The Importance of Wigs & Cosplay Wig Tips

10 Oct 2011 8 Comments

by Hoshi in cosplay Tags: cosplay, wecanhelpyou, wigs

Hallo! 

I’m doing another cosplay post. On wigs. 

I’m mainly going to talk about wigs in general, some wig tips, and buying a good wig. (If you have anymore tips please comment and tell us) I’ll also be talking about how to put on a wig, wig caps, wig straps and more.

Let’s go!

Lot’s of people don’t understand how important wigs are.

For example:

(I tried not to use pictures of professional Japanese cosplayers)

The first girl’s cosplay is probably the best. She has a good wig. The last girl has no wig, but a good cosplay costume. If she had a wig, her cosplay would be awesome. What do you think could make the second girl’s cosplay better? If she had a better wig, right?

So, when you want a wig, you shouldn’t go to the dollar store and buy a cheap halloween wig. Let me tell you – me, Pep and Kiy got a black wig from the dollar store once because we wanted to turn it into an Orochimaru wig. *shudder* It was a TERRIBLE material and it wasn’t even shaped like a head. It also had a huge bump on the back and was UBER wavy. We somehow managed to turn it into a Hinata Part 1 wig. (Though not a very nice one)

Don’t be afraid to go on ebay and get a good one. That’s the way to go. I highly recommend Moemall’s wigs. Me, Pep and Kiy all bought our Vocaloid wigs from there and they are amazing. They are soft, realistic and styled REALLY nicely. HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Also, when buying a wig, if you’re cosplaying someone with long hair in twintails/a ponytail (for example, Miku, Gakupo, BRS) make sure you get a wig with wig clips. The first girl in the 3 pictures looks like she has wig clips for her twintails. The second girl just tied her twintails up. If you get a wig with wig clips, the wig is easier to transport, maintain, etc. It’s also easier to get a nice, neater looking ponytail.

TWINTAILS TIP: I saw this online, and I really think you should try it. You put your base wig (the short wig without the wig clips attached) into twintails. Then, you clip your wig clips over the little twintails. This helps because then it makes the wig clips look more like twintails and less like you just put some wig clips on. (PEP, YOU SHOULD TRY THIS!!!) Here is an example.

Then when you put the wig clips on…

…The back looks more realistic!

WIG STRAPS/ADJUSTMENT STRAPS: Usually, wigs will have little strap things inside the mesh part. THESE DO NOT GO UNDER YOUR CHIN. They just clip together in the back.They both have little plastic hook things on them. The hook things are attached to the strap by a little loop of fabric on the end. I was a little bit confused with how these hook things worked at first. I thought you had to hook them together. Really, what you do is you take one plastic hook and hook it into the little loop of fabric on the other side. Do not attach the hook thingies together. You’ll break them! That was what happened to me. I broke both of my hook thingies by doing that. My Kagamine Rin wig is too big for my head, so I kinda need the wig straps. So, Kiy gave me this tip. 

First: Take a safety pin. You need a kinda small one, but not too small or else this will be impossible. Open it and attach it through one of the loop things.

Second: This kind of takes practice. While the wig is on your head, open the safety pin without taking it out of the loop. Then, without stabbing your neck, put the pointy end through the loop on the other side. Close the safety pin. If you want, it might be a good idea to take the wig off your head and practice. I’m pretty good at doing this now, but I still almost always poke my finger with the pin. It never really hurts though. Just still, be careful. Practice makes perfect.

Sometimes, you don’t even need the wig straps. The wig just might be the right size for your head. But, like I mentioned earlier, my Rin wig is too big. I also like my wig to feel snug and not like it’s going to fly off. 

Also one thing that helps is finding your wig straps BEFORE you put the wig on your head. I always lose mine.

WIG CAPS:

Wig caps. These are what hold your hair under your wig. They’re helpful because they help your hair stay put, prevent stray hairs from escaping under your wig, and protect your wig from sweat or anything that might be on your hair. So, you can go out and buy one or order one (sometimes they come free when you order a wig). OR, you can make one. You will just need an old pair of stretchy pantyhose or something along those lines. Just cut off the tip of a pair of pantyhoseand there, you got one. It will probably be kind of tight at first, but don’t worry, it usually stretches. 

PUTTING YOUR HAIR IN A WIG: The way I used to put my hair in a wig is to tie it in a ponytail or a messy-bun-loop thing. I got tired of this method. When you put your hair in a ponytail/bun, then in a wig, there is usually an unrealistic looking bump on the top/back of your wig, especially if you have thick hair. (I have fine hair and I even had this problem) Also, If you’ve ever had your hair in a ponytail and leaned your head back on a wall you may have noticed that you have that uncomfortable bump pushing into your head. Same goes when you use this method with a wig. I don’t recommend it.

There are lots of alternatives to this method. I am going to “show” you two.

Braid – This works best for people with long and/or thick hair

First: Put your hair in a braid.

Second: Position the braid on top of your head and pin it there.

Third: Put your wig cap on over it.

I’ve never actually tried this method for myself, because I have shorter, fine hair. But, I did recommend it to Kiy before. This method gives you less of a bump then the ponytail/bun method and it looks much more even.

Pinning it Up – This will probably work for most people, but If you have really heavy hair it may not work as well. I use this method.

First: You will need a couple bobby pins (or whatever works for you). Separate your hair into parts. Since my hair is fine, I only have to separate my hair into 4 parts (five including my bangs). The more hair you have, the more parts you will probably need.

Second: Take each part and pin it up onto the top of your head. I pin up 2 parts in the front, 2 parts in the back, and 1 part for my bangs.

Third: Pin any extra stray hairs up then put your wig cap on.

I love this method and use it all the time. I find your hair to be very even under your wig, and you can pin up your hair any way that works for you. This method can be very quick and easy. The wig cap will hold everything in place, so you can be lazy if you feel like it. 

Putting your wig cap on

First: Put your wig cap on from the back, and pull it towards the front. 

Second: Pull your wig cap down, wayyy below your hairline.

Third: Push your wig cap up to your hairline. This will push most of the stray hairs up.

Fourth: Push any remaining hairs up into the wig cap. Don’t worry too much about the hair kind of in front of/on top of your ears. It  is almost impossible to get all the hair here into your wig cap.

Putting your wig on

First: Put your wig on from the back, pulling it towards the front, just like you did with your wig cap.

Second: The best place for your wig to sit on your head is right below your hairline. 

Third: Attach your wig straps together. (See “wig straps”)

Fourth: Brush your wig and style it however you want it. Make sure there are no wig hairs tucked under the wig.

 

MOST IMPORTANT WIG/COSPLAY TIP: Have fun and enjoy yourself!!! That’s what it’s all about!