fit comfort
How to Measure Your Head for a Wig That Feels Made for You
Six measurements, one soft tape, ten minutes. Here is exactly where the tape goes, the mistakes that throw the numbers off, and what to do when you land between sizes.
Ten minutes with a soft tape now, or a thousand dollar piece that never sits right. Those are the two options.
You need six measurements: circumference, front to nape, ear to ear across the forehead, ear to ear over the top, temple to temple round the back, and the width of your nape. Use a soft tape measure, not a metal one. Flatten your own hair the way it will sit under the piece before you measure anything, because measuring over a bun will give you a number for a head you do not have. Write all six down in inches. Then compare them against the table, and if you land between two sizes, take the larger one.
Why this is worth ten minutes
Wigs do not fail because of the hair. They fail at the fit.
Too tight and the cap presses at the temples and the nape, which is exactly where a headache starts, and by hour six you are counting down. Too loose and it shifts, which means you spend the day touching it, which is the single most obvious tell there is. Neither problem is fixable after the fact on a finished piece, and every Kallov Hair is cut to your cap size and final sale, so the measuring is not a formality. It is the last moment where the outcome is still in your hands.
Most people guess. They pick medium because medium sounds like most people, and medium is genuinely the most common answer, and then some of them spend a year in something that never quite sat right. Ten minutes.
Before you pick up the tape
Three things that change the numbers more than you would expect.
Flatten your hair first. Braided down, slicked back, wrapped, whatever you will actually be wearing underneath. If you measure over loose natural hair you will read a half inch large across the board and order a cap that shifts.
Use a soft tape. A sewing tape or a tailor's tape. A metal builder's tape will not follow the curve of a skull and will read short. If you do not own one, a length of ribbon or string marked with a pen and then laid against a ruler works fine.
Get someone else to do the back. Measurements two, five, and six run behind your head. You can do them alone in a mirror and you will be off by a quarter inch. Ask a person.
The six measurements, exactly
1. Circumference. Around the head, following your natural hairline at the front, and tucking the tape behind your ears and down to the nape. This is the one that does most of the work in sizing, so take it twice.
2. Front to nape. Start at your front hairline in the center. Run the tape straight back over the crown and down to the nape hairline. Do not pull it tight over the crown, just let it follow the curve.
3. Ear to ear across the forehead. From the top of one ear, across the front hairline, to the top of the other ear. This is the front hairline width, and it is the one that determines whether a frontal will actually reach your ears.
4. Ear to ear over the top. From just above one ear, arching over the crown, to just above the other. This is the arch, not the flat width, so the number will be larger than measurement three.
5. Temple to temple round the back. From one temple, around the back of the head, to the other temple. Keep the tape at temple height the whole way round rather than letting it sag toward the nape.
6. Nape of neck. The width of your hairline across the nape, from one side to the other. This is the smallest number on the list and the one people skip. Do not skip it. A cap that is too wide at the nape gaps, and a gap at the nape is visible from behind in every photograph anyone takes of you at a wedding.
The table
All measurements in inches.
| Measurement | S | M | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circumference | 21.5 | 22.5 | 23.5 |
| Front to nape | 13.5 | 14.5 | 15.5 |
| Ear to ear, across the forehead | 11 | 11.5 | 12 |
| Ear to ear, over the top | 12 | 12.5 | 13 |
| Temple to temple, round the back | 14 | 14.5 | 15 |
| Nape of neck | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6 |
The full diagrammed version, with where each measurement sits on the head, is on the size guide.
Between sizes, choose the larger. A cap with a little room can be secured. A cap that is too small cannot be made bigger.
What to do when your numbers disagree with each other
They will. Almost nobody is a clean medium across all six.
The rule we use is simple. Circumference and front to nape carry the most weight, because those two determine whether the cap sits on your head at all. If those two say medium and your nape says small, you are a medium with a narrow nape, and the band handles it. If circumference says large and everything else says medium, order the large.
The reason the rule leans large is mechanical rather than generous. A ventilated cap is worn glueless, which means it holds through the fit of the cap and the adjustable band rather than through adhesive. A cap with a quarter inch of room gets taken in at the band and sits perfectly. A cap that is a quarter inch tight presses on the temples all day and there is nothing to adjust. One of those is fixable.
A few things that quietly ruin the numbers
- Measuring in the evening after a long day when your hair has loosened. Do it in the morning, on flattened hair.
- Pulling the tape tight. Snug, following the curve of the skull, no tension. Tight readings run a half inch small.
- Starting the circumference at the wrong place at the front. It follows your natural hairline, not an inch above it and not your forehead crease.
- Letting the tape ride up at the nape. It should sit at the hairline, not on the skull above it.
- Doing it once. Take circumference twice and front to nape twice. If the two readings disagree, take a third.
Sources and review
The sizing table on this page is the Kallov Hair size guide, which is the specification our caps are cut to. It is not a general industry chart and should not be used to size another brand's cap, since cap patterns differ between makers.
Last reviewed August 2026. Reviewed at least annually.
If your measurements sit between sizes and you would rather not guess
Book an online consultation and we will go through the six numbers with you on the call. It is free and it happens from anywhere in the world. This is precisely the situation it exists for.
If your numbers fall outside the table entirely, the answer is The Bespoke Suite, where the cap is built to your measurements rather than to a size. And if you are still deciding on foundation before you worry about fit, start with All Wigs and see what you are drawn to.
Sources and review
Written by the Kallov Hair studio. Construction details reflect how our own caps and lace are built, not general industry practice.
Anything touching scalp health or hair loss is checked against published medical guidance before it goes out, and reviewed again every six months.