Wig FAQ~

By **Duckeh**. 16/09/08, 05:32 pm

:::Wig FAQ:::

So... I'm not at all an expert but I decided I might as well start the thread && let others contribute. Gotta get the ball rolling, rightright?

Feel free to ask questions, I've just put up the ones RollEXE asked.

Other mods are welcome to edit in their own replies. n.n
If anyone who isn't a mod wants to contribute, feel free to Post/PM me your reply & I'll put it up.

Purple text: Duckeh.
Green text: Pseudonym.
Dark red text: Seraphik.

Can long hair be put up into a wig?
Of course it's not ideal, but it can be done.
It'll require lots of bobby pins & you'll definately need a wig cap/cut up stocking to hold it all together.
I recommend reading- This for a general idea.
However if you do have alot of hair, you'll need to pin it down in sections as flat on the head as possible. Try getting someone to help you the first few times~
Yes, so long as you get a wigcap or a short stocking to hold all your hair up. You may also wish to braid your hair before putting the wigcap on if it is very long or very thick

Can the underside of the wig get dirty easily?
Well, sweating can make it funky... So you should wash it, but it'll take a few times for it to be noticeably dirty. [Anyone else want to comment?]
Not really.. maybe a bit sweaty if your head sweats, and wigs are not hard to clean, see below, your biggest problem will likely be your wig getting tangled /knotty, assuming it is longer than about shoulder length and depending on the fiber

How 'gentle' do you need to be with styling wigs?
Just using a comb && being a tad gentler then you'd normally be with your own hair is fine. Naturally there will be a loss to some extent while styling/brushing/whatever but it just depends on how gentle you are. With a thin wig you're obviously going to have to treat it very gently otherwise you'll get patches.
That depends on the fiber the wig is made from, most good quality wigs will take boiling hot water poured on them (for straightening) and can even be straightened (or blow dried) but I would not recommend attempting to straighten your wig unless you have red tutorials and have a good quality straightener and have tested it on a piece of wig you don't mind potentially getting melted off!

If your wig has been custom dyed, be careful about using any alcohol based product in it, also avoid fingering it too much as skin oils can rub the dye out.

It’s hard to put wigs in hair ties, as I’ve found that the wig gets insanely knotty by the time you’ve pulled it through the tie a few times, I recommend using a ribbon (not made of silky material) to tie up wig hair.
Also remember that the higher you tie the hair of a wig, the more likely you will see the wig cap, this is just how wigs are constructed

What sort of material should I get for my wig?
Kanekalon is what most people will suggest. It's really nice. n.n
The fiber you get depends on how much you are willing to spend on a wig, I don't know what fibers are used in cheap wigs, but elora and kanekalon are fibers that I have wigs of. I can't really give a personal preference however, as the kanekalon wigs I have are very long and thus I am bias toward my short tangle free elora wigs.
Kankelon seems silkier, but I also think it may be thinner, which means more individual strands for the same bulkiness and thus more to brush (I may be totally wrong about that).

Is it comfortable wearing a wig?
I don't notice it at all after ten minutes. Some people claim it gets itchy? But maybe that's because they're not wearing a wig cap or the fiber that the wig's made of is not the best?
This depends on several factors:

The quality of the wig
If the inside of the wig is constructed nicely then it will be more comfortable than a cheap wig, also the different fibers may be more or less scratchy than others.

The length of the wig
A very long wig can be heavy and can get caught on things and thus irritate you or pull on your own head (through pins etc holding it or anything else onto the wig)

Whether or not the wig has a fringe
If a wig has a fringe it will probably get in your eyes, this can be scratchy/irritating because wig fiber is essentially plastic, it is not real hair. (unless you have a human hair wig....)

The temperature
This one is a given, the more hair you have piled up under your wig the hotter your head will be, and wearing a wig in and of itself is like wearing a hat.

How do you wash a wig?/General cleaning care instructions?
Generally your wig will come with instructions. But the generally you wash it in lukewarm/cold water with a little bit of shampoo in it. Rinse && then hang somewhere to dry. [Uh... Atleast that's what I do? Dx]
Your wig will probably come with care instructions, however I wash my wigs by filling a bucket with warm water and dunking them in, then I rub some shampoo into them and rinse it off, then leave it hanging to dry (e.g. on a wig head positioned so that the hair is hanging straight), with something underneath to catch the drips ^_^, after about 24 hours it should be dry.

