Wig Color Chat- Let'S Talk About The Challenge Of Color In Wigs, And Some Tips For New Wig Wear

Hey everyone - i am here today to talk about color. This video is really uh, most specifically for my new wig wearing sisters, but i think all of us can benefit from this discussion, so i hope you'll stick with me, even if you're not brand new to wigs. I do want to make a disclaimer. I have thought a lot about this video i've actually recorded two versions of this video, and i wasn't able to kind of be clear about what i'm trying to say. This is going to be a really tough conversation for me to have that and have it be linear and make sense and not get all scattered. So please stick with me and please give me feedback in the comments i got. Ta tell you guys. Wig reviews are easy compared to some of these chats because it's so easy to go off on tangents when you're doing a chat, and but i want it to be a chat. I just want to talk with my wig sisters in some videos, so i don't script them out and i feel as if i took a lot of time to script this out. It would seem scripted and that's not what i want, because this is a relationship and we're a community. So i'm here to chat with you guys. Unfortunately, it's a one-way chat, so leave the two-way part of it. In the comments for me, will you tell me what you think of this give me feedback for how i could get better and be more clear. So, let's get started on this color chat. Okay, color in wigs is the pits. I will just say that straight out. It is so hard finding the right color, for you is really hard. I mean i, i don't want to say it's impossible, but in the beginning i think it feels impossible for a lot of us, so i've been wearing wigs for two years. I just celebrated my two-year wig wearing anniversary in september 2020 here and i've learned so much in two years. I really understand that my experience is not typical. I have tried probably 250 wigs in two years. That'S ridiculous um and i thank god for my blessings. Every day - and i thank you, my wig sisters for my blessings every day, because you're here you're watching my videos you're following me. Many of you have sent me wigs to try or given me wigs that i am free to do with what i want and i donate a lot of them, but i get to review them and i get to have a chance to see them. I get to see the styles i get to see the colors. I know that's not typical and that's why i'm here, because i feel so blessed to be part of this community and for the love that you guys show me. The least i can do is share back and and give you guys the benefit of all this learning and that's what i hope this conversation today about color will be so, let's try to quit all the rambling um color. Why is color so hard um? Well, there's lots and lots of reasons, but i think the main reason is that color is not a static material. If that makes sense, color is made up of a bunch of chemicals and i don't know the chemistry of it all. But i've done some research on color and the reason why a brown like a number eight brown might look different between two different wigs is because it could be the dye lot that was used, and it's just the manufacturing process of that particular company that made that Color eight um: it's not that different from um. You know when you purchase ingredients for recipes if you're a baker, especially you. You will understand this. I am not a baker, and this is why i am not a baker. I love to cook. I hate to bake because it's it's more scientific, the chemistry and baking matters so much more than in, like the dump cooking that i like to do just mixing a bunch of ingredients. If the flour is not just right or if it's old or you know baking soda baking powder measurements, you have to measure things so specifically in baking or it might not rise correctly or the texture might be. You know more cakey versus more dense. All of those things that's uh similar, i think, to what happens with color, and so that's one reason why it's so hard and then you know the manufacturers don't make it easier by all kind of doing their own thing, which again, i think we deal with that. Just kind of in anything you know you get the same kind of product by multiple manufacturers. You buy a can of chicken noodle soup by campbell's that tastes a lot different than the can of chicken noodle soup by progreso, even if they have really all the same ingredients. It tastes different. Similarly, here you've got john renault with their idea of how colors should look and be blended and then you've got estetica and you've got raquel welch, and i hope you see what i'm trying to say here. I why i'm doing this is because i am trying to level set our expectations for me in this week journey for two years. If there's one thing that i've learned is, if we don't have realistic expectations, this is much harder than it needs to be. We get so disappointed. I made a video really early on in my car, where i talked about our ideas of things really impact our success in this journey. Our happiness in this journey and and having realistic expectations about what's really true, can help that, and i think that's true with color. So let me give you some tips. Let