Hard cap wigs for small heads

I use glad wrap clinging plastic wrap and the plastic peals off of it easily.

 

There are several different JB Weld products that have different cure times and hardnesses and colors. I use the one that drys to a tan color.

I have taped his cap to his head because I decided I needed to extend it to have side burns instead of drawing them on like I originally planned.

 

I've been obsessed with making 'practice wigs' before I start on the actual ones for my dolls' characters. Here's one I finished last month, testing out how un-straightened acrylic yarn would work for a short hairstyle.

Yarn Wig Practice by Anandoll, on Flickr

Spoiler: Streaks of grey hair.

Yarn Wig Practice by Anandoll, on Flickr

 

I love the streaks of grey! The hairline is so neat and natural looking, how did you do it?

 

Got some very nice wensleydale locks and here we go

 

Wow, that looks great! And if it is used on action figures, I imagine it would not be harmful to resin either.

Maybe we need more dolls with comb-overs

 

Thanks for that information! I don't have much experience with action figures, so wasn't sure how they compared.

 

As always @MadamMauMau thank you for your insights.

 

I would not have thought to use spirit gum! I have some for applying prosthetics when I cosplay. Super sticky stuff, though mine should probably be replaced as I’ve been using the same bottle for years. Excited to see your further experiments!

 

ProsAid is another commonly used product that works similar to Spirit Gum. I'd be curious to see how that compares.

 

Pardon me if I'm in the wrong thread for asking my question.
Some where on DOA there was someone using wig lace and the ventilating technique to make wigs. Did anyone keep the links for where to buy the silk lace?

 

I made my second wig yesterday with the tecnique of making a wig cap with paper tape and glueing the hair over it for my Dollshe Fashion Aramis head and I'm really happy with the result so I wanted to post it here and thank everyone in this thread for being so helpful and creative that gave me the courage to try!

It's not perfect because it has its flaws here and there, not very noticeable (the first one had bald spots xD) but I'm pretty happy with the result and I think it will suit the character perfectly. Now I'm addicted and want to try making other haircut styles.

 

Has anyone tried using a combination of lace/fabric and liquid latex (like for movie/theater prosthetic) for a wig cap? The idea is getting a cap that's more flexible than a hard cap, but still a bit 'solid'. Wouldn't the lace/tulle/fabric be a good foundation to help keep the shape, while the liquid latex would fit a lot more head shapes by stretching and also keep the wig on the head?

 

It can be done! One problem is that latex only sticks to latex. If you do a latex wig-cap You either have to punch or sew the fiber to the wig cap. Otherwise, you'll have to do the whole process using latex only, which can be a tad bit thick, if you're not careful. I've been told that contact cement will adhere to latex but I haven't tried it. A lot of animal prosthetics are made using a combo of punching, gluing, flocking, and fur transfer.

 

My current wigs are ventilated over a swiss lace mesh and I coat the interior with a thin layer of liquid latex when it's done. Mind you, I knot the hair one by one; they are not glued with latex.

** Swiss lace head cap picture **
Swiss lace is a good foundation because the treads very close to each other and woven in ways to make the material sturdy and not easy to tear. Tule is a lot cheaper, fragile, but also more extensible and you'd have to find a very fine one.

Side note about liquid latex: Always remember that latex, once dry, will tend to "glue on itself". So you can't have a head cap made uniquely of it. ( I tried, it ended up being a latex mess ) hehehe

So, in my quest for the perfect head cap for a ventilated wig:
- I tried latex alone (failed miserably)
- latex on nylon stocking , which wasn't so bad BUT you need NOT to stretch the nylon over the head as it will shrink back once you cut it.
At that time I was gluing ventilated patches over head caps.

Now I simply make a head cap with swiss lace and I ventilate right on it.


I hope those little insights helps =^.^=

 

I just asked my professional Chemist husband about thinning JBWeld so you could paint a thin coat He says grain alcohol or possibly rubbing alcohol could be used to thin the JBWeld. Might be too runny so I would try it on a throw away round object first.

Another idea--fabric paint is flexible, you could use a tint close to your doll's skin color. I would paint over a shaped piece of tulle or non-stretch fine mesh fabric. Saran wrap the head mold first so paint doesn't stick and can be peeled off the mold when dry.

My personal fave method of making a wig cap is by heat shrinking mesh fabric and same size piece of light weight "Heat and Bond".
---- Cut a square of Heat and Bond and pull off the paper backing. Line up the heat and bond and mesh over a wig cap head mold (head mold covered with saran wrap so that the heat and bond doesn't stick to the head mold). Twist tie the layers so they are evenly distributed and heat (hot air gun) the assembly till the heat and bond glue melts. Cup hands around the warm glue to make every thing hold together and shape. Can be peeled off the head mold when cool. Then you can cut the wig cap to size.
wig head mold for making wig caps and wig stand by Linda, on Flickr

 

Beautiful! Is that glued or sewn wefts? Love this wig! Perfection

 

@tinyseams wow that’s a very inventive idea! I never would have considered heat and bond. Do you then just glue wefts onto the cap? What glue do you prefer with this type of cap?

