Faq - Canvas Wig Heads Vs. Styrofoam & Mannequin Heads

Hey everybody welcome to another episode of Wiggin out with Bobby Z. It'S a wiki weave Wednesday and today I'm going to talk about one of my favorite things in the whole wide world and something that is essential for wig making crafting um hats drag anything like that and sorry. I sound a little bit like Bea Arthur today. I don't know why um, I guess, because I slept a lot last night and I have a bit sleeping. I don't know body's weird anyway and getting asked a lot here on YouTube and on Instagram about why I use canvas heads what the difference is, how I cover them, where I get them from all of these things, so I figured I'll just do a video and Then, in the future, when everyone asks me, I can say, hey, hey stupid watch my video okay, I'm also going to show you guys today in this video how to cover your canvas, heads with plastic and tapes that they are protected and they stay clean from hairspray And water and setting lotion and gel and all that fun stuff, so stay tuned, Kim's head is made out of fabric, usually canvas they're, usually tan in color. I'M a different shade values as well. Some are more gray, some one more dark brown. Some are more light. Brown - all of that, and it's just different for a manufacturer to manufacturer um, the color of them does not matter all it's the shape and the size is what matters the most. The first thing about canvas heads is that they come short and long. So, as you can see, this is the short, and this is the long and these are the same size. These are both 21 and a half, but you can see this one is about four inches taller um the head is the same size. The head is relatively the same shape, but it's taller. I love long neck blocks for when I'm working on a show and something's going to be down or something's long, then a long neck block is perfect, because if you have a lot of you have a wig. That'S like a flip or something that it hits. You know raid the shoulder you put it on a short neck block and it's going to hang on the shelf below it, but if you put it on a long neck block, it's got a nicely float above this. The shelf surface long necks are also amazing, for when you're doing updos be cause. You can stretch the back of the wig down as far as you possibly can and then in to make sure that it fits all of your head. And then you also have room to put your rollers you're going to have trouble putting rollers in here, because the edge of the wig is going to sit right on the seam. So you're going to kind of angle up with your roller, with your pin placement and all of that, whereas when you have a long neck, there are several inches below where your leg ends for you to pin I'm sure you're wondering. Should I get a short neck? Should I get a long neck that depends on what you're doing and what you're using them for most of my blocks happen to be short, necks, um! That'S just because I got a whole bunch of them from a friend when she moved out of the country for Dragon 4 for Dragon 4 wig making, I would say for drag, I would say, get a long neck because you know you're going to be setting it. You'Re going to be sewing things into it, you're going to be stretching it out, maybe making it bigger if your head, if the wigs too small, you know you want to put it in an updo, so you want to stretch the back and the sides out as Much as you can so I'm going to get a long neck for wig, making and ventilating and stuff like that, stick to a short neck, at least that's my personal preference people always ask me a lot well. Why can't? I just make wigs on these. Like a Styrofoam head and a cosmetology hat, see, I'm not saying you can't make wigs on them. I'M saying you shouldn't machine that not everyone can afford a 35 $ 40 canvas head, and these are you know three bucks at the beauty supply and you can go to your neighbor down the street and borrow this from her cuz. She went to beauty school now. I understand that, however, if you want to take it seriously, and you want your things to be made properly and well, please use a canvas head up. The problem with making wigs and pieces on these is that not everyone's head is this size. So, as you can see, that's not that big, that's kind of little - and this is you know more like a normal, maybe a normal sized head. But I have a humongous melon head canvas heads come and 1/2 inch increments from about 19 inches to about 25 inches, but really really big ones and the really really small ones are rare and they're harder to find you can find them. If you search enough now, I have about a dozen campus heads, the smallest one. I have is a 21 and a half which is this guy and the biggest one I have is 24 and a half which is this guy. So you can see the difference of sizes, the difference, how much bigger that is than this kind of crazy right to properly measure yourself for a canvas head. What I like to do is I like to take two different measurements and then kind of average, the difference, because every manufacturer measures their blocks differently, and I know a lot of people that measure