Wigs are of no consequence to me...FWIW a wig would make it more likely for me to ever consider a WAM shoot that folks would actually buy or whatever just to help disguise me. Mask too at least to start. I know some folks hate wigs but if nothing else thinking about it from the perspective that someone may be putting extra effort in to disguise their identity, I honor and respect that. Also, I've partied and done other stuff that wasn't WAM in a wig and by the end of the night I was just as gross and needed to wash hair and all.
Not into where it's super apparent it's a wig and by that I mean more like when someone picks a wig that they really shouldn't have. I enjoy realistic looking things. I would be ok with something wild colored but sometimes some folks shoot for natural and miss. Those are the ones I don't like.
Surely at some point someone has to mention a wigwam in this thread?
Wouldn't bother me at all. I've shot with shaven-headed women, so real hair, no hair, or artificial hair, I'm cool with all options. What matters most to me is the model's figure, especially bum and legs, and that they're having fun getting messy.
Taryn's last shoot in 2006. Worst one she did by far. First scene she asked for a wig. Looked so out of place. Pies were 10/10 but that wig ruined the scene. I'd never do one again.
I haven't voted as there isn't really a "it depends," option the "it doesn't matter," option not being suitable as it does matter it is just situation specific.
To illustrate I'm going to borrow the idea of "spirit of the game," from cricket. Often in sport you can get circumstances and quirks which whilst technically within the rules of the game run counter to the intent of the game and sportsmanship. Many games might accept the technicality with a shrug of the shoulders, possibly debate whether the rules require changing and then move on change or no changes whilst in cricket there is a general understanding that players shouldn't aspire to the letter of the law but the spirit of what was intended and accepted fair play. It doesn't always happen in practice but generally taking advantages of loopholes is frowned upon as not being in the spirit of the game.
And so with WAM the spirit of the activity is to get messy. There's a whole bunch of things out there where their specific purpose is to prevent/reduce how wet or messy someone gets. For instance: waterproof coats, hoods, goggles, Wellington boots, overalls etc. Whilst you can technically make a messy scene with someone wearing these, for me wearing any of these goes against the spirit of WAM and getting messy. Some people might have specific fetishes for some of these, which is fine for them, but I'm never gonna purchase anything with these in.
Wigs fall into a bit of a grey area as they along with other forms of aesthetic headwear are in the real world intended to create a particular look rather than keep one's hair from getting messy BUT that many times in WAM they have either been intentionally prevent hair getting messy or they have unintentionally prevented certain mess.
Now personally I think if the reason for donning the wig is to create a specific look to get trashed then making a lot of effort to get dressed up, even if fancy dress, to get trashed is definitely within the spirit of WAM and that whilst natural hair is preferable if the reason for using a wig is to more accurately create a specific look that a model's current hair style or colour can't pull off then it can be justified (Just make sure the wigs are pinned on properly if you do, nothing looks worse than it falling off mid scene).
So a couple examples:
Let's say you want to do a "Vintage" scene with your models as say 1920s style flappers. If their hair is too long then breaking out a couple bob style wigs to complete the look is more reasonable than asking them all to cut their hair.
Whilst a general school girl scene I don't think justifies wigs on its own as it is a generic look, were you wanting to do a parody of Britney Spear's Hit Me Baby One More Time getting hit with pies then getting a wig to pull of the specific look would be justified. That being said finding cheap wigs for specific iconic/celebrity looks can be a minefield. Many specifically made for it look shit but you can find some unexpected gems marketed as other things for instance I remember one wig branded simply as something like Hollywood starlet that frankly should have been the official Jessica Rabbit wig. Finding the right wig to pull off even certain looks is not without a lot of effort, time and money but anyway I digress.
Pretty much any anime/cosplay WAM. Hair there gets wildly unrealistic.
As you can see pretty much all of these examples are fancy dress or cosplay related as really they tend to be the few times people would naturally be inclined to use a wig anyway. However it is important to remember that earlier I mentioned about aesthetic headwear accidentally preventing certain mess. Certain accessories that might complete the look may need to either be carefully positioned or done away with entirely if they're going to negatively impact the flow of mess.
For example most fancy dress Nurse outfits include a headband with medical cross on it. If you position that on your head normally such headband will likely deflect gunge/slime landing on the head behind it from flowing down over the face. As such if you wish to keep it for a specific look then position it further backwards to the point it is visible but behind where gunge/slime is likely to land so it won't obstruct flow down the front. Not all headbands will suffer from this issue head band devil horns or halo for angel/demon scene will likely be fine as they don't come with the falp of material to divert flow of mess. Similarly if including a veil with a bridal scene, veil should be pulled back to not act as protective hood. Etc etc. If the headwear is likely to significantly impact getting the look messy (like a large maid's cap) then it may need to be silently ditched.