me give you some different um learnings things to be aware of. That will hopefully help you as you as you, research, as you seek to learn and, as you seek to level set your expectations. So the first thing i want to do is i want to give you a resource. I have a color index on my website. It'S just hey: wig, sister dot com. That'S my website, www.haywigsister.com! I have a blog post on there. There'S a resources section that has some blog posts that i've made that i kind of want to. Pin that i think will uh are good for people to easily find there is a um. There is a post under the resources section that talks about color in that post. I have a link to a color index that i created from lots and lots of different websites, and i highly recommend you go look at that color index, especially if you're new to wig wearing start getting your mind around this whole color challenge. In addition to that, i have another document called brand colorless. As of the filming of this video, i have not linked it to that post, but i'm going to go link it. So hopefully it's there now when you're watching it, but that's another compilation of colors from different brands that maybe, if you're looking at like a toffee truffle from jon renau, you can go to their tab and look at toffee truffle on their tab. It'S an excel spreadsheet and you can see how they've described it. That leads me to another comment about colors. Some manufacturers use the color codes, some name their their colors and, quite frankly, i don't know why all manufacturers don't give the codes. I just think they're doing a disservice to us. I'Ll just be honest, it really frustrates me when i see a name and there's no code, because then i have no idea what colors they used in that color and that's really frustrating um. I love that ellen villa and gabor bell. Madame there's uh raquel welch. I love that they give them both a name and a color code, because it's easier to remember the name, but the color code is something that's going to help you decipher. What'S in that wig. So if a manufacturer is watching this, that doesn't give us codes, please give us codes. This is so hard for us. Okay. So let's just talk about the color index, i'm going to kind of walk through why some of this is really challenging. Number one color codes again can vary from style to style. They can also vary by lot. A good example is the number eight color number eight could be a medium dark brown. It could be a medium or light chestnut brown. I'Ve seen it described both ways. I tend to think of the brunettes from a 2 to a 12.. I say a number 2 is a dark brown. It looks almost black, that's pretty universal. A number 4 can be really really dark, but i've gotten wigs with four as a base and they weren't that dark. So a four can vary in the depth of the darkness of the brunette. A six is generally a medium to a medium dark brown and eight is generally a medium brown, but it can be warm and it can be ashy, and so that's hard. 10 is kind of a light brown. A 12 is like almost like a light brown dark blonde, and so that's just the brunette line, and so then, within those you'll get tone variations. Okay, so there's one thing that makes it hard. The second thing that adds complexity to that is the blending. Okay. Let me give you an example: i have on henry margu jewels in the color. 8. 33. 26 h. So you know, i think, that's the color code, i'll put it in the description in case. I got it wrong um. So you know the first color code in the color description is usually the base color, that's kind of the primary color of the wig. This is an eight. It should be a lot, so you can kind of see the eight in the darkness up here, but then it's got a 33 in it. A 33 is a dark auburn and then a 26 is golden blonde. With the h on the end, that means it's highlighted. The 26 is highlighted throughout, so you get highlights of 26 as opposed to a blended color, where they blend the multiple colors, which gives it a more uniform look versus a streaky or highlighted. Look okay. So here's the other thing that makes it really hard. You can look at one wig that has an 8 and a 33 in it and another, and they look totally different because of the way they chose to blend those colors and the amounts of those colors that they used. That can make it really hard, then throw on top of that um hand, tied features, curl waves straight length. All of those things are going to impact. How a color looks to your eye, so in a curly wig. How that curl pattern is is going to impact the way the color looks, and what that also means is, if you let's say i love my jewels, which i do and i decide to get a backup jewels that one may look a little different because of the Placement of all of the blend and the colors and the highlights if they use a heavier or lighter hand on some of the colors. This is going to look a little different from wig to wig. That all makes this really challenging, then throw on top of that hand tied features. So this is a hand tied lace front. All of these fibers are tied into this cap by hand. How is it even possible for there to be robot-like consistency when you do that and then, if you have a mono