Wig Care

I bumped into some pics that were taken by Azone's staff, and I was taken back by how much better the hair looks, even compared to their own stock photos. 

What is commonly recommended day-to-day for making doll hair look nice like this? It's got a wet, shiny finish to it. 

I've ordered wigs from a few different sources now, and the condition in which they come has differed a lot. One source, the wig's kinda like these pics in that it feels silky and shiny. Other wigs have come feeling kinda dry and look nothing like the photos on their store.

They use this:

Azone Doll Oil Mist

They have a few videos on their Twitter showing you how to use it, but honestly I’ve never been able to recreate their looks myself. I’ve tried the bangs thing on my Alice and she just ends up looking like she has greasy hair (and so do some of the models in-store, frankly).

https://twitter.com/kikakubu_azone/status/1385541601104068615

If you search ヘアスタイリング on their Twitter, you can find a couple more how-to videos.

One other related question I had actually is that I noticed that some of the Azone wigs are styled so that parts of the hair seem to stick to each other. It's hard to describe, but on Mai's hair, the bangs clump up together in stiff tufts as if it were gelled (?), rather than being all individual threads. I like it this way since it gives it a more anime-ish look, but I wonder if this is something that's done at the factory but needs to be maintained to keep its shape.

The other Azone wig I have that came with the head I put up for sale also has spots where it feels "gelled" but to much a lesser degree.

Volks' Dollfie Water Wax gives basically the exact same effect in my experience! Azone has their own styling wax as well but I find it a little more dry and chalky and I really, really don't like the way it feels on doll hair, whereas Water Wax has more moisture and doesn't make the hair feel gross lol

I didn't end up liking water wax myself, because it feels waxy and I didn't want that touching their forehead, plus the hair can still end up unclumping, if that makes sense. I use Got2B Glued for anime spikes- once dry it doesn't have a residue, and if you don't move the hair around much it stays in place for a very long time. If something happens and you need to restyle it can still wash out with soap and water.

31 minutes ago, Jezrah said:

I didn't end up liking water wax myself, because it feels waxy and I didn't want that touching their forehead, plus the hair can still end up unclumping, if that makes sense. I use Got2B Glued for anime spikes- once dry it doesn't have a residue, and if you don't move the hair around much it stays in place for a very long time. If something happens and you need to restyle it can still wash out with soap and water.

I second Got2B glued. This product is safe for synthetic wigs and holds hair, really, really well.

To get rid of any dryness, I like to use a synthetic fiber shampoo and conditioner. It helps with any static too. I am kind of wary of gels and waxes - worry about it transferring and staining. I have had a few Volks wigs that had wig caps turn yellow (and can bleed) presumably because of some kind of styling product.