In our world today, a wig is a common accessory. Many women wear wigs for different reasons. Styling the wig is next to wearing them. There so many ways one can style wigs. You can make it straight, curly, braid it or pack it into a ponytail. To some people, this is a Herculean task, but it is not supposed to be so because unlike a human head, wigs are flexible; you can place the wig on the mannequin and style it yourself. Also, getting your wig styled by yourself before the event proper would not just save costs for you. This article would clearly explain how you can style your wigs whether synthetic other human hair without having to visit the stylist.
To style your wig, you need to first ascertain the origin of the wig: some wigs of some particular origin would be best styled in a particular way. Synthetic hair would not be styled the same way as the human hair.
Human hair wigs
For styling your human hair wig, you need the wig, a mannequin head, hair rollers or curling iron and a wig brush or comb.
The following steps would guide you in styling your human hair wig:
- Wear the wig over the mannequin head and arrange it until you get a perfect fit as it would be on a human head.
- Cut off the excess lace that comes out at the front of the wig. The lace must be trimmed to achieve a natural look. Take extra care in cutting off the lace so you do not trim the wig. For the process to be achieved, there is need for your hand to be steady while working with a good pair of scissors.
- While on this, cut a small portion at a time. This requires a lot of patience to get a perfect work done. Trying to cut off all the parts of the lace may not come out well.
- After cutting off the lace, define the parting. If you would want it to be parted at the centre or side of the hair, use your fine-toothed comb to do the parting neatly. Keep reinforcing the separation with the comb.
- Wet the hair to make for easy styling. Wetting the hair is best for achieving hairstyles like perm rod sets or rollers sets. You can apply hair lotion or styling foam to make the hair smooth. Remember to be gentle while handling the hair.
- For a curly hairstyle, use hair rollers to roll the hair and set it with a hair spray or diluted setting lotion. The setting lotion would keep the hair moist and makes the hair adhere to the effect of the roll when the hair dries.
- If you have rough and fuzzy edges, use your wet hands to smoothen the edges and apply a good hair oil, shea butter is recommended. The oil gives the hair a natural shine. If you would want to bring out the baby hair, it is at this stage that you pick the front hair and brush it in the direction of your choice while applying edge control.
- When you are done with the above step, air dry the wig. Do not use a blow dryer to dry your wig. Blow dryer would dry out the wig and subsequently damage it.
- Remove the rollers when the hair is properly dried. The curls would remain.
- Apply a shinning spray to the wig to add to its shine.
Human hair wig can be restyled using a flat iron, curling iron, blow dryer or electric rollers on medium heat. It can also be dyed, bleached or straightened to look like the natural hair. Only make sure to use a good conditioner to extend the life span of the wig.
Synthetic wigs
It doesn’t take much effort to maintain synthetic wigs. This is because they come with their styles. You can buy and use your wig for a long period of time without having to restyle it. It holds the style for a long time. When synthetic wigs are washed, the styling is not lost. It bounces back to the way it was once it is dried. This implies that you do not need to worry too much about styling your synthetic wigs as you would do to the human hair wigs.
Despite the fact that you do not need style to your synthetic wig often, there are simple procedures you can follow to make your wig looking new. To style your synthetic wig, you need a leave-in condition, wig shampoo, wide-toothed comb, a wig stand, a towel, a mannequin head, a spray bottle filled with water, and a blow dryer.
These steps would help you in styling your synthetic wigs:
- Wash and dry the wig
Detangle the hair with a wide-toothed comb. Wash the wig properly and dry it on the wig stand. Any other tall item around the house can serve, if you do not have a wig stand. Do not wring the wig and as it may cause tangling. Do not comb the wig fully in the wet state; it may stretch and tangle the wig when it dries. Allow the wig enough time to dry so that the wig cap can dry as well.
- Styling
When the wig is properly dried, place it on a mannequin head and secure it tightly. Using this tool would help you concentrate on the sides of the heads as you would do to a real head. Use your fingers to arrange the hairs the way you would want and hold down the style with a shaping cream. You can part the hair if your top wig is a monofilament and has not been parted before. Use a wide-toothed comb to make the part while spraying some water.
- Use a blow dry on a low heat setting to dry the root toward the styled direction. Make sure not to over heat the blow-dry else, it burns the fibre.
- Use your toothed comb to detangle once again. There may be need to carry the comb along with you so you would detangle the hair once the need arises especially if your wig is a long one.
Do not use styling tools like curling iron or straightener on your synthetic wigs as they are not meant to withstand a hot temperature.
Now you can style your wigs, feel free to carry out the experiments.