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How to Safely Heat Style Your Synthetic Wig

Changing up your look is one of the best parts of wearing a wig. If you have been dreaming of turning your sleek, straight synthetic unit into a bouncy, wavy masterpiece—or vice versa—you absolutely can! However, unlike human hair, synthetic fibers require a completely different approach to thermal styling.
Before you plug in your curling wand, read this definitive guide to safely heat styling your synthetic wig without damaging the fibers.

The Golden Rule: Check the Label First

Rest assured, here at Lush Wigs all styles are heat-resistant; however, there are limits when it comes to how high your heat can go!
always keep your tools within the safe zone: 120°C to 140°C (250°F to 280°F). Going any higher risks permanently frizzing or melting the fibres

What You Need

Before getting started, gather your tools:

A canvas block head or styrofoam wig stand
Stainless steel T-pins to secure the wig
A wide-tooth comb or loop brush
Note: For further advice about what combs and brushes to use, please take a look here.

Hair sectioning clips
A digital hot tool (flat iron or curling wand with adjustable temperature)
Note: Your styling appliance does not have to be ceramic. Other types, such as those made from steel, are also compatible with synthetic fibres.

A specialised synthetic hair heat protectant spray
While there are many options on the market, most leave-in conditioners for synthetic hair will coat the fibres with a protective layer.

Prep and Detangle

Never apply heat to tangled fibre, as it will bake the knots permanently into the hair. Secure your wig to the styling head using T-pins through the ear tabs and the nape. Gently brush out any tangles starting from the ends and working your way up to the roots.

Spritz Your Protectant

Mist the hair lightly with a specialised synthetic wig heat protectant. This adds a barrier of moisture and helps the tool glide smoothly along the synthetic strands.

Work in Small Sections

Clip the bulk of the hair up, leaving only the lowest layer at the nape of the neck free. Working in small, 1-inch sections ensures even heat distribution and gives you much cleaner results. Tip: Always do a “strand test” on a hidden section at the very back first to verify your iron isn’t too hot.

Apply Heat Smoothly

To Straighten: Take your section and glide a flat iron smoothly from root to tip. Keep the iron moving at a steady pace—never let it sit on one spot.
To Curl: Wrap the hair smoothly around a curling barrel for about 5 to 8 seconds, then gently slide the wand out.

The Critical Step: Cool to Lock

This is where the magic happens. Human hair changes shape when it is hot, but synthetic fibre only locks into a new shape once it cools completely.
If you are straightening, hold the strand straight in your fingers until it cools.
If you are curling, catch the warm curl in your palm or pin it to the wig head with a clip. Leave it pinned until it is completely cold to the touch. If you let a warm synthetic curl drop, it will instantly fall flat.

Finish and Flaunt

Once the entire unit has cooled down completely (let it sit for about 15 minutes), remove the clips or pins. Use your fingers or a wide-tooth comb to gently fluff the curls or smooth down the straight layers.

Ready to Transform Your Look?

With the right temperature and a little patience, you can completely reinvent your favorite synthetic style. Just remember: keep the heat low to medium, and always let it cool!

We regularly get emails asking us whether it’s OK to dye one of our wigs. We usually reply to these with a “well we wouldn’t recommend it…” but we know there is a way that has been proven to work, and has been endorsed by our own customers, so we thought we would tell you how it’s done!

It’s a great way to revive old styles you don’t wear anymore.

Note: boiling water can smooth out synthetic hair, if your wig was styled in curls when you boiled it though, these curls will not still be present after it dries. This process removes any style the wig had been set into.

You’ll need:

A light coloured wig that is heat resistant (all Lush Wigs are) – one of our light blondes is most likely to take dye, never try and put colour into a wig that already has colour in it. It will just ruin the wig.

Fabric dye – look into a brand that others have used on wigs, this differs worldwide. NEVER USE REGULAR HAIR DYE ON SYNTHETIC HAIR – it will melt!

A large pot – big enough to stir the wig around in with plenty of room for all the hair. If the hair is crammed in, you might not get even colour coverage.
Put some old clothes on just in case!

Method

Put your pot on the stove, and fill with enough water to completely cover your wig. Bring this water to the boil, then drop in your dye. You can control the colour at this stage, the more colour you add, the darker it’ll come out. If you want a washed out/pastel vibe, just a little will do.
As the water reaches boiling, run your wig under a tap to get it wet, this helps the dye take properly. Take the boiling pot off the heat, and put your wig in the water. Give it a mix around with a wooden spoon to make sure the colour gets to all the strands of hair. The longer it is in the water, the more of the colour it’ll take in. If you’ve made your water quite coloured and you only want a tint, take it out fairly quickly. It’s important that you keep an eye on the wig during this part, as it will determine how it looks, so remember not to leave it in too long if you don’t want an intense colour.
Once the wig looks the right colour, remove it from the water and rinse it under the cold tap. Do this until the water runs clear, like you would with regular hair dye. You can then lay your wig out and leave it to air dry.

Conclusion

This process is risky, factors like how well your wig has been looked after, the quality of fabric dye used etc. can all have an effect on the outcome, so please be careful, and as we said above, don’t do this on a wig you aren’t OK with potentially ruining. Having said that, you could bring an old wig back to life with a new look.