CUSTOM WIG COMPANY

We know it might seem a little overwhelming choosing the best Tier for your Santa set, so we’ve put together a short guide to help you! 

A photo from the studio showing three custom beards, from Tier 1, 2 and 3. Tier 2.5 is not pictured here.                      

As you can see in the photo above, the single biggest differences between the Tiers is the overall scale and proportion of the beard (the wig generally follows the proportions of the beard, though that is not a requirement). Read on for some detailed comparisons between the Tiers.

Keep in  mind that the differences we’re discussing here are related to the size and scale of the beard and wig, not how it is styled (ie, wavy, curly or straighter).  Our Styling Guide has visual options for wig, beard and mustache styles, and can help you decide what “look” you want. 

You can have almost any style of mustache with any Tier of beard and you can have a short wig with a longer beard, or vice versa.

An important thing to keep in  mind when considering what Tier you want is your height and frame size.  The same beard will have a very different proportional appearance on a Santa who is 5’8 versus one who is 6’2.  Larger Santas may want to consider a larger Tier to ensure the proportion of their pieces is right.

Tier 1 

Tier 1 wig and beard sets are the smallest scale sets we create. The beards are very similar to the general length and fullness that a Santa might grow naturally, and the wigs are generally on the shorter side.  That makes a Tier 1 set the perfect choice for a Santa who wants a set that is very realistic in scale or that is a close match for his own whiskers.  

The iconic hair and beard Edmund Glenn has in Miracle on 34th Street is one great example of the general look and feel of a Tier 1 set. 

A great example of a Tier 1 set

Tier 1 might be right for you if any of these apply –

• you like your beard to be nicely filled out but not long enough to rest on your chest
• you are a real-bearded Santa who wants a glue-on beard that is a close match to his whiskers
• you prefer a very natural or realistic appearance
• you like the look of beards like Edmund Glenn’s – full with a coarser texture and defined shape

A Tier 1 beard can be made with very curly hair for a full, pleasingly coarse appearance (again, think Edmund Glenn) or a softer wave (as seen in the photo at the top) or a straighter style.  

The gallery below has a few of the Tier 1 Santa wigs and beards we’ve created to give you further inspiration. 

Tier 2

 Tier 2 is the most popular among our Santas. If you like Tim Allen’s amazing wig and beard set from the Santa Claus  movies, then this is the Tier for you.  Tier 2 wigs are  longer and fuller, often just touching the chest, though that will vary depending on Santa’s height and build.

Example of a Tier 2 set

Tier 2 might be right for you if any of these apply –

• you love Tim Allen’s set from the Santa Clause and want something similar
• you like a fuller, longer beard that still seems possible for Santa to have grown (we call this scale ‘Magical Realism’)
• you want a nice, full beard and you are under 5’7″

A Tier 2 beard can be styled in a many ways – see our Style Guide for some options.

Our Tier 2 gallery has photos of some of the custom Tier 2 wigs and beards we’ve made.

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Tier 2.5 

This is a new category, based on feedback from our clients.  If you like the general look and scale of our Tier 2 sets, but want just a little more length and a little more volume, then 2.5 is your Tier! It’s not nearly as large as our Tier 3 sets, but has more hair than our Tier 2 sets. 

Tier 2.5 set

Tier 2.5 might be right for you if any of these apply –

• you want a very full beard and wig but don’t want them to be enormous
• you want like the look of our Tier 2 beards, but you are over 6’2 or have a large build
• you want your wig hair and your beard hair to form a continuous “mane” that frames out your face 

A Tier 2.5 beard can be styled in a many ways – see our Style Guide for some options.

Tier 3

Tier 3 is for Santas who want a very long or very full wig and beard.  This is the tier for Santas who want something similar in scale to the Charles W. Howard yak sets or a traditional Father Christmas look. A Tier 3 beard can be the same length (approximately) as a Tier 2 or 2.5 beard but significantly fuller or it can be both longer AND fuller. 

A large Tier 3 set

Tier 3 is the most open-ended of the three Tiers simply because there are so many different large scale looks – if you know you want a large set, you’ll be happy you picked a Tier 3. 

We also recommend Tier 3 for Santas who are very tall or who have a large build. 

An important thing to know about Tier 3 beards – you can have a Tier 3 beard that is very curly  or a beard that is very long (greater than 14″, typically), but not both. The more curl a beard has, the more length is “eaten up”. Likewise, hair that is very long will not take and hold curl as effectively. That’s not to say you can’t have a long, curly beard, it’s just that exists an intersection where the two meet, and after that, a choice will need to be made to prioritize extreme length or extreme curl. A great way to understand this is to look at the very long Father Christmas beard on the left, and the very curly beard on the right. 

Both are Tier 3 beards, and were in fact built for the same Santa. While the Father Christmas beard has some curl, it’s concentrated at the ends because if we curled the entire length, two things would happen: the weight of the long hair would pull the curl loose and the curls would eat up the hair length, making the beard look shorter. If we combed out the curly beard until it was nearly straight, it would be quite a bit longer, because the curls would no longer be making the strands of hair shorter.

This gallery will show you a few of the Tier 3 beards and wigs we have built. For this Tier, please plan to send images or measurements that give a sense of the scale you want. 

If you’re still not sure which scale will suit you best, a Tier 2 is a great choice. It can always be trimmed up or styled differently if you decide you’d like to scale down a little, and it’s much easier to scale down than up!