How To Get Tangles Out Of A Wig

If y'all've ever worn a long wig for a cosplay, this trouble will sound familiar: wigs tangle chop-chop, and brushing them afterwards tin can often accept longer than the photoshoot itself!

Equally annoying every bit it is, you should brand it a habit to detangle knotted wigs before yous wear them once again. In this tutorial, I will showtime explain the procedure for direct and heavily matted wigs, followed by tips for curly and wavy wigs.

High german version: Dieses Tutorial erscheint auf Deutsch als Gastbeitrag in SajaLyns Cosplay Weblog.

How to castor a wig

To make your job a whole lot easier, spray the wig thoroughly with wig conditioner start and let it air dry out. You can use a production specifically for synthetic hair wigs – such as „Wig Wonder" from myCostumes – or any „oil sheen" spray from an ethnic beauty supply store. These products leave a slippery pic on the fiber, but won't rub off onto your clothes later.

My 120cm long Sailor Pluto wig. I've worn and detangled this wig about a dozen times and information technology's all the same in peak shape!

Impatient wig wearers will oft try to comb through the wig with force, because they only desire to get done with it. Unfortunately, this makes the tangles worse.

Section off 1 strand at a fourth dimension for detangling and clip the remaining hair to the side with a sectioning clip. Endeavor detangling the wig with your fingers first in order to separate major knots. Get-go at the tips and work your way up, so you won't end up pushing the tangles from top to bottom.

detangling brushes and comb — Tools to detangle a wig: Extension brush, tangle teazer and wide-tooth comb

Just and then practise you lot offset using a castor or comb. The correct tool is key: I recommend using a broad-tooth comb or a detangling brush (Tangle Teazer) with short, parallel bristles. Fine combs are OK for styling, but they tear too much at the fibers when you lot use them for detangling. Also, most brushes for humans are less than ideal for synthetic hair wigs, because they are meant to castor out loose hair. Synthetic hair, yet, is made of plastic, which stretches, deforms and snaps when pulled also hard.

Castor the wig carefully and do non use brute forcefulness. (Photos from my book: Wigs 101)

How to straighten a wig

You should snip out or straighten any kinked and damaged fibers. To straighten synthetic pilus, oestrus it briefly with a flat iron, hair dryer or hot water. 70–85°C (160–185°F) is the prophylactic temperature for Kanekalon (a mutual synthetic fiber), while extra heat-resistant wigs can tolerate more than.

If you use a straightening iron, pull it swiftly over the cobweb and never stop, otherwise you lot take a chance causing heat damage.

A blow dryer is safer, particularly for beginners, because the air doesn't go as hot. Directly the warm air onto the wig fiber from above, while gently pulling it taut with a comb or castor. Don't pull on the fiber too much in the process, or you risk stretching it. Brushing gently while the hair is all the same warm is enough to smooth it out.

In one case the whole wig is untangled plenty for the pilus to hang freely, y'all may use hot water to straighten the wig in one go. Heat water to 85°C (185°F) max, and pour it over the area that you lot want to straighten. Go out out the bangs and the tiptop of the wig, otherwise they will exist flattened.

Allow the wig air dry before brushing it. If it is withal wavy, repeat the process with slightly hotter h2o, or finish the work with a pilus dryer or apartment iron.

Straightening a wig with a apartment iron, blow dryer estrus and a brush, or hot water. (Photos from my books: Wigs 3D & Wigs 101)

How to care for curls

When curls and waves are heavily matted, they are more difficult to detangle than a directly wig. That's why information technology's even more important to intendance for them afterwards each article of clothing.

Equally a first assist measure, lightly spritz the curls with water or liquid conditioner for synthetic wigs. Pick a unmarried curl and run your easily over it to smooth out the fly-abroad hair. If that'south not enough, castor the strand first until the pilus is aligned, then smooth information technology out with your hand.

Now wrap the strand effectually your fingers to return the ringlet to its original shape. In one case you let the curl slide off your finger, you'll accept a beautifully defined ringlet once more. Since curls are heat-formed, the retention of the plastic cobweb ensures that the curls volition bounciness back into that shape, fifty-fifty when they get wet.

curly wig — Speitz with wig conditioner or water to control wing-away hair

However, if your wig is desperately matted, y'all'll demand to comb out each individual roll and smooth out the frizzy ends with a blow dryer or straightening iron. Then wrap the hot fiber around your fingers to reshape the ringlet. Hold it in shape for a few seconds while it cools.

In severe cases, it'south sometimes faster to untangle and straighten the entire wig – as shown with the straight wig – and so restyle it from scratch. You tin can apply plastic rollers and hot water or steam to roll an entire wig in i go.

Employ hot water or steam to put curls or a body wave into a whole wig. Step-by-step tutorial in my book, Wigs 3D.

The perfect cease

When you're done restyling the wig, set up the style with a generous amount of hairspray or hair lacquer. This will keep information technology neat and defined for longer. And don't forget to coat the tips and the underside of the wig with hairspray. This is where your wig is most probable to tangle considering it'due south constantly rubbing against your costume. Hairspray holds the fibers together and protects against static.

When you lot store for wigs, go along in heed that high-quality wig fiber is by and large easier to untangle. Don't skimp on quality for long and thick wigs!

Selection the fiber that works best for y'all and your project. Some wig brands have extra smooth and slippery cobweb that makes for easier detangling, like Arda Wigs' „silky" line. While coarse fiber is more often than not easier to tease, spike and style with hairspray, information technology is also more prone to tangling. You can't accept information technology all…

For step-past-pace guides to wig styling, check out my latest book, Wigs 3D!

Source: https://wigs101.com/how-to-detangle-wigs