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Ginny wears many hats--or wigs, shall we say? She sings, she's on YouTube, she constructs spreadsheets, and she cosplays (of course). And she doesn't just cosplay in a single genre; she's in both 2D and 3D, her repertoire spanning from Disney princesses to Final Fantasy to Pokemon to Game of Thrones. It stands to reason that she owns around 50, 60 wigs. She runs her own site and Youtube channel, where cosplay is just one of the topics she talks about. You can also see more of her creations on Instagram or connect with her on Twitter.
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Table of Contents
Cosplayers turn to synthetic wigs for a number of reasons. First of all, they’re thicker, which means they can stand on end. (That’s going to come in handy for Super Saiyan cosplays.) They can also come pre-styled. Unless you’re amazing with scissors, it’s going to be difficult to cut out, say, Giorno Giovanna’s hair. But you can get a wig made in his image, donuts and all.
The thick strands are also amazing at retaining style–though this tenacity’s a double-edged sword. The fact synthetic fiber wigs stay put means they can be difficult to restyle. And some aren’t heat resistant. The manufacturer should tell you these things–and if there’s nothing written in the product description, then it’ll probably burn.
But they’re way cheaper than human hair wigs, so you can amass a collection–one for each of the million and two characters you cosplay–without robbing the piggy bank. Bottom line: most cosplayers go synthetic.
All of my wigs are synthetic. The only human hair product I have is some extensions, which I don’t use for cosplay—just in my life. Synthetic wigs are usually more affordable and easier to find in crazy colors. Also, I know that there are a lot of methods people use to style or color synthetic wigs that are specific to them being synthetics.
For instance, with synthetic wigs, people might color them using acrylic ink. Basically, some of the materials that people have learned to use with synthetics probably aren’t effective with human hair—though I imagine that there are alternatives that you would use.
The bad news first: these wigs look the least natural. They don’t flow like real hair does. You’ve got to be careful when styling it too; if you pull it into an updo, you’ll reveal the base, and then your wig just looks artificial and awkward. But there’s also a big advantage to going for wefts.
Some characters have funky hair–streaks of color in odd places, complex spikes, or elaborate curls. Before you give up cosplaying them altogether, try gathering a few wefted wigs, styling them, and piecing them together. You can add in extra strands for braided crowns, for instance, or join two wigs together for length and volume.
Wefts can be really useful for some crafts—like if you’re planning on taking apart a wig and putting it together with another wig. You can easily add wefts to wigs to make them fuller. You might want to do a half-and-half wig that’s white on one side and black on the other, like Cruella De Vil. For that kind of stuff, I think that wefted wigs are much easier to work with, because when you take the wig apart, you have all of these manageable pieces.
I don't customize my wigs much, but I have a few times. Some characters demand a very specific wig look—and you can do all kinds of crazy stuff with a cheap plastic wig. I know somebody who uses acrylic paint and hot glue to style anime character wigs, and she only feels comfortable doing that because she’s working with $10 wigs from eBay. You have a lot more flexibility.
Most “monofilament” wigs, however, are a mix of weft and mesh. How much mesh you need really depends on how you want to style the wig. Just remember: the more lace there is, the more expensive the wig.
The most common type of monofilment is the lace front, where just the hair that lines your forehead is tied into the mesh. See, with wefted wigs, when you sweep the hair back, you expose all the seams along the base. However, with lace fronts, you can’t see the base, and it looks like all the hair in front is sprouting straight from your forehead.
I haven’t ever used a full monofilament wig, but I use quite a few lace front wigs. I use more now than I used to—now that I have the budget for it.
Generally, if you see the character’s hairline, I want to use a lace front wig for that—like Arya Stark. She wears her hair in the later seasons pulled back into a half-ponytail, so the hairline is really visible. Basically, I only use a wefted wig if the character has bangs. And if they don’t have bangs, I use a lace front.
There’s one more trick cosplayers can use. When in doubt, always go for a lighter color. That’s because it’s relatively easy to darken wigs to the right shade–but it’s notoriously hard to go the other way around.
Lightening a synthetic wig is almost impossible. There are some ways I think that people have figured out, but they are usually really inconsistent and hard to pull off smoothly.
