How can I deep condition my wig in my own home??

relaxed ↓

Tue, Nov 03 2009, 9:59 pm

I'm sick and tired of spending $$$ getting my wig washed and blown every month but I can't leave it looking like this. I know how to wash and blow it. I just don't know how to go about deep conditioning it and it's needed desperately.

Can someone please advise me? Please, pretty please?? With more than one cherry on top???

Help

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, Nov 04 2009, 9:27 am

The way my friend who does sheitels told it to me (I never did it, we were just discussing it), is to wash as normal, apply conditioner carefully all over the bottom of the hair, being very careful to avoid the knots attaching it to the cap, cover with a bag, and let sit overnight with the conditioner in. Rinse and style as usual.

SingALong

Sun, Nov 08 2009, 10:56 pm

someone gave me similar instructions with the conditioner in a bag but I never had the guts to try it. I would love to hear from someone who did how it worked. I also wash/blow my own shaitels, but I wonder how this would turn out...

↑ relaxed ↓

Sun, Nov 08 2009, 10:59 pm

Thanks for the suggestions, you all. I too would love to hear from other re: the conditioner in the bag, since chocolate moose has raised a worrying point.

Earnest ↓

Fri, Dec 11 2009, 2:09 pm

If you're gonna wash your shaitel every month, please, please, please insist that your shaitel macher air-dry the wig. (Call me paranoid, but when I don't 'insist' I suspect a shaitel-macher will ignore me. A busy shaitel-macher is a businesswoman. Business-people reckon their time is worth xxx amount of money. It's time consuming to let a wig air-dry and then go back and style the dry wig later.) Beg her to use a minimum amount of heat, for the shortest amount of time, to set the wig. It is very rough on the wig when it's soaking wet and then blasted dry full-heat with a blow-dryer. I used to only get my wigs 'professionally' washed and set every 4-6 months for $$ reasons. I cringed when I realized how hot that blow-drier gets, and I became a skeptic when they kept on telling me that 'it doesn't hurt the wig'.

↑ Earnest

Fri, Dec 11 2009, 2:29 pm

I think 'deep conditioning' is a myth. It's just that good conditioners are expensive and take more time to apply. (I forget exactly, but there is a deep conditioner that's 'self-heating'. It's activated when water mixes with the product.) You don't need a bag. Just buy a better conditioner for heat-damaged hair, keep the conditioner OUT of the hair close to the 'scalp, do apply the conditioner generously to the strands of hair away from the cap, let it sit for 15 minutes, and rinse it out. Use your fingers to 'feel' the hair, that it feels soft. Some conditioner should remain on the hair. (I used to over-rinse the conditioner out of the wigs I washed.) You could also use a shampoo-conditioner combo, then condition it, then air-dry it. PM me if you want.

greenfire

Fri, Dec 11 2009, 2:56 pm

first off "deep conditioning" is for the scalp to give vitamins to the hair follicles ... a wig does not have this so the point is moot ...

second - simply wash and condition the wig but be gentle because you don't want to make it knotty ... comb the hair out use a "head" with pins to hold it in place - then style it as you would your own hair ... try to remember how you did it back then ...

anything the sheitel macher can do - you can learn too - with time and effort ...

solo

Fri, Dec 11 2009, 3:07 pm

ive deep conditioned my wigs several times.
greenfire, deep conditioning a wig makes the hair look and feel silky. nothing to do with vitamins.
so, how to do it?
ive been told panteen is best so thats what I use.
massage gently into the wig. avoid the scalp as that will cause some hairs to unknot and fall out.
let it sit with the conditioner for .5 - 1 hr. ive never left it overnight.
in a bag, on a bag, whatever, it doesnt mater.
rinse thoroughly in luke warm, not hot water.
place on head. and air dry. as another poster said blowdrying it will dry out the hair.
once dry style as usual.
its that simple.

ally

Sat, Dec 12 2009, 11:16 am

I use a kerastase hair mask. It comes in a tub - which is a little expensive, but probably not more than it costs to get your shaitl done and it can be used multiple times.
I shampoo and condition my shaitl normally. Then I put in the hair treatment and wrap the shaitl in a damp hot towel (run a hand towel under really hot water and squeeze out - warning, it cant get pretty hot!) for 15 min and rinse.
I have heard moroccan hair oil is also amazing.

shlomitsmum

Mon, Dec 14 2009, 3:53 pm

I buy hairmask for Black hair and wash as usual but for conditioning leave it overnight covered with a plastic bag, (hair does absobe mosture like a dry prune if soaked ), It was not sticky as the bag prevents the drying of the conditioner . avoid aplying to the roots as it may loosen internal knots ....air dry and style with minimum heat! eg: for awesome waves I use goody twisties and dry like that then "refine the style" with the curling iron . my oldest shaitel was bought in 2001 and is still shiny and nice ,DH does not trust shaitelmachers as a brand new wig came back in israel with a dime size baldspot in front....lady shrugged and played dumb Rolling Eyes

and I just use it as a fall 8) as you cant argue with an israeli LOL .
typing with one hand here as my lovey keeps falling around LOL

↑ relaxed

Tue, Dec 15 2009, 7:09 pm

Wow, thanks all for the conditioning tips and I fully agree with Earnest about the blow drying vs. air drying bit. It makes a visible difference in how my shaitel comes out. So much so, that I've decided to wash and air dry all my sheitels, whether I decide to style them or have a shaitel macher do it for me. Putting up these step-by-step instructions are really helpful (especially financially), so thanks so much Earnest, greenfire, ally, solo, shlomitsmum! Very Happy

Now, on to my next conundrum. When I last washed my wig, I noticed that it had a largish size hole in the net that I'd never seen before. shock

Then again, I don't think I'd ever washed this wig before so I don't know when it happened or whether a shaitel macher is to blame for it. Exploding anger

So first, how do holes in a wig's net typically happen? And is this something I can fix myself or do I need to bring it in to the original manufacturer- or will any shaitel macher do?

Nomad

Tue, Dec 15 2009, 9:24 pm

Hi shlomitsmum,

thanks! what brand do you use? And how do you avoid getting the hairmask on the net? I think I did thislast time because a bunch of hair started falling out...uh oh.