There are several steps to getting a head ready to wear a wig, including large elastic bands (called Alice bands in the U. K.), hairpins, combs (including a rattail comb), and a wig cap.
FOR SHORT HAiR
■ Take a section of your subject’s own hair from the front center hairline and braid it backward into a small tight plait (braid) if possible and secure with a hairpin or two.
■ Place a large elastic hair band over the head to the neck, then comb the rest of the hair back and away from the face.
■ Bring the elastic band up and around the head to hold the hair back.
■ Put a wig cap over the hair; if there is any excess, tuck it in to hide it.
FOR MEDiUM HAiR
■ Just as with short hair, take a section of your subject’s own hair from the front center hairline and braid it backward into a small tight plait (braid) if possible and secure with a hairpin or two.
■ Divide the hair into small sections and pin-curl each section flat to the head, using crossed hairpins to hold the curls in place. To make the pin – curls, twist the hair around two of your fingers.
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Place a large elastic band around the head and over as many of the sections as you can.
■ Put a wig cap over the hair and tuck in any excess.
FOR LONGER HAiR
■ Take a section of your subject’s own hair from the front center hairline and braid it backward into a small tight plait (braid) if possible and secure with a hairpin or two.
■ Make a ponytail and hold the hair tightly at the base with a small elastic band.
■ Roll the ponytail into a flat chignon, or bun, and secure it firmly with hairpins.
■ Use a large elastic band to keep short hairs in check, particularly those at the back of the neck.
■ Put a wig cap on the subject, being sure to tuck in any excess.
Obviously these steps are useless if the makeup you are creating requires your subject to be in a bald cap as part of the makeup. (Bald cap application is described in detail in Chapter 9.) So, if your subject is in a bald cap, why do you need a wig? Perhaps the character is going bald but still has hair—perhaps an "outer rim" or "comb-over," or perhaps the hairline is receding or the hair is simply getting thinner. For whatever reason, there is visible scalp and hair, hence the need for a wig—and not just any wig. A wig for any of these situations requires a hand-ventilated lace wig. In the case of a bald cap and lace wig, it is important to know where the imagined hairline would be prior to wig placement. But I digress.
How do you place a wig onto someone’s head? Funny you should ask.