What is your material preference for wigs?

I never had mohair but personally I really dislike synthetic so I go with alpaca on everyone. Only Candell will stick to synthetic because I need her hair styled in twin curly ponytails. Alpaca is so much nicer and totally worth the extra cost. Mohair is also a natural fiber so I imagine it feels much more similar to real hair and much softer. Just be a bit careful when you're buying from shops because sometimes they say mohair but it's actually synthetic mohair AKA heat-resistant fiber. Make sure to double check.

 

For curly wigs, I like natural wools. Teeswater, bluefaced leicester, etc. I've had to make those wigs myself, but you can find all sorts of colors (or dye it yourself) really easily, and it's nice to not worry about melting the hair or it reacting badly to a product I use. If there were more commercial options for curly wigs, I might go for those, but as it stands it's tough to find the right wigs for my dolls with curly and more textured hair! Limited options, and every single time if I find something it's the wrong size, wrong color, or otherwise not correct.

For straight hair I've been liking synthetic mohair. It's much thinner and silkier to the touch than regular heat-resistant fiber, I just love combing my fingers through it. All my SD-scale dolls now have synthetic mohair wigs.

 

Do you have a favourite place to get synthetic mohair from? Because I've been interested in doing something with that but I have no idea where to get it.

 

I’ve been using 100% acrylic yarn but it takes quite a bit of prep and it doesn’t make for very long wefts. Might be a good option for getting started since I think it’s a little cheaper?

 

The wigs I make for myself are 100% acrylic yarn too. It is cheap and you can get a good enough result with the proper technique and a hair straightener. It allows me not to feel guilty about the cost if the wig ends up not perfect and I have to do it all over again. You can style the wefts of hair straight or curl them, and they can look amazing

 

Seconding the preference for natural wool. I have several Black dolls, and natural wool is excellent for creating braided and dreadlock wigs. I'm still trying to find the right materials for making afros though.

 

I used to use only synthetic, but once I had a handmade wig in my hands, I started to prefer them massively. Yes, some of my dolls still have synthetic fiber wigs, but the wigs I like best are made of bamboo, viscose, and acrylic (yarn). I also like Tibetan lamb and alpaca, but not hair-on-hide, I have to shear it and re-weft it myself.

So basically, I like anything except synthetic lol. They're much softer, more realistic in scale, and you can get just about any color you want, including multi-color and ombre. The only downside is that they tend to be inflexible, but I can live with that.

 

Personally I like the synthetic mohair wigs that Monique used to make. Most of my dolls wear Monique wigs and I have never found something I liked as much as the wigs they made. Unfortunately for me I changed one of my doll’s styles around recently and I think I’ll have to get a bit creative. Unless I am so lucky to see a Monique pop up in the exact style and size I need.

I recently used the synthetic yarn method to make a tail for a cosplay I’m making and was pleasantly surprised with the results! It was a looot of effort as the tail needed to be around 70cms but it definitely paid off in the end. I really want to try it at some point for a doll wig.

 

The material on its own, I'm afraid I'm not sure where to get it. I got one of my wigs from Dolly Planet and another couple from Jusuns (specifically their Ebay account) though!

 

I try not to use any animal products at all for fashion, whether it's for myself or my dolls, so that rules out a lot for me. And I've completely given up on making wigs, that is just not something I'm ever going to be good at.

So I prefer either synthetic mohair or just typical synthetic fiber, it seems to be shinier, stronger, holds style better. The biggest downfall is that colors are more limited, and sometimes they can be much too thick or out of scale.

I haven't tried soy or bamboo, but those might be worth looking into.

 

I use heat resistant synthetic fiber mostly - it's shiny, cheap, doesn't tangle too badly unless it's super long and there's barely any shedding. It was a bit of a learning curve to understand how to style and make sewn wigs with it but now that I've somewhat got it, it's my preferred method.

