It’s happened to me so many times, that the wig style I need doesn’t come in the colour I want, the one that does is just too expensive, or the wig arrives and the colour just isn’t quite what the pictures looked like online. Returns are a hassle if possible at all, but maybe, just MAYBE, the wig can be dyed.
If you have a fancy human hair wig, this is not the tutorial for you, this tutorial is for dying synthetic (plastic) wigs.
I’ve got a dark brown wig, and I need it to be a darker brown than it currently is because the character in question has brown almost-black hair, so I want this wig to be darker. To achieve this, I will be darkening it using Rit DyeMore for Synthetics, in the colour Graphite. Rit provides formulas for mixing their dyes to achieve a wide range of colours here: DyeMore Fomulas by colour, I usually buy it at Michael’s craft stores because they consistently stock every colour (at least in my area).
Let’s get started, to dye a wig you need a large pot, water, the dye, your wig, some tongs and a bucket. First, you bring the water to a near boil, add your dye and stir it in (congratulations, you’ve made forbidden soup), I would err on the side of less dye, to begin with just because it’s easier to add more to the pot than it is to take away. The dye is heat-activated, so if the water isn’t near boiling it doesn’t work very well. Dip an end, of some trimmings removed from the wig into the dye bath for about 20 seconds to test if the resulting colour is to your liking. If it’s not potent enough, you can add more dye at this point. If it’s good then you can go right ahead and dunk the whole wig at once. Stir stir stir. Try and make sure you separate clumps of fibres so that the dye can penetrate, otherwise, you will have light patches.
If your goal is to achieve a fancy ombre effect, you’re looking to do a dip dye. This is where you would lower the ends into the dye bath first, to allow them to take on extra colour. You may even need to dry the wig and dye the ends a second time to pick up enough colour for a good contrast.
Typically the colour will look darker while the wig is still wet, so take that into consideration when trying to decide if the wig is ready to come out. Once you have hit the desired colour, use the tongs to lift the wig out into your bucket, and add some cool water to the bucket to rinse off any excess dye.
At this point, your wig is going to be a soaked and tangled mess. Let it dry hanging in the bucket or over a sink before any attempts to detangle. Let the forbidden soup cool down before you dump it.
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