The colour of your wig is probably one of the things that attracted you to it in the first place. Along with its style and feel, the colour is up there as a top priority when shopping for a wig.
The right colour wig can help you keep wig wear as discreet as you like. It can also be a fabulous way to experiment with your look as well as style for the season ahead – just check out these top hair colours for autumn! Like most things though, the vibrant colour of your wig won’t last forever, and how long it lasts depends on its colour fastness.
Read on to find out more about why some wigs fade faster than others and what you can do to make your look last.
You may have come across the term ‘colour fastness’ before. It is popularly used in the textile industry, with its meaning extending to wigs too. We’ll let Textile Learner explain the definition of colour fastness:
“Color fastness can be defined as the ability of the original color of the finished textile to resist any challenges that it may normally encounter during its working lifetime. High colorfastness is an essential property of all textile materials to render them fit for purpose… We can also define color fastness as having color that will not run or fade with washing or wear. That means it characterizes a material’s color’s resistance to fading or running.”
Like your favourite piece of clothing, your wig is also vulnerable to the effects of fading. Exposure to light, loss of dye during wig washing (especially if you live in a hard water area), contact with chemicals, and excessive heat styling can all cause your wig colour to fade.
While wig fibres have been treated to minimise colour loss, the factors mentioned above can accelerate the fading process. This means that no wig is truly colour fast.
If your wig has fallen victim to fast fading, there could be several culprits. Overwashing is perhaps the most common cause of colour fade in wigs, with our passion to keep our wigs fresh and hygienic having a detrimental impact on the way they look and feel long term. Washing your wig too frequently can result in the loss of colour and shine.
Heat styling and chemical treatment (including the use of hair dyes, hairspray, mousse and gel) can also take their toll. When it comes to the latter, the alcohol content of these products actually strips away colour over time and causes an intense drying effect that is just as noticeable.
There’s one wig colour nemesis that’s worse than them all though, and that’s the sun. Just like your skin, your wig needs to be protected from damaging UV rays. Without adequate protection, these harsh rays actively breakdown colour molecules leaving your wig looking washed out.
There may be many factors working against your wig colour, but all is not lost! Start by protecting your wig from the sun and intense heat; there are a number of great, wig-friendly UV and heat protection sprays out there. You can shield your wig further by avoiding exposure at the hottest part of the day and wearing a wide-brimmed hat when you head outdoors.
When washing your wig, try not to overdo it. We recommend washing synthetic wigs every 7 to 10 wears, while human hair wigs can be washed less frequently, every 15 wears as a rule of thumb. Wash your wig gently in a sulfate-free shampoo and rinse using lukewarm (not hot) water. You can also deep condition your wig occasionally to keep it looking vibrant and nourished.
Be careful about which products you use too. We stock a range of wig-friendly accessories alongside our collection of high quality wigs. Shop with us today!
