How to Measure Your Head for a Wig

Whether you’ve been wearing ill-fitting wigs for some time or are completely new to the wig world, understanding how to properly measure your head is essential to obtaining a properly-fitted hairpiece.

Here at Well’s Wigs, we provide in-house fittings that will help us find wigs that will fit you best. In fact, we recommend that a professional measure you, someone like the friendly folks who work in our shop and can provide the perfect fit.

However, it can be fun to measure your own head in advance of coming into the shop, to get an idea of what size you may be. If you would like to discover your head size, the following tips can help you get the numbers you need to find a wig that fits:

Forehead to Nape of Neck

Place the measuring tape at the center of the front of your hairline and lay it across your head to the hairline at the very nape of your neck. For those with sparse hair, rest your index, third, and ring fingers flat against your forehead at the brow bone, with the top of these three fingers creating a starting point. Next, measure about an inch below the bone at the bottom of the skull, which can feel like a hard nub.

From Ear to Ear

Next, rest the end of the tape approximately half an inch above the little crease where your glasses rest, right at the top of your ear between the ear and your head. Next, draw the tape across the top of your head so that it meets your other ear, without actually touching it, at the same point on the other side. Note this measurement and continue on.

Circumference Of Your Head

You’ll then want to place the tape at your hairline near the center of your forehead and run the tape around your head, behind your ears, and past your hairline at the nape of your neck, finally running back to the center of your forehead again.

Temple Measurement

Lay your tape measure at your temple and wrap it around the back of your head, meeting the end of the tape measure at your temple.

Once you have collected these measurements, you are ready to shop for wigs! In most cases, wig measurements will be listed somewhere on the wig or the hang tag so you can decide whether you need a small, medium, or large cap size. However, in general, you can determine your cap size with the following guide:

Small: Ear to ear, 11; front to nape, 14; circumference, 21; temple to temple, 14.5

Medium: Ear to ear, 11.5; front to nape, 14.5; circumference, 22; temple to temple, 15

Large: Ear to ear, 12; front to nape, 15; circumference, 23; temple to temple, 15.5

Extra large: Ear to ear, 12.5; front to nape, 15.5; circumference, 24; temple to temple, 16