How to make wig styling easier: hacks edition
Okay so I really like styling wigs, I haven’t done heaps of crazy styles yet but I’m excited to! I wanted to put together a quick list of some of the things I do and tools I use specifically to make my life easier. This is less about styling itself, and more a general overview!
So firstly, the biggest thing I can recommend is working out what quality wig you need for a project. This is going to affect your budget, the final look, and really how easy a time you are going to have styling. If you’re doing heavy styling, I’d recommend a thicker wig, or combining a couple, to give yourself a solid base, whereas for more natural hair thinner can look more realistic! I normally get my wigs from somewhere like Arda Wigs or Wig Is Fashion for heavy styling, just so I can guarantee matching wefts. Otherwise eBay can be great for cheap, usually thin, options! Also buy/swap/sell groups.
Literally the biggest thing I can recommed is starting with a good base. It’s better to take longer to find something that is the right colour and thickness. Too long is fine, but if it’s too thin you’re going to have to be willing to add wefts, and trying to alter colour takes a lot of testing and trying. Having a solid base to start with will just avoid so many issues later on.
Where possible, heat resistant wigs will generally be better. If you aren’t sure, test a strand at the back, but being able to use a hairdryder to set things is just the only way to get some things to work. You need to literally heat the plastic to reshape it, so if you get control over this it’ll help so much.
Quick and dirty way to make an eBay wig look more realisitc is acrylic paint. Most expensive wigs have colour variation, so painting your wig with highlights and lowlights is cheap, and makes a huge difference! Copic markers work beautifully too, but that’s expensive and I have so much paint already…
TOOLS! Very important, but really, how much do you actually need? Honestly, there are probably 4 things I use regularly, and only 1 of those really needs to be decent. So, the things I absolutely recommend as must haves that will make your life significantly easier:
Dog brush. Specifically a slicker. Yes yes I know. But trust me. These things have the durability, large surface area, bristles that all face in the same direction, and importantly, metal bristles. They are designed to deal with rougher hair than a normal brush, help smooth the fibres without breaking them, and you get to have a fun conversation with the assistant about why you’re buying it. I use this one:https://www.petbarn.com.au/animates-cushion-slicker-dog-brush and I love it. Will make brushing wigs way easier. You are allowed to yell at me if it doesn’t.
Wig head. If you can afford it and plan to to a lot of ventilating, wefting, big styling, the canvas ones are brilliant (Like this one from Lumin’s Workshop: https://www.luminsworkshop.com/collections/wig-styling/products/wig-head , I have this and an ebay one). Otherwise the styrofoam ones are great for basics! Just need something you can anchor it to. Pin the hell out of it, you can’t hurt it. Unlike a live model, they don’t appreciate being pinned….
Teasing brush/pick. These go together as they tend to come as the same tool. A teasing brush will just make teasing so much cleaner and faster, it’s a bunch of stiff bristles that let you tease large areas at once, and it’s soft enough to smooth the top layer to keep it neat. Pick is literally just something thin to let you part the sections neatly, particularly important for keeping your work neat, and wefting. Something like this works: https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/104689/lady-jayne-11001-teasing-brush
Clips. Last but not least, you gotta be able to keep hair up and out of your way. and not those sweet little flat base good for waves clips. Oh no. Chonky alligator monsters that grab and hold those suckers and keep everything solid. This is important. Nothing worse than being mid way through a complicated braid and the rest of the hair falls on you. Not fun. Mine are different brand but same deal to these: https://www.luminsworkshop.com/collections/wig-styling/products/styling-clips-alligator-clips-6ct
GENERAL STUFF
Okay, so by no means comprehensive, but without diving into specific techniques, here are a few things I do that just make my life easier while I’m doing things.
Don’t be afraid of the brush. Unless your wig is super thin and you need to preserve every single strand, brush that shit at every opportunity, or it will tangle. I brush as I section, after I release a section, after I finish an area, basically whenever I can. If the ends frizz, they can be cut gently at the end, but keeping it detangled as you go is much easier than trying to do it all at the end. Even if all you do is take it out of the bag, at least brush it.
Speaking of brushing, start at the bottom of the strands, and work up to the root. I think most people with long hair do this anyway, but you want to gently ease the knots out, not stack them all into a massive snarl.
Scour op shops for a tripod. I’m sure you could build a similar thing out of PVC pipes or something, but being able to have your wig at your height is so much easier. I’ve done too much floor and couch wefting my back hurts. Stabilising on a table is good, but you need to be able to rotate around it.
Section section section. If you aren’t doing things to that bit of hair, clip it out of the way. It’'ll keep everything tidier, be less stressful because you can focus on the one thing, and help you be precise.
Practice. Remember those cheap wigs? Beat the hell out of them. Tease, paint, practice braiding, practice whatever you are trying to do. They might not hold it as well, but at least you can get a feel for it. Better to screw it up there than on the final. This especially goes for cutting.
Take your time if you can. This sounds dumb. But wigs are plastic. You can half set a style, come back 3 weeks later, and it’ll still be exactly the same, especially if it’s heat set. Give yourself a lot of time, walk away when it gets too much, and redo it as much as you need to. I’ve styled my Aloy wig 5 times over 3 months to reach the final style. It needed it and got better each time.
This is a pretty quick and dirty overview, but hopefully something helps! I plan on doing a few more of these focusing on things I’m confident with, probably braiding, wefting, and swoopy fringes, so stay tuned, and my inbox is always open if you have any questions!
