Just like your own hair, a wig will look better and have a longer life if you care for it. Inevitably, through regular wearing, a hairpiece will become soiled with your own oils from your hair/head, skin flakes, smoke from those around you and hair care products such as hairspray or wig luster. Therefore, from time-to-time proper shampooing, conditioning and drying techniques should be used to care for your wig and prolong its life. We’re here to help you care your for synthetic wig, using recommended synthetic wig care products. So without further ado, here are Glamour Boutique’s synthetic wig tips…
How to wash your synthetic wig
Our first synthetic wig tip is about washing your wig. Before shampooing your hairpiece, always ensure there are no knots or tangles by very gently brushing out the wig. Brush from the ends in toward the crown of the wig using a wig brush – never use a regular hairbrush as this will pull too hard on the strands inevitably leading to hair loss. Pour a small amount of synthetic wig shampoo (1-2 cap-fulls) into a tepid/cool sink of water or bowl. Next, immerse the hairpiece for 5-10 minutes in the water. Swish the wig around to ensure the water has seeped through all of the strands and then remove from the water. Empty the contents of the sink or bowl and refill with cool, clean water and then swish the wig around the clean liquid until all the shampoo is removed and then take out of the sink.
Synthetic wig shampoo
One question we get asked is whether you can use standard shampoo to wash a synthetic hair wig. Ideally, you need to make sure you purchase a shampoo that’s suitable to use on fibers to avoid any potential damage from chemicals found in many standard shampoos. We stock a suitable shampoo, or alternatively, if you’d like to do some of your own research, here’s a run down from Cosmo. Simply soak your wig in a bowl of cool water with the shampoo added. Never wring or stretch the fibers, and if you have a long wig that is prone to getting tangled, hold it up and gently wash through with shampoo and cool running water.
Synthetic wig conditioner
After shampooing, clean the sink or bowl with fresh water and then fill again with the cool tap. Add 1-2 cap-fulls of wig conditioner to the water and then swish the wig around in the mixture, gently working it into the hairpiece. Now remove the wig from the bowl/sink and rinse completely in clean, cool water. Remove the wig and blot with a clean dry fluffy towel until all the excess water has been removed. Hang to dry, preferably on a wire wig stand and allow to air dry naturally. Only begin to style once the wig has completely dried. Lightly spraying the dry hairpiece with Wig Luster will help to keep your wig soft and natural looking.
Styling your synthetic wig
Our second synthetic wig tip is to use a metal pick comb to separate the individual wig strands, working from the tips of the hair inwards. You can then use your fingers to style the wig. Since the hairs are synthetic you will damage the wig if you brush or pull too hard so be gentle at all times. It’s also important not to use heated styling tools on synthetic fibers. Try not to break the fibers when styling but gently bend the hairs to obtain the desired ‘look’.
Wig storage
Another synthetic wig tips that we need to share is to always use a Styrofoam wig head or a travel wig stand to store your hairpiece. If you do not have one then store using a wig net. This will ensure less tangling and will help to keep the synthetic hairs soft. To explore our range of wigs, including synthetic and human hair, visit our wig store.