How to care for your wigs

Wigs have come a long way over time and more women are making it their business to own one. For the beginners, I’m going to give you some tips to keep your wig looking and feeling great.

When you need to comb a wig, be gentle. Do not use regular brushes, and if you can, only comb it with a wide toothed comb. Depending on the length of the hair, it doesn’t need to be combed every day, so let it rest. If you have the money you can put it on a wig stand, which will help keep the shape of the wig.

While washing your wig, never use shampoo meant for natural hair (this varies depending on the type of hair fibre your wig is made of). Even though normal conditioner is OK, the shampoo is too harsh and can lead to hair falling out. You can condition your hair, every couple weeks or so, to keep it shiny and soft. Make sure you don’t do that every day and be sure to rinse it all out, or it could lead to build-up in your wig.

After washing a wig, do not shake it in a towel. Be careful and dry it piece by piece. This makes sure that strands of fibre don’t fall off. Also, never style your wig while it’s wet. Even those wet-to-style hair styles are known to damage your wig. The best way to get the majority of the water out of your wig is to squeeze it dry. Don’t wring it, or the base of your wig could become misshapen and dry funny. Only wash your wig after wearing it for about 25 times or so. If you do this daily, or even weekly, it can lead to your wig looking less realistic and falling apart. Invest in leave-in products designed to help keep your wig look and feel great.

For any questions or comments contact me at onfleekthisweek@gmail.com or address letters to On Fleek This Week C/o Searchlight Newspaper, Lower Kings­town Park, PO Box 152, Kingstown.