What wigs do you usually buy?! Any specific brand/material/etc? Especially for your Vriska ….
so my vriska wig is actually a helmet wig i constructed out of an old free-parting lacefront wig + a Ton of older super cheap scrap wigs, the ponytail screws on, i used an old screwcap pill bottle cap [shoutout to mirtazapine] and i used the same pill bottle cap for my fire crown so i can screw it on in place of the ponytail for helltier vriska.
if im being honest i havent bought a new wig in years [...? its been a while regardless] i just have shit ive collected since i was a kid, and friends give me their old wigs a lot. i still have one of my first ever wigs i purchased LOL. its been a pain in the ass trying to get them all squeaky clean and free of hairspray but like i have to wash new wigs w a safe laundry detergent anyway so why bother buying any new ones?
amazon/other third party site sellers i reccomend: map of beauty [CHEAP!!], cosplaza, and anogol. these r more inexpensive wig brands that have been around since i started cosplaying, established and reliable. mapofbeauty isnt the greatest quality when it comes to the cap/thickness but its so cheap and they have SO many wigs that what it lacks in quality makes up for in price. these r rly good for starter wigs; i highly reccomend getting the cheapest wigs u can find if u want to practice complex wig styling / cutting bcs if u can make a cheap wig look passably good, u can make expensive wigs look great
for lacefronts/more realistic wigs: soku, freetress, divatress, sensationell, outre, joedir, and style icon. all of these have a good color and style range, some have good quality non-lace wigs that are usually thick and easy to style. soku is the more expensive brand, but thats where my current vriska lace front is from. joedir is where my old vriska lace front was from. style icon is also a little pricier and not the greatest quality but they have a rly unique style and color range including 40in wigs. most of these brands, specifically style icon/outre/freetress/divatress/sensationell, make a lot of wigs for black women and tbh companies that make lace fronts for black women have way better quality lace frontwigs, if u see a lace front thats clearly a stolen photo from some random egirl AVOID IT. its gonna be garbage. these are all also very established so i know i can rely on them for decent stuff.
some cosplayers truly swear by arda/epic cosplay/rockstar wigs; these are expensive wigs, and theyve rly gone down in quality over the years. theyre still good wigs! but i avoid buying any unless theyre on clearance bcs like. if a normal wig is more than 25$ and if a lace front is more than 60$, its not worth it in my eyes. i keep my cosplays Cheapppppppp like thats my THING. what can i say. im a stingy bitch
if ur struggling w finding a specific color, find a wig thats a similar shade, and use rit dyemore to TINT it. this wont darken the wig, it just changes the color undertones. for example ive gotten a beautiful pale pink shade from dyeing a white wig with red and magenta rit dyemore. color theory will be ur friend! adore dye also works to tint wigs.
im hopefully gonna be making a helmet wig / screw on pigtail tutorial when i make my new junko wig [just been too overwhelmed by life to work on new cosplay projects lmfao] . there are tutorials online that u can look at BUT; whatever y do, do NOTTTT do the thing where ppl will chop off the wefts from a wig, then coat the whole thing in glue WITHOUT removing the wefts. u are gonna be wearing a hot sweaty itchy sauna of a wig. if u follow one of these tutorials, just remove all of the wefts after chopping them off, and use fleece. itll be softer. id reccomend making an inside cap with a more water resistant fabric using magnets or metal snaps on the inside so u can wash it when it gets too sweaty bcs cosplay is just one big sweatfest.
if u have a wig, like my own vriska ponytail wig, that tends to slide backwards, get a wig grip. personally mine is an elastic one that i put layers of hotglue on in a sort of unununun shape, then i use that same shape of hotglue on the inside of my wig to help it stay put. u will need to account for the side of ur head + the size of the wig grip when styling. u can wrap ur head in cling wrap + ducttape, then ducttape it onto a foam wig head, and stuff it w grocery bags to make a cheap wigform!
i have. way too much wig advice tips to logically keep going so anyone is free to ask for questions on anything further. nowadays, i cant use hairspray, so i use uhu glue sticks + clear tacky glue for permenant styles. i use heat styling too: a good small flat iron is awesome [mine is. literally 20yrs old and i stole it from my grandma as a klepto teenager. but it survived me washing it thoroughly w soap so. hey! havent been electecuted yet]. also; u can use foam rod curlers, put a big pot of hot water on the stove, and make some wig soup. make sure its hot enough that it doesnt burn ur hand if u stick it in, but hot enough that u shouldnt keep ur hand in there for more than a few seconds. it takes maybe 10-15min. the key is to soak it in Cold water afterwards; the cold helps it stay in shape! thats how i curl all of my wigs because curling irons do NOT work well on wigs. a flat iron + uhu glue is my goto, tacky glue is best for permenant styles like the base hair leading up to the ponytail for my vriska wig. for wigs like my rose wig, jane/karkat wig, june wig, nepeta wig, girldave, etc etc, i dont wanna use permenant stuff esp since i reuse these for other characters, so i just bobbypin the Shit out of it so it can fit the characters little swoops and all. like my jane wig is intricately bobbypinned up in her hair style, its meticulous and i have to redo it every time i cosplay her. but it looks good, and again im doing shit on the cheap, so!
i might be a little blind to how complicated wigstyling is bcs ive been styling my own wigs for a decade and im 100% not a "wear the wig straight out the bag" kind of cosplayer. but bcs of my disability i try to figure out methods of how to style wigs that dont take a lot of physical effort. i prefer to save my energy for singing and thrashing around like the ticcing spazz that i am on video [living that #TOURETTESLIFE], then i pass out for two days in pure exhaustion and pain. LMFAO. i am lazy and cheap, which are honestly very good qualities to have as a cosplayer
hope this was useful info, good luck!!
gummygunk
titsay
gracieabrams
blakekathryn
romaincrisis
turnnoffyourmind