Brushing a wig requires a little more care, I have found that rinsing out a wig and leaving it to dry like above can help with brushing out tangles (may depend on wig fiber) I also have a wig brush, and a random thick tooth comb that works well for brushing wigs, remember that unlike your hair, any wig hair that you rip out isn't going to grow back!

What not to use on a wig;

Any sort of hairgel that's supposed to be used on 'real' human hair, as the gel is designed to adhere to the porosity of normal hair and since wigs don't possess that quality, the gel is pretty much useless and just messes up the fibres.
Any type of heat, unless it's on a very, very, very low setting, and even then it's unadvisable. Straightening is possible without a straightener by using hot water, and there are plenty of tutorials about that online.
Normal hair dye. i haven't actually tested this out but i'm fairly sure the chemicals inside normal hair dyes would just cause the wig fibres to melt. There are other ways of changing wig colours though, for instance, sharpies.

What to use on a wig;

Hairspray. Any kind of budget hairspray is fine and is normally what i use, and it doesn't cost you through the roof. Got2bglued is very good as well, though i've yet to try it- heard lots of good things though.
Hot water, to straighten should you wish. Cheap!
Wig detangler. if your wig is longer than shoulder length, you're going to have problems with keeping it untangled. I'm not sure if you can buy this in new zealand, but it's possible to purchase it from overseas and it's very worth having.
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By **JVCA**. 17/09/08, 11:15 pm

I would like to add: NEVER USE A PLASTIC BRUSH ON A WIG. You can't just use a normal plastic toothed hair brush on a wig, or else they get frizzy like nothing else, and you can't fix it. Use a metal toothed brush ideally, or a wooden toothed one (I think) is also okay. Also, with the hairties thing - cloth hairties, especially the ones with the little metal bits in them will screw up your wig, but those tiny disposable silicon hair ties seem to be okay I think. o_O
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By **jpwise**. 18/09/08, 12:21 am

Hrm, good point, I wouldn't have thought of that. plastic on (essentially) plastic and it'll build a static charge, and yeah, tend to go frizzy.

Quick google search on wig static seems to confirm it. Someone reckoned they spray static guard on the wig when it's starting to get frizzy and to help with brushing out tangles. Also a few mentions of fibre oil conditioners that help get rid of static.

By **Duckeh**. 18/09/08, 12:58 am

By **JVCA**. 18/09/08, 01:08 am

Oooo~ Might have to find some static spray guard, then, and see if that might save my poor Misa/Hopefully-Flonne-If-I-Can-Save-It wig. @_@
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The Biscuit Brigade
http://kevan.org/johari?name=jvca
♥ Midsummer-Snow - Nana to my Hachi ♥

By **seraphik**. 18/09/08, 01:35 pm

what not to use on a wig;

any sort of hairgel that's supposed to be used on 'real' human hair, as the gel is designed to adhere to the porosity of normal hair and since wigs don't possess that quality, the gel is pretty much useless and just messes up the fibres.
any type of heat, unless it's on a very, very, very low setting, and even then it's unadvisable. straightening is possible without a straightener by using hot water, and there are plenty of tutorials about that online.
normal hair dye. i haven't actually tested this out but i'm fairly sure the chemicals inside normal hair dyes would just cause the wig fibres to melt. there are other ways of changing wig colours though, for instance, sharpies.

what TO use on a wig;

hairspray. any kind of budget hairspray is fine and is normally what i use, and it doesn't cost you through the roof. got2bglued is very good as well, though i've yet to try it- heard lots of good things though.
hot water, to straighten should you wish. cheap!
wig detangler. if your wig is longer than shoulder length, you're going to have problems with keeping it untangled. i'm not sure if you can buy this in new zealand, but it's possible to purchase it from overseas and it's very worth having.
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By Pura. 18/09/08, 06:59 pm

I would rather get told how to cut wigs >__>
*phails*

One day, I will master wig cutting and styling!!
Styling isn't too hard. Got2B is great xD. I had so much trying to style a wig that Berry lent me more than a year ago xDDD.

By Rolly. 16/12/08, 03:24 am

OH OH NEW QUESTIONS!!!
Please? :3

Can you get the preset curls out of a wig?

Some advice for cutting a wig to your needs if it's not the right length/style?