For short and/or spiky styles, I usually go for acrylic yarn - but it's so labour intensive I do it very rarely. I also feel like yarn wigs don't have a super long life as the initial texture becomes flatter and a bit more matted over time (at least if you handle your dolls a lot) and there's a bit of fiber loss when brushing it. I like it when I want to make a cheap cosplay wig mostly.

 

OOOO lots of beautiful materials to make wigs from,
I like alpaca and mohair because it is real hair for a doll I wish was real. just the locks of hair on a stretchy cap not the skin type.
monique gold is a synthetic mohair as soft as bunny fur that has the stretchy caps that in a lot of cases can stretch to fit the next size up head tight and look more realistic...love it,
there is also the synthetic they call silk hair..I love that also but dollyplanet uses less hair in their wigs now so it shows the cap in areas..didnt use to.
but anyway, both real hair or synthetic types are awesome..
if I was a wig maker though alpaca or mohair is my first choice because I love realism

 

I like to make wigs of natural fibres, so I usually get locks of mohair, alpaca, teeswater, etc.
Although I have made wigs of these fibres at some point as well, I generally avoid most synthetics if possible (like nylon, kanekalon, acrylic yarn, saran) because I don't like the texture of them to the touch and I like to avoid buying plastic in general. Synthetic mohair seems to be the only one that I'm ok with texture wise but it depends on the specific wig. I've found some synthetic mohair to be rougher to the touch than others and for that reason and not wanting to gamble I also avoid it.
I would like to try things like bamboo, banana or ramie and similar but I can't find them around here and animal fibres are more readily available and more local, what also ends up being cheaper for me than shipping some banana fibre from the other side of the world (but I'll try some day for sure). Plus I like when they send me a card alongside the locks with the name and photo of the sheep/goat/alpaca the locks come from, it's extra nice when that happens

I've also used my own hair and my partner's when we've cut our hair. Definitely the most difficult fibre to work with to me, doesn't want to cooperate much when making the wig.

 

I've made mohair wigs with the best results and love those wigs as I can make them look thin, and natural, by having the fibers lay very flat, and close to the scalp without adding bulk. Personally not a fan of heavy wigs that add an inch of thickness to the head all around and (pet -peeve warning!) find that most ready made synthetic wigs' wefts are made much too thick and also then sewn almost on top of each other, so the wigs' volume, even if the cap is a perfect fit, ends up swallowing the head.

The only wigs I have found that aren't guilty of this, to me anyway, are Leeke wigs. Their synthetic fiber is also super fine and super soft. Monique wigs also have that super thin, fine synthetic fiber and so I have a few of those, as well.

Example of a soft, fine, wispy synthetic fiber Leeke wig on my DZ Morphoa

Morphoa-Makeover-03-small by tanjalalie, on Flickr

 

I loved getting natural hair (alpaca, mohair, etc.) based wigs from Frappzilla when she use to make wigs. I will never sell any of the wigs I purchased/commissioned from her because they are so top notch and long lasting. I am fine with synthetic wigs they just fray and not hold up as long in my collection.

 

I’ve been in the hobby for a long time, so my preferences go through phases. When Monique was active, I was 100% all in on synthetic mohair because the fibers are a more natural weight than other synthetics and they were easy to get in country. (They had some really nice highlight blends too.). I’ve since swing back towards heavier synthetics because they’re less apt to need constant restyling during outdoor photo shoots and Monique went under (RIP).

I’ve done real Mohair, but it was during a time that I was 1/3 scale only and it’s hard to get decent length for long hair with a natural fiber for taller dolls (and the on the pelt stuff creeps me out). It is so soft though.

I don’t feel like any fiber is totally flawless and perfect, they’re all a mix of pros and cons and how that plays out is different depending on the doll.

 

Agree with mohair being great! I've found it relatively easy to work with, takes color well, and great especially for smaller scale dolls. Also have used (clean) human hair, not too much experience with it but for what I was working on, but seems to work well enough for my purposes

 

I too like many here love mohair wigs. I love the softness and easy care as well as the myriad of natural waves and curls.