Blue Fade Cosplay Wig

I’ve got this lovely Dany Classic wig from Arda Wigs in the color Frost Blonde that I am going to be dying blue! But with a fade.

I got this idea from doing a tie dye shirt – and it’s for a particular cosplay costume I’m working on. I’m making a costume for Syl from the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. No spoilers, but this character is kind of like a sprite or an air spirit, so her hair fades from dark to light blue, to white.

For this wig, I want the roots to be darker and the ends to be the light, original color of the wig.

You can call this ombre, or a gradient, or it even looks like Balayage to me! But the first step I am taking is to pin the wig to a Styrofoam wig head.

I’m working around the lace of the wig that frames the face, and then pinning the nape of the neck down as well.

I gave the wig a gentle brush, and now I’m going to French braid this, starting at the base of the wig at the neck. This is going to be a backwards braid and so I’m working up over the back of the wig now.

Working in sections toward the crown and braiding as I go, I’ve got a French braid to hold the hair upwards in the opposite direction of how it will be worn.

That’s a pretty hair doo just as it is! Now I unpin the wig from the Styrofoam head and we’re ready to go and dye it.

I’m getting the wig wet in preparation to add it to the simmering water in my pot. This pot is designated only for dying so I don’t use it for food at all.

I’m using Rit DyeMore synthetic dye in three shades working from lighter to darker in increments. Total, it takes me about 25 minutes to dye the wig. The three shades I used are:

• Kentucky Sky

• Sapphire Blue

• Midnight Navy

I added about 1 tablespoon of dye, stirred it with a stainless steel spoon, and then let the wig sit in the dye for about 2 minutes. I gently move the wig and stir with my spoon to allow the dye to stain the wig. Notice that I left the very end out of the dye completely to preserve the original color of the wig at the ends.

It’s handy to take the wig in and out of the dye pot with a bucket. So I transferred the wig in and out of the dye a bunch of times.

And as the dye is getting darker and more concentrated, I’m holding more of the braid of my wig up out of the way. This way it will remain light colored, and won’t cover up the lighter shades I had from earlier in the dying process.

The Kentucky sky is very pale and light, while the Midnight Navy is very dark.

At this point, I’m ready to rinse out the wig with cool water until the water runs clear. Then I wash the wig with dish soap, gently massaging the fibers, and give it a good rinse.

Now I’m ready to take out the braid and see how we did! It’s at this point where I realize that this has worked super well. And I was pleased about the little bit of variation I got in the dye process because of the braid. Kind of like tie-dye, the braid helped resist some of the dye, giving it more fade and variation that I was hoping for.

I’ve got paper towels and a hand towel that I am using to dry the wig gently. I rolled the wig inside the towel to help remove more moisture. Then I let it hang dry, near a little fan for several hours.

Next up is giving the wig a haircut and styling it!