Tips for making wigs look nicer?

I've had this wig for a few months now (also the only one I've ever had haha) and it looks...not that great.

It's heat resistant so I tried some stuff with a blow dryer but honestly it barely helped and made the bangs worse, so I just kind of gave up and accepted it for a while.

But it still keeps bothering me whenever I see pictures of how good everyone's dolls look >>

So, does anyone have tips on what to do about this wig? Or should I just give up on it and buy a different one? I do kinda get the feeling that the way it's cut doesn't really fit the head shape well, and yeah it's a little big.

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by MeowMilk

There's a few things you can try!

If you think it might help, you can wash the hair before attempting any styling. Since the wig is heat resistant you can simply wash it with some lukewarm water and a drop or two of dish soap. If you want to go a step further, you can also put it into a mix of water + fabric softener (I think most people use a 1:1 ratio) and let it soak for a good while. Brush it out with the fabric softener still 'in the hair' and then rinse it really well. This will be most useful for long wigs to detangle them, but the fabric softener should also make the hair feel nice and smooth. Afterwards, let it air dry. I think Volks also sells specific products to wash wigs?

A good dunk/rinse or two with some hot/pretty much boiling water could also help straightening out the fibers.

 

However, in your case, I don't think this would be necessary. 

If you haven't yet, start by brushing the wig. Don't use your regular brush though as there will be debris and oil on it. I know a lot of people recommend toothbrushes, but I haven't tried one out myself. Personally, I use a tiny doll sized comb that I got from a pet grooming set once, haha. I've also, also heard some people using anti-static pet combs. Again, I can't speak for their effectiveness myself, but no static would be great! It would certainly help the strands lie flat.

However, if you don't have anything so specific on hand, don't fret. You can easily get the frizz under control with some product. Now, again, I've read about a whole lot of different options. Some people just use water, others use vegetable oil, human hair gel or even glue. Personally, I use Volks water wax. It comes in a tiny little tub, but you'll be using such miniscule amounts that it will last you a long time. 

What I do is, I very lightly dab my fingertips into the water wax, rub it between my fingertips and then I just carefully wipe down the hair to make it lie flat. After that, I lightly style the hair to give it a bit more definition, basically I 'pinch' it into shape. 

It's not perfect, but here's what Eiden's wig looks like:

Spoiler

I found styling the bangs in an 'M' sort of shape to be fairly easy!

It's a little messed up on the left side, but that's because of the headband from the bunny ears. I'd like to think it isn't so bad considering it's my third attempt at styling a wig! Unfortunately, I don't have a 'before' photo, but yeah..

I also used a small hair iron to straighten the strands that frame his face as I didn't like the way they fell straight out of the box. In general, these tiny hair irons can be really useful as long as the wig is heat resistant. 

I think this video shows the process fairly well:

The person in the video (could it be Danny himself?!) is using cotton swabs to apply the product. I tried this out myself, but I felt like using it with my fingers was a bit easier. Although, as you can see, I didn't do any crazy 'hair spikes'. I also didn't use nearly as much product, but theirs looks more like a light foamy sort of mouse while the Volks water wax is.. well, pretty waxy? Like I said, I only lightly dab my fingertips against it. Using too much of the water wax will make the hair look 'gelled' or 'wet', which might or might not be desirable depending on the look you're going for.

If you're worried about getting product on the doll's face during styling, you can put some cling wrap under the wig to protect the face like a veil. Don't wrap the entire head with it, just cover the front, then, once you're done, carefully pull it away. Et voila!

So, now your wig feels silky smooth, you got styled exactly how you want it to look.. here's one last tip: If dust settles on your wig, use one of those big make up brushes to gently de-dust it. It should be light enough not to ruffle the hair and ruin the style, but it should still pick up any dust that might have settled on the wig!

 

Now, obviously, the quality of the wig will sort of dictate how much you will be able to get out of it. However, you might as well try and see what you can do with this one even if you end up deciding to buy a new one down the line!

What i do with wigs that have been on storage for too long or lack the necessary styling there's something I do whenever a wig has that kind of look. You want to literally put it on something round about the same size of a DD head. This is very important since you'll pour hot boiling water over it and it will take the form of whatever is underneath it. I personally use an apple cause its the right size and also easy to insert a fork  knife or stick into. Also id suggest you don't use tap water cause it may leave residues.

