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DigitalDimensionCosplay :: DigitalDimensionCosplay :: Cosplay Advice and Tutorials :: Care and Maintenance of Long Wigs!
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AuthorTopic: Care and Maintenance of Long Wigs! (Read 176 times)
DugFinn
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Care and Maintenance of Long Wigs!
« Thread Started on Nov 29, 2007, 4:06pm »
Some tips on how to care for Long Wigs
(although this applies to medium and short wigs too).

NEVER comb a wet LONG wig while it's fighting gravity!!!
In other words, do not wet it, especially with hot water, then comb it while it's standing up. This stretches the fibers (which are weakened because of the water's heat and the hair's own heaviness as gravity pulls it down) and will either weaken the strength of the strand, which leads to frizz from the depths of hell, which leads to even more tangling, and can break the strands too.

You comb long hair while it's laying on the floor so you don't damage it. Lay it out straight on smooth floors like: wood, marble, tile, etc. Not on carpet. Then get all the major tangles out. Once that's done, hang it on a wig head and stick it on a pole or something high so it can flow down. If you don't have a wig head, get one. You will need one. The longer the hair, the more you'll desperately need it to be on a wig head.

[image]

Now, here is the secrete to keeping looooong hair tangle free.... Oil sheen. I have a six foot silver white Sephiroth wig that's perfectly tangle free because it's been treated with oil sheen. I can wave it around on it's seven foot pole (and I do) and it still stays tangle free. Buy a Oil sheen of your choice. I go to Sallys/Walmart and buy Motion's brand Oil sheen Conditioning Spray, it's cheap and effective so it's the one I recommend.

[image]

Fully spray the wig and comb it starting from the tips up towards the top. Spray it as much as you want. In fact, spray it till it's super oily and you're like, "I think I sprayed too much." The oil synthetically mimics the natural oils in human hair which is why human hair doesn't tangle and why wig hair does. So, putting in synthetic oil tricks the wig into not getting tangled. Leave it alone for about two or three days. You'll notice that the plastic "absorbs" the oil and it actually starts to look and feel like real human hair. Spray it again and comb it. Leave it alone for another few days and do it one more time.

There you're done. You just treated a wig with oil. It won't look or feel oily either. It will actually feel and look real now. It should stay tangle free for the whole con and will last you for years now.

By the way, you must use a wide tooth comb. You can buy it at Sally's for $1. I've never checked to see if Wal-mart has them, but they probably do. NEVER use a brush. A brush will pull out the wig hair strands and it can also frizz the wig up too. You can use a normal comb on short hair wigs, but you need a wide tooth comb for long hair. Otherwise, you might end up putting unnecessary tension on the fiber and that will stretch them and we already covered why that's bad. Also, it'll make life easier because you can just comb it faster and easier with a wide tooth comb. It's just way more effective.

[image]

To clean the wig (which you should only have to do if absolutely necessary every few years), just dip it into a bathtub full of cold, slightly soapy water. Swish around trying to keep the hair from tangling and rise off. Put it on the wig head and pat dry. Let it air dry. NEVER comb long wig hair while wet. This can ruin the quality, frizz it, break the strands, and just plain ruin the wig. Comb it after it's dry. Treat it with oil sheen again.
« Last Edit: Apr 20, 2009, 8:44pm by DugFinn »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
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axel8
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Re: Care and Maintenance of Long Wigs!
« Reply #1 on Jul 5, 2009, 10:56pm »
Okay you say to use oil sheen [needs to get some for Grell wig xD] But my friend uses olive oil.
Will this still work as well, or will it ruin the wigs after a while?
:/
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DugFinn
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Re: Care and Maintenance of Long Wigs!
« Reply #2 on Jul 9, 2009, 7:26am »

Jul 5, 2009, 10:56pm, axel8 wrote:
Okay you say to use oil sheen [needs to get some for Grell wig xD] But my friend uses olive oil.
Will this still work as well, or will it ruin the wigs after a while?
:/
In all honesty, both work well.

The only difference is that Oil Sheen has synthetic oil, so it technically can't go "bad" like food might over time so wigs done with Olive oil might have to get washed sooner than wigs with Oil Sheen due to residual built-up (Olive oil is WAY thicker than oil sheen, that's why).

Olive oil becomes dull or matt looking sooner than oil sheen too because it stays "oily" longer and picks up more dust from the air. Oil sheen stays lubricated, but dries at the same time so it doesn't collect dust and so it stays shinier longer.

Also small creatures like ants and rats and such won't try to go after it, haha. Oil sheen equals bad taste. Olive oil equals yum yum, heh.

Oh, and when it comes in an aerosol can it's easy to travel with and extremely easy to apply (just point and shoot and you're done). So if you've already styled a wig and you can't risk touching it too much, but you want it to shine, you can spray it with oil sheen, but you can't comb olive oil through it (because it's already styled).

They also add nice smelling stuffz to most oil sheens, so that may or may not be a plus I guess.

I'd use oil sheen just because it's honestly easier to use, but both will technically work.
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axel8
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Re: Care and Maintenance of Long Wigs!
« Reply #3 on Jul 15, 2009, 11:27pm »

Jul 9, 2009, 7:26am, DugFinn wrote:

Jul 5, 2009, 10:56pm, axel8 wrote:
Okay you say to use oil sheen [needs to get some for Grell wig xD] But my friend uses olive oil.
Will this still work as well, or will it ruin the wigs after a while?
:/
In all honesty, both work well.

The only difference is that Oil Sheen has synthetic oil, so it technically can't go "bad" like food might over time so wigs done with Olive oil might have to get washed sooner than wigs with Oil Sheen due to residual built-up (Olive oil is WAY thicker than oil sheen, that's why).

Olive oil becomes dull or matt looking sooner than oil sheen too because it stays "oily" longer and picks up more dust from the air. Oil sheen stays lubricated, but dries at the same time so it doesn't collect dust and so it stays shinier longer.

Also small creatures like ants and rats and such won't try to go after it, haha. Oil sheen equals bad taste. Olive oil equals yum yum, heh.

Oh, and when it comes in an aerosol can it's easy to travel with and extremely easy to apply (just point and shoot and you're done). So if you've already styled a wig and you can't risk touching it too much, but you want it to shine, you can spray it with oil sheen, but you can't comb olive oil through it (because it's already styled).

They also add nice smelling stuffz to most oil sheens, so that may or may not be a plus I guess.

I'd use oil sheen just because it's honestly easier to use, but both will technically work.

Alright then.
Thanks.
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