The Great Rewiggening
At the tippy top of today’s to-do list was this tremendous task: to place five new wigs onto five tiny heads!
It was a pleasant coincidence that all five dolls could be rewigged on the same day. I’ve been wanting to give Kirsten and Felicity new hair for years, but it wasn’t until very recently that I finally got my hands on exactly the right wigs. The bald girl in between them is a doll I’m customizing for my mother. In front of them is Willa, whose thin and cut hair has been frustrating me since the day I rescued her from a thrift store. And to the left of Kirsten is a temporary visitor who very generously donated her wig to the pile, and who will be getting a surprising new hairdo in exchange.
I decided to use this chance to show the entire process of how I remove and replace wigs. It’s been a while since my last rewigging tutorial, and I have so many new followers since then that I know at least a few of you will find this useful! I’ll discuss how to remove wigs, what to use to attach the new ones, how to put them on, how to be sure everything has gone smoothly, and a few resources for finding the right wig. Then you’ll get to see the end result of the five-fold Rewiggening.
(If you don’t feel like reading through the whole tutorial but still want to see the end result of their makeovers, go ahead and skip the rest of this, because you’ll have another chance to see other posts featuring their finished transformations.)
So here is what I’m starting with.
In the middle is a long black wig that will go on my mom’s doll. It is an off brand that she found on eBay. At the top left is Willa’s wig, with its intact curls. It just needs to be brushed. Bottom left is Kirsten’s wig that I got brand new from monique.com. Top right is Felicity’s wig, and that’s taken from another doll I bought solely for the wig. The curly wig on the bottom right is a “free sample” that I got from monique.com when I ordered Kirsten’s wig, and will be going upon the head of Felicity’s wig donor doll to make her a custom Agatha Pitt doll that I will not be keeping.
Let’s get started.
This is Agatha-to-be, shortly after she arrived. She is a Truly Me #61, with green eyes and the perfect shade of red hair that will look absolutely lovely on my Lissie, whose hair is dull and flat compared to this girl’s wig. I could tell from her listing that her hair probably only needed a good brushing, and I was right. So I brushed it through first with water, then did a second brushing with braid spray to make it shiny and strong, and I put it up in curlers.
I’d say it’s really more wavy than curly, which is exactly what I want for my Felicity. I left it for a few hours to set while I went and did something else.
When it was time to begin, I gathered all my wigs and my materials.
Here is the most important mechanism by which I remove the wigs:
This is a pair of pliers. You will use these to grip the edge of the wig and help pull it off. You can use ones like these or whatever sort of pliers you have on hand. If you are saving the wig you’re removing, either for another doll or for selling, then you’ll need something that won’t cut through the wig as you remove it, but applies the right amount of force. If the wig is going straight into the trash (something I’ve had to do a few times) then don’t worry about ripping it. Pliers are available at hardware stores, possibly dollar stores, and places like Walmart or Target.
Next is something optional, but very useful to have in case your wig gives you a hard time:
This is non-acetone nail polish remover. This will help loosen the glue that holds the wig to your doll’s head. It is non-acetone for a very important reason: acetone-based nail polish remover has the potential to melt your doll’s vinyl if used incorrectly. Steer clear of it. Now I say this is optional because you might not even need to use it. Sometimes doll wigs just aren’t glued down very well, and so it comes off the head with only a bit of force. But have it on hand just in case you run into a stubborn spot of glue. I paid less than $1 for this bottle, and I got about two years of use out of it. I’ve also removed nail polish from secondhand doll fingernails using this.
As for how to attach the replacement wigs, here is what I recommend:
Tacky glue is the only thing I use to attach wigs. I get it at Dollar Tree for $1 and the bottle lasts for a while. The reason I suggest using this is because it dries clear and strong, but not so strong that you can’t remove the wig again later if you have to. This is helpful in case you decide the wig isn’t quite the look you’re going for, or it’s placed incorrectly (too far back, too far forward, too far left or right).
Also, if you rewig a doll and then later want to send it to the doll hospital for a head replacement, you will need the original wig or something that looks exactly like the original put back on to the doll’s head. The doll hospital has the right to refuse service to a doll they can’t identify. So if you do rewig a doll with a drastically new look and think you might want the head replaced later, hold on to the original wig and put it back on when the time comes for a hospital visit.
So that’s it for materials. The rest is done with your hands. Begin with your pliers.
What I like to do is search towards the back of the wig and find a loose spot on the wig’s edge that I can slip my pliers under and start pulling.
I’ve found a weak spot here, from which I can begin pulling.
I move up along the edge of the wig cap, pulling gently and slowly to loosen it away from the doll’s head.
