Starting Out in Wig Making & Supplies

I have had more queries about starting out making wigs. As a result, I have added a search box to help people find information in previous blog posts. Please use it before contacting me, as I may have already provided you with the information and answer.

To recap, this post is helpful for anyone getting started: http://makingwigs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/how-to-get-started-in-wig-making-and.html
I definitely suggest getting the book (and no, I am not an affiliate/don't get paid to say that!), as it will help you to learn wig terminology and provides a useful reference tool, as well as plenty of inspiration.

Wig making supplies -
My UK recommendations are here: http://makingwigs.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/where-to-buy-supplies.html
There are others in Europe, but for various reasons including price and ease of ordering, these would be my preference if you are living in Europe. You should be able to order from those companies internationally too (so if you are in the US or Canada, don't discount them), but obviously shipping costs may be prohibitive.

If you are in the US, then His and Her sell wig making supplies. There are other places that sell bits and bobs, but His and Her has the widest selection. Alcone Company sells some products and is worth a look: http://www.alconeco.com/Products/Character/Wig-Making-Supplies I have not used either of the US companies - shipping is too expensive and I can get what I need on my side of the pond, so to speak.

I shall also start a glossary of terms, so that people who are confused what various terms mean can refer to it.

Where to buy supplies...

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is where to buy wig making supplies if living in the UK.

There are two main places that spring to mind:

Banbury Postiche - http://www.banburypostiche.co.uk
Hugo Royer - http://www.royer.co.uk/main.php

Both of these companies are located in the UK. As well as selling lace/tulle, galloon, needles, holders and blocks, they supply virgin European human hair. As far as I am aware, both companies can colour/texture match, which is particularly useful for making hair pieces that need to blend properly with the wearer's bio hair.

Banbury Postiche will sell you hair to practice with, but I personally have saved money by using old processed wig hair - Asian/Indian origin. If you have an old human hair wig that you do not want anymore, or some old wefts or just raw hair - you might as well use those rather than buy hair specially to practice making a piece or wig with.

If you are just getting started, you may also want to check out my first blog posts for tips on how to save money when learning and seeing whether you actually like wig making/have an aptitude for it. No point spending lots of money if you eventually find you do not enjoy making wigs or do not have the time.

You can definitely get away with a polystyrene head for purely learning ventilation, a needle holder, some needles and practice hair. You would not be spending more than maybe 20 to 30 pounds.

The Next Step - Sorting out the hair...

The next step in the wig making process, for me, is ventilating the hair onto the main body of the wig. In order to do this one needs some 'spare' hair. Beyond deciding such things as - the hair origin (European, Chinese, Indian, Mongolian etc), hair type (virgin, cuticle, processed), hair texture (wavy, straight, curly, body wave etc) and length, you have a few choices. You can either use hair you already have (old wefts, old wigs etc) or buy some new hair (either as wefts or bulk/raw hair in ponytails). As mentioned in my last blog post, I already had some masses of hair on the most ridiculous wig known to man. Due to my novice status, I decided that this was the msot appropriate hair to use. I think that in the earlier stages of wig making it is probably a better idea to use less expensive hair. Then if you go completely wrong, you won't be as devastated as you would if you were using virgin cuticle European hair, for example.


Side note - I do have better hair - raw and wefted, which I hope to use later when I am more proficient. Certainly if I were choosing hair, I would be inclined to go for raw ponytails of caucasian/European origin - because that texture is the same as my bio hair.


As the hair is already attached to a wig, I set about the process of brushing the wig out, separating the hair and removing some. I decided that first separating the hair in half (to effectively create two 'tails') was a good idea as there is about twice the amount of hair I want in my new wig. On the left hand side you can see half the hair has been braided; to keep it neat and out of the way. The right hand side represents half the hair and is what I am going to use on this wig.

You can see just how much hair is in half the wig in this next picture, where I am holding that braid in my hand.

At this point I have the half, to be used, hanging loose ready to be sorted.

As the hair is already ventilated onto this wig, I don't want to just cut it off as a ponytail/braid. If I did this, I would lose a lot of the upper length. In order to keep this length, I need to remove the hair in the stages I am going to use it. As most people start ventilating at the bottom of their wig foundation, I need to take the bottom lengths to use on the bottom of my wig foundation. So, I braided the rest of the hair and only left free the part I want to remove from the bottom right hand nape.

I then clipped this braid up. The hair hanging down is only half of the hair at the bottom of the nape of the wig.

I have drawing cards ready to place the hair into (they are the flat brown and grey squares to the right of the wig two pictures above). This helps to keep the hair neat whilst I am ventilating and enables me to remove small amounts of hair to work with. If you do not have drawing cards and get a pair, remember to write "Root" on one end of them (I wrote it on both sides) so that you know which way up your hair is! You put the loose hair into the drawing cards with the root end of the hair at the end you have designated "Root" and the tip should be hanging out the opposite end. This enables you to keep it cuticle correct. 

