My Acrylic Wig

I needed to but an acrylic wig to use for both my historical and contemporary assessments. Therefore I visited a wig shop called Wow Accessories in my local shopping centre, which had been recommended to me by my tutor. The staff in the shop were very helpful and advised me on the best wig to choose for my assessments and allowed me to look at several before I made my final decision.

The wig I chose was a lovely medium brown colour and was very long at the back with a long fringe at the front. I chose the longest wig they had because at this point I was still deliberating on which decade and hairstyle I was going to choose. This was because we had not yet learned the 1940’s hairstyles which was the decade I was most interested in but I needed to buy a wig so that I could practice working on it. Therefore I choose a wig that could be made shorter if needed and that was a colour that could be used for any decade. The wig is heat resistant up to 106 degrees, the curled structure of the hair can be easily changed and the size of it can be adjusted to fit different people.

Introduction

I have just started my second year of my Make-up and Hair Design degree at Southampton Solent University and as my optional unit I chose wig work and postiche. I chose this unit because in first year I enjoyed working with hair and I want to further my skills so that I am able to create a wider range of designs involving hair and wigs. The only hands on experience I have with wigs is from when I was a child performing in dancing shows. I can remember the struggle of trying to squeeze tiny wigs ontop of my large head complete with thick unruly hair and how annoying it was for the wig to get in my eyes or move whilst I was trying to dance. Although this was not the most enjoyable experience I think it will help me to understand the importance of a wig fitting correctly, it being secured properly and it being as comfortable as possible. Needless to say I am looking forward to working with better quality wigs and hair pieces in this project.

As I have not really styled wigs before it is something completely new and I want to try I to see if it is something I want to go into more in the future. At the beginning of first year I had very little experience of working with hair and I feel that my skills have improved a lot since then as I have learnt and practiced different techniques and so I am now a lot more confident with working with hair than I was before. However I still think that my skills in hair are a bit weaker than my skills in make-up and this is another reason why I chose this optional unit so I can improve my skills further.

 In this unit we will be learning many different techniques that can be used to style different types of wigs and we will also be learning how to knot hair which is a technique used to make some wigs and facial hair pieces. We will be learning about how hairstyles have changed throughout the decades of the last one hundred years and how these styles influence today’s fashion. We will then choose a decade and create a historically accurate look on an acrylic wig which a model will wear. Then we will use influences from our chosen decade to create a modern fashion hairstyle on the same wig, which again a model will wear. I think I will enjoy learning about the different decades and how the iconic hairstyles from the different eras are created and why they were so popular at the time. 

Hair Pieces Helen 2/10/15

Hair piece

Try to get a hair piece that is as close to the models natural hair as possible.

Do a pin curl in the hair where you want to attatch the hair piece to by wrapping a piece of hair around two of your fingers. Then secure with two hair grips so that they create a cross shape over the pincurl or put grips in horizontally whichever works best for the hair piece you are using.

Then grip the hair piece into the pincurl.

Use the models natural hair to cover the hair piece.

You can then use the hair piece to create your chosen style, for example plaits and buns.

A weaft is a piece of fake or natural hair on a band.

A hair switch is a piece of weaft stitched to a clip. There are usually two or three sections of weaft on the clip.

Putting in large hair pieces can require you to use a lot of grips so you can use a sweatband with the grips already on them to make it easier for you than continuously picking up grips.

How to knott a moustache

Wigwork and postiche

Helen 9/10/15 and 16/10/15

Knotting a moustache

Firstly you will need to make a template to knot the moustache onto.

Cut a small piece of cling film and place strips of celotape accross the whole piece to make it more sturdy.

Then place it against your models skin and ask them to hold it in place for you.

Using a marker pen draw on the shape you want the moustache to be, making sure you leave a small gap between the upper lip and the beginning of the moustache so that it looks natural.

You only need to draw on half the moustache as the template can be symmetrical so you can fold it over. Although the human face is not exactly symmetrical your knotting will not be exactly symmetrical so you can get away with using the same template for both halves of the moustache.

Then get a piece of thin coloured card or thick paper and fold it in half. Place your moustache drawing onto it and cut around the template so that when you open the card up it is in the shape of your moustache. Blue and green card is popular as they are easy colours to look at for a long time when you are knotting. Lighting gel is also used by some people as an alternative to card.

Then hold the card template against your models’ face to check that the shape looks good.

Then attatch your template to your head block by apply strips of cellotape over the whole template. A flat surface on the head block will be the easiest to work on.

