So this year, I decided I would focus more on me and my builds rather than commissions for others, just because a lot of the customers would get measurements wrong and it was a mess on both sides (I am not innocent in this), so I really just wanted to work more on myself, because I was getting burnt out. But, I really wanted to practice wigs, and with only about 12 wigs to style this year, I don't get a lot of practice. So I opened up commissions for wigs to local friends and customers so I wouldn't have to worry about the wigs getting messed up in transit. I also wanted to do some wig walk throughs for those of you that are too far to commission me, or want to try it for yourself! (Please do not use this tutorial for profit, it is purely for personal use. Thank you!)
My friend Shannon sent me a panicked message asking if I could style this Syaoran wig before last weekend and luckily, this style is simple enough that it only took about an hour or so! I watched a lot of Cardcaptor when I was a kid, so this was a dream come true! She brought me over a wig head, a couple pins, and Arda Wigs Classic Caine in Light Brown. Luckily, the only tools I needed were:
*Teaser brush
*Wig Shears
*Hair Spray
*Detangling Brush
*Comb
*Clear Tacky Glue
*Hair Dryer
*Mane n Tail Detangler spray (very briefly, in the beginning)
You can check out where you can buy these items if you don't already have them in my Wig Styling Essentials post!
This is what I started with:
I made sure to use my Mane n Tail to keep it from getting tangled or too clumped together. I took a tiny sliver of hair and teased it up, making sure to comb out the knots. I then sprayed it with hair spray and glued the tip, then gently blow dried the curl until it was mostly dry. So that it looks like this:
I did the same with a second piece further on the right side of the wig, and once the pieces were completely dry, I trimmed them a little to give it a cleaner edge. I made a longer flip out of a further down second of hair, cutting it so that the weight wouldn't hold it down while it dried, then glued, hair sprayed, and dried. Those pieces look like this from the back and front:
Then I flipped to styling the side opposite the third flip (It's his left side), and made the fourth flip. I made sure to give it some depth, so it wasn't like a halo around Syaoran's head. You can see the very faint, very long strand of hair that wasn't clipped. It's alright to leave some of those a little long until the end to make sure the wig is fully dry and the glue won't fall apart.
I went back to his right side and teased up another small section, making sure to tease all the way to the base of the wig in order to keep that piece from defying gravity. I only used a small drop of glue, a quick hair spray, then dried with the blow dryer. Held it there for about 30 seconds, and then moved onto the next part.
Next, I wanted to tackle the bangs and side burns. Luckily, this wig is a little layered, so I was able to get in and trim a little before sectioning off (if your fingers are too chubby like mine, you can use your comb tail to separate it) each section. Fortunately, his bangs don't stand up a ridiculous amount, so I was able to forgo teasing and just trim, then glue the edges of the wig. If you are styling this wig for yourself, you will want to try the wig on to see where you want the bangs to hit. Since my model wasn't with me while I was styling, I was unable to properly do this and I just got blessed by the Cosplay Gods that he needed the exact length I had. I did spray a little in the middle of the bangs to keep it a little separated, so it had that more faux styled look.
(You can use the arrow to see the other photos)
We're almost to the end! The Caine has a bit of length in the back, which doesn't match up for our Syaoran reference. So what I did was trimmed little by little until I got the length it looked like it needed at the ends. After that, I took a section (up and down, not left to right) and trimmed it to make it as even and realistic as possible. I'm not a huge wig stylist yet, so I have some experience to gain where it concerns blending, but if you don't attempt to blend, it'll look choppy and gross. If you have thinning shears, these can also help a little to give you that more natural "realistic" look. You can see the difference in the pictures below to see what I did and the length I chopped off.
With the back trimmed up, Syaoran is finished! I loved being able to experiment and create a character from scratch and although it was simple, I was given this opportunity to better my skills and hopefully use them for the next project! I really hope this helps you and remember, it's okay to make mistakes. Every mistake is something that can be fixed. Here's hoping that my next couple of builds, I'll be able to record and do a video as well as a walk through so that you'll be able to follow along!
If you enjoyed this tutorial, please support me as an artist! I have a ko-fi, and they are just $3 to help me out. Anything and everything is appreciated, and you can find that link here.