Guest Post on Wig Styling by Cosplay Tutorials

Hello readers, this is Gaby from Cosplay Tutorials to give you some helpful hints and tips to style wigs.

Wig styling is a trial and error process. With patience, hard work, and a lot of references, you will get your desired end product.

Common products used for styling wigs are hairspray and hair glue. In my experience got2b Glued Blasting Freeze Spray and got2b Glued Styling Spiking Glue get the job done.

Setting Up the Wig Before Styling 

It's a good idea to buy a wig head to rest your wig on when you're styling it, but there is also a downside to this. The wig head is smaller than your head size, and what looks good on the wig head, might not look that good on you. I recommend buying the male wig heads instead of the female ones. The female ones are smaller and are at an angled pose.  

Cutting Wigs 

Sometimes, all you have to do to style your wig is to cut it. Look at official references and if possible, look at how other cosplayers style their wigs to get an idea on how to cut yours. 

Before you begin cutting, you have to pick out your scissors. Cosplay wig fibers are usually made by synthetic plastic fibers, and the plastic will dull the scissors blades fast. Choose your scissors wisely, do you want to spend the money on an expensive pair that allow you to sharpen it or cheap scissors that will dull after a few uses. ¹ 

Determine whether you want the edges of your wig to be blunt on soft from looking at your references. Characters with hair with blunt edges requires you to cut your wig straight across, while characters with hair with softer edges requires you to cut your wig at an angle. 

If you are cutting your wig on a wig head, please be careful of the length. The length on the wig head might be perfect, but it will run a bit short on you.  

Creating Spikes

It's important to have hairspray and spiking glue ready when spiking wigs. Hairspray will hold the spikes up while the spiking glue will keep the edge of the spikes clean and crisp. 

Different characters will have different spikes, but Malindachan at deviantArt created a great tutorial to help you get your spikes looking clean. ²  

Creating Curls 

You can create curls on a wig just like how you curl human hair, but there are some precautions. There are heat resistance wigs that you can buy, but using a curling iron on the wrong setting will damage your wig. Be sure to look at all of the information of your wig before doing anything to it. 

God Save the Queen Fashions created a great tutorial on how to create curls using a sponge roller and blow dryer. ³ 

 Resources

1. Kama. (2006, June 23). Does it matter what scissors you use when cutting wig hair?. Cosplay.com. Retrieved November 24, 2011, from http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.php?t=211774
2. Malindachan. (2011, September 20). Yusei Fudo Wig tutorial v2. deviantart.com. Retrieved November 24, 2011, from http://malindachan.deviantart.com/art/Yusei-Fudo-Wig-tutorial-v2-259301464
3. God Save the Queen Fashions. (2011). How to Curl a Wig. godsavethequeefashions.com Retrieved November 24, 2011, from http://godsavethequeenfashions.com/How_to_Curl_a_Wig.html