CostumeCon32 – Working With Wigs

• Brand wigs are better
• arda-wigs.com, epiccosplay.com, wowwigs.com
• Measure your head
• Check what size the wig is – if it doesn’t say, email customer service
• Get a pair of hair cutting scissors and a razor comb
• Cheapest hair spray you can find (Dollar Store)
• Hair Spike glue is good, gel is bad
• Don’t cut wigs strait across it’s too blunt
• Section off the hair you want to cut, cut down and on an angle, go back in and thin/trim/pretty it later
• If you use a razor comb change the blade after each use. It WILL dull FAST and damage wings
• Thinning scissors are good to have
• Can use a clothes steamer to detangle a matted wig
• Lots of online cutting tutorials – epiccosplay.com
• For bangs/short front pieces, put the wig on, bobby pin slightly longer than you want the bangs to be, take the wig off, put it on the foam head, then cut.
• Pin wig onto the foam head for stability using straight pins – pin temples, forehead, behind the ears and nape of neck
• If you’re making a ponytail, pre-brush wig, then with wig pinned to foam head (you’ll need a friend) use your hands to gently bring hair into a pony tail and secure with a hair elastic – preferably the kind with the plastic balls on the end so you can clip it together
• If you’re putting a pony tail on the top of your head, you’ll need a base – they sell them
• Heat style with a clothes steamer or hot water
• To make spikes, back comb gently, then hair spray in light coats, or use a spiking glue, or Elmer’s white glue – NOT the water soluble kind; secure the tip of the spike with a little hot glue to make permanent
• Can also use clear caulking instead of glue

Curling & Straightening

• Wigs take shape during the cooling process
• Detangle long wigs with a clothes steamer, or an afro pic and patience
• Can also straighten wigs by pinning to a foam head, and then pouring boiling water onto it and letting it dry
• Use a short women’s wig for men’s wigs – they’re cheaper and usually better made
• Can cut wefts out of one wig and add to another if you want/need a super full wig
• Don’t sew too tightly

Colouring Wigs

• Methanol and sharpies work best
• Break sharpie open, take out the ink cylinder foam thing, add that part to a spray bottle of methanol (small)
• The ink will bleed into the alcohol them you can spray the colour lightly onto the wig until you get the look you want
• After 24hrs rinse freshly coloured wig gently in cold water to remove any excess dye

Who’s worked with wigs?

Cutting? Dying? Curling? Styling?

How did it go?

It Takes A Village To Cosplay!

Earla Alara