their heads differently. So I just figured out well, if I do these two measurements and I just split the difference, it usually turns out. Okay still need a measuring tape, and what I like to do is I like to go around my head, like this, almost like a hat, so I like to take that measurement, and I just put my finger where it tucks over, so that, for me, is 24 And a quarter look a little bit ahead, like I said, and then I like to go across the bat almost like you're wearing a headband across the top of your head, and then I take that measurement which is 24. So my average measurement is 24 and 8th, which means just means I'd, get a 24 inch block now. Personally, this is also personal preference, and this depends on how your head is shaped. In all of this me, what I do is, if I'm making a wig for myself or if I'm styling, a look for myself. I generally will do it on the 23 to 23 and a half and just making it that one inch smaller. It just fits my head perfectly, I'm not sure if it's just the way that this guy is shaped because he is shaped, you know he has a nice rounded to him. I don't know if it's just the way that he shaped versus this way versus my head. I don't know, but if I style them on a big head, they tend to not fit me really well. Well, even though I am a 24, I need to do a 23 or 23 and a half, even though just so that they fit me correctly and that's just experimentation. I can't say that that X, that way for everybody. I know people that are 23 and a half, but their wigs need to be on a 24 for them fit. So I know people that have to go up in a size on people that have to go down on the sides. I know people that are just a perfect-sized by themselves. You know it's just how it is number one reason why it breaks my heart when I see wig makers or hair stylists on Instagram and YouTube and stuff building and styling things on styrofoam heads is because they are so tiny. They have 21, like a Styrofoam head and or mannequin head has a circumference of about 21. The average person's head is a 22 and a half. So you got to think about that, if you're, if you're, building something if you're, building or styling a wig for somebody, you need to have a head measurement. You need to know because if someone orders a custom wig for you from you and you make it on a 21 inch head and they happen to have a 23 inch head, your wig, I call fit you're the one that messed up, because you built it on This, instead of on a Kane's head, I'm going to do a little size comparison for you guys. This block here is a short neck and it's a 22 and a half. This is a Styrofoam head and it's a circumference of 21 inches. So if I hold them like this, you can definitely see the difference in shape and the difference in size created. This head is longer it's more of an oblong shape and this head is rounder, but you can see this one's rounder and wider than this one. Is this is a full inch and a half bigger circumference wise than this, so if you're building a wig for a client on this and your clients head, is this your wig? I call fit I've. Also gotten a lot of people asking me how I cover my blocks, so you can see this one is kind of jank. It needs recovered. Um. I covered this block about a year ago. You do have to recover them every year or every couple months, depending on how much you use them usually like to cover my blocks when they're brand new right when I get them and then that way, they're always protected. I do have some that I've had for years and years and years that aren't that weren't covered until recently. I also have some that I recently got from a wig maker friend of mine that moved out of the country and hers were covered, but again like mine. She had some for a couple years before she started covering them. This canvas head is pretty much brand new. This is one of the one I got from my friend because our initials are on the back, but I bought them from her. I swear to god. This is 21 and a half, but you can see it's brand new. It doesn't have any stains on, it doesn't have any watermarks or anything. I don't even think I've used this since I got it from her and if I did, I think I just put a wig on top of it when I took it off a different head. But this one, as you can see, is not brand new and has been used. This is what happens when you don't cover a canvas head. You can see that this whole perimeter part of it. Where the face would be. You can see it. You can basically see a permanent outline of a wig on the head, just from you know, years and years of wet setting and hair spraying and using gel and all of that stuff. That'S what all this is. This is product build-up, really can't get it off like it's canvas it's on there. If you get this wet the cork inside, absorbs it, and that's not good. Another reason why you cover them is because it protects the block from moisture and mildew damage, because, as you can um, this is fabric and, as you can see, the gel the hairspray. All of that is like pounded into these fibers. You can't wash this off like you, can't get a sponge and scrub it off, because you'll get the inside of