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Rav Elyashiv ztz’l” spoke very harshly against today’s sheitels.
These are the words of the Rav translated into English:
“Even though there’s a dispute among the Poskim whether it’s mutar or ossur to wear a sheitel, if they walk as if their hair is revealed, the way those that are not covering their hair walk, they are violating an issur gamur, it’s mamish, it’s emes like ervah. (the term used in gemara to describe parts of the body that must be covered according to halacha)
The issur is as follows: If they walk with a sheitel like the times 100 years ago, then of course this is allowed, even a drop nicer. But, it should not be the way they walk today. All those that walk today, it looks like hair for sure and this is definitely assur, this nobody was mattir.…A woman with the hair of today the way she walks, it’s mamish ervah, it looks like hair, there is no difference, regarding this there is no heter….”HaRav Chaim Kanievsky shlita stated “If the sheitel looks like hair, it is the obvious truth that it is definitely forbidden. There is no room for dispute in the matter.” He repeated this several times in his conversation with Harav Avraham Lipshitz shlita. (Adorned with Dignity, page 102)
There are two separate issues here
The pritzus aspect of the sheitels which many Gedolim have screamed about in the past (including the Chozen Ish)
Most of the sheitels today are completely hypocritical and make a mockery of the mitzvah.
Than there is the avoda Zora aspect of the wigs which are currently being looked in to by American Rabbanim. Rav Elyashiv said that all Indian temple hair is completely assur based on the findings by Rav Dunner from England. The topic is being revisited because of new info regarding the hechsher that was given on some sheitel brands- there is strong evidence that it’s impossible to have a hechsher on the haurcij the sheitels as Indian temple hair is currently flooding the hair industry and there is zero regulation. Wig labels are useless as many take Indian hair and relabel it as “European” or “South American”
The corruption in the industry is widespread unfortunately even in the frum hair market too