Shevelle Rhule is a London-based fashion and beauty editor who has been a devout wearer of wigs for the past three years.

Here, she explains our growing fascination with hair pieces and charts their growth throughout history, as well as examining how they have the power to instantly transform much more than just our appearance.

I have a confession to make: I’m a wig addict. With seven units currently decorating my dressing room table I’m embarrassed to admit I’m still struggling to fight the urge to get another.

I have a wig for the gym, one for when I'm going to meetings and want to be taken seriously, a wig that makes me stand out from the crowd, another that has gone from soft brown to bright blonde (when I was going through my Beyoncé phrase) and back again (when sanity returned), a unit I lent to a friend and never got back and one that compliments the majority of my wardrobe. I have been known to wear four different wigs in a week, much to my male neighbour’s confusion, although I later made a pact with my fiancé that I would try and be a little less obvious in future.

And if you’re wondering, no, I'm not bald, suffering from alopecia or have any other hair loss condition; in fact my hair is currently swishing well past my shoulders when straightened and a super sized afro when not and more importantly, in the best condition of its life thanks to wigs.

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