How to Care for Alpaca Wigs

So, you bought an alpaca wig! Great job, and thank you so much if you bought one from me!

The amazing thing about an alpaca wig, whether dyed or not, is that it's super freaking soft, and the strands look like real hair growing from your doll. Or so it should be at least.

With all the touching and combing of those gorgeous locks that can (and most likely will) happen, the wig will eventually get dirty. Either from dust, oils from your hands, falling on the floor(I've done that...>.<; ) or just from the paint/spray/colors on your doll that may rub off by accident. Your alpaca wig can get dirty and will need to be cleaned.

Don’t worry, it’s not too stressful to do unless you have a super complicated style...in that case just do you best.

So! First off is knowledge on what your wig is made with. Alpaca hair is an obvious element. The wig cap is also important to know about in case of issues like the cap having been made from glue(hard cap) that is or is not washable.

Washable glue tends to dissolve when it gets wet. Wigs made with fabric glues or water-proofed glue takes longer to dry during the creation of the wig, but the upside is that they can be put through the washing machine (on cold) and won't dissolve! I don't recommend doing THAT to your wigs...brushing them out again could become impossible.

So what all do you NEED to clean the new wig you got? Or made?

🧡 Wig

🧡Gentle shampoo, no silicone or harsh chemicals like parabens and whatnot. I use natural shampoos with a coconut base from my local health store and it works wonders. You don’t want anything with a strong scent, or anything with citrus in it since that will slowly bleach out color from the fibre over time, unscented is preferred. (you can always add scent to the wig later, I'll tell you some ways at the end).

🧡 (Option 1)Conditioner. Not the stuff that gives body or lift to your hair though unless you want a frizzy mess. Look for conditioners with the words: Moisturizing, Hydrating, Repair, For Dry/Damaged Hair, etc. Follow the same things above regarding scents/oils.

🧡Comb(wide toothed) or gentle wet/dry brush. I use a cheap Walmart brush for kids and it works well enough.

🧡Towel

🧡(Option 2) Leave-in conditioner or anti-frizz spray. I bought a bottle of coconut based stuff and watered it down 1 part conditioner to 4 parts water and it works like a charm.

🧡A ball of tinfoil in the same size at your doll head, smoothed as much as possible, or your doll's head wrapped in plastic wrap.

That’s it!

1. To start off with, fill a sink with cool to cold water. Warm or hot water can make the alpaca hair felt up, making it impossible to brush out and essentially destroys the wig, so keep the water cool to cold for cleaning.

2. Gently wet the hair on the wig(remove it from your doll unless you want the doll to get a bath too) and then let it soak in the water for a few minutes to get thoroughly wet. Add a small (dime or marble sized) amount of shampoo into the hair and work it through with your fingers, moving gently to separate the hair and make sure the shampoo gets everywhere on the wig. Let it soak for 2-3 minutes.

3. Rinse the hair. Empty out the sink and pour running cold water over the wig from top to bottom, working the suds out with your fingers as you go until the hair feels clean. You can repeat steps 1-3 as often as you like to make sure the wig is clean, but be aware that some hair may start to come loose if the wig glue or cap is wet for too long.

4. This is a secondary step for the most part. If you have the leave-in conditioner, skip to step 5. If not, here's where you can put in some conditioner into the hair and let it soak for 3-4 minutes in cool water. Rinse it out very well and pat the wig dry before setting it on a ball of rolled up tinfoil or plastic wrap in the shape of your dolls' head (or the doll's head itself, covered in plastic wrap) to let the wig dry in the right shape.

5. If you have leave-in conditioner, pat the wig dry until it's just damp and not dripping. Hold the wig away from you and spritz it with the leave-in conditioner and gently -VERY GENTLY- brush the conditioner through the hair.

6. Set the wig on a ball of tinfoil or the doll head (wrapped in plastic) and let it dry out entirely before you brush your wig. You can style it afterwards.

I've found that this process makes you lose less hair from a hard-cap wig than trying to style it completely while the wig is still wet from it's bath. It's entirely up to you whether you style it while wet or if you use a small water bottle to style it once the hair is dry, but all-in-all this is a good way to clean your doll wigs!

Tips:

To scent a wig if you really want to do so, you can find car fresheners everywhere! Buy one in a scent you like, cut it up and wrap it in a bit of paper-tape, then stick it in the wig or the wig box when it's not in use. This helps to scent things in aromas like Citrus or Floral without the risk of bleaching the hair or overdoing the scent. An alternative is to buy an unscented conditioner and add 1-3 drops of your favorite scent to it before misting the hair just before you style it. This option doesn't retain the scent very much after a little while but it's still nice in the short term.

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Thanks so much for reading, if you have questions feel free to ask me over on Instagram at ButterflyDollsBJD!