Claire Golby
Level 5
Dramatic Contexts
Cutting and Styling
Below is the process of my attatching the lace to the wig, which I think went well. I'm very unsure what to do with regards to the back of the wig; as it's elasticated, it all scrunches up the back and stretches the lace which concerns me. Because it's so elasticated, I found it difficult to get it to sit much farther forward to the hairline. As its sitting quite far back that follows that i'll have more knotting to do. But this will also help conceal the front of the wig, which actually has short pieces of hair at the front defined in a center parting, so hopefully all the knotted hair will be able to conceal this.
The Wig Process
This is the photo advertising the wig that I bought to re-front. Its a mens mid-length, brown wig made from synthetic hair. Obviously as my portrait has long hair, I won't be cutting it short, so I had to make sure that when buying the wig, it was atleast shoulder length so that I could cut and style it accordingly. The wig has a very set centre parting, but I think that if I knot enough hair infront of it and style it backwards, like in the painting, then it wont be noticeable. The actual front of this wig will be sitting so far back on the head, as i am taking back the hairline so far, that it shouldn't be visible. I bought 2 wigs so that I'd definately have enough extra hair to knot onto the frontint lace, as I could cut it off the wefts of the 2nd wig. As its synthetic hair and the wig is quite straight, I'll need to research how to style it, as obviously I can't use too much heat on synthetic hair. Obviously most wigs are made up of about 4 different shades of hair, but the hair in my portrait is quite monotoneThe structure of the wigs are basically completely made up of layers of wefts sewn to a black elasticated foundation.
Knotting the Wig
At first, I wasn't really sure how to start the knotting process. Because the lace is so fine and the synthetic hairs are thicker than human hair, I was really resistant to bulk knotting, as I feel it stretches the lace, and I was very cautious of not damageing the lace. I did about 3mm of single knotting hairs in every hole until I resisted and started bulk knotting, but I kept it to 2 hairs, occasionally 3. As my portrait has quite fine, limp hair anyway, I really didn't want to knot too much hair, as then his hair might've looked too thick or voluminous. When I got to 2cm behind the hairline, I started single knotting again, quite densley at first and then diffusing them out until they reached the front of the hairline. It was at this point that I noticed a couple of very small holes at the front of the lace, which really alarmed me, as I thought I'd been so careful. I thought
i'd have to whip it together with invisible thread, which I was scared to do as the thread is quite thick, so I thought it might cause more tearing. I think it must have happened when I was attatching the wig to the lace and I must've blocked the pins too closely to the hairline. I talked to my tutors about it and they suggested that I whip the holes together with hair. So I single knotted the holes with very fine pieces of hair and thankfully it worked. When I finished the whole wig, I couldn't even see the holes anymore.
Firstly (after pinning the wig to the block at regular intervals) I softly brushed out the wig in layers. The texture of the hair made this very hard to do, and it still felt unpleasant even without tangles in it.The layers are all very unever and choppy, and the wig is actually a lot longer than its advertised.
" A Word of Caution on Styling Wigs
Before you begin styling your wig, you must know what kind of hair is in your wig. If you apply the wrong technique to your hair fiber, it could be melted or ruined beyond recognition. If you are unsure about the material of your wig, there are a couple of different ways to check what it is. The most obvious is to check the tag. Nearly all commercially made wigs have a tag, usually located at the nape of the neck. If it says anything other than "100% Human Hair", it must be treated as a synthetic wig. Other terms you might see if your wig is synthetic include "Kanekalon", "Elura Fiber", and "Yaki", or your wig may simpley be labelled as "Synthetic". If the label has been removed from the wig for some reason, you can test the hair by pulling out a strand and burning it. When doing this, be sure to put out the fire before the entire strand has burned. If the hair burns away into ash and has a distinctly animal smell, it is most likely human hair. If the hair burns into a hard bead and has a chemical smell, it is most likely synthetic hair.
In general, human hair is styled by either applying some kind of heat (hair dryer, curling iron, and so on) or by thoroughly wetting the hair and drying it with heat. These same elements of heat will often melt a synthetic wig. Synthetic wigs are styling by either wetting the hair thoroughly and allowing it to air dry (often a time consuming process that does not the curl as securely) or, more often, by using steam. When in doubt, always test a section of the hair before styling! Take a tiny section of hair from the underside of the back and test out your styling method. This will save you a lot of heartache and wig repairs. "
Ruskai M and Lowery T (2010) Wig Making and Styling. England: Focal Press. pages 130 and 131.
"Cutting Wigs
The cuts needed to create a given hairstyle on a wig are the same haircuts needed to create that hairstyle with the hair that grows out of the human head. The difference is in how to deal with the wig on the block as you cut to ensure that the hair cut will work when it is put on the human head.
Wigs that are completely hand-tied onto non-stretchey foundations can be cut just as you would hair on a human head.
Wigs that are hand-tied on a stretchy foundation can be cut just as you would cut hair on a human head, as long as the foundation is pinned securely every 2 inches.
Wigs that are made of weft need to be cut with extra care to ensure that the result is smooth. It is very easy to end up with choppy ends. Avoid blunt-cutting any weft wig. Wigs made from weft are best cut by "tipping', razor cuts, or with thinning shears.
All wigs should be cut on a block identical to the persons head shape with hair prep, so use a well-padded plastic tracing or choose a block with the right shape.
Pin the wigs all over the head at small regular intervals to ensure that the foundation is stable when cutting."
Ruskai M and Lowery T (2010) Wig Making and Styling. England: Focal Press. pages 129 and 130.
So now I feel i know how to technically approach my wig. This way really helpful, but the book didn't say anything about using heated rollers on synthetic hair. As they have heat settings, and I only require a slight wave, for the most part, I will try heated rollers on a low setting with a lot of hairspray and see how it goes. I'm still unsure how to cut the wig, so i'll ask for my tutors opinion.
I then asked my tutor what I should do for the back of the wig, as the tight lace was still an issue. She suggested that I cut straight up through the foundation, as then each half can be pulled down and pinned to an anchor point. I think this will work really effectively, although I'm not sure this would be done in industry. I'd assuming I'd have to cut up my other wig and sew it to the back of this one.
Whilst looking at my wig, my tutor commented on the texture of my knotted hair, which had gone very wiry, angling in strange directions. It was something i'd assumed was normal, and would be sorted out in the styling process. She told me what had happened was when knotting the hair, sometimes the way the hook scrapes against the hair can be like when you curl cardboard with scissors, and it had caused the hair to curl oddly. She recommended that I brush the hair with the hairdryer on a high heat setting which would make the hair slighly pliable and therefore it would straighten out. It was something i'd never have thought to do but it worked perfectly and after about 15 minutes of doing this, all the hair i'd knotted was dead straight and blended in more naturally with the rest of the hair.
I also asked her about cutting the hair, and she recommended that I put it in a ponytail and cut it with scissors, being sure to feather out the hair after wards, as it could look very blunt. This worked well, and seemed to give the hair a similar, even length all the way around. It looked blunt at first, but after going through it with some scissors, it started to look more natural.
I tried the heated rollers on a low setting and found great success. They gave a fairly secure hold, and once i'd applied a lot of hairspray they held fine. I only need a loose wave for most of the head, so I can just cul the hair, brush it out and hairspray. I just practised styling the front initially, as I still havent tried it on my model for fit and length etc. When I have, I will finish styling the whole wig.