Storage instructions with limited space?

Wig cap? What do they offer?

OMG WHAT IF MY WIG KEEPS FALLING OFF DURING THE BIG DAY, WHADDA I DO? *panics*

By **Aurellion**. 16/12/08, 12:10 pm

Can you get the preset curls out of a wig?
Yes you can - just use the hot water straightening method: http://www.wikihow.com/Straighten-Curls-on-a-Wig . Note that the final result probably won't be stick straight however - it will probably have a bit of a wave to it. Though you can repeat the process a few times though~ :)

Some advice for cutting a wig to your needs if it's not the right length/style?
Don't cut horizontally - cut "up" into the fibre vertically. This prevents it looking too blunt & fake - it will feather it slightly and soften the edges. You might want to invest in thinning scissors & a hair razor - like this: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=188761205 . This will layer the wig, and unless you're going for a blunt, perfectly straight look, will just make it look more natural. :)

Storage instructions with limited space?
For wigs that have no heavy styling to them, turn them inside out so that the hair is now inside the cap, as opposed to coming off it. Put it in a ziplock bag then and you're ready to go~! I suggest investing in a snap box/general boxy storage thing from payless plastics, as you can then put all your wigs in their as they don't stack to well: the bags are slippy & wigs are lumpy. For wigs that have got heavy styling, I think your best bet is to store them on wig heads on a shelf. Then again, there's bound to be more space efficient ways for storing heavy styled wigs - I'll do some digging. whee

Wig cap? What do they offer?
Please buy a wig cap! gonk

They really help with concealing your real hair, and offer a place to pin the wig into - even if you where bald, I'd say to get a wig cap heh. >> If you're trying to save some money and not buy a wig cap - don't. :) They make such a difference, and aren't really that expensive anyway! Plus you can re-use them - just make sure you get them in a natural colour so you don't have problems with having a purple cap underneath a blonde wig. A black cap would be fine, but purple? Somehow not...

OMG WHAT IF MY WIG KEEPS FALLING OFF DURING THE BIG DAY, WHADDA I DO? *panics*
Your wig won't fall off if you put it on properly. :) Make sure all your hair is spread evenly over your head, as opposed to in one lump at the back - this just means the wig can evenly cling to your head. For added security, pin in it into your wig cap with pins - there's a specific type of pin that's good for this, but the name eludes me at the moment. >< I'm sure someone else around here will know the kind...
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By azeria. 16/12/08, 03:33 pm

Here's some good tutorials I found on dA ^.^

Pincurling Hair
Putting on a Wig Cap
Putting on a Wig

By Leeni. 16/12/08, 03:35 pm

I have a question. It goes like; what are things you should look for and take into consideration when purchasing wigs of sites of which reputations could be in doubt, or entirely unknown such as vendors on eBay?

By **Aurellion**. 16/12/08, 04:02 pm

~ check the sellers feedback.
~ check if you can pay with paypal (if you can't, it's a sign they're a dud.)
~ ask on coscom to see if the seller is reputable - just doing a quick search, I got these results: http://www.cosplay.com/search.php?searchid=2905023
~ be aware that it will be a very mixed bag. You'll get some brilliant wigs and some crap wigs - same goes for buying from Cosworx, I'm afraid. Neutral

To be honest, I've had more success with Ebay than Cosworx, but the advantage of Cosworx is their consistent range and customer service.
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co-founder of clan biscuit

"the art of conversation is like, kinda dead and stuff."

By Lost in Shangri-La. 14/01/09, 09:05 pm

so where can we buy wigs other than trademe and ebay? any more links?

By **Auroa**. 16/01/09, 09:24 am

For NZ links;
NZ's hairplus had some, I bought one of mine from them. Though their website seems to have gone offline unless its my computer. http://www.hairplus.co.nz/

Minifies online shop (or their stores): https://www.minifies.co.nz/

Wig FX has a few but the majority are rather expensive :/ http://www.wigfx.co.nz

There's look sharp, which I only just found, it has the cheap kind though: http://www.looksharpstore.co.nz/catalogsearch/result/index/?q=wig&p=1

General (world) online stores, I only know of cosworx which is apparently good, I know a lot of people who have bought from there http://cosworx.com/home.php
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By Rolly. 19/02/09, 09:42 pm

This is a really really, really stupid question but - what happens when you try to bleach a wig...? :O