Wigs, and their upkeep. (Or something like that)

Well, it seems I'm talking about wigs again. Guess that's just what I have on my mind since I've been working on several for the past few weeks.

So now, what I consider the essentials for taking care of wigs.

First off, get one of these:

It's a wig clamp, and lets you anchor a styrofoam wig head securely to a counter or tabletop so you can do whatever with it. I used to use all kinds of rigged up things, like an ikea paper towel dispenser and duct-taped to the counter, until I found out how inexpensive they are. I had assumed they were pricey, but they can be found for around $10 at places like Sally's and other beauty supply places and online. They make life so much easier.

In addition, get some T-pins. While most pins and pin-like things will also work, I've found the best results with T-pins and once again, also not very expensive, and they won't surprise you by suddenly pulling out of the styrofoam like most straight pins will.


Also, get a detangling comb. Also inexpensive ($1-2) and I find it indispensable; it works really well for its intended purpose, as well as for general snag-free combing and is ideal when straightening a wig as well. They have two sets of rounded teeth, widely spaced and offset in a zig-zag


If you do need to detangle a wig that has become really bad, you will probably want to condition it first, and the key to detangling a wig properly is time and patience. Start at the bottom of the ends and slowly work your way up. While using this type of comb does make it more straightforward, you will still want to get in there with fingers at times to work out tangles, the worst thing you can do is rough up the wig some more and manhandle it, some hair loss is unavoidable with the worst knotting, but by taking your time you can keep it to a minimum and maybe not have wigs suffering from severe thinning.

Oh right, I said something about conditioning. This is one place where everyone has a different idea. Some use normal shampoo and conditioner, some use soap, some use other products like fabric softener. While I hear fabric softener works well and adds an anti-static protection to the wig, I have a contact allergy to many fabric softeners so I don't use them (and would rather not experiment to see which ones I do and don't, if I've never bothered to need it for clothing, why bother now). One of the things that I found with using normal hair products on wigs is that some of them, especially the conditioners, don't have the desired effect. It is most likely due to the fact that they are formulated to absorb into human hair, which is porous and made of protein, as opposed to the sealed plastic fiber of a wig. Because of this, I've found most conditioners simply rinse away, leaving no benefit to the wig other than a faint smell, or leave a very tangible oily or waxy feeling on the wig that also ends up affecting styling. That was when I discovered wig shampoo/conditioner. (A product that is made specifically for the use I am looking for? How novel. Why didn't I think of it before.)

The first brand I've used, and have been using for some time, is IC Wig.
It's pretty handy in that the bottle is marked with lines showing how much you need to use, you simply fill the sink up with cool water and then measure out one amount of the liquid into the water. Then holding the wig, dunk it and gently swirl it around a few times, then rise it under cool water until it runs clear and doesn't feel overly slimy. This product does a great job of cleaning and leaving slight conditioning in the wig which makes detangling much easier, and preventing future tangles, without changing the effect of styling products like glue or hairspray. Plus, and it helps if you use lukewarm water instead of cold (not hot),  you can remove almost any styling product buildup in the wig very easily.
While each bottle only costs $3-6, depending on where you get it (I have gotten it for the higher end at Sally's, and the mid to lower end at local wig stores), there are only 3 or 4 measured "uses" per bottle. For this reason, I will often line up several wigs to condition at once rather than waste a sinkful of conditioner, and if it's a short wig or I don't feel I need to wash/condition as much, I will use half the amount. What can I say, I'm thrifty at times. There seems to be two different formulations out there, or perhaps I am just getting bottles that are older/newer depending on how long it has sat on the shelf. Both are an orangey color, but one is a bit lighter and more translucent, the other is a little darker and more opaque, sometimes with a small layer of separated light-colored oil at the top that needs to be shaken back into the solution before using. Both seem to have the same end result, however.

