Wig Styling - Laito Sakamaki
Hiya Strawberries! The most recent convention I went to was Anime Central and I ended up buying a few wigs from the arda booth that was there. The wig I am using in this tutorial is a lace front wig called “Bucky Classic” in the color pure white.
-Lacefront, heat resistant wig
-Rit synthetic dye in chocolate brown (optional)
-Liquitex acrylic ink in the colors oxide red and burnt umber
This is how my wig started off. The first thing to do is brush out the wig with a wide tooth comb to get rid of any tangles and then section off two parts in the front away from the back.
Trim away at the front until it’s short enough to work for the two shorter pieces of hair that are towards the side of Laito’s face.
This step is optional, but I do feel it makes the wig look nicer. Using rit dye, put it into a spray bottle and spray some of the dye toward the top of the wig. (Please wear gloves while applying the dye onto the wig. The dye easily stains hands and it takes a few days or more to come off) Laito’s hair fades to white so do not saturate the ends of the wig in the dye, leave that blank. Leave the dye in for no more than 7 minutes, then rinse the wig with cold water until the water runs clear.
When that’s done, the wig should be a nice faded light brown, let it air dry and then gently comb out any tangles. Now you’re ready to start dying with the acrylic ink.
The inks I used for Laito are in the colors red oxide and raw umber. I would suggest getting two one ounce bottles of red oxide, and one one ounce bottle of raw umber. For the dye, you will also need a small spray bottle and rubbing alcohol. The amount of rubbing alcohol you use depends on how prominent you want the color to be. Mix the two dyes together until you get the shade you want. If possible, I highly suggest testing the mixture on a spare white wig, white weft, or even paper if you don’t have either of those available to see what the shade of color looks like.
To apply the color, just spray the mixture onto the desired area. Be sure to wear latex gloves so the dye does not stain your hands or under your nails. Spray the mixture onto the roots of the wig and with your hand or wide tooth comb, comb it downwards. Do not let it touch the ends, leave the ends white. Be sure to cover the area you want fully with the dye, but do not saturate the fibers to a point to where the dye drips. That will make the ends too dark as it will lead to the dye dripping too far down the wig. Once that’s done, let it air dry (if the wig is heat resistant it is okay to blow dry it).
Fill the dropper that liquitex ink provides with the raw umber dye and add a few more squirts of it into the mixture to darken it. Then, repeat the spraying process, except this time do not brush the dye down as far. Now let the wig dry again. Keep repeating this process slowly getting closer and closer to the top until it is dark enough and the right gradient that you want.
When it is dark enough, rinse it under cold water for a few seconds; enough to get the crunchy feeling of the dye out and so it doesn’t rub off onto your cosplay. Let it dry and the comb it out carefully starting from the bottom and up.
This step is optional. The bucky classic is a pretty curly wig and Laito’s hair is mostly curly at only the ends, not the top, so I straightened the top half of it.
For the styling, tease and spray hairspray so the front stays up and add some styling gel to add detail to the hair. If your wig is heart resistant, you can add more curls to the wig with a straightener so the hair flips up better in the front.
That’s it~! That is how I styled and dyed my wig for Laito Sakamaki. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to ask me. I know that some things I write don’t make sense to some so if you need clarification on something don’t hesitate to ask! I really hope you enjoyed this and that I was able to help you with your cosplay!
romaincrisis
gamechangershow
origamiaround
yousharknotpass
ellievsbear