At ten feet you cannot assess a cuticle, a fibre or a knot. You can only see shape and mass, which is exactly what gives a wig away.

Real hairlines are sparse

Hair does not start abruptly at full density along a clean line.

It thins, scatters and grows irregularly for a centimetre or more.

So density at the front is the tell

A blunt dense front reads as a helmet at a distance, whatever the fibre.

Graduated density with a plucked front reads as hair before anything else does.

Knots are the close-up version

Each tied strand starts at a knot, which reads as a tiny dark dot on lace.

Bleaching the knots removes the dot where the lace allows it.

What to specify

A density percentage, graduated at the front, plucked hairline, knots treated.

Then judge the sample from across the room, not in your hand.