Help Making Twintail Rubberbands Permanent

I have a Cotindoll Miku wig that I would like to replace the rubber bands in and somehow make the rubber bands/strings/wire of the twintails more permanent.  Because I play with her quite often, the current rubber bands are slowly slipping down the twintails. 

I was thinking of using string of some kind and glue/epoxy, along with fishing line/monofilament/wire, like the kind that is used to make bracelets in order to glue the string/wire/monofilament/fishing line/etc to the twintails. 

Has anyone tried to make permanent twintails/ponytails rubberband holders?  If so, how did you do it?

 

Ryu

Edited June 1, 2023 by RyuichiSakuma13
Forgot something. lol

You don't have to make it permanent but you can buy the same kind of elastic one would use to string dolls and use it to hold the twintails in place. Just make sure to make 2 loops big enough to tie each side (but not TOO big. you don't want too much elastic to tie hair, just enough so it's tight and secure) and burn their edges of the elastic so they don't fray. I wouldn't recommend using glue at all. A good elastic should hold for years, provided you fasten it strongly enough. Gluing should be permanent immediately so if you do any mistakes or if the twintails start to come undone on some parts, you can't correct it and the wig will become defective. 

I also recommend getting a wig head or making one yourself. I use a makeshift one I made with foam an tape, you can find many tutorials around. Once you have a wig head, you can pin the wig on it and it will be much easier than holding the doll down to style the wig. I recommend washing the wig first, because any oils on it might make it harder to style and hold the style (even oils from your hand or plasticizer, etc. the wig having oils on it might be why the elastic is slipping to begin with) , then letting it dry before doing anything, but if you're going to wash remember to not undo the middle parting on the wig, wash each side separately. Once it's dry, brush it carefully and pin one side while you style the other (just makes it easier).

Considering it's a twintail wig and you play with it often, it's a better idea to just learn how to style it every now and then.

18 hours ago, mukyuu said:

You don't have to make it permanent but you can buy the same kind of elastic one would use to string dolls and use it to hold the twintails in place. Just make sure to make 2 loops big enough to tie each side (but not TOO big. you don't want too much elastic to tie hair, just enough so it's tight and secure) and burn their edges of the elastic so they don't fray. I wouldn't recommend using glue at all. A good elastic should hold for years, provided you fasten it strongly enough. Gluing should be permanent immediately so if you do any mistakes or if the twintails start to come undone on some parts, you can't correct it and the wig will become defective. 

I also recommend getting a wig head or making one yourself. I use a makeshift one I made with foam an tape, you can find many tutorials around. Once you have a wig head, you can pin the wig on it and it will be much easier than holding the doll down to style the wig. I recommend washing the wig first, because any oils on it might make it harder to style and hold the style (even oils from your hand or plasticizer, etc. the wig having oils on it might be why the elastic is slipping to begin with) , then letting it dry before doing anything, but if you're going to wash remember to not undo the middle parting on the wig, wash each side separately. Once it's dry, brush it carefully and pin one side while you style the other (just makes it easier).

Considering it's a twintail wig and you play with it often, it's a better idea to just learn how to style it every now and then.

All very good ideas, especially the part about "if I make a mistake, I may not be able to fix it if I use glue."  Sometimes, my ADHD gets away from me and I don't think things through.   Thank you for the ideas. 

 

Ryu

3 hours ago, RyuichiSakuma13 said:

All very good ideas, especially the part about "if I make a mistake, I may not be able to fix it if I use glue."  Sometimes, my ADHD gets away from me and I don't think things through.   Thank you for the ideas. 

 

Ryu

I have ADHD too so bad ideas come around all the time... I had to do the foam head because I was using a flat iron to style a wig on my Azone then I accidentally touched a spot on her face with it and had to redo her face up after sanding that spot away. 💀

I hope you get it sorted, it's a nice skill being able to style wigs and honestly quite fun buying a plain wig and giving it some spice.

4 hours ago, mukyuu said:

I have ADHD too so bad ideas come around all the time... I had to do the foam head because I was using a flat iron to style a wig on my Azone then I accidentally touched a spot on her face with it and had to redo her face up after sanding that spot away. 💀

I hope you get it sorted, it's a nice skill being able to style wigs and honestly quite fun buying a plain wig and giving it some spice.

Ooh I did that too! I use a wood wig stand and velcro now.

I've only styled one wig myself completely, but it was a lot of fun and a lot of frustration until I got it right lol.

14 hours ago, UsagiTeatime said:

Ooh I did that too! I use a wood wig stand and velcro now.

I've only styled one wig myself completely, but it was a lot of fun and a lot of frustration until I got it right lol.

I know how to style wigs, after all, I have 28 BJDs.  Its just that Miku is my first vinyl doll, and because she's so light (and cute!) I tend to watch TV with her quite often.  Because of that, the rubber bands holding her twintails have become loose.  I figured that there may be some way to make sure that that doesn't happen that someone may have discovered. 

Oh well, not a big deal is I have to keep restyling her hair.  I'll just need to stock up on tiny hair bands. 

But, if someone has discovered a way to make twintails permanent, feel free to add the idea/link/etc to this thread.  I'd love to see what I might have missed on this forum when it comes to it! 🙂

 

Ryu

sorry I'm so late to this! if you haven't found a solution yet, look into ponytail wig styling for cosplay! you can probably apply similar techniques to a doll wig! there will be a lot of glue involved though 😅

for me, I've just doubled the hair bands and so far its been helping a bit. I'll probably still need to restyle in the future but less often for sure.

On 7/23/2024 at 12:40 PM, ohnoaiwa said:

sorry I'm so late to this! if you haven't found a solution yet, look into ponytail wig styling for cosplay! you can probably apply similar techniques to a doll wig! there will be a lot of glue involved though 😅

for me, I've just doubled the hair bands and so far its been helping a bit. I'll probably still need to restyle in the future but less often for sure.

Oh, thank you for your answer! 

What I ended up doing was buying a Cotindoll twintail Miku-styled wig (four different ones, actually).  They are easier to restyle than her canon wig,.  I put that one away, along with her regular outfit.  She's probably only going to wear that outfit once a year or so. 

This is the wig and outfit she is currently wearing.  Ignore her messy hair, it was night and the room was dimly lit.

Miku in Her Summer 2024 Outfit by Ryuichi Sakuma, on Flickr

Miku in Her Summer 2024 Outfit by Ryuichi Sakuma, on Flickr

 

 

Ryu

Edited August 29 by RyuichiSakuma13