626 H is one of the most beautiful shades of wig I’ve ever seen.  It looks like salon lowlights.  Now—she could be Hayden’s longer sister!  She’s shaggy without being sloppy.   The layering is perfect. And like Estetica’s Finn, Margu’s Kendall is extremely, mature-woman friendly due to the way the layers fall around the jawline.  This softens my square jaw like nobody’s business.  The Margu wigs are also very comfortable to wear.  The length is wonderful.  The style just beautiful.  Kendall is definitely a favorite and will remain one throughout 2019!

How stinking gorgeous is this head of hair?  Henry Margu definitely created a winner in Kendall and I am head-over-heels with her!

Do I miss my bio hair?  For the most part–yeah. I do.  I think it is only natural than any woman would miss her bio hair.  But I’m a realist.  It’s not coming back.  My choices are to walk around half bald or get a wig.  And the wigs that I love have helped me to achieve a level of self-confidence and make me feel good about myself!

One of the last photos taken with my bio hair. This is from 2015. Chippy photobombed me. I had gotten back from the salon and Adam blew my hair out.  I miss Adam.  I miss my time at Bleu Mousse salon but I can only move forward.  The new normal for me is wearing wigs–and that’s fine!

That’s it for my favorite bridge wigs of 2018.  If you want to see more on how they look, here’s my YouTube video!

Honestly, if you are experiencing hair loss please don’t try to ignore it.  There are solutions.  And while I don’t believe in many of the mumbo jumbo products that promise to grow hair—and for a very expensive price, I am a huge fan of wigs and for minimal hair loss, toppers.  Toppik hair fibers works wonders for those who are starting to experience hair loss—the fibers really work and I used them for years with great success.

If you are a wearer of wigs, please comment on your faves—it’s fun to share!