Style and aesthetics can play a large role in building and maintaining feelings of self-confidence, and wigs have incredible transformative powers. For many, theyre more than just fake hair theyre a way of life.

Some use wigs to try on an entirely different personality from that of their day-to-day lives. Think of the wig out bachelorette party in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Others wear wigs every day as a form of modesty. In some Orthodox Jewish communities, religious law requires married women to wear a head covering in order to maintain tzniut (thats Yiddish for modesty). Often, this head covering is a sheitel (wig), many of which are made of human hair and styled in a modern manner.

American society still maintains a stigma against the wearing of wigs, particularly by Black women. Snide and invasive comments Is that your real hair? are aimed at everyday people even as we celebrate performers whose hairdos are clearly styled to look larger than life.

So why does society continue to pass judgment upon people who are simply trying to look the way they want to look? We sat down with four individuals who wear wigs in their professional and daily lives to learn about their experiences.

Chad Jones