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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Wig Care for Irish Dance Wigs

For those of you new to Irish Dance wigs or who just want to know how to care for the one you have this is a great resource.

This taken directly from Emerald Key's Facebook page. 
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Emerald-Key/202321746476843


Hi Friends! I get a lot of questions from folks about the care of our wigs so I thought I would start a thread on here. Feel free to ask away.

Let me just state for the record that no wig was ever really meant to be Irish danced in! And NO wig after being worn will ever be out of the bag perfect again. There is no such thing as a wig that is "frizz free"! Every wig needs to have some maintenance... done on them from time to time. How much care you give them will determine how well they look and how long they will last. Generally, the bigger the curl and the bigger the wig the more care you will need to give them. There is no spray or conditioner that is a magic fix, you just have to trim the frizz, split the curls and re-curl them every time they are worn. Head bands, sequined dresses, bobby pins and friction from bouncing around on the stage all take their toll.

There are many wigs and wig vendors in the world of Irish dance and many offer a very good product for a reasonable price. A more expensive wig does not always mean the quality is better or that the wig doesn't need care. Some wigs are "treated" at the factory which does help the frizzing for awhile. Our Maeve Jr and Maeve Sr wigs have this treatment but I'll be honest, it doesn't last forever. Personally, I think it has to do more with the style of the wig. The tight ringlet style wigs need very little care, the loose curls need more, bun wigs need less than a full long wig etc. I happen to be very proud of our wigs. I think they are a very good quality, have great style and a reasonable price! :D They are also very easy to care for if you just take a little time to do it. Don't be afraid to really get into what needs doing! Show the wig who is boss!! Practice is Key!

For a split curl wig, start by cutting away some of the frizzies so that you can actually get into working the actual curls themselves. Split curls have a tendency to "sausage" together when dancing. The curls gravitate to each other so you need to split them apart. If you don't, your wig will start to look lopsided and longer because the big sausages are heavy and drag the curls down. The over all volume will look smaller as well and you will start to see the woven cap underneath and that really looks bad. If you can see inside your wig through the cap to your natural hair, you have passed the point of no return. Please buy a new wig!

Once you have split up a large clump or sausage, take hold of a curl and starting at the base of the wig pull down on it using your thumb nail to scrape the hair itself (from the base of the wig to the end of the curl). You are combing out the curl using your thumb and forefinger. Your thumb nail scrapes against the hair, breaking off all the frizzy bits and pulls and stretches the fibers back together. The curls are a little like curling ribbon but instead of using scissors you are using your nail. Do this several times until the curl is smooth and then starting at the base of the wig, wrap around your finger. This takes a little practice because if you wrap it too tightly, it will be hard to get off your finger! The curl should just bounce back into shape when you release it. Cut off the very end of the curl if it looks uneven. Then, on to the next one...

Don't be afraid to cut out a curl that is beyond repair and to trim random curls that seem to continually grow. Curls at the base of the wig that are coming into contact with sequins or rough fabric at the shoulder can be very tough to work on. Keep trying, you will be surprised if you do.

You might wonder if it is necessary to use a spray treatment of some kind on your wig? No it isn't. Wig conditioners can make the re-curling process more pleasant because they do smell nice but I personally, I prefer to work on a dry wig. It's up to you. We sell a nice product that is available on our website and many people swear by it. It's nice to spray the wig with it after you have "fixed" it, but spraying alone won't get rid of the frizz and/or matting nor will prevent it from happening in the first place. Avoid using hair spray or luster sprays as this makes the wig sticky and tacky to the touch and can actually create more matting and clumping. Use only a wig conditioner that is made for synthetic hair.

Hope this helps a bit?

Please remember if you are ever at a feis and we are there, do not hesitate to ask us for help, no question is too silly! We stand behind our wigs and we want you to be happy wearing them and to always look good! We are always happy to show you how to apply and care for your wig! Come see us!

Feis Review: Grand Canyon State Feis

Spent the first weekend of June at the Grand Canyon State Feis in Scottsdale, AZ.  Overall this Feis was great based on our experience.  The Champions danced on Saturday and the grades, adults and figures danced on Sunday. My daughter rocked it!  She moved her Light Jig to prizewinner and her Reel to novice. Very proud of her hard work.  Now on to the review.