On top of the template attatch a piece of lace using blocking pins, making sure the lace lies flat and that there are enough pins to keep it securely in place. On the lace there are lines of the holes and they should be going horizontally across the lace.

Knotting

Hold a few strands of hair in your hands and fold them over to half them and make a loop in the hair.

Hold the hair in one hand and with the other hand take your knotting rod and hook and place it through a hole in the lace and under a strand of lace.

Then pull one strand of hair through the lace using the hook and turn the strand of hair so it goes under, over and through itself to create a knot.

Continue to knot the hair in rows using this technique.

Then when you have finished you can trim the hair and use small heated tongs to help style it into the shape you want.

Template for a wig

The best and easiest way to make a template for a wig is to wrap the top of the head in cling film and cover with cellotape so that it lies flat on the head. Then using a maker pen draw on the hair line and any measurements that you need. This is a very cheap way to measure for a wig whilst still getting accurate measurements, also the cling film id very light and so can be transported easily.

1940's hair

1940's hairstyle

To set the hair on a real hair wig you can use heated rollers.

Section off the hair at the front to about in line with the ears and then do a centre parting or a slightly off centre parting.

Place a few rollers on either side of the parting horizontally going away from the parting and the as you get closer to the ears put the rollers in vertically and direction them back.

Then with the rest of the hair use a brickwork pattern. At the sides some of the hair may be better going vertically to create a nice shape.

Leave the rollers to cool before taking them out to style the hair.

Then take the rollers out from the front of the hair.

Brush the curls on one side together using a pin tail comb.

Then roll the hair away from the face using your fingers to support the shape and angle at the top to create the victory roll shape.

Pin in place and try to hide the pins as much as possible.

Then do the same on the other side so that you have two victory rolls.

Take the rollers out at the back of the hair and gently brush them using a paddle brush. Then fold the bottom of the hair under to create a nice 1940’s shape.

Finish the look with hairspray.

How to put on an acrylic wig

Wigwork and postiche

Putting on an acrylic wig

Helen 23/10/15

First you need to prepare the hair for going under the wigs.

To do this put tight and flat pin curls in the hair making sure that you have several at the front to use as an anchor point for securing the wig. If possible a few at the back of the wig will make a good anchor point too.

Then wrap or pincurl the rest of the hair.

Place a stocking cap over the hair and secure with pins.

Style the wig as much as possible before putting it on your models’ head.

Then place it on the front of their head and ask the model to hold it in place whilst you place it over the rest of the head.

Check the wig is on straight and then use grips to secure the wig focusing on the front, back and sides. Place the grips through the wig and models hair and then turn the grip on itself to make it as secure as possible.

How to put on a lace wig

Wigwork and postiche

Blocking and Putting on a lace wig, 30/10/15 and 6/11/15

To block a lace wig firstly you need to place it on a manikin head making sure it sits correctly as it would if it was on a person.

Then place a strip of slightly damp glune along the edge of the lace and pin it using a lot of small pins. Put the pins in staggered so that there is more support when you are pulling on the hair as you brush it. Make sure you pin the sides of the wig at the ears so the wig is not damaged when you style it.

Style the wig and then remove the pins and glune carefully just before you put the wig on your models’s head.

Putting on a lace wig

Prepare the hair by putting in pin curls, wrapping the hair and putting on a stocking cap exactly the same as you would for putting on an acrylic wig.

Then place the wig on the models’ head, starting with the front and ask your model to help you do this.

Then make sure the wig is sitting correctly on the head.

You may need to trim the lace if it’s the first time the model has worn it. For theatre some of the lace is left on at the front and glued down but for television and film the lace is usually cut a lot closer to where the hair starts on the wig.

Then secure using pins, go through the wig and under the edge of the stocking cap.

Then use mastix spirit gum to glue the lace at the front of the wig to the head. Apply the glue to both the lace and the face to make it as secure as possible.

Pull the lace slightly as you are sticking it down to make it as snug a fit as possible and also use a pad to help press the lace onto the face. You can make a pad using tights and cotton wool.

To remove the glue use spirit gum remover and apply it with a baby wipe or cotton wool. Leave it to dissolve the glue for a few minutes before applying a bit more and then gently peel the lace away from the face.

The red haired wig I had originally done the 1940's hairstyle on was very small and did not fit my model because she has very long thick hair so I borrowed another wig someone else had styled to practice putting a lace wig on.