The perimeter of the wig is the easy part. Usually where I run into tough spots is in the middle.
This is an especially stubborn patch of glue, so what I do is soak a sponge brush with polish remover and sort of dab it onto where the wig cap meets the scalp. It’s hard to get a photo of this that makes sense but it’s pretty easy. You can also use a Q Tip or a paper towel soaked in polish remover to apply it to the glue. It’s okay if it gets on the wig cap or hair, since it won’t damage it. But use it sparingly because it smells bad and the smell can linger in the wig for a while.
If you are selling the wig you are removing, it is good manners to mention in the listing whether or not you took it off using nail polish remover. Some people are very sensitive to the smell of the remover, and giving them heads up is a courteous thing to do.
You may find a few stray strands that are glued to the head and aren’t attached to the wig cap. This is pretty normal. Discard them if you aren’t going to sew them back onto the cap (we won’t cover that here since that’s a whole other tutorial).
This girl is finished and ready for her new hair. I then am ready for the glue.
Spread a thin layer on the top of the head. Don’t go down to the hairline just yet. Don’t apply too much, or it might soak through the cap and get on the hair.
To put on the wig, you can do it the way I do, which keeps hair from getting in the glue. You simply invert the wig cap so that it bulges outward.
Then set it on the top of the head, making sure that you have it on correctly so that the part is where you want it (in the middle, to the right, or to the left).
Kirsten is getting a wig with a middle part, so I make sure to center the wig correctly.
Then push the wig down.
Again, make sure it’s positioned correctly.
Pull on the edges of the wig to make sure it lines up with the hairline. This is especially important at the back.
See how I’m pulling it down to the hairline? If you’re not sure it’s on all the way, use your finger to poke the top of the wig to make sure it’s flush with the scalp and there are no bulges in the wig cap.
Once you’re sure it’s positioned right, do not apply any more glue just yet. Leave it alone for 3 to 4 hours to let the glue dry. Once it’s dry, you can apply glue to the hairline.
The reason you wait to let the first application of glue dry before applying it here is so the wig will stay put when you pull down the sides of the wig to meet the hairline. Otherwise, it would shift if you pull too hard. This is also so that you can be really really sure you like the position of the wig, or even the wig itself. It’s much easier to peel if off before you glue down the hairline.
And here is the finished product! I love the wispy bangs and clearly defined center part. And I love how shiny and soft it is. This is the Dani wig in size 10-11 from monique.com, which I took a bit of a risk buying. The problem with that site is that they don’t always show you pictures of all the colors that the wig comes in. But I saw this wig on someone else’s doll in another color, and I knew at least the style would be perfect. So I crossed my fingers and hoped that their shade of blonde was the right shade. Turns out it is! I’m very happy with it. Kirsten’s old wig was so thin and dull and lifeless compared to this one.
The braids are secured onto to the top of the wig with small threads, which can be cut so that the braids can be let down and put into her signature looped braids. They’re a little longer than Kirsten’s hair. I might consider trimming the ends so that I don’t have to tuck them in back.
And here is my transformed Felicity!
I absolutely love this look on her. It’s not even a drastic change in color; in fact, I think that at first glance, and if you didn’t know otherwise, you might assume that this is her original wig. But it’s soft, shiny, wavy, and is the most beautiful color of red. It’s full of bronze and gold highlights that give it a lifelike appearance. I wish I could have made this switch years ago! I did make a few matching pin curls to replace the ones that were removed, but I’ll save that process for another post.
Willa turned out great as well, after I brushed out her wig, flat-ironed the frizzy parts close to her scalp, and put it in curlers overnight.
Her new wig is very thick and vibrantly colored! Her original one was so thin and flat that I was never happy with the curls I managed to get from it. This one has its original curls and is a much brighter red. Rewigging Wellie Wishers is exactly the same process as rewigging an 18 inch doll.
My restoration patient looks very nice with her new wig.
This wig is so soft and shiny and long, although very thick so her braids look a bit bulky. She is going to be a custom Speaking Rain doll for my mom, who loves her Kaya doll and wants to give her everything possible, including a sister. I don’t think this doll (a 2001 JLY #2) would have been my first choice, but she’s not for me so that’s that. My mom will be painting her eyes, since she didn’t like any of my attempts to do so, which is fine. I didn’t like them either.
Finally, Agatha Pitt was happy to accept her new hairdo!
She is so darn cute. The light and my phone camera make her eyes look darker than they are, but they’re a very pretty green, and the wig is definitely auburn in real life, not as brown as the picture shows. As soon as I have a dress sewn up for her, I’ll post her for sale and give my blog followers first dibs on claiming her.
