When the fall is about to get over, everyone washes their Halloween wigs for Christmas. Do you?
It's been two months since the fall. Halloween is over! We are over election celebrations and heartbreaks for a few many! Autumn will also be saying bye to us in a week or so. We're no more turning ourselves into movie or video game characters. Right? Wrong!
I agree the two most fascinating months for impersonating our favorite characters may have slipped, and we can't get them back until next year, but the thirst of wearing costume wigs and cosplays is never holding back. Mind you! Never!
Especially when we have winters coming our way, they bring Christmas and new year for us. Yeah, yeah! They may not offer the feels of the falls, but they surely give enough reasons to reuse the Halloween costumes with wigs in a different style.
But before that, we need easy ways to clean our Halloween costumes with wigs
Well, if it were 2019, we wouldn't be insisting on cleaning Halloween wigs and costumes. But it's 2020 when you have to be careful more than ever. I remember how I yanked those used costume wigs from the cupboard to celebrate Christmas and new year with friends and family.
But we are not living in the last year (wish we had a portal to travel to the past, Dark remade), and not only we should focus on cleaning but sanitizing our costumes. It ensures that we have them reusable and safe in public.
Let me remind you that you don't need to be an expert to clean, but there are effective ways to clean them. Don't worry, you already think it's a tedious process, but it's not. Just go through this cleaning algorithm carefully, and you'll have them ready to use for any occasion.
DIY— cleaning your Halloween wig
We're starting with cleaning the synthetic Halloween wigs. Look! It would help if you considered a few factors to maintain the profile for synthetic wigs. They are easy to clean, but they may need some exquisite cleaning with patience. The idea is to preserve the shine, bounciness, and style of the wig.
Don't just brush or wash it mindlessly. You might end up degrading its quality. We have to move thoughtfully, step by step, so we don't damage its profile. Here's the guide for cleaning your Halloween wig and using it for future events and occasions.
Step #1 Brush through the wig.
It's the first and the most crucial step for cleaning the cosplay wig. So we'll begin with brushing through the wig. Who doesn't like brushing the hair? It's mentally orgasmic given how it untangles every hair and passes the comb-like a smooth ballet dancer on the floor.
This time around, we're not using sharp combs but paddle hairbrushes. Yes, the ones like flat swats having spooky tentacles (bristles) sprouting out.
Now, if you're wondering how to move these brushes through the wig, here's the quick hack: brush the bottom end first. Untangle the bottom a few inches (one or two) through downward strokes. Once you're done with smoothening that part, move an inch or two up, and repeat the stroke. Continue the process all the way through the center of the wig.
If you get obstructed at some point in the wig, don't apply force or try to pull it too hard. You'll be damaging the strands, making them uproot them from the cap. Hold an inch above the strand in the portion you want to detangle. Hold it for firm enough to detangle and not firm enough to uproot.
It's perfectly fine if you can't achieve the smoothness as desired. It is just about beginning at some point.
Step #2 Spray the lemon smoothing & cleansing agent.
Hair loves lemon. I'm not cynical; you must have already tried lemon remedies on your natural hair. Lemon cleansers and hair scrubs are quite common among beauticians.
Would you be surprised if I recommended lemon for the wigs too? Didn't we just announce "hair loves lemon?" Well. Yes. It also stands true for the afro wigs you bought this Halloween.
Anyway, lemon sprays have smoothening and cleaning agents. So goodbye, those adamant dust hugging your wig. You would want to spray lemon on your hair, so the hairbrush moves on the wig as smooth as the pancake.
Please note the idea of using a lemon spray is to loosen up the knots and return the glory (the shine) snatched by those naughty dust particles. When you stroke your brush across the wig, the lemon would make it easier for the brush to go through the hair.
And yes, don't overspray on your wig. The idea is tempting to bathe your wig in it, but it's not the right way to do it. We're spraying it lightly, particularly on the knots, so the wig is misted, not too wet and heavy.
Step #3 Brush the hair again. Keep it more thorough.