So in summary it is usually preferable for natural hair as the point of getting messy is to actually get messy but for certain fancy dress/cosplay looks it can be justified if going to the detail to create a specific look that will get trashed.
The only non-costume related wig reason that a wig might be OK is if the model is wanting to try disguise themselves/keep a level of anonymity. Whilst I won't say the use of a wig there isn't disappointing if the alternatives are that all images/videos are from the neck down only or they wear something like a hood then if they're happy to wear a wig instead being able to see facial expressions is preferable to whether the hair is real. There's probably a further debate to be had on where is the line between wearing an expensive wig and cheap clip in hair extensions but that's for another time.
As a regular user of wigs I can tell you that you can't just don a wig and hey presto... Different hair styles suit different face types, get it wrong and you look totally odd. Furthermore the cheaper the wig the less convincing the gunging as the wig will just clog up and slip off your head like a dead squid! Natural is the best way to go and cheaper!
My vote is "Doesn't Matter/Indifferent" since it's the closest thing to picking the in-between answer rather than just yes or know. It depends on the context for me.
I personally have a pretty big thing for costumes/cosplay and WAM, and if a wig is needed to make up part of the character outfit then yes, I prefer having a wig as apposed to not having one.
Some people have natural hair that fits will for certain characters, and if thats the case, wigs are unnecessary. But let's say, just hypothetically, The Wife did a costumed WAM video dressed as Princess Peach; a wig would be preferable to complete the look of the character more accurately.
However, I'd still say it's preferable not to use a wig if it isn't necessary for any reason.
I voted for "Doesn't matter/Indifferent " since its the closest to the opinion I hold on the subject of wigs being in used in WAM. In most cases, I much prefer seeing a models natural hair/hairstyle get destroyed with the mess. But in cases where a model is portraying a specific character or archetype that would have a special haircut, then a wig would make sense. The wig has to look really good though. A cheap wig that was bought at some party store is gonna turn me off from buying a scene.
I think it largely depends on what you're doing with the wig. Like is it b/c the person is cosplaying a character and that character has a specific or fantastical hairstyle that normal hair can't really be made to look like? Or a bright shade of color for character? If the wig makes you look significantly more like the character then go for it. If it makes you look like you spent 5 minutes in a Halloween store then skip it.
For cosplay scenes I think it's cool. However, most of us have seen our fair share of "bad wig" scenes where the models don't attach it well and it just falls off like a minute into the scene. So if you do use a wig, use it well! Like anything else, quality matters haha.
Tbh I'm 1000% against them, to me it's kinda like covering up or wearing a protective "hat" for lack of a better word, if there's a wig being worn there less than a 1% chance I'll check the scene out, just my opinion though
theStickyTrickster said: Similarly if including a veil with a bridal scene, veil should be pulled back to not act as protective hood. Etc etc. If the headwear is likely to significantly impact getting the look messy (like a large maid's cap) then it may need to be silently ditched.
Kudos for a well thought out reply Like so much of WAM, there are many varied tastes/interests. I have actually been toying with the idea of a green sliming of a bride with a veil, but in my vision the veil would be down over the face for the sliming. The scenario being, "Do you take this man to be your husband..." Being answered with "I don't know." In that case, the veil would normally still be down at that point in a wedding. And also I would like to have later, "You may now pie (instead of kiss) the bride" where the groom lifts the veil and delivers a pie Just my 2 cents..
And getting back to the original topic, this is a mid-grade wig in this old sploshing scene with Janet which I thought was ok looking, and as others have said, goes with the Japanese lolita style of dress. It stayed on well for a messing, but a similar wig did not hold up to a dunk tank...
It's not an "absolutely not" from me, but it's also not quite a "doesn't matter" as it would turn me off a little. But if everything else about the clip is good it wouldn't ruin it for me. Facial coverage is my thing so I long as there's plenty of that I'd be happy.
Only if it's done as part of a humiliation plotline--adds to the hilarity imo.
MG and Alana have done these, typically paired with a faux head shaving and an embarrassing wig put on the hapless victim's head. Amy was a lot of fun with this--well, Amy was amazing with pretty much everything to be fair!