Can you wash a human hair wig with regular shampoo?
Never, ever use regular hair care products on your wigs. Harsh chemicals in regular shampoos, conditioners, and styling products will cause irreversible damage to both synthetic and human hair wigs. Natural hair products will make your wigs look frizzy, matted, or unnaturally shiny.
Human hair wigs are expensive, but they are definitely worth it. Because they are made from real hair, they are much more resilient than wigs made from synthetic fibers when it comes to straightening, curling, and dyeing. Just like synthetic wigs, human hair wigs need to be washed regularly. Because of how delicate they are, however, you need to be extra careful with them.
Requirements :
- Big Tooth Comb
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
Steps :
1. Brush or comb the wig starting from the ends. Gently comb out the ends of the wig first. Once they are free of knots, work your way up towards the roots until you can run your brush or comb through it without snagging. Use a wire wig brush for straight or wavy wigs, and a wide-toothed comb or your fingers for curly wigs (including natural/African-textured)
2. Fill your sink with cold water, then stir in 1 to 2 squeezes of shampoo. Use a high-quality shampoo that is suitable for the hair type you are washing. For example, if you are washing a curly wig, use a shampoo made for curly hair. If you know that the wig has been dyed, try a color-safe shampoo instead.
- You won't be applying the shampoo directly too the wig fibers. Instead, you'll be using the soapy water to wash the wig.
- Do not use 2-in-1 shampoos that contain conditioner. You can use conditioner on your wig, but you don't want to place it too close to the roots.
- If possible, use products that are made specifically for washing human hair wigs, as they will have less damaging chemicals than traditional hair care items
3. Turn the wig inside out and place it into the water. Use your fingers to turn the wig cap inside out and leave the wig fibers hanging loose. Place the wig into the water and press down on the fibers to submerge them. Give the wig a gentle swirl to help distribute the shampoo throughout the strands.
- Turning the wig inside out will make it easier for the shampoo to reach the wig cap, which is where most of the dirt, sweat, and oils collect
4. Soak the wig for 5 minutes. Make sure that the wig is completely submerged in the water. Do not move the wig around during this time. Too much thrashing, squeezing, and swirling will cause the fibers to get tangled
5. Rinse the wig with cold water until the shampoo is all gone. You can rinse the wig in a bucket filled with fresh, cold water, or you can do it in the sink or shower. Depending on how thick the wig is, you may have to rinse it twice
6. Apply conditioner to the wig. Simply drizzle some conditioner onto the hair, then gently finger-comb it. If your wig is a lace front wig or a ventilated wig, take care to avoid the wig cap. The strands are knotted onto the lace. If you apply conditioner to them, the knots will come undone and the strands will fall out. This should not be a problem with a regular, wefted wig because the fibers are sewn on instead.
- Use a high-quality conditioner.
- You can also use a leave-in conditioner instead if that is what you prefer.