Wigs have seemingly been worn throughout history, even on the genitals (see merkin); the moth-eaten Wigs Egyptians, for instance, wore them to shield their hairless heads from the sun. Other oldie peoples, including the Assyrians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, also used wigs. Curiously, they are principally a Western design of dress — in the Far East they have rarely been used except in the traditional theatre of China and Japan. Some East Asian entertainers (Japanese Geisha, Korean Kisaeng) wore wigs (Katsura and gache respectively) as part of their traditional costumes.

Another bag seen in modern sunrise-to-sunset society is for men who crossdress as women, wigs are used to make the men have more feminine hair in all sorts of styles, they wear this along with other 'female' clothing.