You've sprayed lemon on hair. I wish the knots got untangled on their own, but you need to put some more effort here. Brush the wig again. Keep the strokes through the hair more thoroughly so your brush can move smoothly from top to bottom of the wig.
Please remember we're using lemon sprays only when the wigs have badly-tied knots, and you can't get rid of them with plain brushing. A little misting without drenching it in the liquid will see the brush through hair easily. Again, could you not make it like a dripping wet? You'll have even more challenging times detangling the wig. Spray as your barber does.
Chances are high you need not follow the second and thirst step if you have bought good quality wigs this gathering. You should be really done in the first step itself. But old and cheap wigs might present some knots that you know how to deal with.
Don't you? Be kind to your wig. Remember. Kindness and gentleness can compel anyone on their knees. She's just a wig. If you don't, she's shedding lots of hair in resentment.
Step #4 Fill your bathtub with cold water.
Notice the word "cold". You might fall for filling your sink or bathtub with hot water, but don't dare to do that. Be my guest if you want synthetic wigs to release color and fade with hot water. They also damage the fibers of your wig. Too pathetic!
Instead, cold water maintains the quality of the wig, including its fiber. As you rub wigs in cold water, the hair fiber will not knit when they rub against each other in the water. Oh! Yes. I have seen some legends washing their wigs in the washing machine. Trust me, they need a trophy for the best comic act.
Step #5 Add fabric softener in the water
Remember. Whatever softener you use for your laundry works just fine for the wig too. Add a cap full of fabric softener to keep your Halloween wig smooth.
No man! I use soap or shampoo for my clothes. Should I use it? Well, you may feel tempted to use them, but why have the unnecessary froth in the first place when fabric softener can do the same job without being too sudsy for your wig?
Think of softener as your very own hair conditioner. How does your hair feel once you've applied the conditioner? Smooth and bouncy. Doesn't it? So softener is a huge plus as a conditioner on a wig. In case you need more reasons to use softener, a fresh laundry smell could convince you.
Now your ultimate excuse could be you don't have it. Great! Put the goddamn hair conditioner on it. It may still not be the potent formula, but something is better than nothing. Ensure when you're mixing the softener, it melds well in the cold water.
Step #6 Immerse the wig in the water
Now recreate the Titanic scene with your wig. Let it sink in the water as Jack did. Oops! Make sure it submerges entirely into the water. Synthetic fiber would want to float like Rose Bukater. But you know what to do with Jack. Don't you?
The entire cap, strands, roots, and end should be drowned inside the water. There's no second choice for you. If it's floating above the water, give a light push, which shall do the job. Avoid muscling it. You don't want to tangle, especially when it's going underwater.
Step #7 Swirl the wig steadily in the water
You might feel the easiest way to clean the sins and stains stuck on your wig is through scrubbing and rubbing. The idea sounds compelling and fascinating but is absolute BS.
Swirl your wig as much you want, but don't scrub it as you do with your clothes. You're most welcome if you're going to tangle it badly; otherwise, swirling should be enough.
Hold the top center root of the wig and shake the wig slowly in the water. It should still create foam and froth, but the bubble would travel to individual fibers without causing a rub between them. It shall prevent the threads from knotting.
Step #8 Let Jack drown, once again
Sorry but no place feels as much home for Jack as his underwater house. :/ Drown the effing man once again! Let him submerge for at least 20 minutes. Again, keep the wig entirely inside the water.
Re-drowning would make sure each fiber of the wig is wet and comes in contact with a softener. The softener's chemical would also scrap off the makeup color or hairspray you must have used during Halloween.
Step #9 Pull him out of the dirty water
Look! Jack has been underwater for quite some time now. Cut him some air now. So you pull the wig out of the sink/tub and let go of the dirty water. Consider using a bucket or towel when you're working with synthetic wigs.
They have high water holding capacity and might drip on lifting out. This time, put Jack under a cold water shower or tap. Rinse him until you feel all the softener is drained out of him. I tell you... these softeners love wigs. Until you've rinsed the wig properly, softeners wouldn't leave him alone.
