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FireLilyCosplay β Sharpie Wig Dyeing Tutorial
Published: 2010-03-04 07:24:05 +0000 UTC; Views: 240035; Favourites: 4075; Downloads: 1570
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Description
I know there are a few others out there, but here is my tutorial for Sharpie dyeing a wig! This works best with Kanekalon and other premium synthetic wigs. Eleora and cheaper synthetic wigs may not dye evenly. Make sure to check your wig fiber content before attempting to dye!I've had a lot of practice with this method, and this is the formula that works best for me, so I hope it can help you dye your wig the custom color you are looking for!
Many thanks to my friend Envel who helped me with my first Sharpie dyeing experience. Tutorial and all images therein are Copyright Fire Lily and FireLilyCosplay.com.
EDIT: Since so many people ask this question, I'm addressing it here. "How do I dye a wig black?" Since Black Sharpies are concentrated purple, you will have to use FW Ink, India Ink, or another Artists Ink and follow the FW Ink Dyeing Method: [link]
Another method is to color/sharpie the wig by hand using a black Sharpie. This will give it a slightly purple sheen, but it will come out black.
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Comments: 1392
Thanks, I've experienced how bad colour can rub off in a previous costume.
Have you come across any additional ways to prevent the colouring rubbing off other than washing it out?
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Is it possible to dye wigs with sharpie highlighters? I was thinking of mixing in 2 highlighters with the markersΒ because I dont really like the way some of the markers will come out
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Hmm...I doubt it? Β But you can try. Β It may lightly color the plastic fibers, but it wouldn't do much. Β You can't mix the highlighter ink with permanent inks - it will just disappear.
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i.imgur.com/YyaG33N.jpg
sorry for asking, is this color of wig can apply for dying to lighter color? or this method only apply on dark color?> < (sorry for the some Chinese words on the picture..actually i decided to sell it, but seem like no one need this kind of color~ so i was thinking to dye to the color i want.> <''
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Only to darker color. Β You cannot "dye" something to a lighter color - sorry!
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n this kind of dying method, will it effect the wig's quality?just asking, because curiosity.> < thanks.'w'
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I have a kagamine Rin yellow wig, would it be possible to turn it to a dark navy blue?
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Probably not - it would probably turn green or some other shade. Β Best to start with white, light, or like colors.
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Do you think dying a dark blue wig (A Yuki-Onna wig fromΒ Nurarihyon no Mago ) to silver would work? 
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No. That is impossible. You would have to paint it to make it silver.
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oh, i see thanks! good thing i saw your reply before i bought them sharpies.xD whatkind of paint do you suggest i use?
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Um, I don't. Painting wigs is highly difficult because you can't get an even coloring without being splotchy. I would just say to buy the appropriate colored wig.
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Hi! After dying the wig, is it still possible to straighten/curl the wig with an iron without damaging the color?
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It shouldn't damage the color for just one curling or straightening. But if in doubt, curl/straighten it before you dye it. I would not recommend repeated styling as the color will eventually be affected.
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Also I am REALLY glad you mentioned laying the wig flat on a tarp. I followed a different tutorial two separate times using a wig head and just like you said the color ran down the wig and gave me an uneven dye job. It was really frustrating and for some reason I didn't figure out how to do it better on my own haha. Really nice job and thanks for all the detail and the "why" of wig dyeing!
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Thank you!! Β I'm glad you like it
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Hello! I posted the link to this tutorial on a convention page since it's so useful. We are holding a cosplay tutorial convention at the end of January and looking for panelists and ideas for more panels. Let me know if I should remove the link from the page. Here's where to find it:Β www.facebook.com/MindcraftSLC
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Would this method would with Acrylic Artist's Ink or just sharpies?
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It should work just as well with artistic inks
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Would this work for platinum blonde to a more yellow blonde, but not to fake looking? Like mello from death note or armin from attack on Titan
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I don't see why not. You'll have to try to find out, though.
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I want my wig to be black with slight purple when in light. What's my best bet? Get a white wig and use a black sharpie? Or is there a way for me to use a black with and use a purple sharpie? This'll be my first wig and if I f- things up I don't want it to be too noticeable xD;; Please and thank you! <3
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Just start with a black wig and soak it in purple. Or start with a dark purple and dye it black. Though black sharpies won't turn it true black since black sharpies are concentrated purple...
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I want to dye the fur for my fursuit , but I don't think that's a good idea to put alcohol on it , so , can I take hot water instead of alcohol ?
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No. The water won't act correctly as a carrier for the ink. Assuming you are using synthetic fur, water takes longer to evaporate anyway.
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Oh okay 
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Question, will it be possible to die a hot pink wig black using this method??
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Sorry.... dumb question... I looked at your edit just now XD Sorry I fail XD
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When making the dye for this tutorial did you use all four sharpies shown? Just asking because I want to dye a wig blue but a lighter colour than you did.
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Yes, I used all four sharpies. Β You can also just use Light Blue Sharpies
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Thank you for your help n.n
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Is there any way you can just use white sharpies with the alcohol? And if not, what about paint based white markers?
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Be my guest! Β White won't actually dye the wig fibers, maybe just slightly lighten or make it look faded from the original color. Β Paint will be splotchy and uneven on the fibers (actually, watered down acrylics can stain the plastic fibers very nicely). Β But you can try
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Oh okay thank you!
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First off, best wig tutorial I have ever seen~ Thank you SO much for doing this!!
Second, what if you want to only want to dye a portion of the wig...? I know, you said spray bottle, but would that by any chance work for a wig like this...?
holawigs.com/index.php?route=pβ¦
I want to dye the white part a dark purple, and I was wondering if that would effect the black part by adding a hue of some sort.....
Thank you in advance!
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It should not really affect the black very much. Β Just spray it on!
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I understand the answer to this is probably no, but do you know of a possible way to dye a wig a lighter colour? O.o
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Ah, okay. Thanks!
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Hi! I want to do that with my wig but I don't understand why we have to put an half of alcohol in an other container? And do the wig needs to be with real hairs to work?Β
thank you!
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You divide the alcohol to allow room for the Sharpie ink and ink wells. You can certainly try to add them to a full bottle but physics may cause the bottle to get too full and run over (liquid displacement and all). Also, getting the ink into the bottle is very messy - the ink would splatter in a full bottle.
If you read the notes in the deviation description, it says this method works best with synthetic wigs. You can certainly try it on real hair wigs, but why not use actual hair dye then? You would probably get better results
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thank you
And, I don't have a real hair wig I just wanted to be sure that it works on synthetic hairs!Β
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oh lords. This will be a fun project. I needed to get pink and purple streaks into my lilac wig, and this technique is what I was looking for! Thank you!
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So I have a question, if it's possible. I want to buy a white/silver wig and I want to dye it mostly red with blonde tips, would I be able to just soak the whole thing in the red dye and then take the red dye out of the tips? Or should I just get a red wig and sew in blonde extensions?
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It would be easiest to buy a blonde wig and dye the whole wig except for the tips.
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Alright, thank you ^^
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What if your wig is multicolored? (mine's rainbow) I don't want the colors to mix together because the red and purple are right next to each other and if they run it will look brown. .n.
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Use a spray bottle, separate the hair, and spray each section a different color.
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