If you’re new to wigs or haven’t had the confidence to experiment with styling, you might be wondering how to straighten a wig. Depending on the type of wig you have, you might not know whether you need to treat a human hair wig any differently than natural hair, can straighten synthetic hair, or can use heat on synthetic hair at all.
As long as you have the right approach, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy the fabulous benefits of straightened hair with a wig. Follow our tips below to get the perfectly glossy finish without causing irreversible damage.
How to Straighten a Human Hair Wig
If your wig is made from human hair, you can treat it much the same as you would any human hair. This means you can straighten it using the following methods:
Hair straighteners
– Apply heat defence spray to your wig.
– Clip your wig into smaller sections.
– Separate one of the sections and gently glide your hair straighteners of choice through the hair.
– Repeat the process until you have straightened every section of your wig.
Blow-dry
– Wash and condition your wig with warm water.
– While the wig is still wet, blow-dry until it is 90% dry. It should still be slightly damp, airy and cool to the touch.
– Clip the wig into smaller sections.
– Use a round brush and hairdryer to blow-dry one of the sections straight, curving the hair inwards slightly for an extra sleek finish.
– Repeat the process until you have straightened every section of the wig.
Synthetic Wig‘s and hair straighteners
Unlike human hair wigs, synthetic wig fibres aren’t able to tolerate the high levels of heat produced by hair straighteners. Unless you have a heat-resistant wig, trying to straighten synthetic hair with hair straighteners can cause irreversible damage to the hair fibres.
How to Straighten a Synthetic Wig
If you don’t think you can use heat on your synthetic hair wig but want the option of straight hair, you could consider buying a straight wig to avoid damaging your current wig. Heat applied to synthetic wigs can singe and melt the hair, which can be an expensive mistake to correct!
If you are still interested in how to straighten your synthetic wig, our wonderful customers have provided us with a few solutions that you can read below:
Blow-dry
– Use a round brush to gently pull any waves or kinks out of the wig.
– Clip the wig into smaller sections.
– Keeping your hairdryer on a low-heat setting, hold out one section of the wig and blow-dry it from root to end.
– Repeat the process until you have straightened every section of the wig.
Steam
– Choose the best wig brush and gently brush or comb your wig to remove any knots or tangles.
– Clip the wig into smaller sections.
– Using a steamer on a low-heat setting, hold out one of the sections and run the steamer along it.
Hot Water
– Brush your synthetic wig while dry, then gently place it into your sink or bath.
– Heat a pan of water to between 70 and 80 degrees Celsius.
– Pour the water over the wig.
– Carefully use your fingers to comb the wig straight. Do not brush it while wet, as this can damage the fibres.
– Allow the wig to air-dry straight.
To check you are doing all that you can to protect your synthetic hair wig, make sure you choose the right styling products and clue up on how to style heat-friendly synthetic wigs.
Final Thoughts on How to Straighten Synthetic Hair
We hope you feel more confident about styling your wig and are inspired to try out a new look now that you know you can straighten synthetic hair! Whether you are interested in an elegant straight-haired style or you want to reclaim your fabulousness with a curly-haired wig, Simply Wigs has a cap construction and colour that is sure to suit you. Take a look at our expansive range, or if you have a question, get in touch with one of our style experts today!
We would LOVE to hear any tips that have been tried and tested by you, even if it ended in disaster! Just let us know in the comments section below.
If you are going to straighten a wig I recommend taking a small piece of hair from the bottom of the wig to see how the wig reacts to it and keep it on the lowest heat setting possible. Hope this helps!