Darkening a wig is much easier; you can use synthetic fabric dye—like polyester dyes and stuff—on a lot of wigs. You can also use acrylic ink, which you apply with a spray bottle. Some people even use Sharpies; you can actually cut open a Sharpie and take the ink out and use that.
On the other hand, we three-dimensional humans have hair that sits flat against our head. That’s why, when cosplaying live action series–whether it be sci-fi or fantasy–you want a wig that’s a little thinner. They look more natural. How do you tell how thick a wig is? Pictures and the brand.
In Game of Thrones—even with people who have a lot of hair—their hair looks pretty realistic in terms of how flat it lies on their head. A wig that’s too full and has too much volume on the top doesn’t look like real hair. Sometimes you want that, like for a cosplay from a cartoon. Like when you're trying to make Ariel’s bangs—that’s like a second wig on there.
For me, whether or not I want a really thick wig changes based on the costume, and I buy from different sources based on what I need. Arda Wigs is a popular cosplay wigs supplier that has very thick wigs. Lots of fiber, so if you need to style it into spikes or big curls or have huge bangs, you can usually do that with Arda. Sometimes I buy from Wig Is Fashion. They have very full wigs, and most of their wigs are super longs—for big glamorous curls.
When looking for thinner wigs that are more fitted to the head, lately, I’ve been using Pose Wigs, which is a small independent business. They have some very good, very realistic lace fronts that sit flat on the head. I often get asked if that’s my real hair when I’m wearing their wigs.
If the circumference of your head runs larger or smaller, however, you may not fit into standard wig caps. In that case, you’re going to have to do some research. Some brands offer wigs in large or petite sizes. Or some brands have wigs that simply run large or small. It’s all about a) reading wig cap dimensions carefully and b) sniffing around.
I have a pretty small head, and usually it isn’t a big deal because I can always just tighten up a wig—and having a wig cap that’s a little loose is not the end of the world. But, when I have a lace front wig, if the lace doesn’t lie flat on my forehead, then it kind of defeats the purpose of looking realistic.
So, for me, I have had to sometimes search to find lace front wigs that are sized smaller, so that they’ll actually lie on my forehead the way they’re supposed to. It's common for cosplayers to know which brands have larger wig caps and which brands have smaller.
I think that Arda tends to have slightly larger wig caps than average, and so, if I were recommending a wig to someone who had a big head, I’d probably say, “Oh, you should check out Arda wigs.” And if you’re buying wigs online that are produced overseas, like in Asia, they tend to be a little smaller, I found. Stuff like that, you learn over time.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Price | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | YOPO YOPO Long Big Wavy Hair Cosplay Party Costume Wig|Pink | $15.99 Low Mid | Soft and True to the Many, Many Colors | ||
2 | MapofBeauty MapofBeauty Lolita Curly Clip on Ponytails Cosplay Wig|Rouge Pink | $22.99 High Mid | The Most Versatile: You Can Do Pigtails, a Ponytail, or Let it All Down | ||
3 | Kadiya Kadiya Short Orange Anime Cosplay Wig | $18.99 Mid | The Orange isn’t Blinding and it’s So Easy to Style | ||
4 | Alibuy Alibuy Light Blonde Cosplay Wigs with Pigtails | $25.99 High Mid | Those Curls Stay Tight and Bouncy | ||
5 | DOATS DAOTS 32″ Cosplay Wigs for Women|Silver White | $16.99 Low Mid | For When You Need Volume and More Volume | ||
6 | Cfalaicos Cfalaicos Long Straight Hair Wig|Olive Green | $29.99 High Mid | A Million Shades of Green and Thick (Enough for Big Heads) | ||
7 | COSPLAZA COSPLAZA Cosplay Wig Heat Resistant Synthetic Hair|Black | $14.99 Low Mid | Versatile Enough To Transform You into Almost Any Anime Boy | ||
8 | RightOn RightOn Women Girls Short Curly Synthetic Wig with Air Bangs|Lovely Pink | $16.99 Low Mid | A Soft Wig With Toned-Down Colors | ||
9 | Cying Lin Cying Lin Long Curly Heat Resistance Wigs|Orange | $17.99 Mid | Natural and Unnatural Hues With a Natural Part | ||
10 | K'ryssma K’ryssma Glueless Synthetic Hair Lace Front Wigs|Pink | $36.99 High | A Natural-Looking Color and Hairline in a Lace Front Style |
It also stood up to a straightener at 480 degrees. The fibers are thick, so the base doesn’t show through. It holds onto style, too. Even if you stick it into a bag, when you pull it out for next year’s con, it’ll look the same.
