Anyone wash their own wig?

Platinum Member Joined: May 06 2007 Posts: 8518

I was wondering if any of you washed your own sheital and if you're good at it, care to share the wealth? I looked through the archives and surprisingly, didn't find anything...
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Just Plain Frum!

Gold Member Joined: Mar 30 2006 Posts: 1415

I was my own wig and friends/neighbors' as well. The hard part isn't washing it, it is blow drying it. If you were good at blowing your own hair, than chances are you will be able to do the sheital. You need a head to blow dry it on and pins to keep the wig on. You need a good blow drier and possibly a streightener (to smooth it out). You also need to make suer you are careful to never leave the blow dryer on the wig for too long at a time. If you don't do it correctly you could end up burning your wig...

Platinum Member Joined: May 06 2007 Posts: 8518

ok....I can try.

Diamond Member Joined: Apr 16 2007 Posts: 2952

Also, let it airdry mostly. If you blow it too wet you will damage the hair.

Posted: Wed, Aug 08 2007, 11:17 pm Post subject: re: Anyone wash their own wig?

Ok here is how I wash mine.
1. detangle wig .
2. make sure the side part is the way you want it.
3. put your hand on the shaitel's cavity and wet it under the sink .
4. put about a dollar size amount of shampoo work your way around the top trying not to mess up the part I love panthene for dry frizzy hair.
3.rinse the shaitel under the sink while holding it. this way you get less tangles. get all suds out .
5. put conditioner on the ends working your way up avoid roots becouse it may loosen the knots .
6.rinse well.. add leave on conditioner to damp roots
7.air dry... I use a my staircase rail end to hang dry
8. if I want to make it wavy I squeeze hair ends with a towel
if I want it straight I lay shaitel between a folded towel press and hang to dry.
9. I wait a day and blow dry the bangs.
finish with shine spray.
10. never detangle a shaitel when wet.

Good luck! enjoy styling your shaitel and buy a skirt/treat with the cash you saved Razz

Senior Member Joined: Dec 11 2005 Posts: 172

alot of conditioner - and air dry

Posted: Thu, Aug 09 2007, 11:53 am Post subject: re: Anyone wash their own wig?

I wash mine. I put shampoo (mixed with water) on it, while brushing down. Rinse the shampoo, do the same with conditioner (I take it with me into the shower). Then shake it out, part, brush, air dry on the head with rollers in it. I put some mousse into the parts where I put the rollers... After it is done, I blow-dry some parts the way I want them to lie.
My sheitel is very short, the shortest hair cut you can probably do with a human-hair shaitel.

Posted: Thu, Aug 09 2007, 11:56 am Post subject: re: Anyone wash their own wig?

wash it with a nice shampoo and air dry. put it on the head and comb it into the style I like, then let it dry itself. looks great! saves so much money too.
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Life is not about who you can stand on top of, but who you can lift up!

Platinum Member Joined: May 06 2007 Posts: 8518

Thank you all for the great feedback - esp. Shlomit!

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48155

Nope. Genia's sets last me a whole year, three for my Shabbos sheitla, so it's n ot worht me fooling with expenisve custom hair.

Silver Member Joined: Jul 12 2006 Posts: 839

This thread might help you.

http://www.imamother.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7436&highlight=wig+wash

Diamond Member Joined: Jan 19 2006 Posts: 4428

Platinum Member Joined: May 06 2007 Posts: 8518

Thanks Smiles, how did you find that? I looked in the archives...

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48155

Gold Member Joined: Jun 08 2007 Posts: 1329

I wear customs. I have one for everyday and one for shabbas. I find I can go at least 3-4 months between washes for my everyday. My shabbas one can last at least 6 months.

Senior Member Joined: Jul 26 2007 Posts: 211

Just wanted to throw in how I wash my sheitel. After asking almost everyone I know, (including a very talented hairstylist who does plenty of wigs for drag queens and understands the difference b/w synthetics and human hair), here it is:
My sheitel's length falls past my shoulders.
-Fill a basin with warm water and mix in a bit of shampoo.
-Hold sheitel by the top (where bangs would be) and dip it in the shampoo mix. Gently swirl it in a circular motion to get the shampoo in. Do not agitate the hair!
-Take the sheitel out, fill the basin with plain warm water.
-Dip the sheitel in again to rinse the shampoo.
-Fill basin with warm water and conditioner, dip the sheitel in but not the top! Conditioner will help unravel the knots that tie the hair to the net.
-Gently comb the bangs/part, not in such a way that all the hair is untangled, rather in a way that you can clearly see the part of the hair or the general way you want your bangs to lie. Sometimes I skip this step.
-Airdry on a hook/head/faucet.
-When dry, I put the sheitel on my head and style with a blowdryer to help the hair lie smoothly. Do not hold the blowdryer too close to the hair, use product to help prevent split ends, and a spray-on conditioner.

A synthetic is so much easier to wash!

Platinum Member Joined: May 06 2007 Posts: 8518

Thanks, so I did wash it and let it air dry and now it's wavy, which I like, but it's a bit too poodle-like. Can I put in gel or anti-frizz stuff or something, now that it's already dry? Or, should I wet it again to add gel and then scrunch it and then let it dry again?

Posted: Mon, Aug 20 2007, 11:56 pm Post subject: re: Anyone wash their own wig?

I have a shevy wig and every time I get it done it only lasts me one night. What am I doing wrong?
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Posted: Mon, Aug 20 2007, 11:58 pm Post subject: re: Anyone wash their own wig?

hey mimisinger great thread you started, I had the same questions!

I was wondering what spray on shine people use after blowing the shaitel. I know that tresseme makes a product called Colorthrive spray, which supposedly locks in the dye to prevent the color of the hair from fading. or there is Citreshine spray, which has uv filters to maintain dye color, and adds a lot of shine.

I have never used these products on a shaitel. would using such a spray cause product buildup and make the shaitel sticky? (I am wondering if the product could be used every day, not just once after blowing out the wig)

Posted: Tue, Aug 21 2007, 12:04 am Post subject: re: Anyone wash their own wig?

mrs leo, is it a handmade shaitel or a machine made shaitel? is it custom or semicustom? if you are unsure, look inside the shaitel and tell me what code is written inside the shaitel. the first letter of the code tells what kind of shaitel it is.
unless, if the shaitel is older (over a year and a half or so) then the code would be faded already...
in any case, different shaitels hold the styles differently. machine made shaitels tend to have more body, and therefore tend to hold a style longer. the thinner handmade ones are best blown sleek and straight, not into a specific style.
if the shaitel is under a year old, shevys should work with your shaitel to fix the problem, and it should be free. over a year, theyll work with it, but youll have to pay.