Ironing the wig frizzies away.

scooter_ca · Post by **scooter_ca** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:47 am

Can a plain ordinary clothing iron straighten frizz in a synthetic wig?
Yes it can.

The entire process took about an hour and I am very happy with the results.
Hopefully this can help others in a similar situation.

Daria sports several different hairstyles and colours, but her "go to" style is the original synthetic wig she was born with.
It has been well cared for with regular combing and fabric softener treatments, but it is now getting very frizzy a the ends.
No matter how much it is combed or how much fabric softener is used, the ends remain frizzy,

I did a search around, and found a lady who describes how she uses a ordinary clothing iron to straighten the frizz.
I had never considered this as I automatically assumed it would melt the synthetic hair.
I then searched TDF and discovered some of our members had also mentioned ironing in the past. I had not noticed these before.

Here is what I did:

Small sections of hair were separated and combed out.

Equal parts fabric softener and water were rubbed into the hair.

The section of hair was ironed on the lowest setting. This is the setting for delicates like acetate and nylon.
It was still hot to the touch.

The ends were evened out a tiny bit with scissors.

To show the results, here is a before and after GIF.

Daria sat by the window to show off her hair in the sunlight.

And finally, cheeky Daria having some fun.

Hope this helps someone.
Thanks,
scooter and Daria

dullahan · Post by **dullahan** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 10:05 am

Nice tip! Never thought something like that could work.

Just to remind everyone who would like to try this to find out how much heat can their wigs withstand.

samara78 · Post by **samara78** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:35 pm

Really cool. Thank you

siliconefun · Post by **siliconefun** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:39 pm

Great result

. Thanks so much for sharing scooter & Daria!! I will give it a try!!

- SF -

hansdampf21 · Post by **hansdampf21** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:48 pm

Nice invention, Scooter. Thanks for sharing.
It may help many dolls (including mine)

Knightshift · Post by **Knightshift** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:06 pm

And this ladies and gentlemen is another fine example of why TDF is such a great community! The sharing of ideas to make the doll hobby all the more enjoyable!

carlys_guy · Post by **carlys_guy** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:33 pm

good idea another idea is steam karrot uses it on his girls wigs.

carlys_guy

LaDollyVita · Post by **LaDollyVita** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 6:58 pm

Thanks for the great tip, Scooter. I need to resolve this same issue with Rachel’s original wig, which I very much still enjoy on her. I’ll give this a go this weekend.

MANABU · Post by **MANABU** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:24 pm

First of all the pic with daria at the window looking at us is beautiful.
Scooter, after learning what you just learned. Do you think its possible to straighten a whole wig with this method? Like Japanese hair straightening? That would be cool. Also how are your sewing adventures going with the new machine?

Post by **jiayi** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:39 pm

Great tip scooter! If you want straight hair, this is the way to go. I have a steam travel iron with a brush attachment. Brushes out the tangles and straightens at the same time.
Spending time with our dolls means more than just....well you know.

Regards,
Jiayi

deerman · Post by **deerman** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 9:33 am

Looks good!

but have you used wrinkle release! from dollar general?

scooter_ca · Post by **scooter_ca** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 9:35 am

Thanks for the feedback everyone.
I try to pamper Daria and am happy to pass on anything I learn.

hansdampf21 wrote:Nice invention, Scooter. Thanks for sharing.
It may help many dolls (including mine)

Thanks, HD.
I don't want to take any "invention" credit here. Other TDF members have used irons and steam to rejuvenate wigs.
I just want to pass on my personal learning experiences.

dullahan wrote:Nice tip! Never thought something like that could work.
Just to remind everyone who would like to try this to find out how much heat can their wigs withstand.

dullahan is very correct. I only have experience with one wig. Perhaps others have a lower melting point or react differently.
By dividing the hair in to sections that are treated separately, you can stop after the first strand if there are issues.

MANABU wrote:First of all the pic with daria at the window looking at us is beautiful.
Scooter, after learning what you just learned. Do you think its possible to straighten a whole wig with this method? Like Japanese hair straightening? That would be cool. Also how are your sewing adventures going with the new machine?

Thanks for the compliment about Daria's picture.
I was going to crop it because the focus should be on her hair and not her other assets.
However, when I was in the editor, I just couldn't do it.

I don't have enough experience yet so cant say how it would effect other wigs.

Also, thanks for asking about our sewing thread - Clothing Alterations. A dummy's journey of discovery.
Yes, that will be coming back.
Daria has already picked out a pleated skirt that she wants to shorten and adjust.
We did not mean to let it go idle, but got very busy with our Cottage and Rogers Cup photo shoots.
Also this weekend, Daria and I have a very important anniversary, plus it's also the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.
Look for an update sometime later this week.

Thanks,
scooter and Daria