I carefully cut sections of the loose hair away. I tried to keep fairly near to the wig cap so that I could keep most of the length. I just used regular scissors for this.

Then I placed the hair in the drawing cards.

After I close them up, I always put an elastic band around them. That way, if I (or anyone else!) ever knock them onto the ground, they won't fall apart and ruin the hair (because if the hair gets mixed up, it won't be cuticle correct anymore).

Now I am ready to start ventilating.

Lastly, I want to wish those celebrating Chanukah:

חנוכה שמח

Here's my donuts, that I made:

For those of you celebrating Christmas in a few day's time...

Happy Christmas! 

I will be back with more pictures soon!

The Beginning – What You Need To Get Started

I first started practising by just doing random knots on a small piece of tulle. The basic materials you need to get started at this stage are:

A styrofoam head - You can get one of these for around $4 in the US or upwards of £7 in the UK. Good places to get them: on ebay, Amazon or from beauty supplies stores and wig shops.

A ventilating needle – There are two types of needle: German and Korean. I have the German needle in sizes 2 and 1. I actually recently broke the #2 needle by dropping it on the floor (which crushed the hook part, rendering it unusable). However, the reason I started with the German style needle is because it was recommended to me. I am hoping to buy some Korean needles to try sometime. I think that which type you choose comes down to personal preference. The difference seems to be mainly in the shape of the “hook” part – on the German needle it is like a number 7; on a Korean needle it is like a J. The number relates to the amount of hair that the hook picks up.

A ventilating needle holder - You can get these with handles made from brass, wood or plastic. The cheapest is plastic. I like my plastic one, although I wouldn't mind trying the wooden one. I am not a fan of brass as I do not like the smell of the metal on my hands. I also think that a brass one would be rather heavy compared to the plastic or wood. 

Blue paper or Scotch-Blue Painters Tape – Either will do, but the paper is cheaper in the UK. For some reason the tape is expensive over here. You need one of these options to put on top of your styrofoam head so that you can see your lace, tulle, mesh or mono without straining your eyes. I prefer lighter coloured blue as it creates more of a contrast.

Light – A good lamp for working in low-light conditions is a necessity. In the daytime in the spring and summer, if you have a bright, sunny room then you can work without supplemental light. However, if you want to work in the evening or during the autumn and winter then you will need a bright light. There are so many different kinds and I shall be doing another separate blog post about them later, however, the cheapest option you can usually find is a desk type lamp which allows you to angle to 'neck' of it to illuminate the part you are working on.

Hair – You can use 'old' hair or buy some cheap wefted human hair from an online store or beauty supplier. I use 'old' hair that I cut from the wefts of a processed human hair wig that I no longer want. If you can do this, it is a good way to save some money. There is definitely no need to buy bulk or expensive hair at this stage as you are just practising and won't be wearing what you are making.

Scissors & Pins – Most people have these items already, but if you don't then you will need a small pair of embroidery scissors and some pins such as ball head pins or t-pins. If you have a pair of nail scissors, you can use them instead of buying embroidery ones. You will also need a larger pair, such as fabric scissors, for cutting your tulle or net. However, again if you have regular scissors that you use to cut things like wrapping paper, they will suffice at this stage.

Tulle or Net – I bought some white tulle from a local sewing shop; it does not cost much at all. I was also given some by a friend in a different colour. The tulle/net comes in different patterns. I have both diamond and honeycomb shaped tulle; either will do, but honeycomb shapes are more consistent with the Swiss, French and German lace that you will be using later if you decide to make a proper wig or hair piece. Please note, you can only use this type of net for practising on as it is quite fragile and will easily rip and tear if you are rough with it. For example, I have stuck T-pins into it and they have become stuck and ripped. If you are just starting out and already have some small offcuts from full lace wigs or lace front wigs, you can also use those to practice a few knots on.

If you search for wig making supplies on Google, you will find the wig making supplies companies for your area. In the UK there is one main one and there are a couple in Europe. In the US there are couple that have a big online presence, as well as lots of theatre and stage make-up supplies companies that sell small selections of wig making products.

Optional – You can buy a plastic clamp to secure the wig head to a table or other surface. I have one, but I don't use it for wig making; I prefer to use the styrofoam head on my lap, as I usually sit on a comfy seat.

It is a good idea to get your eyes tested before you engage in this type of close up work. Some people find that using a magnifier or magnifying lamp is helpful as it not only helps you to see better, but also can ease/prevent eye strain.

There is more equipment that you will need to buy later if you wish to make an actual wig. I will list other items in another post.