I decided to break this into two posts since I figured a (even longer) giant wall of text would be a bit boring, and also, it's easy to break the process up into the parts of making the dye and then using it.
Ok, so you have your dye now. Now, how to get it onto the wig.
There's a lot of approaches to this, really. I've known people to pour or brush it directly onto the wig, though that can have very erratic results (uneven, blotchy, etc) and is kind of a waste of dye since it tends to drip everywhere, although this was indeed what I very messily did when I first started trying to color wigs 5-6 years ago. I have also known people to put the wig in a large plastic zippered freezer bag with a large amount of dye to soak. While this also seems to work well, it's hard to get a really intense color, you tend to get more of an all over tint, and also, still a big mess when you pull it out of the bag.
What I prefer is to spray the dye directly on the wig. Personally, I use an airbrush as the control and distribution of the dye is very exact (I have several different models but I always seem to go back to my first which is a vintage Binks Wren I inherited from my father. It just seems to be the best all-around, but I'm sure that's just a personal thing), however I know that most people won't just happen to have an airbrush and compressor laying around, or want to spend money on getting them.
So, the next best thing is a spray bottle of some type. There are many inexpensive semi-disposable bottles out there that you can find in both the toiletries aisle of most department stores as well as in various arts and crafts stores. Both the pump kind with the round button on top and the trigger-sprayer kind will work for this purpose. However, you will want to try a few out. Put some water in one and spray it a few times, see if it makes a nice fine mist, or is it spitty with lots of spattery droplets. You want a fine mist, of course. Even better, put a small amount of your dye in one and spray it a few times onto a piece of paper from a few inches away, and hopefully you will see a nice round circle, nicely gradated from dark to light from the center to the outside. This will be ideal. If you got one of the trigger kind you will probably need to play with the nozzle a bit to get it right, and it seems to be harder to get one that isn't at least a little spattery. [image]
Now, you will want to set up somewhere, preferably outside or at least somewhere with newspapers on the floor and a window open, despite your best efforts there can be spills and it will stink up the house a bit. I have found that a piece of PVC pipe in a christmas tree stand makes a perfect wig head stand for something like this, you can make it a height that is comfortable for you to move around. [image]
Ideally you will section off the hair and work in one part at a time as this will give you better control at getting to the under layers and will help prevent you from over-coloring parts of it, but even I don't often do that as I am a bit lazy, so I usually just have a comb that I hold in one hand as I go, lifting up each section of hair and spraying, working from the top to the bottom. This is where having the more concentrated ink with faster-evaporating alcohol helps as there is less of a chance of saturating the wig. However, with the spray bottle there is still opportunity for that to happen, so be careful, you don't ever want the wig to look noticeably wet, for instance with the dye beading up on it and dripping. Preferably it should have the look of damp hair, fresh from the shower but toweled off. When the wig gets too wet and the dye beads up and drips, it tends to pull some of the dye off as it runs downwards, evaporating in the process, causing you to have light or even undyed parts at the roots and overly dark ends and tips, and even if it doesn't drip it tends to make dark areas where it was overly concentrated.
The best way to avoid this is just take it slow. Spray a few times, run the comb through it lightly, move to another part. As you work your way around the wig you can come back to an earlier part and spray it again. Gently running the comb through (only once or twice, don't go crazy) will help the hair from clumping up as well. Take your time, it's worth it. Check at the roots and around the wig to see if you missed any spots, especially along the edges of the wig, there's always that stray piece that got tucked under somehow.
Once you're all done, I'm sure you'll still poke at it a few times, I know I do, let it sit to air-dry. I usually give it 6-8 hours. Once it's dry, gently run a comb through it again, it's going to feel a little rough but that's ok, you just want to get it running through the hair without snags. Next is the rinsing. This step is optional, but is important for preventing rub-off or running from sweat or moisture, so if you're wearing a wig that is long enough to be brushing your costume in some place, or don't want to risk having a stain on your head somewhere, it's worthwhile.
HOWEVER.
Some wigs do not take dye very well, especially any that use Eleora fiber (this includes most New Look wigs, as far as I know). Eleora specifically, and some other wigs, have a treatment that makes the fiber more soil, wear, and tangle resistant as well as having a softer feel, however this same treatment then acts like a repellant for the dye. Due to this, you may find that you keep rinsing and rinsing and the dye continues to come off until you have blotchy or overly light wig. So, you may want to keep that in mind. I've had a few wigs I chose not to rinse for that reason.
The rest though, I rinse (and even condition if they seem well-behaved). This also helps prevent them from having that straw-like look that a lot of hand-dyed wigs (and all of my early ones) had.
You can either fill the sink with cool water, or start the tub running, your choice. With shorter wigs I like to use the sink because it provides a much easier gauge of how clear the water is, just get it half full, hold the wig by the crown, and dunk it in a few times. If the water gets noticeably dark, drain and repeat. With luck, after the second time it will be pretty much clear. If it seemed like not much ink came off and it is not in risk of stripping the dye I will put a capful of liquid wig conditioner in the last dunk, making sure to then rinse the conditioner off well as this will definitely improve the overall look and feel of the wig.
Pat the wig dry with a towel you don't care too much about in case some of the dye rubs off, once again to damp but not dripping, and then leave it to dry somewhere.
And...that's about it. I feel like there is another part, but rereading this it all seems complete, so that is that. If I think of something else I will come back and add it.
Next up: Wig maintenance, or something like that.
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