With Halloween around the corner, we are all considering this year’s look, scrolling through Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration.
The crowning glory to a good costume is usually an exquisite wig. But when I stroll into Party City or order my wig off Amazon, no matter it’s a joker wig or a rapunzel wig, they always look TERRIBLE – so how do we fix that?
Well, friends, I’m Bianca, and I am a cos-playing, extension-wearing hair-obsessed human, and I am here to help you tame that wig and get your Halloween costume looking right!
In this article, we are going to discuss 2 types of wig taming for those synthetic Halloween wigs. How to do the bare minimum and just detangle them, and how to style them to look fairly natural.
Excited to learn how to make a cheap Halloween wig look like a million bucks? Well, let’s get started!
2 Best Methods to Tame a Halloween Wig (with Detailed Steps)
Here are the detailed steps of my most recommended methods to tame a Halloween wig.
Method 1: Just the Basic Detangling
Get these tools prepared before your detangling session.
Tools Needed
- A wide-toothed wig brush or comb
- Water and fabric softener mixed in a spray bottle
- Mannequin head
- A handheld steamer
- Dry shampoo
- Hairspray
Detailed Steps
Follow the steps below, and you will smooth out your synthetic wig beautifully:
Step 1: The first thing you want to do is pin your wig to the mannequin head securely.
Step 2: Next take the spray bottle mixed with fabric softener and water and just start spraying the wig until it’s fairly saturated. Wait for about 5-10 minutes to let it soak into the synthetic hair and start lubricating the hair.
Step 3: After the hair starts to feel soft and supple, start to go through the wig section by section and detangle the wig hair until there are no more tangles.
Step 4: Find where you want to part the hair and use the steamer to create the parting. Hold the steamer there lightly, smoothing the hair down at the same time to get it as flat as possible. Here is a good example here.
You want to get the hair as flat as possible on the top of the head, as with your natural hair underneath, you will have a lot of volumes there already. So getting it flat will help it look natural.
Step 5: Work your way around the wig and get it as straight as you like. Once dry, it will brush out easily because of the fabric softener, and you will have a detangled wig.
Top Tip: Don’t have a steamer? Put the wig in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Wrap in a towel to get out excess water and place it on the mannequin head. Spray with a fabric conditioner and brush the hair straight until it “sets” straight.
Step 6: Use a hairdryer on a low heat setting to get the wig dry. Then spray with a little dry shampoo to add texture and to take away that tell-tale synthetic shine
Step 7: Spray with a little light hold hair spray to keep it in shape. Do not use firm hold hair spray as it will cause the hair to tangle and matte quickly.
Method 2: Tame Your Wig to Make it Look Natural
Get these tools prepared before your wig whipping extravaganza:
Tools Needed
- A wide-toothed wet brush or comb
- Water and fabric softener mixed in a spray bottle
- Mannequin head
- Hairdressing shears or a razor
- A handheld steamer
- Dry shampoo
- Hairspray
- Small elastics
- Eyeshadow (the color you would want your roots to be) and a small blending brush
- Concealer to match your skin tone
Detailed Steps
Follow the steps below, and you will make even the most plastic looking wig look natural:
Step 1: Follow steps 1 – 5 as per above, so you have a damp wig that is fairly straight with a clear parting pinned to your mannequin head.
Step 2: Once all the hair has been laid flat, start to cut layers into the hair to soften the bluntness of the Halloween wig. Most natural hair has different lengths and layers, chopping layers into a Halloween wig will make it look more natural and softer.
Step 3: Make sure to frame the face and graduate the hair back from just under the chin to the longest point, if it’s a longer wig, or from the bangs to the longest point if it’s a shorter wig.
Step 4: Make sure to cut into the ends to give a softness to the ends.
Top Tip: Don’t worry about striving for perfection when cutting your wig, The mannequin head will be “perfect” and not have any weird shapes or lumps and bumps. However, the human head is a different story and the wig will look perfectly imperfect when it is on your head.
Step 5: To add a bit of a natural wave to the wig hair, you can either dry the hair completely and then use a hair curling wand set to 300 F. Or you can tie the hair into large braids and twists and then set the hair in boiling water.
Step 6: Once your hair has been dried and curled, use a light hair spray to keep the shape. Use dry shampoo to add texture and take away the plastic-y shine
Top Tip: If you want your wig to look really natural, take eyeshadow in the color you think your root should be, so a dark brown for instance. Go in and paint that dark eyeshadow onto your roots to give it depth of color and add a natural feel to your Halloween wig.
Finish off by taking concealer in the same color as your skin and painting it along the parting to trick the eye into thinking that the wig is seamless.
FAQs
Check out the below sections for taking your Halloween hair game from meh to MARVELOUS!.
Can You Brush a Halloween Wig?
Yes, but as stated in the method above, it is synthetic hair. Not human hair.
That means the best way to get your Halloween wig in order after a night of partying, wig-snatching, and get down on the dance floor is fabric softener mixed with water in a spray bottle.
Aim for a “leave-in conditioner” like consistency, which is around 1 part fabric conditioner to 2 parts water.
How Do I Wash My Halloween Wig?
Just as fabric conditioner replaces conditioner, so too laundry detergent replaces shampoo!
Take a bowl of cold to lukewarm water and add a couple of tablespoons of gentle laundry detergent. Place the wig in the bowl and gently shake to make sure it is all submerged.
Leave for 10 minutes and then rinse under a tap until the water runs clear. Now you can add a couple of sprays of the fabric conditioner to keep it supple and silky when you dry it.
How to Tame Frizz on my Synthetic Wig?
Section off the wig and work from the front to the back. Grab sections of hair with a soft bristle brush (a men’s beard bristle brush works surprisingly well for this) and pull the hair straight and gently glide down the hair with your steamer to straighten it and combat frizz.
Remember, synthetic wigs are basically plastic, so when you add gentle heat to them, you can mold the hair into a new shape.
Wrapping Up
Taming, styling, and reshaping a Halloween wig can be a little time-consuming. However, when you consider that you can purchase these wigs for under $50 and make them look like a $1’000 lace front wig for a little effort and an hour’s work, it becomes a no-brainer!
Do you have any synthetic hairstyling tips to upgrade a Halloween wig and make this year’s Halloween costume ROCK?
Let me know below, so I can try them out too!