We recommend using WET HEAT on your synthetic wigs, including heat-friendly synthetics.
I can hear the questions marks. :)
Yes, even on heat-friendly synthetic wigs! Here’s the thing: heat-friendly synthetics can tolerate heat, but they are not particularly easy to heat-style, nor do they hold that style particularly well if you adhere to the styling guidelines provided to the manufacturers. The reason: dry heat!
Dry heat is really hard on wigs. The combination of heat + pulling with a styling tool can very easily stretch out delicate, petroleum-based hair (because that’s what we’re talking about here), causing it to become paler in color, stringy in appearance, and, well, just kind of fried-looking in as little as one round of heat-styling.
This is where wet heat comes to the rescue. Wet heat surrounds the hair evenly as it heats it, so it gets hot uniformly and VERY quickly.
Think about it this way: When you want to make food really crunchy and hard, you are probably going to cook it on a hot metal surface, whereas, if you want it to stay nice in moist, you might be more inclined to boil it. The same principle of physics applies to food as it would to hair!
This is why the wig-makers use steam in the factories when they style your wigs in the first place! It’s safe for your conventional AND heat-friendly synthetics. What’s not to like? :)
Here are a few pro tips when using steam (via a garment or wig steamer) or boiling water on a wig:
- If applying boiling water, make sure you take safety precautions so you don't get burned!
- Be careful to avoid pulling or twisting the hair while it is hot! This is a petroleum-based product, and you can distort it permanently by being too rough with it while it is warm. (The same goes if you heat-style with dry heat, by the way!)
- Apply it with care – you don’t want to pour the water over the part of the wig stand where that little ring on the top is. If you just dump boiling water all over the top of the wig, you will end up with a line where that ring is underneath the wig. You want to aim the water just below that ring on the wig stand, so you can avoid that! (The same principle applies for steam applications – watch what you’re doing!)
- Once you heat-style your wig, that’s all she wrote. You will have to use heat to style your wig again for it to return to its original texture. So if you like the way it is, don’t mess with it unless you know how to make it look like that again!
- A little steam is a wonderful thing! It can add months of life to a bushy, frizzed-out synthetic wig.
Comments
7 comments
I put curl back into my Orchid / Estetica w/this method. She looks awesome! I combed her, used my Helen of Troy hot air brush on the ends which had snarls, washed & conditioned, set large barrel curlformers (pink & yellow), dipped in hot water and ta-da .... beautiful loose soft curls/waves. I had worn Orchid for 1 month & she needed a lift. I was scared but it worked so well. Heather has a video on this on YT. Thanks!
I'd love to see a picture of how it turned out, Awilda! And for reference, you can find Heather's tutorial video here.
Sure, love to share a before & after. How can I do that? Do "submit a request" & send the pics that way?
You can add them in your post here - there is a little "image" icon right above where you type (I included a picture below that has it circled in red) that lets you select a picture from your PC. It will probably show up pretty big in the post but that's ok - the better to show off your handiwork!
Kerry - No don't have any icons or options other than comment box. Even tried to copy & paste but can't paste into comment box either.
Awilda, we seem to be having some issues today. You can always send a picture to us at support@cysterwigs.zendesk.com and we can attach it for you. Just let us know where the picture needs to go. :)
That's what I was going to suggest - thanks, Gina! I really want to see how it turned out, Awilda :)
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