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As a cosplayer, you definitely find out that one of the most important parts of your costume is your wig. On this blog, I will share some cosplay wigs care tips and hacks to keep your cosplay wig fresh and in top shape.
Wigs are fickle. You invested the time, effort, and money to find a perfect wig in the perfect color or cut, but it’s not easy. You also need to make sure that the fiber is going to hold up to whatever your hairstyle is.
After we have the perfect wig for our cons, how can we make our wigs stay in good status for more times? Here are some tips for cosplay wigs care.
Cosplay Wigs After Care
I personally suggest washing your wigs after about 2 to 3 uses or when the wig looks tangled.
1. Drench and gently clean your wig.
It’s important that when you are washing the wig, confirm the water heat, cuz heat can change the shape of your wig by relaxing the fibers. So definitely choose lukewarm water or cool water to clean your wig. Fill your sink with lukewarm water and then take some shampoo (professional wig shampoo would do more good) or even laundry soap to create a fairly foam.
Lay your wig slowly submerge away into the water and allow it to become completely saturated make sure the netting on your wig is also saturated with your hands inside the netting of the cap and hold it open, the whole process is really simple. Gently swish your wig around in the water without scrubbing it, cus wet fibers are super easy to damage, which is why you need to be cautious. Make sure you thoroughly clean the netting with the wave gently swishing.
Longer wigs supply the exact same steps too, but when you’re working on a longer wig, you can clean it in smaller sections. Scrub your wig gently with your hands to make it clean. And then let it soak for about 20 minutes or longer wait depending on your wig.
2. Completely dry your cosplay wigs
Once you are done with the sinking, just run your way under some cold running water rinse until there’s no soap residue left, and gently squeeze the water from your wig. Place a regular bath towel on the floor or table and press down the wig to dry it off of it.
Please don’t rub your wig because that’s just going to tangle it more. You can lay down a towel underneath hangers and hang it up for drying or brushing. Make sure your wig is completely dry without using a hair blower or heat. Place the washed wig somewhere avoiding heat, dirt, and sunshine. It might take up 3-4 days to totally make it dry. Now we play the waiting game. After you will get a nicely washed wig.
3. Detangle your wigs
A normal brush will pull out the fibers and stretch them out and which is not good. But a wide-tooth comb will help detangle instead of pulling out the fibers. It’s OK to brush them or comb them when they’re wet, but you have to be really careful because the fibers are more fragile when they’re wet. So they are more easily stretched out. One thing to note, you want to start from the bottom and work your way up with patience, because if you start at the top and just push all the knots to the bottom and the wig gonna be really messy.
4. Use some spray to keep the wig smooth
Some light spray really helps the fibers to stay separated and not tangle while you’re wearing it. So when you use spray, you want to make sure that most of the strands are covered. After you have done treating long wigs with moist spray, hang them back up in the bathroom and let it dry for about 2 or 3 days, depending on how much spray you put on it, and how long the wig is.
Recommended wig styling tools:
Wide-tooth comb+smaller comb: Once you’ve combed through the entire wig with your wide-tooth comb and there are no snags left. And get the smaller comb to detangle it again.
Light sprays: The sprays of it is a very fine, gentle mist.
Dry shampoo: Help to remove the fake shiny of your wig.
Foam rollers: Synthetical wig actually styles with cooling instead of heating. So you can curl your wigs by taking a small section, running a hair straightener over it fairly quickly so it just gets a little warm, and then wrap the section in foam rollers and then just leave it overnight and let it completely, cool and when you take it off the fibers will have cooled into that perfect curl shape.
Alligator clips: Help you to separate all the different sections on your wig
Color teeny tiny elastics: They can help you to do the hairstyle tricks, and with plenty of colors of them you can blend into almost any wig.
Storing your cosplay wigs
1. Use a hairnet before storing the wig
When you receive your cosplay wig, it’s wrapped in a hair net. Always keep the little hairnet with you. It will help you a lot while storing your hair set. When you packing your wig, use the hairnet to wrap it up from the head and fold it gently. When your wig is super long, you could braid it up and gently tuck it inside of the wig cap. Make sure all hairpieces are packed into the hairnet, so no tangle will be caused after.
2. Store your cosplay wig in a plastic bag
Then you could use the hairnet to wrap it around and put it into a plastic bag and label it. Or transparent wig bags, lots of wig bags even come with a hanger that you could hang your wig in your wardrobe.
3. Use a wig headstand for complicated wig
When the wig is heavily styled with a big updo on top or complicated style. The storing becomes troublesome. Simply putting it into the bag will crush it so you can consider of put it on a foam head, and securing it with sticks. A pin through the top so it will stay put and then you could put the wig head on a shelf.
A plastic bag over it will prevent dust from getting on it. If you need to travel with your wig, there’s also another kind of assembled plastic head. This kind of stand is really great for travel because it stores completely flat, but then you can just pop it up when you need it.
4. Store by using a wig case
If you don’t have a big space for all that cosplay wigs collection, and also don’t want your wig out of shape while storing it. You could consider having wig cases to store them.
They are designed with ultra-portable and durable material. A zipper enclosure keeps your hair away from dust, the inner net secures your hair sets from movement. The leather hand strap of it makes it easy to carry. In medium-size cases, you can lay the wig cap on the wig headset. It makes transporting your wig becomes easier, too.
More wig storing tips, please check our blog: 7 Fantastic Wig Storage Ideas that You Might Need
Hope this blog can give you some ideas on how to care and maintain your cosplay wigs. Please share your thoughts with me.