Whether you only use a wig on the weekends / special occasions or you wear one in your daily life, you are bound to encounter some tangles. Don’t allow tangles to make that once-beautiful curly wig turn into a mess! With a few inexpensive products (and a lot of patience) you can bring your tangled wig back to life. By taking some time to prepare, combing out your wig, and giving it some time to dry you can have your wig looking like new.
The best part about this DIY method is that the products and items needed are easy to find and inexpensive. Using a wig head can be helpful, but it’s not crucial.
Gather the following materials:
A big/wide tooth comb or wide-tooth
A spray bottle filled ¾ of the way with water
Leave in Conditioner
Mannequin head and tripod-stand to mount it or you can use something that can serve a similar purpose. You may need to hang the wig onto something, especially if its long.
Once you've gathered everything you need, we can proceed...
1. Mount your wig.
Place your wig on your wig head. If possible, mount the wig head onto a camera tri-pod (or another tall object) to make it easy for you to work on it. This is especially helpful if the wig you are working with is very long.
- If you don’t have a wig head (or a tri-pod) simply lay your wig on a table or counter.
2. Prepare your conditioner. Fill your spray bottle about ¾ of the way full with water. Then add conditioner to fill the bottle the rest of the way. You are aiming for roughly 3 parts water to 1 part conditioner. Shake the mixture well.
3. Soak your wig. If your wig is really mangled, you may want to give it a warm water soak. To do this, fill a sink with warm water. Remove your wig from the wig head (if using), and leave it to soak in the water for 10-15 minutes. Carefully wring the excess water from your wig and return it to your wig head.
- If the wig is very dirty, you can add a squirt of shampoo to the water. If you do this, be sure to rinse the wig with clean water before you begin combing.
4. Saturate the tips of your wig. Take out your spray bottle, and squirt conditioner-water onto the bottom tips of your wig, until the bottom 3-5 inches (7.62-12.7 cm) of the wig is fully saturated.
- If the conditioner begins to separate from the water, give the bottle a shake.
5. Comb out the tips. Using your wig comb (or wide-tooth comb), begin combing out the bottom 3-5 inches (7.62-12.7 cm) of the wig. Hold the hair firmly with one hand (just above where you are combing) as you comb with the other hand. If the hair is quite tangled, you may need to do this in small sections, until the entire bottom of the wig is tangle-free
6. Comb out the bangs and style the wig. If your wig has bangs, use a fine-tooth comb to untangle these, and position them the way that you want them. With the wig wet, carefully position the hair into the overall style you desire