I took some pics for you. Theres nothing wrong with this wig just for the sake of explaining 

Next proceed to comb or stile the hair over the "head" and completely pour the hot water over it. It has to be 100% soaked wet.

At this point you can still style it. After it just leave it alone to air dry completely and voila!

I have used it on all kinds of wigs and even works on non heat resistant wigs, like Volks' because sometimes the girls have been on storage for 10 plus years and the wigs just lose their shape. Hope it helps

 

On a side note, I'd suggest to wash it using a professional shampoo and conditioner like Kevin Murphy or something similar. I know this could sound pointlrss but my wife always has one of those at hand and it really helps to bring the wigs to life even if they look fine to begin with it will go from looking like dolls hair to real hair, specially with cheap looking ones like Volks'. This step is optional but you'd want to try it out, it won't change its shape though.

Edited March 24, 2023 by puxlavoix

11 hours ago, RetroKanojo said:

There's a few things you can try!

If you think it might help, you can wash the hair before attempting any styling. Since the wig is heat resistant you can simply wash it with some lukewarm water and a drop or two of dish soap. If you want to go a step further, you can also put it into a mix of water + fabric softener (I think most people use a 1:1 ratio) and let it soak for a good while. Brush it out with the fabric softener still 'in the hair' and then rinse it really well. This will be most useful for long wigs to detangle them, but the fabric softener should also make the hair feel nice and smooth. Afterwards, let it air dry. I think Volks also sells specific products to wash wigs?

A good dunk/rinse or two with some hot/pretty much boiling water could also help straightening out the fibers.

 

However, in your case, I don't think this would be necessary. 

If you haven't yet, start by brushing the wig. Don't use your regular brush though as there will be debris and oil on it. I know a lot of people recommend toothbrushes, but I haven't tried one out myself. Personally, I use a tiny doll sized comb that I got from a pet grooming set once, haha. I've also, also heard some people using anti-static pet combs. Again, I can't speak for their effectiveness myself, but no static would be great! It would certainly help the strands lie flat.

However, if you don't have anything so specific on hand, don't fret. You can easily get the frizz under control with some product. Now, again, I've read about a whole lot of different options. Some people just use water, others use vegetable oil, human hair gel or even glue. Personally, I use Volks water wax. It comes in a tiny little tub, but you'll be using such miniscule amounts that it will last you a long time. 

What I do is, I very lightly dab my fingertips into the water wax, rub it between my fingertips and then I just carefully wipe down the hair to make it lie flat. After that, I lightly style the hair to give it a bit more definition, basically I 'pinch' it into shape. 

It's not perfect, but here's what Eiden's wig looks like:

  Hide contents

I found styling the bangs in an 'M' sort of shape to be fairly easy!

It's a little messed up on the left side, but that's because of the headband from the bunny ears. I'd like to think it isn't so bad considering it's my third attempt at styling a wig! Unfortunately, I don't have a 'before' photo, but yeah..

I also used a small hair iron to straighten the strands that frame his face as I didn't like the way they fell straight out of the box. In general, these tiny hair irons can be really useful as long as the wig is heat resistant. 

I think this video shows the process fairly well:

The person in the video (could it be Danny himself?!) is using cotton swabs to apply the product. I tried this out myself, but I felt like using it with my fingers was a bit easier. Although, as you can see, I didn't do any crazy 'hair spikes'. I also didn't use nearly as much product, but theirs looks more like a light foamy sort of mouse while the Volks water wax is.. well, pretty waxy? Like I said, I only lightly dab my fingertips against it. Using too much of the water wax will make the hair look 'gelled' or 'wet', which might or might not be desirable depending on the look you're going for.

If you're worried about getting product on the doll's face during styling, you can put some cling wrap under the wig to protect the face like a veil. Don't wrap the entire head with it, just cover the front, then, once you're done, carefully pull it away. Et voila!

So, now your wig feels silky smooth, you got styled exactly how you want it to look.. here's one last tip: If dust settles on your wig, use one of those big make up brushes to gently de-dust it. It should be light enough not to ruffle the hair and ruin the style, but it should still pick up any dust that might have settled on the wig!

