IceCreamGuitar 0 Posted November 3, 2008 Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 Okay. I need some input here. I'm cosplaying as Oki from Okami, and I've been thinking about the wig for a good while now. What I was planning to do is buying an Axel wig and dying the lower half of it black. And tada, Oki. I'm buying the 100 dollar wig as well, as it's just great quality and I suck at styling wigs so I'm not even attempting it. But I did some research and found that real hair dye doesn't fair so well on synthetic hair. So I need a foolproof way of dying a wig black. And since this is an expensive wig, it DOES need to be foolproof...I'm dead if I screw it up. @____@ I've heard about the whole acrylic ink + rubbing alchohol + spray bottle technique...that's what I'm thinking about trying, but I'm not sure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lykopis783 0 Posted November 3, 2008 Report Share Posted November 3, 2008 Okay. I need some input here. I'm cosplaying as Oki from Okami, and I've been thinking about the wig for a good while now. What I was planning to do is buying an Axel wig and dying the lower half of it black. And tada, Oki. I'm buying the 100 dollar wig as well, as it's just great quality and I suck at styling wigs so I'm not even attempting it. But I did some research and found that real hair dye doesn't fair so well on synthetic hair. So I need a foolproof way of dying a wig black. And since this is an expensive wig, it DOES need to be foolproof...I'm dead if I screw it up. @____@ I've heard about the whole acrylic ink + rubbing alchohol + spray bottle technique...that's what I'm thinking about trying, but I'm not sure. It would depend on what kind of synthetic material it is, some can be dyed with regular liquid fabric dyes, some you can't really do anything without destroying it, and others work best with homemade dyes. I definitely think the fabric dye would be a safer bet than the ink though. If little bits of the wig could be spared or a cheap wig of the same synthetic obtained, trial and error is the best way to figure out which method to use since wigs come in so many varieties what's best changes case by case. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IceCreamGuitar 0 Posted November 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Mhm, I dunno...I've heard the fabric dye doesn't cause much of a change in color, and can sometimes bleed down onto the costume...and since it's FABRIC dye, that'd be badddd. @___@ I dunno. I think I'll test out a little bit of the ink on, like, the underside of the wig...or deep inside it, like, near the 'scalp' part...I mean, it'll all be black eventually... I've even heard of Sharpie working for some. =O Wonder if that would work... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lykopis783 0 Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Mhm, I dunno...I've heard the fabric dye doesn't cause much of a change in color, and can sometimes bleed down onto the costume...and since it's FABRIC dye, that'd be badddd. @___@ I dunno. I think I'll test out a little bit of the ink on, like, the underside of the wig...or deep inside it, like, near the 'scalp' part...I mean, it'll all be black eventually... I've even heard of Sharpie working for some. =O Wonder if that would work... I've never used sharpie on a wig, but at an AUSA panel I went to they said wasn't good for much more than detail chunks since it can rub off onto costume and everything else. Since most synthetics are plasticey it doesn't sink in or anything. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ithilienne 2 Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 If you're going to spend so much on it in the first place, why not simply commission a wig-maker to make one for your character, rather than commissioning the wrong character and DIYing it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IceCreamGuitar 0 Posted November 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 I never knew such a thing existed. How do you do that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ithilienne 2 Posted November 11, 2008 Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 I don't use wigs often, so I'm not too familiar with the process, but some wigmakers will accept commissions to create a custom wig for you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ananegg 38 Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 I don't know much about commissioned wigs, but I've bought wigs from these people before and been very happy with the quality. http://stores.ebay.com/Professional-Only Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lykopis783 0 Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 I don't know much about commissioned wigs, but I've bought wigs from these people before and been very happy with the quality. http://stores.ebay.com/Professional-Only I can second that recommendation, they're very good quality wigs and fairly priced. They're really good about lost packages too. I ordered the super long 42" red wig and it was everything I hoped for. I requested they cut bangs into the wig for me since I can't cut hair at all and they were happy to customize it for me (for a reasonable fee). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
street-angel 0 Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 I can triple the recommendations however in response to the private commission question...Katie Bair...or some similar name. She does custom wigs, although I think she may be fully booked. However she is seen as a wig guru and has even, through experimentation, mixed up dyes specifically FOR synthetic hair. So maybe you could e-mail her? Here's her website http://www.katiebair.com/wigscharacter.html hope that helps ^^ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gamergirlx 0 Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 (edited) Katie Bair is not taking character wig commissions, it's stated on her website. And if you're looking to add black to the bottom of the wig, you could always buy, or make, black hair wefts and sew them into the wig. Using this method would involve no dying at all. And the sharpie method or FW ink dying methods actually work really well. The secret to those methods is to rinse really really well. Edited January 10, 2009 by gamergirlx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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