Chemotherapy treatments are a harsh and potentially dangerous form of medical care, and one of the many terrible side-effects is the complete loss of hair. This being so, it is not the only reason a man or a woman might feel the need to wear a hair piece. Lace wigs are used as an adornment for a variety of reasons.

This style of wig can utilize human, horse, or synthetic hair. The strands are hand-tied to a sheer base, sometimes called a sock, which is worn over the scalp. While the powdered periwigs of antiquity were intended to look fake, modern styles are intended to look very much like the real thing.

The sock is the part which is made of a lace-looking material that can be made of synthetic materials, but is often made of silk. It became the most popular type of hairpiece worn after a machine was developed which could make decorative laces more quickly. Because the sock can be made flesh colored, or designed to match the hair color of the wearer, this contributes to the natural look.

In days gone by members of the gentry would be seen with a hairpiece as a way to show their standing in the upper classes of society. As being part of the upper crust became less important, such lifestyle advertisements were not as desired. These pieces are worn for more than covering baldness or maintaining a confident edge in society.

The LGBT community has a reputation for purchasing such items of personal adornment, as the population of drag queens often sports long locks of artificial hair. They wish to appear, and often to be acknowledged as women within society. Actual women do sometimes lose their hair due to illness or age, and this can be a devastating blow to their self confidence and sense of femininity.

Within society is not uncommon to be treated differently by the general public based on stereotypes and some rigid social rules of behavior. Some women like to temporarily go into the world with a different hair color in order to experience the world differently. Sometimes they will get one in their own natural color, but much longer, because they just feel like having longer, thicker, straighter, curlier, etc., hair.

In order to make it look completely natural, women are told to comb down the fine, wispy baby hairs from their forehead, over the ears, and along the back of the neck. When done properly, there should be no obvious line between their hairline and the sock. When done this way the wearer can sport a ponytail, hair combs, and even barrettes.

Anyone considering a drastic and permanent change of hair color is often recommended by their hair dresser to wear a wig in the new color for a period of time. It is not uncommon for both men and women to experience remorse after such a big change. They may not care for the color on their skin tone, and it may even clash with the majority of their wardrobe.