 

Now, obviously, the quality of the wig will sort of dictate how much you will be able to get out of it. However, you might as well try and see what you can do with this one even if you end up deciding to buy a new one down the line!

that's a lot of tips, thank you! i have tried combing it already yeah but it didn't help much haha

i also tried a small iron but even though the one I got was advertised to be ok for heat resistant wigs, i got the feeling that it was actually too hot, so i immediately stopped using it >>

I guess I'll just have to try using some product, though I'm not sure what to use. Getting something from volks is pretty expensive shipping-wise where I live so I feel like that's not worth it. And I've heard people say it's bad for the wig to use products made for human hair. I think most people use watered down glue, but it sounds kinda scary to put glue in a wig...

9 hours ago, puxlavoix said:

What i do with wigs that have been on storage for too long or lack the necessary styling there's something I do whenever a wig has that kind of look. You want to literally put it on something round about the same size of a DD head. This is very important since you'll pour hot boiling water over it and it will take the form of whatever is underneath it. I personally use an apple cause its the right size and also easy to insert a fork  knife or stick into. Also id suggest you don't use tap water cause it may leave residues.

I took some pics for you. Theres nothing wrong with this wig just for the sake of explaining 

Next proceed to comb or stile the hair over the "head" and completely pour the hot water over it. It has to be 100% soaked wet.

At this point you can still style it. After it just leave it alone to air dry completely and voila!

I have used it on all kinds of wigs and even works on non heat resistant wigs, like Volks' because sometimes the girls have been on storage for 10 plus years and the wigs just lose their shape. Hope it helps

 

On a side note, I'd suggest to wash it using a professional shampoo and conditioner like Kevin Murphy or something similar. I know this could sound pointlrss but my wife always has one of those at hand and it really helps to bring the wigs to life even if they look fine to begin with it will go from looking like dolls hair to real hair, specially with cheap looking ones like Volks'. This step is optional but you'd want to try it out, it won't change its shape though.

I was looking into doing this before but I couldn't figure out how to make it work: I don't have anything to put the wig on. The wig is too small to put on an apple unfortunately.

9 hours ago, MeowMilk said:

I think most people use watered down glue, but it sounds kinda scary to put glue in a wig...

Oh, yes, I get that! I was very shocked when I first read about it, but people seem to swear on it? 

An alternative could be got2b glued spiking wax. Some cosplayers use it for their synthetic wigs, so it should be safe to use. Concerning Shampoo and Conditioner made for humans, I have read conflicting things. Some people say it will damage the fibers, others say they have used it for many years without issues. In any case, I doubt that it would destroy the wig in a single use and theoretically giving wigs a full wash is not something you'd do every weekend anyway!

When they say 'glue', they mean the water-soluble kind - I'm in the US, so I'm thinking of Elmer's School Glue. Old-school punks used to use water-soluble white glue to do their own hair, because there was nothing better for getting mohawks to stand up in those huge stiff spikes! As long as you're careful to get the washable kind, it comes out with a little soaking. (They would also put toothpaste in their hair, sometimes, but I don't know that I'd want to put that on a doll wig. At least it might smell... fresh?)

I'm a little leery of human styling products, personally, because they're intended to be washed out of your hair again in a day or two. I tried using hair wax (for humans) on a doll wig and after a couple of weeks it had glooped up into this poorly-aging sticky mass. The wig was fine once I managed to wash the mess out, but that took some effort.

Seconding using basic white glue from gradeschool!  I use it all the time!  It dries clear, and washes out very easily if need be.
The only "same as for humans" bits will use on doll wigs is hairclips. They aren't human hair, why would they need all the vitamin-E and oil frm my own hair products in them, ya know?

Anyway, for when you need to style the wig - u can either a) cover the dolls head in clear wrap, and pop wig over it, or b) stuff the wig with tissue paper, and prop it on a soda bottle. Fill the bottle with anything to add weight (rocks, coins, batteries... water!) to keep it from tumbling over. Soak in hot (not boiling, but as warm as the wig can take it) water to clean, maybe add a single drop of soap to the water and swish wig around in it to clean (swish, don't scrub!) I know some people swear by adding fabric softener or conditioner, but i do not bother

Its been working pretty well so far

If you're in the US you can go to Sally Beauty to get shampoo and conditioner that is made for synthetic hair. Saves you on shipping cost.

How hot is your iron? When I asked a custom wig maker how to restyle her wigs, she said not to go too high, that between 120-140C is enough. Even if it’s heat resistant, really high temperatures that you might use on human hair (180-210C) are too hot.