How to make a cheap wig look real – wig tips and tricks
We don’t mean gorgeous lace-fronted wigs. We mean the cheap wigs you get on Wish. How can you make affordable wigs look as real as real hair?
How to make a wig parting look real
Are you struggling to make your wig’s parting work the way you want it to? That’s down to the artificial fibres and the cap that secures them.
You can put concealer on the parting to make the parting look more like real skin. Take a small brush and dab concealer that matches your skin tone along where the wig’s hair parts and your real skin should be showing.
Try mixing about 30 ml of liquid fabric softener with water in a small spray bottle. Lightly spray your wig and brush or comb it through. This will help you glide your brush through the wig without pulling out the fibres.
The above-mentioned spray mixture will also help you style your parting in a damp wig more easily. Fix the wig’s parting how you want it, then carefully pluck out any stray fibres with tweezers. Let the wig’s hair dry out completely in your desired parting arrangement, then fix it with a light layer of hairspray to hold the parting in place.
Wig partings can sometimes look a bit too-perfect, but you can use tweezers to tweak out random errant strands.
How to make a wig’s hair texture look real
Fluff it with a pik to help it retain its freshness and shape.
Has your wig got that just-bought plastic shine? Calm down the shine by misting it with a gentle spray of dry shampoo, or use a loose powder if you prefer.
How to detangle a wig
Let’s face it, cheap wigs with artificial fibres can tangle worse than any human hair, so it pays to give them a bit of love. Even if your wig was cheap, that’s no reason to use it once or twice then bin it…
If you have the space and the kit to do so, keep your wig on a form. That will help it retain a detangled state for longer.
To detangle your wig, try using a wide-tooth wet comb. This will detangle your wig gently without pulling too hard on the fibres. This Majestik wide-toothed anti-static comb is a good example, but there are loads out there. If you’re styling rather than detangling a wig, go for a styling brush instead.
Always aim to detangle your wig when it is dry. Your wig is weaker and more prone to damage when it is wet, and trying to detangle your wig when it’s wet could really mess it up.
Detangle your wig by brushing it from the bottom and working your way up. If you try to brush a wig downwards from the roots, this could catch on tangles and pull out strands.
If you have a curly wig, detangling with a comb isn’t going to work so well – even if you get the tangles out, you could damage the curls. Instead, take a little time to untangle the curly wig with your fingers.
How to make a wig’s position look real
Don’t rush it. Take time to arrange the wig. If you can see little strands of your own hair coming through, pull it down a touch lower. If you’re not sure about the best arrangement, study your own (real) hairline in the mirror for a while to think about how high/low it goes and how it frames your face naturally.
How to make a wig’s styling look real
You probably chose your cheap wig because you liked the styling already. If you want to do a little more work on it, or tidy it up after it’s had a few nights on the town (or cosplaying, or LARPing), that’s fine.
Use a brush rather than a comb, and go gentle.
Never use heat. Heat will fritz the artificial fibres of your wig, and it’s game over. You can, however, use a hand-held steamer to tidy things up.