the block, soaking wet and it'll never dry. The reason why, when I do when I boil wigs, I hold them upside down and I pour the boiling water around it, because I don't want to pour the boiling water directly on my head. This is what they look like brand new. This is what they look like cupboard, and this is what they look like when you don't cover them, so choose wisely children. So now I'm actually going to show you guys how I cover them. You'Ll need a canvas block. Don'T next, you will need plastic storage bags. Now these bags I got at these ones, I got the dollar store, the other ones I got at the grocery store, they don't have to be expensive, they can be cheap, they can be whatever brand you want, but you need to get the ones that don't have A zipper see how this is just a bag II need to get. You need to get the thin storage bags like this, because they're very, very thin plastic, and once you put the tape over them, you melt them with a blow dryer. So you need to be able to have something thin that will melt down and make a helmet basically around the head from the from what I've seen the food storage bags that I like come in two different sizes. They come in one gallon and two gallon. One gallon really only works for really small short-necked blocks like a 21, a 21 and a half short neck, but it's very put on a long neck. It'S not going to come all the way down and you're going to have to get it longer bag. The two gallons are perfect for bigger blocks and long neck blocks. For the one problem is the smaller block that you use. The more extra plastic you'll have left over, but I'll show you guys how to deal with that in a minute. Now these are what I'm going to be using today. These are the hefty baggies in the two gallon size pair of scissors. A blow dryer so need to get transparent office tape. Don'T use craft tape, don't use shipping tape, don't use um, just plain like cheap gift wrap tape. No, you need to use the transparent office tape that comes on the big roll like this, that your kindergarten teacher had on her desk. This is what you need to use. If you, I personally use the scotch brand there's several other brands out there. Usually, when I do this, I will use the 1-inch tape, which is the best because it's wider. However, I have a whole bunch of rolls of 3/4 tape and my dispenser currently has 3/4 tape in it. So you can usually you can do this with one-inch tape or 3/4 inch tape. I just find that with 1 inch tape it goes faster and it lasts longer because you can overlap the tape more, but if you only get 3/4 tape, that's fine. It worked we're. Also going to need some small headed pins. Usually when you get your canvas head, you can look at it and see. Oh, this is flatter. This is rounder, so this is the back of the head. This is the front of the head, because, when you think about it, your face is pretty much flat. Like I mean you got your jaw whatever, but when you look at the side of your head in your profile, your head, Browns back and your face is relatively flat, so you want to think of the canvas head being the same thing get into the larger heads. This one's 23, you will find that you don't really know which is the front and which is the back, because they're both pretty much equally as round so usually. What I like to do is I like to look at, which part has a rounder shape coming in, like that, and I make that the back see how there's that seam on the top I like to do mine inside out, so that I don't have to bother With that scene, when I'm taping it down - and I just find that it - I think it gives me a smoother finish personally, I put 1 in the front center right there, one in the back center, and then I usually put one on either side right. Where that side, seam is so I'm going to turn it to the side. Now I take the extra bag in the back. This is the front. This is the back. I take it in this right in the middle of the back, and I twist it like this. So eventually, what happens is you twist and twist and twist, and you get in right at that little corner right there and you basically you twist all the way down until you reach the back of the block and then what you're going to want to do is Just going to take some little pins like that, you're going to tape over them, so these are going to permanently be in there until you take your shaping off. This is just what I personally do. I know a lot of people that don't use pins when they tape I like to do it just because I find that I get the best um. I just find that I get the best turnout when I do that. So now what I'm going to do is I'm going to take my Center top two pins out. You want to take a piece of tape that is about a foot, a foot and a half long. It would just go straight down the middle and basically, what this piece of tape is doing is the piece of tape is taping down the corners of the bag that we're up here. Then you want to take another piece that a little longer and do the same thing to really make sure that is taped pulling it very taut when I tape it and that's key to getting it tight next, what I'll do is I'll go about