Hi wonderful people!
My name is Hannah and I have a long history of online costume shopping at 2 in the morning.
Hello Hannah
Because I’ve been getting asked this a lot more than usual lately, I’ve decided to post a note about wigs here in the lead up to Chimera and other events.
There’s a wealth of wig information online. (Warning. If you’re googling women’s hair images, be careful of your wording). Article searches can provide you with great detail about the type of wig cap, weft or hair unit, the weave, what kind of lace, and the type of synthetic, that is, if you’re using a synthetic at all over human hair. When you’re starting out, you probably want to get even more basic. So here’s the short of the long:
BASIC QUESTIONS
How much does it cost (including shipping)?
How much coverage will it give?
Is it heat resistance and will it be easy to travel/maintain/restyle?
TESTING
If you’re thinking about buying a wig and have never worn one before you may benefit from shoulder tapping a friend in the LARP/cosplay/theatre & film community and asking if you can borrow one for a few hours. Friends are cool. Friends with wigs are cooler. I suggest this because some people genuinely can’t stand the feel of a wig on their head. There are some ways around that (better quality wigs often help, though a swimming cap to line your head/own hair with rubber can often help by providing a barrier between your scalp and the wig surface). If you can go a three hour game with a wig you’ll probably be fine. In which case…what to buy?
TRYING
In Wellington and Christchurch there is at least one central wig/hair braiding store that will let you try on wigs if you ask very nicely. Or you could try at your local costume hire. If you have CDO like I do, you may not be happy with the best wig for your character, you may also want to try for the best wig for your character that also goes with the shape of your face or skin tone etc. That is, you may think you’ll be a pretty pretty princess in blonde, until you realize there are 50 shades of grey of 500 of blonde and yellow makes your skin look like a dead fish. Have a play first if you can and see what colours and styles work on you rather than the stunning even-skin-toned eighteen year old Asian girls who models half the wigs I’ve bought online.
BUYING
When it comes to cost, there’s really no limit. There are incredibly high quality human hair wigs designed for cancer patients etc and these can set you back thousands. There are some amazing quality synthetics, blends, and even discounted human hair wigs in the hundreds range also.
I’m going to skip down to the Scottish/student end because I usually get asked by people thinking of buying their first wig and I myself am part student, part Scottish, and partner to a part Dutch accountant. My advise here: if you haven’t tested out a wig and you’re really just looking to have a play with whether a new hair look would work for your character idea, do a basic search on ebay (ebay.com.au in Australia is often best as we’re close enough to Aus for free shipping and most of the products are coming direct from Asia so they shouldn’t take too long. Ebay.com and Ebay.co.uk are also good options).
You can get a basic ebay wig for $6 if you’re looking at the right time. I’ve got one for $4 something and one for $3 something including postage before. More commonly you’d be looking between $8 -$16 including shipping. If you’re only paying a little you may not mind as much when the exact shade you saw on your screen isn’t the exact hair shade that arrives in the mail. They’re usually pretty close… but not always. The style may be slightly different also…especially when it’s been smooshed into the cheapest possible postal pack. You may not even mind that the synthetic (fake) hair isn’t heat resistant and won’t restyle well after the first few wears. That’s where “you get what you pay for” can come into it. A cheap wig may become unsalvageable if it gets completely matted. The more you pay the more likely your wig will be heat resistant and able to be restyled or maintain its look.
COVERAGE
Some of the cheapest online wigs look great in the picture…but the picture only shows the front of the wig, and for good reason (if by ‘good’ we mean for the seller). Some wigs are terribly thin with very little hair coverage, which means either your own hair will show through underneath, or you’ll want to wear/attach an underwig to add more coverage. Buying a second wig for more hair coverage may defeat the purpose of buying a cheap one in the first place, or tempt the student within you to hulk out (in, what should be purple but often appear blue, pants). To avoid this, look for wigs that are sufficiently thick, that show the front and the back of the wig (where the long hair hasn’t just been moved from front to back) and one that preferably gives you at least a glimpse of the hair part or seam.
SEAMS
Some seams can be machine sewn in a hilariously fake way. Others may be done more naturally, but the hair stops abruptly where it meets the wig cap which looks fake when it meets your head. Wigs with fringes can often help with this by filling the gap between real forehead and fake hair. Lace front wigs also come in handy here and can provide a more natural look. However, you probably don’t want to buy a Swiss lace front wig as your first wig because these are delicate enough that you can actually tear them when adjusting and manoeuvring the wig for the first time, if you’re not used to it.
The main things to consider about hair thickness and seams: does the wig have enough hair coverage to cover my head and achieve the look I want? Does the wig stop abruptly with a fake seam/show the wig cap, or is there a natural looking seam or fringe to hide the fake effect?
CLEANING
A lot of the costume hire stores will give you different advice here like “use a little shampoo”, but shampoo can damage some synthetics. Others say to try warm water, and this is a fairly safe bet, though you probably want to try sponging off dirty areas rather than emerging the whole wig and cap in water if you’re looking for longevity. There are a variety of wig sprays specially designed to care for your wig if you’re really wanting to invest in it.
WHERE TO LOOK
As already mentioned, a basic search on ebay.com.au sorting by lowest price + postage is a good start.
AliExpress.com is another great cheap option for wigs and costumes alike.
LightInTheBox.com is slightly more expensive, but has better quality synthetic options and often has a better range of non-anime men’s wigs than ebay or Ali.
VogueWigs.com is another option and often has a wide range of historical wigs.
As with all online shopping, look out for the sales. Sale + free shipping equals win. Light In the Box and Vogue can often reduce their wigs from $200 USD down to $40 if you’re looking at the right product at the right time.
HOW TO COVER YOUR OWN HAIR/KEEP THE WIG ON
There are multiple ways of getting your hair wig-ready. If you have short hair you may not need to bother. As soon as you start getting some length, or if your hair is thick, you may want to consider clips or pins. Some people prefer basic bobby pins. If you’ve got a quick costume/wig change these can often snag the inside of your wig and need re-pinning before placing on the next wig. Hair Clips are often a good bet as they don’t catch as much as bobby pins and can keep the hair flatter. Some with extremely long hair prefer to plait their hair first, then flip it up and clip it to their head. You don’t necessarily need to do anything. Just note that clean, shiny, un-clipped hair is the nemesis to wigs staying on without slipping. Drawing from other student experiences, the longer you leave your hair without washing, the better your wig will stay on. Filth. That’s the key. And Bacon. But normally clips.
That’s about all I can think of off the top of my head. Apologies if this is in the wrong place in this forum. Please note also that I don’t want to insult anyone who already knows this already (as I know a large number of you will). However, if this is knew to you, or you still have questions, feel free to email me or find me on facebook as Hannah Vettori. Hannah McKie and Hannah McKensington are also acceptable. Gypsy Yum is also acceptable. As is salami. For a closing memo? Remember wigs cover a multitude of sins and for everything else, there’s bacon.
