The story behind . . . real hair wigs

Published 08th Jul 2009 by Admin
The story behind . . . real hair wigs Wigs have made a comeback over the past couple of years with hip young celebrities like Pixie Geldof and Lily Allen sporting different styles. Even older stars like Madonna have been flirting with the fashion.

madonnawig.jpgDespite the trend for synthetic wigs, there is still a demand for real hair wigs and the art of real-hair wig making is a highly skilled art form. We visited the Banbury Postiche factory in Oxfordshire to see how it's done.

Nick Allen, sales director, says, "Although our business mostly supplies acrylic wigs, some customers will pay extra for real hair wigs which are made by hand on the premises."

The consultation form

Before the process can begin, the client has to fill in a detailed consultation form about the type of wig they would like. This form is referred to throughout the entire process, so that the colour, style, size and any other specifications are followed.

 

A wig piece can even be made to cover a bald patch or a scar so this would be detailed on the form.

raw-hairsm.jpgRaw hair

The raw hair comes from various sources around the globe. The lengths are washed and organised into colour groups.     

Drawing out the lengths

Lengths of the hair are drawn out by hand in order to create bundles of equal lengths.   

drawing-hairsm.jpgBlending the hair

Sitting in a room flooded with natural light and using a hair hackle, the lengths are colour matched by hand. At least three months training is required for this job.

The foundation

The foundation is the fine mesh cap that the hair is attached to. This can be made out of silk, lace or polyester, each knottingsm.jpgrequirement alters the price of the finished product.

Knotting the hair to the foundation

A highly skilled process of knotting the hair to the foundation is performed by hand in a room filled with natural light.

 The 'knotters' use a knotting hook to thread between one and eight hairs at a time into the foundation, depending on the wig specifications. This part of the process takes almost 40 hours of work.

Styling

Finally, the wig is washed and styled into the selected 'look.' A large, low-heat oven is used to dry the wig without damage.

After-care

With natural wear and tear, clients send wigs back to be professionally washed, dried and styled, helping the product to last longer and freshening up the style.

More Wigs

See how wigs have come back into fashion, Charlie Le Mindu's avant garde wigs and check out the ways that hairdressers can work with wigs.

Also, see more 'The story behind. . . ' 

Admin

Admin

Published 08th Jul 2009

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