I know we’ve all seen those videos on TikTok and Instagram reels of lace front wig installations. It’s so intriguing to see a wig straight out the packaging turn into hair that looks like it's coming out from the scalp. Currently, wigs are very popular because they’re an easy quick way to switch up your look. Not to mention it is a great protective style to give your natural hair a break. Whether it's synthetic or human, we’re going to give you all the tips and tricks to slaying your next install.
Step 1: Prepping The Hair For A Synthetic Wig
Take your wig out of the pack and save the packaging if you don’t own a wig head or wig stand. Fluff the hair out with a wide tooth comb. If you have a wig head or stand, place the wig on there to help bring out the natural shape of the wig. If your wig looks shiny you can spray dry shampoo to help dull it down. This will give the hair a more natural luster. Next you will need to tint the lace to match your skin. There are many different brands of lace tint sprays, but our favorite is the Magic Collection Halo Lace Tint Spray. This step is important because most of the time when you purchase a wig the lace tends to be too light and wearing a wig like that will automatically take focus away from the tresses and towards your very noticeable lace.
Prepping The Hair For A Human Hair Wig
When you first take your wig out of the packaging the first thing you’re going to want to do is bleach the knots. The knots on lace front wigs are black and bleaching them will make the hairline look more natural. To start, mix equal parts developer and powder bleach. The consistency of the mixture should be on the thick side because if the mixture comes out runny you run the risk of bleaching the actual hair by it seeping through the lace. Use a brush, it could be a dye brush, to lightly brush the mixture onto the lace giving it an even coat of bleach and set aside for 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes are up, go ahead and wash the mixture out thoroughly and then shampoo the lace with purple shampoo. Using purple shampoo will change the knots from an orange color to blonde and change the lace from orange to neutral. During this time you should also shampoo the whole wig to remove any type of residue that may be on the hair. You can use any type of shampoo you like. However, if you plan on dying or bleaching the unit do that step prior to shampooing the unit. After the hair dries either by blow drying or air drying, tint the lace with a lace tint spray. Tinting the lace will help to make the wig look natural and blend in with your skin tone.
Step 2: Plucking The Hairline
This next step is optional, but if you want a very natural looking wig it's highly recommended. You're going to need tweezers, wig T-pins, hair clips, a hair brush, pin tail comb and a wig head. Start by placing the wig on the wig head if it's not already on there and pin the excess lace to the wig head. This is going to make sure that your wig doesn’t move around when you are plucking the hairline. Next brush all the hair back, leaving the hairline exposed. Part the hairline.
down the middle into two even halves and clip one of the sections up and away. With the free half, take your hand and hold the hairline taut. With your other hand take the tweezer and begin plucking the hairline. You want to make sure you don’t pluck in one area for too long to avoid creating a bald spot. You want to pluck at random in different areas within the section you’re working on, making sure to not pluck too much near the center of the wig. This helps to create a widow's peak. Watching a YouTube video on plucking can also help to guide you through this step. After plucking a few times, take your hair brush and brush through the hair to remove the plucked out strands and repeat as needed. After doing this two or three times take your rat tail comb and part the hairline horizontally so you can tweeze the hair behind the hairline. The goal is to create a gradient effect with the hairline and each time you brush the shedded hair away you can see your progress. Repeat this process on the other side of the hairline and before you know it your lace is going to be looking like scalp!
Step 3: Installing The Hair
After all that prepping It’s finally time to install your lace front wig. This is the most exciting step because in a few moments you’ll transform into the new you. For this step you're going to need a pair of scissors or eyebrow razor. An eyebrow razor is more preferred because this will help you to cut the hairline in a zigzag pattern. Cutting in zigzag fashion helps to conceal the lace versus a blunt straight across cut you’d get with scissors. You will also need wig spray from any brand, however, Ebins New York is our favorite. Start by putting on a wig cap and take either concealer or foundation and color the wig cap in the area where the lace will go. Then go ahead and place the wig on your head by taking the back of the wig while leaning forward and inserting the wig onto your head. Almost all wigs come with combs and adjustable straps in case the wig is too loose. Take your razor or scissors and cut two vertical lines on each side of the lace (directly above the high points of your eyebrows). This will help when it comes time to cut the lace off. If your wig does not come with baby hairs, part out a small section of hair from the hairline and spray on adhesive in between the hairline and where you parted out your baby hair. Let it sit for a few seconds and tie down your lace with a scarf and let it sit for 10 minutes. Next you're going to take your razor and cut as close as you can to the hair strands to remove the excess lace. Once you are done with that, trim and lay down the baby hairs with either edge control or foam wrap lotion. If you want you can even curl your baby hairs with a flat iron to make swooping them a breeze.
Now that your wig is secured on you can go ahead and style it to your heart's content. If your hair doesn’t have a defined part go ahead and create one and remember to use a hot comb and a wax stick to make your part as flat and sleek as possible. If you want some curls go ahead and throw those in as well. I know it seems like a lot to get a lace front wig from point A to B, but the end results are well worth it. I hope this article was helpful and stay tuned for more in the future.
Much love,
Vanessa Nwankpa