I wear wigs and I have 2 foot long hair! I used to wear wigs to have longer hair or different colors. Now I sometimes wear shorter ones to have shorter hair for a moment.
I would make sure Lola knows there are many woman who wear wigs of all types for many many reasons. I think if she/you just said that she got a shorter haircut a bit ago and she just really wants her long hair back but it’s taking forever to grow out, people would understand. If they don’t that is their problem. I have worn a wig to get my “old long hair” back before.
Issues that impact hair don’t have to be life threatening at all. I have a hormonal issue that causes very thin hair and don’t wear a wig daily, but do have a ‘topper’ to help fill in what I don’t have sometimes.
You could say she buzzed her hair but missed the length so she’s wearing a wig until it grows out. Or you could say she’s trying out different styles. I knew a cis girl who would just throw on different wigs because she wanted a new look without the full investment of actually dying/cutting her hair. Doesn’t have to be anything ‘out’ related.
I’m just going to parrot what /u/somechild commented earlier and tell you to delete this post if you don’t want to inadvertently out her. This post got a lot of traction, someone is bound to find it. It’s specific enough that it’ll be instantly recognizable. What you described here is an honest mistake, but actually outing her when one of your friends finds this post is going to turn this into a nightmare for Lola.
There’s some stellar advice in this thread! Probably more than you’ll ever need to deal with this. Best of luck, and you seem like an awesome friend by the way!
Yeah the explanation you gave isn’t gender specific. Many cis women try and struggle to grow out their hair. Just say exactly what you told us.