ALL ABOUT DOLL WIGS

since a couple of years collectors started to change wigs on their dolls and the subject became more and more important.

I often receive the same questions from doll collectors – so here are answers to the frequently asked questions by my knowledge:

How does the wig stay on the head?

There are various options.:

For our Boneka dolls we use silikon wig caps.
They are easy to put on and the nubs in the middle prevent the wig from slipping. However, the silicone cap is not completely covered by all hair styles and with tight fitting wigs the wig may not fit well as the silicone cap takes up too much space or shows off under the wig att the edges.

If a wig cap is not suitable or not available in the size you need you can use a high quality balloon which you can easily cut in shape. I used this balloon solution for my Maru Mini pal doll, who came with a velcro that was glued so tight to t he head that I could not remove it.

Velcro is an option that we do not recommend. When you change the wig often the hair get’s caught in the velcro and ruins your wig. We recommend to cover the velcro with a wig cap.

Some dolls just don’t need anything to make the wig stay on the head. E.g. after I removed the original wig from my Ruby Red Fashion Friend doll the whole head is covered with resedue from the glue, that the wig just stays automatically without any support.

If you want the wig to stay permanently on your doll’s head of course you can glue it down with a view spots of glue here and there.

Which material are the wigs made from?

There are many wigs in different materials available on the market. Here I would like to mention the 2 most common materials for wigs:

Synthetic mohair is a synthetic fibre that comes in different qualities. The wigs we sell in our webshop are made from a high quality soft material. Some original wigs are from lower quality and worth to change e.g. the Ruby Red Fashion Friends hair is stiffer and has not that soft feel.

Genuine mohair is a natural fibre. Mohair is made from the wool of angora goats. It is very soft and thin and especially suitable for braided hairstyles and thin baby hair. Wigs made from genuine mohair are less bulky and have a more natural look.

Genuine mohair is more expensive to produce, so the prices of wigs made of synthetic and natural mohair differ.

Most oft the new doll wigs come with an elastic edge which makes it easy to change the wig. Some doll artists prefer to use wigs without the bulky edge when they glue the wigs on the head.

The following pictures show synthetic mohair vs. genuine mohair. The braids done with genuine mohair are thinner and have a more natural look:

                                     

Which wig size fits my doll?

Wig sizes are usually given in inch.

To find your doll’s wig size, please meassure the head circumferrence with a meassument tape or follow the manufacturer information.

Here you can find our video tutorial that shows you two different ways how to meassure your doll's head circumferrence:

Video Tutorial Meassuring head circumferrence of doll

For your convenience we gathered some doll wig sizes in this chart by our knowledge: Wig measurement chart

However, the fit of a wig depends on the material and hairstyle and manufacurer.

Some dolls have an intermediate size and can wear different wig sizes. E.g. Ruby Red Fashion friends do have a head circumferrence of 9 inch and usually wear a size 8-9, but some hairstyles in size 8-9 do not fit properly and you have to change to size 9-10. While sometimes a 9-10 has a loose fit and you might want to change to size 8-9.
The following pictures show the different fit of size 8-9 from the same manufacturer on a Ruby Red Fashion Friend doll:

Also some collectors prefer a bigger size for various reasons, weather they want to use the wig for another doll too or they like the bigger easy to dress size, or prefer more volume. It totally depends on the collector’s choice.

Which hairstyle fits my doll?

We can not answer this question in general. It is the collectors choice and totally personal preference.
Maybe it will help you to ask yourself the following questions:

Which age does my doll represent?
Young children, especially toddler don't often have very long and voluminous hair. Some hairdos just do not fit a Kindergardener

Which style is my doll dressed?
If you dolls are dressed in Dirndl dresses or other european folk costumes braids or braided hairdos would be the perfect choice
A fairytale costume like Rapunzel would need a wig with very long hair while a witch would look great in a "out-of-bed" style.
A modern dressed doll might looks beautiful with a short bob or pixie while a bob on a doll dressed in a regency dress would not fit into the era/time period of the dress
Romantic dressed dolls look beautiful with curled hair
If you are a seamstress and want to show off your clothing and have the focus on the closing you might prefer a short wig that your clothing is not covered by too much hair.


Will my doll wear a hat?
For a hat you might want to choose a wig without bangs. Often the bangs are pushed down by a hat and the eyes are covered.

Which skin and eyecolor has my doll?
The haircolor makes a huge difference on a doll. E.g. a blue eyed doll would look pretty with a light blond wig, while a green eyed doll with freckles looks awesome in carrot red.
A skin color that has much yellow in it does not look very good in blond and might looks awesome in brown. Also tan dolls look great with a dark brown or even black wig and would be rediculous in blond.

Whatever you have in mind, I am pretty sure you will make the right choice for you and your dolly. You can find many wigs in our shop to choose from:
https://boneka-tradition.com/en/78-wigs

Following pictures show the same hairstyle in various sizes on various dolls:

Can you show pictures of the wig on my doll?

We appologize that we can not take pictures of our wig assortment on all dolls. We show the fit on the most common dolls. If the wig is not shown on your doll we kindly ask for your immagination how the wig will look on your doll. Also please bear in mind that the haircolor looks different on various skin and eye colors.
Following pictures show an example of 3 different colors of the exact same hairstyle:

Why are your front pictures in grayscale?

We often offer wigs in various colors.
We decided to show the front picture in grayscale that you first can focus if you like the hairstyle.
In the second step you can open the offer and see the available colors of this hairstyle.

With the greyscale we try to avoid confusion. We have only one option in our webshop for showing a front picture. If we would show e.g. a wig in blond and then the blond wig is sold out but available in red it would confuse our Boneka fans. Or you do not like the wig in blond shown on the front picture and would't open the offer and miss the pictures of the wig in the haircolor you like. Therefore we decided to show the greyscale in the front picture and you can choose the wig color when you open the offer.

How do I dress the new wig?

Easy wigs with staight or curly hair can be turned inside out. You can determine the front center by looking at the wig pattern seams and the back label. Put your index and middle finger on the center and place the wig on the hairline of the forehead. Hold the wig down and and pull the back with the other side around the head while you turn the wig outside the same time. Still hold the center while you trim the side parts around the head.

Okay that sounds complicated but it isn't.

Click the following link to our video tutorial how to dress a wig on a doll:

Video Tutorial How to dress doll wig

As always - English is not my mother tongue, please forgive any typos or grammar mistakes.

Have fun with your doll in her new wig

Warmest

Claudia
Owner Boneka Tradition