No. George Washington did not wear the white wig that many people imagine from portraits, statues, and schoolbooks. Mount Vernon is clear on this point: Washington kept his own hair, wore it long, tied it back in a queue, and powdered it white.
Why everyone thinks it was a wig
Wigs were fashionable among elite men in the eighteenth century, so the assumption makes sense. Washington's portraits show a formal white hairstyle that looks like the powdered wigs associated with judges, courtiers, and colonial gentlemen. But in his case, the white appearance came from powder, not from a separate wig.
Washington was a redhead first
One of the more interesting details is that Washington's natural hair was reddish when he was young. Locks of his hair survive in historic collections, which is one reason this myth is easier to correct than many celebrity hair rumors. There is physical evidence, not just portrait interpretation.
What was hair powder for?
Powdered hair signaled formality, cleanliness, rank, and fashion. The powder could create a pale or white look even on natural hair. Washington's style therefore placed him inside elite eighteenth-century grooming culture without requiring a wig.
Bottom line
George Washington had his own hair. He did not wear a white wig in the iconic portraits. He wore natural long hair, tied back, powdered in the fashion of his time.