two inches in Front of that on the front part of the head, so basically right behind, where that that pin is up there, and I do the same thing so you can see here. My tape line goes like that. I put my blinds down because you couldn't see so I took a piece of tape right behind that front, that front pin and then I'm going to do the same thing in the back going forward. So I'm going to put the tape right in front of that. Back pin and I'm going to tape forward so you're, basically bracing, that top part getting it ready to wrap the tape around. It is take one more long piece of one more medium long piece of tape and go just straight across the front like that. So you're. Basically, anchoring the whole back of it the whole front of it down. Usually, what I like to do is I like to kind of pick up where that tape left off on the back and wrap it around really tight and pull this side taut as I do it like that, so you basically have a line down the middle, a Line down either side and all the way around the center, so what I'm going to do is I'm going to go in layers of tape like this and tape the whole thing going to the front, then I'm going to flip it around and tape the whole thing Going to the back, the reason why I do this is so when I seal the tape down with the blow-dryer. I won't have any frizzy little end pieces from tape in the front or the lace or the front of my wig will sit and it'll be nice and smooth, and you just want to lay your tape down now. You really want to make sure when you lay your tape down that you're covering your previous line of tape by at least half. So I like to line up my piece of tape with the middle of my next piece of tape. So what you're doing is you're creating an overlay, so I sped this up. As you can see, I just keep going down the back portion of the block covering it with tape, overlaying it by half and making sure that my ends are smooth and tight across the front portion. Then, usually, once I tape the back pretty good, I go back and I tape the top back down just one more time to make it super tight like that they flip it around or do the same exact thing. So I start in the top middle. I sped this up again, I'm just repeating the same thing. I did on the back, overlaying it by half each time pivoting across the round portions of the crown and the forehead area, and then once I get down to the bottom, I don't take the tape. All the way down onto the plastic, I stop on the bottom of the ball. Okay, so she's fully taped. So now I'm going to do is I'm going to cut this excess plastic off? Then I like to do just one more piece of tape, all along the bottom edge. I don't overlay it. I don't fold it over on to the actual plastic of the base of the block, but I do like to tape around the bottom once more. Super tight. Just to make sure that I get it nice and good, so you can see that there's layers of tape going this way up and down that writing is from the bag. The tapes going up and down like that up here, it's kind of bubbly and gross, see how there's a big bubble right here. I'M just going to put another piece of tape right over that to kind of just get that down flat, because as long as it's down as long as it's tight and it's taped over very tightly, it will all melt down fine. So now I'm going to take my blow dryer and I'm actually going to put the blow dryer right on the plastic to melt it down. Um, you can put this in a wig dryer on high for about 20 minutes. It'Ll melt it down make sure you turn it in the dryer, though, so that it'll get equal heat from all angles I like to with the blow dryer, because it takes two minutes, and it gives you the same result in faster so later on the highest heat Setting and the highest low setting you have put it right against that and go to town quickly, because if you put it for too long at Oh scorching, you can see I'm going around quickly with round motions and you'll see, I'm also covering the back of the Blow dryer in the really thick portions on the corners, because that's a tip I got from a Dominican salon, is to cover the back of the blow dryer to increase the heat output. You'Ll also see me retaping portions, because if you miss a spot with tape, the plastic bag will melt so just tape over it really quickly and melt it again all right, so I sealed her all the way down with the blow dryer. You can still see the lines and everything but she's much smoother and compact and she's entirely glossy smooth all the way around so yeah. That'S how you cover a block with tape. Hey guys, thanks for watching again. I hope you learned something today and that you guys are going to head out and get some Kim's heads and start playing around with them. So at the box below from somewhere, you can get your own canvas head and all the supplies I use today be sure to follow me on instagram twitter here, Facebook, all of those fun things be sure to send me emails to me what you want to see Or if you want to place a custom order with me anything like that, my emails in the box as well, if you guys for watching, have a great one, they'll see you next week, bye