How To Wash A Human Hair Wig & Synthetic Wig Without Ruining Them

There is a difference between how to wash a human hair wig Vs how to wash a synthetic wig. In today’s guide, we’re going to teach you how to take care of both your synthetic and human hair wig like a professional hairdresser so they can last forever. We will be showing you how to wash a wig with regular shampoo and also how to wash a wig with synthetic fiber appropriate products.

How To Wash A Human Hair Wig Vs How To Wash A Synthetic Wig

The first thing is shampooing and conditioning your wigs. Before you even wet your wigs, the very first thing you want to do is you want to thoroughly brush your hair regardless of whether it is synthetic or human hair. And the reason that you want to do this is because wigs are prone to being damaged when they are wet. You can really damage the synthetic fiber when that synthetic fiber is wet very easily and you can damage the lace front or even the cap of a human hair wig very easily as well when it's wet. So we want to avoid brushing the wigs at all when they are wet. So take the tangles all out before we even wet it. 

It is important when brushing your wigs that you're using the proper brushing tool. You should brush with soft detangling bristles and nothing that's going to pull or snag out hair. Wigs do not grow back, so if you damage them, they're done. So we should treat our wigs the same way that we treat silk pieces in our wardrobe, we really should baby them at all times so that we get the longevity of wear out of them.

Synthetic Hair Wig Washing Tips 

Shampooing and conditioning:

When it comes to shampooing and conditioning, we need to use different strategies for synthetic vs human hair. 

For a synthetic wig, it is very important that we use shampoos and conditioners that are made specifically for synthetic fibers. We do not want to use human hair shampoo and conditioner no matter how good of quality that human hair shampoo and conditioner is. We don't want to use them on synthetic fibers, it is a very specific type of fiber and we need to treat it with a very specific type of product. 

Using cool and not hot running water, start by wetting the detangled wig thoroughly, and then applying a small amount of the fiber love shampoo to the palms of your hands. Gently massage the shampoo into the fibers and into the base of the wig. It is very important that you do not scrub the wig we want to gently cleanse it by moving your hands down avoiding unnecessary tangles. When you are finished, you can take the wig press a towel down to remove any excess water and then place it on a wig tree to dry. At this point, you don't want to brush it because wet fibers are very susceptible to damage.

Conditioning spray:

Then spray the conditioning spray. Apply 3 to 5 pumps to the fibers, keeping the product away from any hand-tied knots, this is a leave-in product so you don't want to rinse it out. 

Heat-friendly fibers:

Some synthetic wigs have heat-friendly fibers, so for those wigs in particular, you can use heat on them up to 350 degrees, make sure that you're checking the temperature of your hot tools and never exceeding 350 degrees so that you don't melt the fibers. So for those types of wigs, if you want, you can blow dry it very gently on a low heat setting.

Wigs that can not withstand heat:

For wigs that can not withstand heat at all, the synthetic wigs that are not heat friendly, you really do have to let them air dry. It is a great idea for any wig really to invest in a wig tree because it is so airy all around it, that when you put your wig on it it's not only going to sit perfectly and dry in the position that you want the hairs to dry and not have any kinks or any distortion of the hair because it's laid flat. But it's also going to maintain your wig better over time. 

Human Hair Wig Washing Tips 

Shampoo and conditioner:

For human hair wigs, we are able to use human hair shampoo and conditioner, but it has to be sulfate free and it has to be salon quality. Do not use cheap shampoo and conditioner on your wigs because you will ruin them. But if you have a sulfate free shampoo and conditioner that is professional level or grade, then you are good to go. When you are choosing a shampoo and conditioner for your wig, you want to use words like moisturizing, hydrating, deep repair all of those words are what you are looking for when you're choosing the right shampoo and conditioner for your wig. Wigs are not attached to our scalp so they do not get the natural moisture the natural oils from our scalp, so it is really important that we put that moisture back into the wig by specifically choosing products that do that.

Washing steps:

Just like when washing a synthetic wig we want to use cool and not hot running water, you want to start by wetting the detangled wig thoroughly and then applying a small amount of hydrating shampoo to the palm of your hands. Gently massage the shampoo into the hair and into the base of the wig again, it is very important that you do not scrub the wig. You just want to gently cleanse it by moving your hands down avoiding unnecessary tangles. When you finish shampooing you want to do the same with the conditioner, making sure to keep the conditioner off of the hand-tied knots in a lace front wig. When it comes to human hair wig, you do have the flexibility of heat styling them. So if you want to go ahead and blow it out or blow dry it, you absolutely can do that. Or you can just let it air dry on a wig tree. The only thing you need to know is that the less heat you use the better, so it's just like our natural hair. If you heat style it a lot on really high heat, you are going to ruin the hair over time. If you keep the heat low and you minimize the amount of heat styling that you're doing your wig is going to last longer and look healthier. 

When the wig is completely dry, now it's time to comb or brush it into the position that you want to. No setting is necessary with synthetic wigs because its preset body will bounce back to its original shape. With human hair waves, you do have the flexibility to either curl it or to straighten it, you can heat style it to create a lot more variations in your day-to-day look. Just remember to keep the heat as low as possible in order to prolong the health of the hair and also the longevity of the wig.