part or a fully hand-tied cap, you see where i'm going with that? That'S that's almost custom in that case, where it's a person doing that work. It'S really hard to get consistency and and you'll see that in clothing, when you get a kind of clothing, that's handmade or hand dyed, they'll, even say it somewhere on the tag or somewhere that there'll be variation in color because of the hand handmade nature of this Product, if you buy handmade pottery same thing, so i think if we can start thinking about how this works in other realms, we can start to see why there's variation. So in my color index i have started it with links to about eight different websites that i utilize to help me build this color index. I am sure there are tons more out there um, so that's sort of where i started to gather this information. Then i put in the the letter codes, the ones i could find and what they mean. Here'S something else that makes it hard an f doesn't mean the same thing in every line, for example, and f can mean frosted. It can also mean john renault fashion syrup colors, which doesn't mean frosted uh. It can also mean percentages like, for example, estetica and ethnic estetica means 80 base, color frosted with 20 highlighted color, which is why i think you need to have these types of indexes available to you so that you can start to do your research. If you see a wig and you think you like the color go check out what some of the codes mean in that color description to help you, then i go down into the color families and then i break down some of the color codes. Keep in mind again, manufacturers will use different tones for some of them. Um john renault, for example, they're 8rh, something it's also known as hot cocoa. I think it's 8rh 16. um is, i think, very um, they're kind of ashy. Actually, it's not warm, and so that's a challenge with that is when i first got that color, i was really surprised because i've seen other wigs with an eight in it and eight rh14. I think i've seen other wigs with a an eight in it and they were warm and kind of chocolatey. Again, there's going to be some variation, so some of this is trial and error. I would highly recommend that you ask people if you are on social media use that resource join the wig groups. Ask people for pictures. Do they think it's ashy? Do they think it's warm? Is it highlighted? What do they see if you're, not on social media? I understand, i often think about leaving social media, but i love i love this too much um. I don't know the best advice to give you, because there really is no substitute to being able to ask your wig sisters. You can only get so much from these videos. Color is really difficult in video. I will just tell you as someone who makes videos, it is so hard to get the lighting right and i struggle every single time. I make a video right now, i'm in my kitchen, this isn't like my lighting um. I do struggle every time i i feel like i have to tweak something every single time. I make a video because i don't have a dedicated studio, and i've heard this from my other wake sisters. Taz has talked about it and then throw the monkey wrench of what you're watching this on. I have a computer, a home computer and i have two monitors for my computer. They look completely different. I will watch a video on one monitor i'll drag it over to the other, and the color looks totally different totally different. It'S just the way that the monitor projects color and so that's another real challenge is what are you watching the video on and is it actually showing you the color true? It'S also why i do it inside and outside because at least you get to see it in two settings, so um kind of to sum up, because this is getting really long. Color is hard. It'S going to be hard in the beginning. Give yourself some grace. Um work on setting your expectations, work on understanding the science behind the color and what goes into the color. You know you will raquel welch, for example, they do heavy highlights in the front it's why they're so well known for their unbelievable lace. Fronts, the lighter the color in the front, the lighter the knotting, the more realistic it looks this lace front on this henry margu jewels is phenomenal. Look at all that light. Color up here. It just makes a difference. The darker, the color in the front, the darker, the knotting and so raquel welch has chosen to do heavy, highlighting in the front to help out with that lace. It'S going to make her wigs look a lot lighter, even with similar color codes to another manufacturer, because it's how they've chosen to distribute that color curls. All of that is going to really make a difference. So, if you're new at this, i recommend that you start simple. I know that you want the fashion colors and the salon colors and now you can have beautiful, auburns and highlights, if you're not used to that, you might not be ready for it, and it might not be the way that you expect it. It might be wise to start with the color closest to your bio hair and a simple color one that doesn't have a lot of blending to it. You know a color that maybe only has one color code if you're used to super dark browns get