how to style a wig cosplay

How To Style A Wig Cosplay: Styling a Wig Cosplay Guide 101

Whether you’re a beginner or a pro in the wig industry, knowing how to style cosplay wigs can be quite tricky. There are a lot of things involved, such as styling, using the right hair products and even buying the right cosplay wigs. So, this is your guide to finally getting it right, boosting your confidence, and improving your experience in wig styling.

If you take out time to fully understand the rudiment of wigs and wig styling, you’ll realize it’s a piece of cake. Not to mention that acquiring this skill will add to your feather as you aim to become a hair perfectionist. Not to worry, in this post, we’ll break down the processes involved in styling cosplay wigs to make it even easier for you.

How to Style Cosplay Wigs

Wig styling is one of the most crucial but intimidating processes of cosplay. One step went wrong and you may end up frustrated. Heavily styled wigs are a bit more complicated to do. So it’s best, as a beginner, to start with something simple. 

The variety of wigs to purchase is vast, and if you’re new to cosplay fashion, it can be daunting. This is especially if you get a Goku cosplay, most wigs don’t come already styled, but if they do, they may be very expensive. So to avoid breaking the bank, cosplayers prefer to sew and style wigs in their free time.

Therefore, if you’re looking to save money, learning how to style cosplay wigs is for you. However, to style cosplay wigs, there are some basic things you need to have beforehand. So, very briefly, we’ll run-down these essential aspects of pre-styling cosplay wigs.

What Products Do You Need For Styling Wigs?

The items or products needed for styling cosplay wigs are categorized into two; the essentials and non-essentials. The essentials are those must-have tools to style a wing and the non-essentials are extra items to make your work even cooler. 

Essential Items Needed:

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how to style a wig cosplay materials

You may be concerned that hairspray and hair gel products aren’t listed here. Well, it’s not a mistake. Wigs are not organic material and typically don’t have natural oil, like human hair, to help prevent knotting and repair damage.

In essence, this means that hair gel and hairspray products won’t work well on wigs. They are manufactured to interact with the oils in the hair and obtain their holding power. So, it has no effects on wigs, even Cosplay.

Brushing And Combing Cosplay Wig

Always have it in mind that wig fibers are not the same as natural hair. So, when treating cosplay wigs, you need to be more careful. This also goes with combing and brushing them. 

When combing, ensure you don’t pull too hard, especially on knotted areas. If you pull too hard, the plastic strands may stretch out and may lead to permanent damage. And unlike hair, they won’t be able to grow back over time.

To comb your wig, use the wide-toothed comb or a wig brush (the image to the right is from our article about how to clean and maintain a synthetic wig). This comb is efficient because it doesn’t snag as easily on knots, and doesn’t pull them too hard. And as for the brush, only used the ones specially designed for brushing wigs like the ones made with looped nylon bristles.

When combing or brushing the wig, start with the bottom area of the wig and carefully work your way up to the roots. Combing from the bottom area helps any knots, preventing them from clumping up and causing a major tangle while combing.

How to brush synthetic wig with wire brush

Cutting Your Cosplay Wig

The techniques for cutting wigs are quite similar to that of natural hair. Again, you need to be careful when going through this. When cutting, ensure that you invest in a good pair of sharp hair shears so that you can cut smoothly through the wig fibers. Avoid using regular craft scissors as you may end up creating disorganized frayed edges.

Furthermore, note that the cutting technique you’ll use should depend on the style you’re going for. Whichever style you’re aiming at, do not cut straight across the wig as this may create a blunt, ugly edge. For accuracy, make small snips into your wig at a 45º angle. This will create fluffier and more varied hair ends. 

For optimum results, try the wig on yourself, then create a snip at the length of the hair and the length of the bangs that you want around your face. Of course, you’ll need a big mirror to do this, or better still, use someone else. Then place it onto the wig head and use the snipped section as a guide for the rest of the wig.

how to style a wig cosplay curly wig example

Straightening Or Curling the Wig

The first step to take when straightening or curing a wig is to check and ensure that the wig fibers are heat resistant. This is crucial as it’ll go a long way in ensuring that you do not harm or damage your wig. If you aren’t sure, test a piece in the back.

If the wig is not heat resistant, then you should avoid using heated styling options. Wait a few minutes for the fibers to cool completely if you’re using curlers or a curling iron. Check to see if the fibers hold the shape so you don’t have to keep going over the same section repeatedly.

You can check the description of the wig to know the exact level of heat they can handle to avoid melting the fibers. We recommend setting the temperature at 60º F (15º C) or below so that you don’t risk ruining your wig.  If you’re using high heat, ensure that you only use it for a short period. The plastic fibers will remain cool and maintain their shape more easily than normal hair, so it doesn’t need to stay in a straightener or curler for a long time.

Sometimes wigs are displayed as heat-resistant to get people to buy them. However, some aren’t and can’t even handle a hairdryer. So it’s best to check manually just to make sure! 

If your wig is heat-resistant, you can style it using basic heat tools like a hairdryer, hair straightener, and curler. Since cosplay wigs are made of synthetic, plastic fibers, you will want to be careful. So, when styling, ensure you use low heat settings on the heat tool you’re using.

Final Say

Learning how to style cosplay takes practice, patience, and consistency, and with time you’ll be a perfectionist. So even if after following this guide your work isn’t as you’d imagine, just keep trying. You can get some super cheap wigs and use them for practice. 

So many processes are involved just as with most wig styling methods. So you shouldn’t expect to hit it one time. Go for it! And with time you can become a  cosplay pop.

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