Alright eveyone, its time for #TipTuesday! Sorry its posted a bit late, Im actually quite sick. x_x Today were going to talk all about wigs! I actually get asked a lot about my wig styling and even wigs in general. I see wigs as the one thing that can make or break a costume, and if I splurge on anything, thats going to be it. I consider it an investment-- one that pays out in the end! First things first, lets talk about certain types of wigs. You have your party wigs, your eBay wigs and then your cosplay wigs. Im going to tell you now that there are literally no benefits to a party wig, aside from the price. They are cheap, thin and look terrible in camera. In the end, they just arent worth it. EBay wigs are hit and miss. You can score some really nice wigs, for really cheap from Chinese Sellers. Downsides are that the shipping slow (2-4 weeks) and your quality might not be good., Number one tip for this kind of purchase is to check seller feedback. I opted to buy my wigs for Sesshoumaru, Cammy and Queen Beryl on Ebay, because I needed 150cm wigs, and thosell set you back a pretty penny. I managed to get each one for about $25 with free shipping. Cosplay wigs are made with cosplay specifically in mind. Were lucky that cosplay in mainstream enough that we can almost always count on there being a vareity of nice wigs in dozens of colors-- it wasnt always that way. Lets talk a little bit about certain companies that are around. Epiccosplay wigs are good quality, super thick and super fine. These wigs are a good choice if you need a lot of volume, but want to keep a soft texture. Colors are nice and bright, shipping is fast, wigs are a good price and the customer service is nice. Personally, not MY choice, because I do a lot of crazy wig work, and the fine fibers can tangle easily for my person purposes, but they are really nice wigs despite this. HelloCosplay is my pick if I need a good wig, fast. Wigs are cheaper, shipping is pricey, but because of this, you will recieve the wig in about 3 days. Sometimes I need wigs last minute and if thats the case, Hellocosplay has NEVER let me down. Wig quality is nice and thick and easy to style. They have tons of variety. Arda-wigs is usually my top choice. They are made with cosplayers in mind, and Western ones at that. Their wig caps tend to be larger than most asian ones, which is good for people like me who have large heads. Fibers are soft, but a bit coarser, which makes it easier to style depending on what your doing. Ive never had tangling issues, past mild knotting, but this also depends on your length. They offer a variety types of wigs, from lace-fronts to ponytail wigs, and you can even order color samples. Cosworx is the wig site run by cosplay. Once it was a prominent wig seller, but its kinda of fallen under the radar in recent years. I tend to tell people to stay away. While the wig quality is good, customer service is terrible and Ive had more issues with them than not. Every wig Ive ordered from there was delivered incorrectly, or took almost two months to get to me. Customer service is non existent and their phone just rings on and on and on. Local Beauty shops are also somwhere you can look into. There is a high ethnic population where I live, so there are TONS of wig shops near me. Upsides are natural looking wigs for decent prices, and you can see them before hand. Downsides are that msot wigs arent heat-resistant and can melt easily, and arent easy to style. Theyre meant for everyday wear though, and can sometimes be seen as more comfy. Taobao is something that I dont quite understand how to work. I know its Chinese-based and that you cant legally order from the United States, so you have to order through a service. My friend did once, and I ordered two wigs in a batch with a group of other people, but she handled the ordering, so I dont know how to really do it. u_u;; I know that there are sites that show you how to do it though, so if youre feeling adventurous... I WILL say this tho-- wigs were good quality and super cheap. There are tons of wig sellers all around. You have to look around, but as always your best source of information is cosplayers themselves! Ask around-- people will tell you who their favorites to buy from are, and such. Word of mouth is key. As Ive said before, wigs are pricey. Another key thing you have to do is figure out how much you want to spend. Arda wigs are pricier because you pay for quality. Hellocosplay wigs look cheaper, until you get to the shipping. EBay is standard if you want to spend less, but its risky and can take up to a month to recieve your merch. I know Ive mentioned this before, but it skeezes some people out-- I also buy wigs used! They arent hard to sanitize, and most people sell them after only being worn once or twice. You can easily score high quality wigs for half the price. If you are commissioning a wig, keep in mind that it will cost you. If a commissioner quotes you like $150+, dont freak out. Most people charge cost of wig and materials, and then an hourly rate. The more complicated, the more itll cost. Its just the price of wanting a custom-made wig. I mention this though, because people dont understand that its a pricey venture. Lets talk about types of wigs next. There are tons of types you can choose from, depending on what you need! You have short types, long types, types with bangs, types without bangs, lace-fronts, ponytail wigs.... on and on and on! Basic wigs come by length and have bangs or no bangs. Lacefronts have a realistic hairline that you can trim back to however youd like, or add more fiber to (ventilating) to make widows peaks, etc. You can make fake widows peaks as well, it just depends on what you want it to look like. I always tell people Ponytail wigs are worth it. Putting hair up into a ponytail is hard and since some wigs can be kinda thin, they can look funky and you can see your own hair underneath. Ponytail wigs are designed to be nice and thick so this doesnt happen. You can also buy clip-on ponytails, clip on buns, etc, if you need something like that as well! Some wigs come thin, and you might want to add fiber. Most places sell packs of wefts that you can add into the wig by hand. You can buy loose hair and make your own, but this is time consuming and extremely tedious. If you can buy pre-made wefts, do so! If they dont have those... buy a ponytail clip and pull the hair out OR buy a second wig and pull the wefts out of that. Thats what I did for Queen Beryl-- I bought a second wig, pulled out the wefts and glued them into the other wig. It was cheaper as a whole and I got a LOT of fiber (and a wig that weighs almost eight pounds, aiiiiyih). And... this is where I stop Tip Tuesday! I wanted to cover EVERYTHING I know about wigs and styling, but lets be honest, theres just too much for one post! So, think of this as part one, with part two being next week. Well go over basic and crazy stylings, tips of the trade and Ill even share some of my favorite tutorials. As always, dont hesitate to ask any questions!
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 03:19:37 +0000
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