The make-up artist believes that understanding the background of wigs and why individuals change their hairstyle and colours, will help in the design process.
The look to be created has been designed to completely change the look of the model by applying a custom-made hand-knotted blonde wig and wearing her own blue contacts. The model has got naturally dark hair and dark eyes (figure1) The digital sketch in figure 2 Is the design of the intention of how she will look.
People change the style and colour of their hair for many reasons, whether it be a fashion statement, a new trend, their own natural hair colour does not suit their personality, or to cover grey. However, according to Vivian Diller cited by the Daily Times monitor (2016), “the desire to enhance our looks is natural”.
Wigs are used in the film, television, and theatre industry and allows better continuity. In the make-up artist’s opinion, wigs are rising in popularity in everyday wear. Using wigs is a safer option to explore lengths, styles, and colours rather than constant colouring and undergoing lengthy processes such as hair extensions. The wig industry is where the make-up artist wishes to further her career therefore making a custom wig for her model was chosen versus investing in a synthetic shop-bought wig. Allowing the skills learned to be showcased in wig-making to hopefully gain employment after qualifying.
Wigs date back as far as ancient Egyptians and Romans, but fast forward to the 20th century and wigs are increasing in popularity due to the development of wigs made from synthetic fibres. Wigs made of real or artificial hair are worn for either religious reasons, disguise, personal adornment, a symbol of office or worn in film and theatre according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc (2018).
There are hair merchants all over the world and where you go can determine the price, type and quality of the hair and McGouch claims “there is never a hair shortage”. (Lawler, 2012).
Hair used in the wig-making industry varies from expensive virgin human hair with the cuticle intact to processed human hair that is course in texture. Video1 Explains the difference between Chinese Indian and European hair.
Other types of hair used are synthetic, heat resistant synthetic hair, yak hair, mohair/angora and protein hair.
According to Wiginnovation, a bespoke handcrafted European human hair hand-knotted wig cost approximately £2495. Human hair is usually used for wig-making and there is controversy over how the hair is ethically sourced. Video 2 below explains this more deeply.
Video 2 shows the ethical processes of sourcing human hair
Previous facial postiche and a partial wig has been ventilated by the make-up artist and is a process she has enjoyed (figures 3, 4 and 5). However, ventilating with human hair is expensive and more complicated as the hair needs to be ventilated in the right direction as it would grow on a human head so that the cuticle lays flat. As this is the first attempt at making a full custom fit handknotted wig, the make-up artist has chosen to use synthetic hair as this is the cheaper option and no consideration is needed for how the cuticle lies on the hair shaft.
The wig making process starts with wrapping the models' hair so that a head wrap can be made of their head.
In video 3 above the measurements were taken prior to making the head wrap. However, the make-up artist applied the headwrap first before taking the measurements so that markings could be made. The headwrap is made from clingfilm and Sellotape and using a sharpie pen, the hairline, ears and neckline can be clearly marked out as guides.
Figure 6 shows a guide of the measurements made of the model’s head, marks were made where the measurements were and the measurements were taken twice so that there were no errors made at this stage. After removing the headwrap it is transferred onto a wig block and as the block is not the same shape as the model’s head the template needs to be packed out using either tissues or soft toy stuffing, packing it quite firmly so that it mimics the model’s true head shape.
Video 3 demonstrates the packing and creating the wig foundation using lace. The importance being placed on getting the lace in either horizontal or vertical position is important to the structure of the foundation.
video 5 demonstrates how to knot the hair and fit a wig.ideo 5 demonstrates how to knot the hair and fit a wig.
The makeup artist is still at the ventilating stage, double knotting the hair all around the nape, working upwards towards the Crown. There are various types of knots used for different reasons and figure 7 explains what each knot used for and the advantages and disadvantages for each one.
Ventilating a full wig can take some considerable time to complete in this part of the major project has been prioritised to enable the make-up artist to complete within a reasonable timescale figure 8 shows the progress the make-up artist has made so far.
Reference list
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2018) "Wig" [Online]. Available at Https://www.britannica.com/topic/wig. Accessed 24 February 2022. (Accessed 21 December 2021)
Daily Times Monitor (2016). The surprising psychology behind people who dye their hair [Online]. Available at https://dailytimes.com.pk/67605/the-surprising-psychology-behind-people-who-dye-their-hair/. (Accessed 15 December 2021).
Lawler, M (2012). Hair [Online]. Available at https://schooltheatre.org/hair/. (Accessed 20 December 2021)
Mosaic (2014). Why do we dye? Sociologists find out what drives so many of us to colour our hair [Online]. Available at https://www.psypost.org/2014/12/dye-sociologist-finds-drives-many-us-color-hair-30457. (Accessed 18 December 2021).
Wiginnovation (2015). Costs [Online]. Available at http://www.wiginnovation.co.uk/wig-cost/. (Accessed 10 January 2022).
Figures reference list
Figure 1-Thorp, N (2021) The model. York College. York.
Figure 2-Thorp, N (2021) Digital sketch of the design. York College. York.
Figure 3-Thorp, N (2021) Previously ventilated hairpiece. York College. York.
Figure 4-Thorp, N (2021) Full ventilated beard and moustache. York College. York
Figure 5-Thorp, N (2021) Ventilated beard. York College. York
Figure 6-Thorp, N (2021) Head measurements. York College. York.
Figure 7-Lord hair (2019) Wig knotting techniques-everything you need to know [Online]. Available at https://www.lordhair.com/blog/wig-knotting-making-techniques-ventilation/. (Accessed 24 February 2022).
Figure 8-Thorp, N (2022) Progress so far. York College. York
Videos reference list
Video 1-Chinese, Indian & European hair (2016) YouTube video, added by Renau, J [Online]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDQa7r6ZBpM. (Accessed 11 November 2021).
Video 2-The Truth About Where Hair Extensions Come From| Shady| Refinery 29 (2018) YouTube video, added by Refinery 29 [Online]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlZ1SWLBfPE. (Accessed 11 November 2021).
Video 3-How to Make our Wig| Part One: making the foundation (2019) YouTube video, added by National Theatre [Online]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUb15VyGkPY. (Accessed 18 November 2021).
Video 4-How to Make a Wig| Part Two: adding lace to the foundation (2019) YouTube video, added by National Theatre [Online]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8WGtYQtQQw. (Accessed 18 November 2021).
Video 5- How to Make a Wig| Part Three: knotting hair and fitting a wig (2019) YouTube video, added by National Theatre [Online]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igvm4ZZpDCk. (Accessed 18 November 2021).