The Hotel/ Venue:  The feis was held at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas.  Nice hotel overall.  We arrived on Friday evening and the room that we were given had a broken air conditioner.  Not something that you want in Scottsdale during the summer.  After calling to report the issue they sent someone to check on it and also brought my husband a bucket a beer.  He enjoyed the beer.  They weren't able to fix the air conditioner so they moved us down the hall.  The only issue was Sunday.  Our maid service did not show until 5:30pm, otherwise the stay was problem free.  The restaurant served a buffet breakfast.  My daughter loved the waffle bar.  The food was good and the service was great.  We also enjoyed the pool. The pool area has hot tub and baby pool as well as a regular pool.  The pool side bar and grill will serve you meals around the pool which is nice when you want to eat dinner and kids want to play. 

Feis:  The feis ran 2 days with the champions dancing Saturday and the grades, adults and figures dancing on Sunday. I will report on Sunday as that is when my daughter danced.  If you have comments on the Saturday portion of the feis feel free to leave them in the comments section.  I understand Saturday was running behind and the music competition was held outside the ballroom due to the feis committee not wanting to stop the dancing in hopes of getting back on schedule.  Like I have said before, expect delays and be ready to wait.  It's normal. 

Friday night the feis held ceili dancing with a great ceili band.  Saturday night was a pool party with taco bar and music.  Sunday the feis started on time and ran quickly.  I think it may have even been a bit ahead of schedule at one point on Sunday. The day started with prizewinner then novice soft shoe. Next was prizewinner then novice hard shoe.  This allowed time for the dancers to change shoes. The specials were also held before lunch along with awards.  After lunch figures started off and quickly progressed to 1st feis and 1st feis awards.  Beginner 2 and 1 soft and hard shoe followed the same pattern as the prizewinner and novice dances. Grades ended around 4pm.  Adults danced last.  I have attend this feis over the past 3 years.  This year it ran extremely smooth.  The stage moms and helpers did a great job getting dancers on stage and counting them off.  

Awards:  Grades received nice medals.  Same as past years.  Specials received trophies.

Vendors:   The hotel had a nice cash and carry breakfast and lunch.  Lunch was either hot dog or hamburger.  They also had fresh smoothie's available. 

Inside the feis were a number of vendors: 

Bows 'N Bloom had handmade soaps and hair bows for sale.  All the bows are hand made and custom work was available for order.  We have a number of  her bows and hair flowers now.  This including custom flowers to match our school dress.  Huge hit with younger dancers but I saw some older ones showing off new flowers as well.  She also has "doll and me" matching bows for girls and their dolls.  I also saw a young Prelim Champion with a custom red hair band that was blinged out.  Lovely!  You can find them on facebook.   https://www.facebook.com/bowsbloom


Hair roses for adult event.

Irish themed hair bows.


Custom flowers to match school dresses.
  Hand Knit Sweaters and Accessories, had knit work available  (leg warmers, hats, fingerless gloves, ipod holders and custom work.)  This young woman is very talented.  My daughter has matching legwarmers and fingerless gloves.  Items hold up well and look great.  Vendor can also be found on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hand-Knit-Sweaters-and-Accessories/167734973306198

Custom fingerless gloves














Ipod holder

Custom sweater


















Siopa Brog Irish Dance Supplies was also present with a great assortment of dance supplies and things my daughter just had to have.  I love how they spend time fitting dancers for the perfect shoe.  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Siopa-Brog-Irish-Dance-Supplies/125489337511146

Emerald Key had dresses, hair and accessories available,  http://www.emeraldkeyonline.com/

Youngblood Haircutters also had wigs and accessories, http://www.irishwigs.com/site/.  


A vendor with paintings, clothing and jewelry was also in attendance.  As always t-shirts were available.  

Raffle:  The reason I am bring up the raffle baskets is that I have never sen so many baskets at a feis.  I didn't win which isn't new but I know several families that did.  One woman won a Swarovski raffle basket worth $1,150.  Shamrock Soaps had a nice basket of Just for Irish Dancer Bath and Body items.  You can find a link to the Shamrock Soaps Blog on this site or look for their items on Etsy.com.

Shamrock Soaps Just for Irish Dancers Raffle Basket

Feis Photographer:  De Danann Photography was the official feis photographer.  I can't wait for the pictures to be posted.  Check out her facebook page to see her work or book a photo shoot.
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/De-Danann-Photography/193376907393407



So overall this feis was great.  Enjoyed the venue, pace of the feis on Sunday, ceili dancing, pool party and vendors.  I expect their were problems with the feis, their always is, but I didn't experience any real issues.  Well maybe one around awards for a 2 hand and an inverted dancer number causing the wrong the dancer to win.  It was quickly resolved since the dancer who was listed as the winner was not in that event.  Simple case of fat fingers.  Will we be back next year?  Yes, this feis is always fun and seems to get better each year.