Is your wig disastrously tangled? Unfortunately, this is not a rare occurrence, especially if you use poor-quality wigs.
However, even though it is a little challenging, wig detangling is not complicated, at all. Rather, sometimes, it can become an exciting task to better take care of your synthetic or human wig.
I am Rosalba and struggled many times with my tangled wigs. In the beginning, I was tempted to throw them into the bin, but as I got older, I understood how to detangle my wig with a few easy and practical steps.
You’ll find them explained in this guide. Read all to discover more…
Detailed Steps to Detangle a Wig (Synthetic Wig and Human Hair Wig)
Follow the steps below to detangle your wigs.
Step 1: Prepare the Tools
A messy wig can’t be detangled only by hands, these will be used during the process, but, meanwhile, you’ll need of:
- Wide-tooth comb
- Wig brush
- Hair conditioner for human hair wig or fabric softener for synthetic wig
- Spray bottle
- Wig stand
Step 2: Wash the Wig
It is impossible to detangle a wig when it is dry. The pivotal rule is to wash or wet the wig to easily remove tangles.
Wash your synthetic or human unity carefully.
Fill a basin with lukewarm water and soak the wig for 15 minutes. If your unity is dirty, apply a bunch of shampoos and massage the strands gently with the tip of your fingers.
Afterwards, rinse the wig with cold water until the water gets clean.
If the wig is not dirty, soak it in the cold water for 10 minutes and then rinse to remove the excess water.
Step 3: Place the Wet Wig on a Wig Stand
As the title of the step says, place the wet wig on a wig stand or a mannequin head. If you don’t have these tools, place the wig on the table.
Step 4: Apply a Hair Conditioner
As regards this step, remember that you must use the hair conditioner for human hair wigs and the fabric softener for synthetic wigs.
Fill the spray bottle with three parts of water and one part of the hair conditioner or fabric softener.
Spritz the mixture on the wig from top to bottom. At a distance of 15 centimeters from you, at least until the strands are completely saturated. Many wig wearers apply this process without washing the wig.
This depends only on the degree of dirt of the wig. If the unity is not so greasy, you can skip step 2 and proceed with the spray process. If you decide to wash the wig, you can apply a hair conditioner, fabric softener, or wig detangler (usually needed for curly wigs) during the washing process. Leave the softener for 5 minutes on the wig to be absorbed.
Now, let’s go to the real detangling process of the wig. You’ll find it in the next step.
Step 5: Detangle the Wig with the Comb
Hold the wefts firmly you must detangle them on one hand, and, with the other hand, comb them by starting from a distance of 7 inches from the top and toward the bottom.
Special Tips to detangle a curly wig: If you have a curly wig, you may divide the hair into even smaller sections (like one curls as a section), comb the hair with your hand first, followed with a comb, then a brush.
To better detangle your wig, always proceed to comb the ends. Then, gradually, work your way up until you detangle entirely all the strands, from top to bottom.
If your wig has a fringe, you can detangle this section with a fine-tooth comb.
The right tool avoids shredding the wig’s hair that you are detangling.
Step 6: Rinse Back the Wig
After combing and detangling all the sections of your wig, proceed with another rinse. Squeeze the wig strands to remove the excess water.
Step 7: Let the Wig Dry
Let it dry naturally in the air if you have a synthetic wig. If you have a human hair wig, you can use a blow dryer. Make sure to set a mild temperature because a high temperature tends to damage even the human hair wigs, which are overly processed.
During this stage, you can style your wig to your liking. Gently brush the unity with a specific wig brush. If your wig is curly, you can style it with your hands. Move your finger into the curls to maintain the curly style.
At the end, your wig will be perfectly styled, and the horrible tangles will be only a distant memory…
This is a great video about how to detangle a wig.
Why do Wigs Get Tangled?
There are several reasons your wigs get tangled, whether that’s a human hair wig or a synthetic wig. Here are the main reasons why your wig gets tangled and matt.
Poor Hair Quality
Hair quality
Human hair wigs are less likely to get tangled than synthetic wigs. However, low-quality human hair (non-Remy hair, also known as human hair, or over-processed hair) can get tangled easier than synthetic hair. This is because the cuticles on the hairs are all removed.
Synthetic hairs made from low-quality materials like plastic and polymer are easier to get tangled.
Lack of Care
All the wigs would get tangled if they did not receive proper care. Expect to wash your wigs regularly with suitable shampoo, and conditioner, air dry them, then apply suitable after-care products such as leave-in conditioner and hair oil, and make sure you store them properly.
Damages by External Factors (Chemicals, Heated Tools, Dryness)
This point applies mainly to human hair wigs. Every time you treat your hair with chemicals or heated tools will cause damage to the cuticles.
This is why Virgin hair wigs can be dyed in all colors, but Remy hair wigs can only be dyed in a dark color.
For synthetic hair wigs, every time you use heat tools to style your wig, it will shorten the lifespan of your wig and cause them to tangle as well.
Your wig gets tangled easier if you live in a dry area than in a more humid area.
Straight Hair Vs Curly Hair
Curly hair wigs tend to get tangled easier than straight hair wigs. This is because the hairs are the point in a different direction and create more fiction among the hair.
These fictions will damage your cuticles and cause your human hair wig to tangle.
FAQs
To learn more details about wig detangling, take a final look at the FAQs section. This part is very helpful in discovering new ways to fix the troubles stemming by your wig.
What is the Easiest Way to Detangle a Wig?
There is not a way that is easier than another one. As said in this guide, wig detangling depends only on the severity of the tangles.
A few wig wearers detangled their wig only by brushing it. They laid the wig down on the table or on the floor and started brushing the ends several times.
They repeated the process until the wig was perfectly detangled. But I don’t think it is a real easy way to proceed.
How Do You Fix a Severely Matted Wig?
The leading cause of a tangled wig is the poor quality of the product or a bad wig caring. Suppose you don’t wash the wig regularly or expose the unity to climate adversities, such as sun rays, heat, and excess moisture. In that case, the wig will get frizzy, severely matted, and dreadfully tangled.
In this case, the only solution is to wash the wig, apply hair conditioners, and, with the scissors, cut the ends that are overly tangled.
The wig will get shorter, but the problem will be fully resolved. After cutting, dry and style the wig, but above all, store it in a satin bag to protect it from external adversities.
By the way: the satin bag is the tool used to store wedding dresses and protect them from yellowing.
How Long Does It Take to Detangle a Wig?
The time to remove tangles in a wig always depends on the severity of the problem. For severe tangles, only the process of combing the ends could take over 1 hour.
Yes, this can be exhausting, but you can prevent it with proper and careful usage of the wig or buying only high-quality human hair wigs that are not overly processed.
How to Untangle a Cheap Wig?
Untangling a cheap wig is pretty much the same as the above method, just you need to divide the hair into smaller sections, and start from using your hands to detangle it instead of using a comb or brush.
Repeats the process gently until the cheap wig is completely detangled.
My Final Verdict
As you can see, there aren’t shortcuts in the magical world of wigs. When problems occur, they must be fixed with the proper care and commitment.
The best solution is always made of gradual steps, like the ones I explained in this guide.
My favorite method is the one including wig washing and final combing.
And yours? Let me know if you tried the one that I explained here. Your comment will be the proper icing on the cake, in this case.