 

@tinyseams Is the head mold the actual doll head Or do you make a mold of tne head to work with?

 

Thank you! It is so fast and easy to make a wig cap once you have a head mold made. I use Fabri Tac fabric glue. The glue is really sticky and can be washed which I like because sometimes a wig needs to be refreshed.

You can take a stitch or two in the wig cap to tighten it up if needed. Or slash, overlap and reglue to tighten.

The Heat and Bond wig cap is thin and flexible but when you glue wefts to it, it hardens somewhat depending on how much glue you use for wefts or bits of hair. I love gluing cut bits of animal hair to this type of cap. It looks really natural because you can thin the amount of fur so it is not as bushy as a sewn fur wig. Plus you can direct curls and parts the way you want. I slash the part into the wig cap and stuff hair in for the part, then glue inside to close the gap.

I want to use this molding method to make doll shoes over a shoe last. Haha you could make fur shoes! lol

 

I make a mold of the doll's head. Here is one way you could make a mold--
Copy the shape with low tack painter's masking tape applied directly to doll's head and then peel off. Fill the tape mold gently with a sheet of soft polyclay, then bake.

I stuff the hardened clay with aluminum foil and then hold on a stick to make a wig stand.

The tape is sticky side out in this pic. You want to invert the tape so the clay doesn't stick to the tape while baking.
Dollshe David wig making head mold by Linda, on Flickr

 

Thank you, on the way from work, I was thinking of how to use polymer clay! Perfect

 

Awesome this looks like a really cool idea

 

This new video from Walkercolours shows a innovative way of making a rooted wig cap The wig cap starts near the beginning of the video

 

Oh cool! I have never done rerooting before...this gives me some ideas!! Thanks for that vid!

 

@tinyseams That seems like a really interesting way to make a wig, it just doesn't look like it would be very form fitting unless you could make a really hard wig cap. I would like having a reworkable wig though.

 

I've only used this approach on cloth dolls. One would think that using less hair per punch and cutting the loops before gluing would reduce the amount of bulk.

 

Super late to the party, but pretty much all my wigs are done that way. Only I don't use tulle but stocking ... it keeps the shape nicely, but (depending on how thin the stocking has been stretched) it does want to contract a little bit once the protective cling wrap is removed. One workaround is cutting the wig cap without removing the cling wrap, and keeping the cling wrap under the cap while adding the fibers. They give enough stability to help the cap keep its full size. (This only matters on very short / flocked wigs where you can see the line of the wig cap around the ears, though, hence why I never noticed it until I started making flocked wigs.)

 

On Instagram I see people using plant based fibers for making wigs (like Soy and Ramie) but I can't find out how someone goes from a roving of that stuff to wefts. I like the look of those fibers and would love to try it out myself. Does anyone have any good resources on processing soy or ramie?

 

@MadamMauMau Thank you for the information. I'm currently using brushed yarn, but was looking for something a bit more silky (and more drape). So I guess soy or ramie isn't really the best choice here. I want to use a fiber that isn't too expensive to practice on, but I don't like how brushed yarn doesn't completely straighten.

I guess I'll have to look at more synthetic fibers.

 

ATBryant, if you are looking for inexpensive synthetic hair, they sell packages for human extensions for $4-6 of Kanekalon fibers. Just search for the colors or styles you want on eBay or Amazon. They have a wide variety of hair styles, and the Kanekalon fibers are for the most part heat resistant (because they are meant for human use), so you can straighten the fiber if you want or don't find the texture you are looking for. They even have some with gradients already dyed in them. If you are making tiny wigs, one pack will go a long way. Hope that helps. (:

Edit: Forgot to add that if you are fussy about hair scale, Kanekalon is not the thinnest fiber in the world, so it might not work very well for smaller scale dolls, but it is good for practicing wig making.

 

@Enzyme Thanks for the tip! I've read about doll scale kanekalon, so I'll get some of that stuff.

I finished my very first wig yesterday. I happy with it for a first result, but I've learned a lot, even from just one wig. And now I want to make some more. I want to improve my technique before moving on to more expensive fibers.

 

No problem, ATBryant! Great job on your first wig! My first looked like a rat's nest, but if I save some face by saying so, mine wasn't a hard cap but a stretch cap with hand-made wefts -- It was a total mess. My first hard cap didn't look too good either, so congrats on getting such a professional looking first wig. (:

 

Thank you I used wood glue which was nice because it dries so quickly. I could glue the wefts on and barely had to hold them on. However, I think it's thicker and less flexible than other glues, so it added a bit of bulk.