Do it till you find clean water coming out of the wig and show no sud or foam sign whatsoever.
Step #10 Hold Jack out
Now that we have saved Jack from drowning (thanks to your compassionate heart), we'll hold him from his neck, so his entire length hangs down. Let him hang in your palm, top to bottom. Squeeze the guy until he pukes or rings out all the water from his stomach. Just kidding. Squeeze the wig, so you remove the excess water from it. ;)
It's time to apply some softness. Please don't be too hard shaking or rubbing it. Then lay him flat on a thick towel. Wrap him, man! He's freezing cold. Pat him gently all the way from top to bottom.
Don't twist or rub it like you do when you get out of the bathroom. Don't do anything ridiculous that tangles the sweety soft baby again. As you know, Jack was inside the water for too long. He'll have too much water. You want to squeeze out the water as much you can. We'll later hang the lad to dry. :D
Step #11 Hang him down the wire
So our Jack is ready to dry off. If you hang him, you won't hang him by his hair or neck. Right? Similarly, please don't turn your wig with its hair. Try its cap or elastic instead of the hair itself. If you do it, you know the hair won't survive. Like Jack won't!
You can also hang it with the towel as water might still drip. The towel or bathrobe will catch all the water molecules from dripping on someone's head. Please! Please! Please! Don't brush the damn wig while it's still not dry. I know you want it to fit as early as you can, but doing so would only pluck out the cluster of hair from the wig.
Step #12 Gentle and preliminary brush once dried
When Jack has been hammered in the long scorching sun, he'll completely dry off. You'd notice him without any damp spot. If he appears to have the spot, keep him hung for a few hours more. Please give him a careful and gentle brushing, following the same route from bottom to root, with a downward stroke.
If you still find some knots, we'll jump back to the second step. Now spray lemon as a knot loosener and then comb it from the bottom of the knot, with the same process.
Step #13 Brush the wig, layer by layer
Now follow step 1. We'll brush the wig, layer by layer, from the bottom to the root. Remember to start this process from the bottom as we clear the knots at the lowest end of the wig and then move an inch or two upward.
Imagine you were passing the brush from root to bottom. You'll have plenty of snags in between that will not only waste your time but also pull off the clump of hair onto the brush. You don't want that until you want Jack dead.
By the end of the layer brushing process from bottom to top, you should be able to pass on the brush through the hair smoothly with very little or no snag.
Step #14 Style up your wig
The best part about cleaning/sanitizing synthetic wigs is that they retain memory, both in shape and bounciness. If they were straight previously, they remain straight even after the wash. Same with the curly afro hair or wavy fibers. They remain as they were pre-assigned roles.
But if you somehow happen to be unsatisfied with the wash, you can always style the wig you want. Straighten your straight wig like you straighten your hair. Or curl it up as you did in the last Halloween meeting. Steam or curler, you already know which would give it the desired shape.
Please don't try this on cheap wigs. Most of them are anti-customization. Styling them would mean "you're watching them for the last time."
Step #15 Pull any style and rock the Christmas
Finally! You're there. We have our Christmas and new year cosplay ready. Slip a wig cap over your hair and put the wig. Brush it as it deems fit to you. Keep doing it until you've reached a satisfactory level of nirvana. And... you're ready to rock the post-autumn events.
Buying and styling your wigs with HalloweenPartyOnline
I understand cleaning your Halloween wigs is like a tough nut to chomp, especially when your teeth are on the life-support themselves. But you can avoid all these hassles with Halloween Party Online.
You have to check the website for exciting wigs, costumes, and cosplays. Who said you have to make your wigs reusable when you can have quality wigs at lower prices on your doorstep.
Look here's the comparison between two algorithms:
- Either you follow the above mention 15 steps (too long)
Or
- Hit the store.
- Pick your favorite party wig
- Order the bloody damn wig
- Get it delivered, and enjoy!
What would you want? Let me know in the comment section.
