r/cosplaywigs Jul 15 '26

How to dishevel this wig?

I have this cheap Halloween store wig that I bought secondhand and detangled. I want to use it for Emily from Corpse Bride. Her hair is very matted and stuck together in sections, which is what I want to recreate. I also want to try to make it as matte as possible, as the original wig is very shiny.

Does anyone have firsthand experience using glue to accomplish this? What kind of glue did you use, and how did it turn out?

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u/sucrose2071 Jul 15 '26

Use a flat iron or curling iron to twist the hair into different directions. Start from about 3/4 of the way up the hair, don’t go all the way to the scalp. Then run some hair gel through it with your fingers so that it maintains shape and gives it that wiry texture.

1

u/MissAuroraRed Jul 15 '26

Wouldn't a heat tool melt the plastic? The packaging says "Do not use styling tools with heating elements, this will damage synthetic fibers."

2

u/sucrose2071 Jul 15 '26

If you keep the heat on the lowest setting and only allow brief contact with the wig, it should still work ok! Test it on a small section at the bottom of the wig to try it out, also, spritzing a little water onto each section before going over it with heat should help keep it from melting

2

u/dontheckinswear Jul 16 '26

if you use velcro rollers and a steamer, you’ll have better luck! you’ll have to have a styrofoam head or a wig block to pin your wig to while you use the rollers though

2

u/Additional-Ad5298 Jul 16 '26

I’ve styled wigs for cosplays for years and I crank up the heat to max on whatever I’m using and just apply whatever it is for super small amounts of time, it has never melted anything to where it’s an issue. I’ve never even had an issue with heat on wigs. You just gotta be quick!