"Women in Wigs" Project

Advices from woman with hairloss

Caring for your Wigs

When I wore my wig, I used bobby-pins, mostly to secure it. I don't know what length yours is, mine was shoulder length. The longer the length of the wig, the easier it is to hide the pins. I had my wig styled by a professional, who sold me the wig, and is also a licensed beautician. All adjustments & cuts were free. A good word of advice with new wigs, is when having them styled for the first time, keep a lot of the length. That way, you can give yourself a week or two to adjust to your new look, play with the wig, and if you want it shorter, you can go back & have it gradually cut shorter.

Do the styling in small, gradual steps, because once the length is taken off-it's gone for good! I kept going in every week for cut & style adjustments, when I first got the wig (at least 5 of them!) until I was happy with the look. Also, Human hair wigs tend to be extremely "thick" with hair. You'll probably want to have it thinned some, but do this even more gradually than the styling! After you thin the hair, the wig continues to shed more hair for at least a week (this is normal), so even if it looks a bit thick at first, wait & see how much it sheds when you get home, before thinning it more.

I styled mine with bangs in front, to help hide some of the clips. I would put my own hair up in a flat bun underneath the wig, securing it with bobby pins, & if you have some of your own hair in the front, or on the sides, you can even keep some of that loose to blend in with the wig hair.(if the color of the hair is the same) & to help hide the pins.

Next I would brush the wig out before putting it on. Then I would place 3 bobbypins underneath the bang line, 2 pins on the sides of the face (blending in my own hair to help hide them), 1 pin underneath/behind each ear, and 3 in the back, at the base of the wig. For the top of the hair, I wore a side part & fluffed up the top a bit to help hide pins. Also, a little bit of curl in the wig will camoflage also. If the wig is human hair, you can use curling irons, rollers(Steam ones are good) or blow dryers on it. I have used steam rollers on a synthetic wig with some results, but be careful & test a small area underneath first, because synthetic wigs can melt! My wig was usually quite secure with the bobby pins, but my hairdresser also suggested that tiny hair combs could be sewn into the cap of the wig for added security, if need be. (I didn't need this)

Be careful when brushing the wig, once it's on your head-this can knock some bobbypins out of place or move wig position. I washed my wig about once every 2-3 weeks, depending on how much I perspired, smoke, etc. I won't lie, the washing of my wig was a big, tedious production! I'd fill my kitchen sink up with lukewarm water, and some Pantene shampoo, then "dip" the wig up & down out of the water. Next I'd fill the sink with water and conditioner (Pantene) repeat the steps, but let it sit in there for 10 minutes. Human wigs need lots of conditioner. Then I'd rinse in water, blot in a towel, spray on a "leave in" conditioner to help detangle, Comb through the wig on my lap, holding the root of the hair while brushing so as not to pull it out of the cap. I placed it on a wig stand, and sat there & blow dried it for about an hour. Then I put the wig on my head & styled it.