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Blonde Wigs: Shades and Care

Blonde is the shade most often bought and most often returned to the closet unworn, usually because of the two things this page is about: picking a tone that suits your skin rather than one that looked good on a display head, and understanding what you can fix after you buy it.

The numbers on the pack

Wig color follows the standard hair color codes, where higher numbers mean lighter. 613 is the light, almost platinum blonde that most bright units are built on, and it is also the base most custom colors are made from. 27 is a honey blonde, 30 is closer to auburn, and 27/613 or similar pairings mean a highlighted mix of the two. A dark number followed by a light one, like 1B/613, usually indicates a root shadow.

Root shadows are worth paying for

A unit that is one flat blonde from cap to ends is the fastest way to read as a wig, because no real head of blonde hair has an identical color at the scalp. Units with a darker root, whether sold as rooted, shadow rooted or with a two-part color code, look substantially more convincing and also grow more forgiving as they age. If your options are a flat 613 and a rooted version at a small premium, take the rooted one.

Brassiness, and what you can do about it

Blonde human hair turns warm over time, going yellow or orange as the toner in it wears off. On a human hair unit this is fixable: a purple shampoo used sparingly, or a toner, brings it back. On a synthetic unit it is not, because there is no cuticle for toner to work on and purple shampoo has nothing to deposit into. Synthetic blonde does not go brassy the way human hair does, but if it discolors from product buildup or sun, the answer is washing rather than toning.

Choosing a tone

Cool blondes with ash or platinum in them and warm blondes with gold or honey in them sit very differently against skin, and the wrong direction is what makes a blonde unit look cheap regardless of its price. If you have worn blonde before, take the code from the color you liked. If you have not, a honey or dark blonde close to your natural depth is far easier to carry than platinum, which demands the most from the lace and the hairline because it contrasts so sharply with the scalp.

Keeping it clean

Light hair shows everything: product buildup, oil at the crown, dust, smoke. Blonde units need washing more often than dark ones for that reason alone. Wash cool, avoid heavy oils near the roots, and store the unit covered rather than open on a shelf.