 

That is good to know! I never worked with wood glue before, although I have heard that it makes the wig waterproof. I still use good old Aileen's tacky PVC glue. It dries really fast but it's not waterproof so there's the downside. I like that it's easy to clean though, and doesn't seem to add too much bulk, but the smallest wigs I've made with it are meant for 1:6 female heads so it might add some bulk to wigs intended for smaller heads. (:

 

Soy fiber is very similar to brushed yarn in feel and stylability. It starts nice and straight so you might like it better than the yarn.

 

@Raesha I'll have to look into getting a bit so I can try it out!

I have another question. I'm making wigs for my Merrydollround Nanaimo and she has a tiny head. When I make the wig cap, it seems like a really tight fit. However, when I take the saran wrap off her head and put the wig cap on, it's a bit looser. It moves around easily. Is the head just too tiny and so even saran wrap will add bulk to the head? Any ideas or tips?

 

Depending on how much slippage there is, you can just get away with a tiny bit of eye putty underneath to hold it still.

 

Or a silicone wig cap, Facets by Maria has carries small ones. Another thing I’ve done is smear a bit of hot glue on the inside of the wig cap , like just at the base near the neck , to add grip and make the hairline sit tighter

 

@Quiet and Insane and @skyealloway Thanks! All great ideas!

Does this happen regularly? I've seen head caps in videos on youtube and they look like they sit so much closer to the head.

 

It's always happened to mine, no matter how thin the wrapping of the head. I think it's normal?

 

It's pretty common! They fit closely but there isn't any tension holding them on like there is with elastic, so they're easily knocked off.

 

I think maybe it depends on the shape of the head and the area that the wig cap covers too.
I haven’t experienced shrinking, but I thought I had until I figured out that the head I was using for my base was actually slightly smaller than my dolls head (even though they’re from the same company!)

 

I do let it dry with for 24 hours, but didn't really let it dry again off of the head, so maybe that could help. I use wood glue, so that really shouldn't be the problem either.

When I put the wig cap back on with the saran wrap under it, it fits perfectly.

 

It could also be the material you are using for the cap itself. For my 1:6 wigs I always left the caps dry on the heads for weeks, sometimes even months, but they would still lose their shape/warp or get distorted in some way. One of them even shrunk quite a bit, even though I let it dry for days before applying hair or removing it from the head. I was using light sheer stockings for the caps, so I think that material doesn't work well for tiny wigs. I made my latest 1:6 wig using tulle, and it tuned pretty firm, like almost helmet hard (I might exaggerate). Although, I am not sure if it was the tulle or if I might have used acrylic gloss to hardened it instead of glue. I have used gloss in the past, but I have a terrible memory and don't keep notes of what materials I used for what. The only reason I know I used tulle is because I can see the inside of the wig if I remove it from the doll. But it hasn't lost its shape, and fits pretty tightly on the head, which is an OT 1:6 action figure head. I accidentally tore a little piece of the front hair line, and was able to repair it without any visible damage because it is so rigid. I made a wig for my FL Chicline Rou using tulle as well, but it didn't turn out as rigid, it is a lot firmer than the ones I made with stockings, but not like the 1:6. I do recall I used PVC glue for that one, it sits loosely on his head, but doesn't fall of unless I really try hard. I would definitely recommend trying other materials for the cap, if you think your glue and plastic film are not the issue. Hope my two page rant helps you a bit. Good luck! (:

 

I do notice that the inside of the wig cap isn't glued like the outside is, so maybe my glue isn't soaking through all the way. I'll try a thinner fabric and see if that gets me a closer fit. All my wig caps up until now haven't been helmet hard, more firm but still flexible.

 

Lol! I still have a hard cap wig for an OT action figure's head I haven't removed from the head (nor trimmed) and if memory serves, which fails me most of the time, it's been over a year since I started making it. I think it should be fully dry by now, if not crunchy and dehydrated from never being removed from the plastic film nor the head. I'm a lazy bum though, I prefer procrastinating than getting things done since I started getting older...DX

Most of my wigs were pretty vinyl-ish feeling, like the material normally used for shiny pants or jackets. I decided to try gloss and tulle once; I think that's the first time I got something truly rigid for a cap. My second tulle wig is also pretty sturdy and firm, and my Rou's wig happens to be the only wig I made for a BJD that has survived from getting warped or shrunken once it was taken off the head. I have left the caps on the heads to dry for days if not weeks, so I am not 100% sure that it is the time and the glue not drying enough that makes the caps lose their shape. It might be a combination of the materials too. I'll try to pay attention to the one I've left for over a year on the head to dry (not really for that reason, but because I'm lazy!). I usually keep my 1:6 heads with their wigs on all the time, but my BJD always go back to their boxes after I photograph them, so maybe that's also a reason why mine have shrunk in the past, but I'll test it out with this over-a-year-old cap that hasn't come off or gotten trimmed yet. Another two-page rant, just ignore me if you can. I don't know what's worst, an insomniac who thinks they can be helpful at 2:43AM or a drunk who thinks they can still drive... ^ ^;;