Wig install near me: what it costs and what to ask

What a wig install costs in South Africa (lists read 6 Oct 2026)

What to ask before you book an install

• Ask what the install price includes: a wash, plucking, bleaching knots, cutting the lace, styling. On the lists we read these were often separate lines.
• Ask for close-up photos of installs with the hairline and parting in view, from the installer's own Instagram or TikTok, and check they are recent.
• Ask what holds the wig on, whether that is glue, tape, a band or stitches, how long it should last, and how it comes off.
• Tell them if your skin has reacted to an adhesive before, and if the install pulls or stings, say so straight away.
• Ask whether your own hair will be braided down under the wig, and what that costs. Some lists call these wig lines.
• Ask whether the wig must be dropped off before the appointment. One Durban salon asks for two days before a customising or wash.
• Ask for the full price in rand on WhatsApp, for your wig, and check whether VAT and removal are included.
• Ask what the deposit is, whether it comes off the final bill, and what happens if you cancel or arrive late. Get the rules in writing on WhatsApp.
• Ask whether combs, brushes and towels are cleaned or replaced between clients. Scalp ringworm spreads on shared combs, hairbrushes, hats and towels.

Wig install near me: what the price covers

What a wig install price covers

On the lists we read, a wig installation covers fitting a wig you bring. Making, customising, cutting, colouring and styling are listed as separate lines. A basic install ran R250 to R550 in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria, and most took 1 to 2.5 hours. A few listings sit outside that range, from R50 and R150 in Cape Town up to R870 there and R1,200 in Johannesburg, so check what the price covers.

Add-ons are where the bill grows. Plucking or bleaching a wig's lace ran R100 to R550, wig lines R100 to R300, cutting or trimming R150 to R750, and a wash R150 to R450. A Durban salon lists curling only at R150, straightening only at R100, and a wash with straighten or curl at R250. Wig making was listed at R300 to R800.

Lace front, frontal, closure and 360 installs

Few listings say 'lace front'. They name the lace instead, as frontal, closure or 360, or just 'wig installation', so read the line and ask which lace the price is for. Frontal installs were listed from R450 to R950 and closure installs from R200 to R800. The top of both ranges comes from listings that say 'sew in' and include styling, at about 3 hours: R950 for a frontal and R800 for a closure. A 360 install was R550 in Cape Town (1 hour 55 minutes) and R950 in Johannesburg (1 hour 30 minutes). Frontal ponytails are listed separately, from R550 to R1,000.

Durban lists were shorter but in the same range. A Fresha list had wig installation at R250 for 1.5 hours and a styled install at R300 for 2 hours 15 minutes, and a Booksy list had a basic install at R350 (1.5 hours), and an install with one style from R450 or with two styles at R550, each taking 2 hours.

Wig installation glue, tape, band or sew-in?

The American Academy of Dermatology advises sewn-in weaves over weaves that use bonding glue, and says to remove a weave straight away if it causes pain or irritates your scalp. That advice is about weaves, not wigs, but the same sense applies. Ask what holds your wig on, how long it should stay, and say if your skin has reacted to an adhesive before. If anything tugs at your hairline and hurts, it is too tight.

Booking and what to bring

Bring the wig, and ask whether it should be customised first. One Durban salon asks clients to drop a wig off two days before a customising or wash appointment, and one to two days before styling. Ask whether your own hair will be braided down under the wig, which some listings call wig lines, and what that costs.

Expect a deposit: a non-refundable R100 at one Pretoria braider, a R200 booking fee taken off the final bill at one salon, and 50% up front at a Thembisa braider. The Booksy salon in Durban takes appointments only, with no cash. Ask for the rules in writing on WhatsApp before you pay.

Removal and clean-up

Taking a wig off and cleaning the lace afterwards is priced too. On Johannesburg lists we read, wig removal was R50, undoing a machine-made wig R100, and a lace wash or soak-off R200. Ask whether removal is included in the install price, and whether your own hair gets a wash at the end.

Wig install near me: questions