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Your wig making kit explained. When making your own wig there are some essentials that you require in your wig making kit. In the following blog we will discuss all the equipment that you will need to make a full lace wig and what you will need to source your wig making kit.

 

wig making tools and equipment

Essential Wig Making Kit

 

A shout out to all you budding wig makers out there! This is my guide for your essential wig making kit list and everything you will need to make your own wig and get creating your masterpieces.

 

wig block

Malleable Wig Block

 

The wig making world is incredibly old-fashioned and certainly likes to bamboozle us with strange and alien words. Words that are coming straight out of a bygone age. Words like bigoudi, croquignole and torsade (I dare you to find the meanings online).

The prosthetic and makeup world is very dynamic, incredibly fast-paced and full of innovative new products. The makeup world is the eager teenager, open to new ideas in an ever changing market.

Cue the elderly Grandmother!  Say hello to Nanny Wig Making. Look at her hobbling down the road miles behind. Keep up Granny! Keep up!

Saying that, developments have been made in the wig making industry although they have happened at a much slower pace.  In the past the head measurements were taken and then mapped out onto a wooden head block. The hairline was traced out on paper and then transferred to the said wooden block.

Don’t get me wrong, making wigs this way is a tried and tested method and boy, do they fit well. We still have wigs down in our basement that are older than me and all are still perfectly serviceable.

 

It’s like the history of wig making down there!

 

Headblock

Padded Head Using A Malleable Block

It’s A Wrap, Folks!

 

It is now common place to take measurements of the artist’s head using cling film and sticky tape to create a plastic mould. The hairline is marked out using a Sharpie or other permanent marker. Think back to your Blue Peter watching days and you would be in the right ball park.

This mimics, if done properly, a cast of the artist’s head. This cast is then used to create a wig foundation that fits like a glove.

The head wrap is then transferred onto a malleable block and padded, therefore creating a replica of the head. The padded block is then used to make a lace foundation and ultimately, the  hand knotted wig.

 

Kit List For Your Malleable Block

 

Essential Wig Making Kit

Complete Kit For A Malleable Block

 

The kit list is as follows:

All items can be purchased separately or go to www.thewigdepartment.com Here you can buy the complete kit at a great price.

 

Let’s Break It Down!

 

You will need a knotting hook and holder. Knotting hooks are in two styles, the German and the Korean variety.

 

Most items in wig making are named as to state the obvious. Knotting hooks are no exception. You guessed it, German hooks were invented by the Germans and the people of Korea created the Korean hook.

The hook you use is purely down to your own personal preference. I tend to use both styles, I use the Korean for knotting my chosen hair and the German for whipping my seams.

I would recommend all the beginners out there to use the German hooks and progress to the Korean ones once more experienced.

Knotting Hooks And Holder

 

You need a knotting hook holder and a selection of German knotting hooks to use with it.  A size no.3, a good size for most knotting techniques and a size no.10 which is perfect for whipping (sewing your foundation).

Hooks come in a range of 00,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.

The 00 needle is the finest and 10 is the largest of the hooks. The higher the number equates to the number of hair strands that can be pulled through at any one time when forming your knot. 00 is super fine and would be used for the front hairline of your wig. Size 10 is for filling the main body of your wig with thicker amounts of hair.

 

Quality Scissors

Fine Point Scissors

What’s The Point Of It All?

 

A pair of good quality scissors is necessary. You will use them often and for pretty much everything you do. Cutting hair roots, the foundation lace, cutting cotton thread and so on. It is important to get yourself a pair with a fine point for detailed work.

 

Kitchen scissors just won’t cut it!

Sewing Needles

 

Grab a packet of assorted sewing needles. These are used for marking out hairlines, sewing in name labels and wig springs. Add a curved sewing needle for sewing in hair weft or anything pinned to a flat surface.

To compliment your haul of sewing needles buy a reel of fine cotton thread. The polyester varieties work equally well. You will also need some ‘Invisible’ thread. Invisible thread is a clear nylon affair that is used  to whip (sew) your foundation to give a professional finish.

Blocking Pins

 

Recommended is a box of small, fine pins which you will use to tack down your foundation lace prior to whipping.

IMPORTANT NOTE: These pins must be super small. Using larger pins will put holes in your foundation where holes shouldn’t be. In other words you will damage the foundation that you have spent hours making.

Ouch!

 

Protect your fingers with a finger guard! A good old fashioned thimble works well too. If you have delicate hands add a pair of small pliers and a little hammer. Both a good addition for inserting and removing pins from your block.

 

cloth tape measure

Cloth Measuring Tape

The Measure Of It All!

 

Chuck in a cloth measuring tape, the type that dress makers use. It goes without saying that this is used for measuring things. Quality over price is important here. A quality tape will give accurate measurements. Cheap tapes can lead to incorrect measurements. Think Christmas crackers and those nasty paper tapes held within. Useless! You get my point!

Make sure the tape includes centimetres. Using cm will give you a more accurate reading than using the larger distance of inches.

In The Box

 

Get a sturdy box to put all your items in. The type of box is totally your choice. Why not get creative and decorate it to suit your personality. Think glitter, stickers and paint! Let yourself go wild!

Extra Extra!

 

Just a few things to add along side the essential wig making kit:

A roll of cling film. When using the film over the head, a thin layer is all that’s required to enable you to see the hairline beneath clearly.

A tape dispenser and tape. Don’t buy the golden tape variety.  It is  difficult to see through and gives a strange colour to your finished head wrap.

Ribbon. I use this to mark out a head circumference. It is a great guide when positioning the wrap on a block before the padding commences and it will prevent over stuffing.

A black and a white eyeliner pencil. These pencils are used to mark out a hairline that is difficult to see under the plastic mould. Pale skin and blonde hair mark out with a black pencil and dark skin with black hair use the contrasting white pencil. I shall be discussing this in future blog posts.

So there it is. My guide to your essential wig making kit! It is by no means a definitive guide but it will give you all the tools to get your creative juices flowing. Why not head on over to my Youtube channel and watch my video on The Wig Making Kit 

Happy wig making folks.

 

Philip Carson-Sheard

Wig Making Courses

WAM Studio

London