They’re thick, so it’s a struggle getting them to lie flat–but that just means you can curl, trim, and thin them out in any way you want.
The hair’s soft and moves naturally. The curls are lovely. Leave them as-is for Nami (One Piece), or take a straightener to it–the wig won’t melt, don’t worry–and turn yourself into Orihime (Bleach).
K’ryssma’s got wigs in all their colors. And the pink, by the way, is just as it appears in the picture–no florescent bubble gum. The shine’s a little plasticky; for a more natural look, just dust on a bit of baby powder.
Pour in just enough shampoo to get some suds. Gentle, drugstore stuff will work just fine–though you can always get synthetic wig shampoos. Swirl the water around; make sure the shampoo’s evenly distributed.
Dunk your wig in the water. Don’t knead it or scrub it like laundry–synthetic fibers are most vulnerable with wet. Gently swish it around and work your fingers over it. Let it sit for about 3-5 minutes. Then rinse it out. Do the same with conditioner. (Swirl, soak, rinse.) Make sure the conditioner really melts into the water; you’ll hate yourself if any clumps get stuck in the wig.
Next, dunk the wig back in clean water. For 5 minutes, swish it about gently; run your fingers through it; wash out all the product. Then drape it over a wig head, and let it air-dry. Do not wring it!
I don't think it's necessary to wash your wig after every con. What I usually use as my rule of thumb is if I have worn a wig enough that the styling is starting to look messed up—like the curls are starting to come out—that’s when I decide that it needs to be restyled. And for me, a restyle starts with washing the wig.
I think that, in general, the more time you spend washing a wig, the more careful you’re being. And the more careful you’re being, the more safely your wig gets through it. I find that if you wash a wig quickly—if it doesn’t take you an hour and a half—then you have usually done a little damage to your wig. If you really dedicate your time to cleaning up a wig, then you’re breaking fewer fibers and you’re ending up with a better final product.
After you’ve worked out the tangles, put the wig away. Wigs are weak to dust and sunlight. If the wig’s styled, then you kind of have to keep it on a stand. But stick everything else in a ziplock bag. If the hair’s long, loosely braid it so it doesn’t tangle.
I have three wig heads, and normally, there is only one or two in use at any given time. I store most of my wigs in a hair net and then in a plastic bag. Generally, I put a wig on a wig head when I’m first styling it, and I will leave it on the wig head until I have worn it for its initial purpose. Like, if I’m styling it for a photoshoot, I’ll leave it on the wig head until the photoshoot. And then afterwards, I’ll store it in the bag.
My way of thinking is, I don’t know when the next time that I’ll wear the costume is, and if it needs to be touched up a little for the next time, then I’ll figure that out. I mean, I probably own like 50 or 60 wigs, which is just way too many to keep on the wig heads at all times.
You've got your wig, but have you gotten everything else figured out? Here are some tools to help you on your way!
This expert reviewed the contents of the buying guide for accuracy and provided factual corrections when necessary. They did not participate in the product selection process, nor are they affiliated with any of our choices unless explicitly stated so.
No. 1: YOPO|YOPO Long Big Wavy Hair Cosplay Party Costume Wig|Pink
No. 2: MapofBeauty|MapofBeauty Lolita Curly Clip on Ponytails Cosplay Wig|Rouge Pink
No. 3: Kadiya|Kadiya Short Orange Anime Cosplay Wig
No. 4: Alibuy|Alibuy Light Blonde Cosplay Wigs with Pigtails
No. 5: DOATS|DAOTS 32″ Cosplay Wigs for Women|Silver White
View Full RankingThe descriptions of each product are referenced from content available on manufacturer, brand, and e-commerce sites.
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