Bleaching the knots on a wig is essential especially if you want the wig to look like it is natural and is part of your hair especially if you are using lace wigs as they have very visible knots which manufacturers keep to secure the hair. Once you bleach the wig you are ensuring that your natural hair from the scalp gets more visibility and the knots are downplayed. In this article, we cover how to bleach knots on a wig step by step
Why are there Knots on Wigs?
There are multiple techniques for creating wigs one of which is called ventilating. In this process, hair is secured to lace and when using this method it creates a knot and helps all the stand of hair to be tightly secured to the wig.
What are the Types of Wig knots?
There are two types of knots usually find in lace wigs
Single Knots:
In this usually, each knot contains a single thin piece of hair (hair strand)
Double Knots:
In this usually, each knot contains two or more pieces of hair (hair strand)
If choosing go for single knot wigs as they are easier to bleach to give them the natural look.
Why do Wig knots need to be Bleached?
You need to bleach the knots of the wig to make it look natural and if you don’t do so then these knots will show up as dots on the base of your wig and will be even more noticeable if you have a wig that is darker in color. You can try to hide the knots with makeup and spray but nothing works as well as bleaching the hair.
How To Bleach Knots on a Wig
Before you start bleaching here is the list of things you need
Things Needed to Bleach Knots
- Hair Bleach
- Developer Solution Professional ( 20 to 30 Milliliter) also called a 20 to 30 volume developer
- Preferably a plastic mixing bowl and not a glass
- A measuring cup of 1 ounce (28 grams)
- An applicator or hairbrush
- Gloves that are disposable
- Aluminium Foil
- T – Pins, Mannequin Heads Styrofoam heads (Optional ), or any other thing to put the lace wig on
Step-by-Step Procedure to Bleach Knots
Step 1: Prepare the Wig by Tightly securing it
Before you start it is important to ensure that you Tightly secure the Wig to a mannequin or styrofoam head use T Pins to secure the head . If you don’t have a mannequin head then pin them to any soft surface like a table or counter with lace facing down. Also, check and see if you have baby hairs and if they exist pin them too otherwise they will also get bleached. To protect against Bleach coming down and affecting the roots spray some water on the roots of the wig hair.
Step 2: Start Preparing the Bleach Mixture
Before you start take care to put on disposable gloves so that your hands are safer from harmful chemicals. Start Mixing Bleach and Developer solution the general ratio is 1 :1 but use the instructions written on the product if you have them. Keep mixing until the mixture is thick and creamy in consistency. If the mixture is watery (runny) do not stop mixing until it is thick as a watery mixture will seep down to roots and damage them
Step 3: Apply the Bleach Mixture to the Knots on the Wig
Take care to apply the bleach mixture to the complete front hairline of the wig and be gentle with the brush to avoid the mixture flowing down to the roots and damaging them. After applying the mixture take care to cover the knots with aluminum foil and leave them for 15 to 30 minutes. Keep checking the hair some are bleached in 15 minutes while some take as much as 30 minutes.
Step 4: Rinse the Bleach Mixture and Wash the Knots on the Wig
After the knots of your wig have taken the color which you wanted rinse it. After rinsing apply a purple shampoo to protect the hair color and then rinse it again. Next to soften the hair and to ensure that it doesn’t dry put on a hair conditioner and leave it for a few minutes and then rinse again.
Step 5: Dry the Wig
A Blow Dryer can harm the wig so take care to gently squeeze the wig to remove the water or use a towel to dry out the wig hair.
What to do if you Over Bleach the Knots
When bleaching the knots mistakes are possible and if they happen you do o have some options to correct them.
1. Mascara
A temporary fix if you are in a hurry is to apply mascara gently to the knots which have been overly bleached until they start looking natural again. But this is a temporary solution as you will have to apply the mascara every time you wash your wig
2. Hair Dye
Dying your hair is similar to bleaching your hair and might be frustrating but is still better than buying a new wig. This is a permanent process unlike mascara and here is the step-by-step process for dying
- Take a plastic bowl and create a hair dye mixture following the instructions given on the packaging.
- Apply the hair dye mixture on the overbleached wig hair knots and take care it doesn’t fall on other areas of the wig.
- Leave it for 20 to 30 minutes then rinse the wig
- After rinsing shampoo the wig and then condition the wig
Alternative to Bleaching Knots
If you don’t want to bleach the knots there are a couple of alternatives for you first you can buy a pre-bleached wig or second you can do lace tinting
Pre Bleached Wig
Pre-bleached wigs cost more than unbleached wigs but help you save both time and money on bleaching wig knots.
Lace Tinting
In lace tinting, you are primarily using makeup on the underside of your wig so that you can tint its color. You use a combination of liquid or powder foundation along with holding sprays all over the wig to hide the knots
Bleaching Knots Advantages & Disadvantages
Advantages
- Bleached knots will make sure that your wig looks natural and similar to the color of your scalp.
- If you bleach your knots it will make sure that your hair gives an illusion of a natural hairline.
Disadvantages
- Bleaching will lead to the hair knots weakening over time which may in turn lead to the shedding of hair.
- If you are using a jet black colored wigs the results can be uneven
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