one. That'S basically a four um and and just give yourself some time to start getting used to wigs if you're not used to highlights stay away from the color codes that have an h in them because they're going to be highlighted, there are other wigs that don't have H'S in them and they're highlighted, so it's not foolproof, but those are the kinds of things i think you need to start with. I also think one of the biggest favors that you can do for yourself is tell yourself set your mindset that you are going to expand your comfort level with colors. The best thing that ever happened to me in wig wearing one of the best things is that i went from only being able to wear a four brunette. I was just dark brown when i started, i could not do highlights at all to being able to now wear colors like this and even like a dark blonde with rooting, that's new for me this year being able to do those light colors and i'm loving it. It'S opened up the possibilities for me. It didn't happen overnight. It happened, maybe quicker for me than just for some, because i got to try so many, but it it is a worthy worthy goal. If you can get there because, then you don't have to worry so much that if a wig comes and it's not exactly like you pictured it you'll be able to make it work. I have a video on how to root a wig with furniture markers. Maybe you learn how to do some of those things so that you can fix a wig. I got girl mono in hot hazelnut mix, um really early on within six months of my wig wearing, and it was too light for me. Oh my gosh, i could not wear that color and that's the video i made rooting it with furniture markers. I love that wig. Now i love that color. Now i can wear that color now without rooting, i like it better with it, but i can wear it without it. That'S what happens in this journey. You will expand. You may not expand to be as broad as i have, but you will be able to wear more colors than you can in the beginning. So be gentle with yourself be patient but shoot for it because it will help you. It really will. I hope this was helpful. I didn't solve any world problems with this and i certainly didn't solve your color challenges. My goal, though, was to open your eyes to the fact that this is challenging. It'S not just you. It will be challenging, maybe for a while there are resources, watch videos check out these color indexes, go to the manufacturer pages and see what they have to say about some of their colors. Sometimes they can just. They have descriptions where the menu retailers might not look. At multiple retailer websites too, because they put together their own color codes and so uh, not the codes but like the descriptions and some give more information than others. So maybe even you know, maybe use some websites that have better color descriptions as your resource but purchase from a different website that maybe has a better price or that you um like better just you know it's not going to be an overnight thing, but you can Get there if this was helpful for you, please like this video. If this wasn't helpful for you, can you leave me a comment and tell me: why is it too long? Am i not clear did i not answer the questions? You really had what questions are those because i keep track of everything all the feedback i get so that i can get better and that i can contribute more to this wig sister community. I cannot tell you how blessed i feel to be a part of this community. I love you all so much and my sisters in wigs and my sisters in christ, but i just think that the reason why this is not as hard as it could be is because of all of you guys so help each other out too, though um. If you've got tips for your sisters, leave them in the comments if you've got feedback. For me, please provide that to me if there's stuff, that isn't on my color index, that you think should be send that to me you can email me at heywig, sister gmail.com. You can put it in the comments and i'll update my index so that it is as helpful as it can possibly be all right. You guys wow. This is a long one, but this is a tough topic and i'm probably not done making videos on this topic, because i know it's really hard you're, not alone um, and i just want to thank all my wig sisters who have made it possible for me to Be able to make these videos and have the experience i have you know who you are? I have wig sisters who have sent me wigs so that i can try new styles and i can see new colors. I have wig sisters who have given me wigs so that i can get more experience wearing lots of different styles. I wouldn't have been able to wear this wig in the beginning, probably within the first year the length um it's a little poofy. I wouldn't be able to wear it, but i have a an unbelievably kind, loving wig sister friend now, who has given me an opportunity to try quite a few wigs so and i'm just going to keep bringing you guys. What i think can be helpful and if you have suggestions for me, shoot them my way, because we are in this together and we can help each other, and we just need more of that in this world. I think more love, more caring and just more help. So i love you guys, thanks for watching i'll talk to you soon,