So, as you guys hopefully are aware of, I am an avid wig wearer. Above are my babies and I wear them almost daily, though, the pink one a bit more so. So, by the end of the month they're a frizzy crunchy mess.
Well, I can't just go buying another wig, nor can I just willy-nilly take a curling iron to them since they're synthetic, meaning, they're made of plastic. There are steps to take before I can bring them back to life, per say and a certain way to curl them.
Ouch. This is how my pink one looks up close~
My lavender one isn't faring that well either. [This will be the first time for me to wash her, so there is a different way of treating her, but I'll get there when I get there]
What you need for washing a wig:
Gentle laundry detergent for delicates
Cold water
Small basin
Wig brush
Wig stand
*optional, tripod
So, I fill up my small basin with cold water.
I then take my gentle laundry detergent and only pour like, 1/3 of a cap full into the basin and then swish it around to make some bubbles.
Voilla, bubbles!
Now, before I submerged my wig into the basin, I made sure to give it a good brush through with my wig brush, which I looks like this:
So, I'll let my wig sit in the basin for a good 30 minutes.
While my wig is getting clean, I set up my wig stand in the bath tub... I've kind of just found a way to hang it on my shower rack, but I've seen people use their camera tripods to keep the wig stand off the ground. I've also used the shower handle as a impromptu 'wig stand' but it did end up destroying the wig cap after using it every time..
Well, after the 30 minutes of soaking my wigs, I rinsed them thoroughly in cold water and hung them up to dry off. Usually that takes a good hour to 2 hours for my wigs...
Now onto how to re-curl your wigs!
What you will need:
The alligator clips are optional, but I like using them to set my curls so they have more body and 'oomph'.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CURLER IS AT THE LOWEST HEAT SETTING!
I also recommend to get comfy because for me, this takes a good hour and a half, so sometimes I do it on a night that I watch tv and I'll curl my wig on the couch. Today, I did it during the day time so this was my set up. [watching a program on youtube was to help pass the time]
So, when I curl my wig, I like to do so when it's just slightly damp at the tips. Above, is my just dried, clean wig.
I like to go through an with my wig brush, just comb the hair and make sure there's no tangles and the like. [my wig looks so much better already]
Now, I like to take one inch sections starting from the front, and I will eventually be making my way around the wig.
As I take one section, I will thoroughly dampen the hair with my water spritzer [so that the hair won't melt against my curling iron].
I then give it another comb through but this time, with the small tooth comb.
I then use the tong part of the curler and capture the tip of the hair [that's the part that really needs to get unfrizzed at this point] and I will wrap the hair around the barrel and I'll hold that there for roughly 30 seconds. I like to lightly touch the hair on the barrel to see if it's getting dried out. Usually, I prefer to release the hair when it's mostly dry, but there's some dampness left.
[as you get used to curling synthetic wigs, you will find what you most prefer regarding how you style and curl them].
I like to release the hair from the barrel vertically so that it falls into my hand like pictured above. It makes it easier to clip in a perfect curl shape.
I like to clip my hair with the alligator clips because it won't crease my hair and is easy to remove after my hair is set.
Now, usually after my 2nd or 3rd piece of hair, the pieces I pull to curl get thicker. So, this is when I'll start splitting the inch sections I pull into 2 parts.
For a good majority of my wig, I will be pulling away and inch, and then dividing it into 2, like so. I will then go back into just one piece when I reach the other side, near the front of the wig.
I prefer to curl the bottom piece first, so I clip the top portion up with an alligator clip like pictured above.
That is how I re-curl my wigs.
So, I'll let the curls set in place with the alligator clips for maybe 30 minutes and sometimes even 2 days... 30 minutes will allow the hair to set in a curl and when I release it, it will slowly sink into a nice wave. If my hair is set for 2 days, it will stay in ringlets for around 2 weeks.
It all depends on how I want my hair to look like.
Now, on to my purple wig. Since it was my first time washing it and I never brought a curler to it. It's curls should have retained through the cleaning and it should have just taken away the crunchiness and frizz [not like there was a lot]
This is what it looked like when it was dry.^^
^^It's curls became pretty again and it's back to being touchably soft.
To be honest, the only time you would re-curl your wig is maybe after it's 2nd month? You want to refrain from curling it too often because it can lead to breakage and shortening your wig's life.
I honestly only wash my wigs once every 1-2 months and curl them 1 to 2 times a month, depending on how my wig has been faring.
This is how my wigs look like the following day and I released my curls and gave them a quick brush through.
Note: Try to avoid brushing your wigs often and/or combing through them with your hands.
I hope you got something from this tutorial, and that you will enjoy a long lasting relationship with your wigs!
<3CarisseIris