I recently discovered a second brand, which I have been using for about a month, and I am also pleased with it; in addition the price per amount of uses is much better, it's a concentrate and there are many, many, many uses per single bottle. The brand is DeMert and this is what it looks like:


While I found it by chance one day at a stand selling wig and hair products, it seems to be available from many places online. Not only does it work well, but I've found that it very quickly removes any kind of "conditioning" treatment already in the hair. The local wig stores are especially bad with this since all of their wigs are "display" wigs that you buy right off the shelf, so they always have some kind of product in them to keep frizz down and make them look glossy but there has been a rash of wigs lately that I have ordered online that have had something in them as well, causing a slight greasy feel and in many cases a very weird chemical smell. The only real downside to this one is that it definitely has a much more soapy smell. It's not really unpleasant, precisely, but the smell that it leaves lingering in the wig is a bit reminiscent of pet shampoo.  It does dissipate after a bit, however. Since it's basically nothing but surfactants and foaming agents, it basically strips off any kind of soil or oil with a tooooon of suds. It even takes off most ink-based wig dye, though in cases with heavier amounts and multiple coats of dye, even after a few washings some still remains that needs to be removed manually with alcohol and cotton balls. However, a little goes a long way, it says on the bottle to use 1 tbsp in a sink of water, I actually probably only use 1 tsp or so in most light washing cases.
Additionally, it is only a shampoo and the wig will need to be conditioned afterwards if you want to, unlike the IC wig which doesn't clean quite as deeply but leaves it conditioned afterwards. I have now obtained several other of their wig products including a conditioner to see if they work just as well.

Before all of this I would make up my own blend of "shampoo" which was a 2 liter bottle filled with warm water and about a 1/2 cup each of cheap Suave shampoo and conditioner, and half of a small vial of a particular brand of hair oil conditioning treatment (that I can't remember the name of at the moment), shaken together and then poured in small amounts over a wig when needed, then rinsed out. While it did work and was possibly the cheapest option in terms of volume per dollar, I definitely prefer the two other products to it far more.


The final element in this is a steamer of some sort, and I'll go into this more in another post, but I'll touch on it here as well. Steam works wonders for wigs. It's a lot harder to accidentally damage your wig with heat due to the way steam works, compared to a hair dryer or other heat tool. While you can get a very good fabric/garment steamer that holds a gallon or so of water and can be used extensively for the $40-100 range, you can also find less expensive ($15-20) travel-size garment steamers that look something like this

These are very light duty, only holding a small amount of water and meant to be used for a shorter amount of time, but will work just as well for most light wig use. They are great for quickly getting out that big fold that gets set into one side of a bagged costume wig, or getting other parts to lay flat that just won't cooperate and keep sticking up or out. They also work well for straightening the ends of a long wig that has gotten frizzy from multiple tanglings and brushings. Steam will quickly remove curls and other styling by straightening the wig, so keep that in mind. Just take a wide-toothed comb, or preferably a detangling com, and work it through, first pass the steam down the hair from root to end, following immediately behind it with the comb. You can even hold the comb in one hand and the steamer in the other, doing both in one pass together. After just a few passes, you should have a nice, flat, straight, section of hair. For the most uncooperative areas you may need to gently hold the ends of the hair with your fingers pulling it taut as you run steam across it. Now let it cool down and you should be good. Do not use a bristle brush or tug on the hair excessively, and make sure to get out any major tangles before doing this, as the heat will temporarily weaken the fiber and tugging on it can cause it to break off.


Also, if you are looking to buy a better steamer, make sure to get one meant for fabric/upholstery/drapery/garment use as they have a nice continuous flow of gentle steam (and you can also easily use them to steam fabric back into shape). I was not paying enough attention and got a steamer that, while it looked  like the right thing, was actually meant for cleaning floors (and upholstery, but in a more deep-cleaning way); and because of this the steam was pressurized and required constant "charging". While I was able to use it for some time to get results, (and because I couldn't return it and didn't want to waste it) the annoyance was not worth it as it was somewhat like trying to style a wig while blasting it with a hose, you had to aim the steam from a few inches away and on top of that the force of the stream of steam would physically blow the wig around in the process.