Pokémon Go Professor Willow Wig Styling by Hee-Hee

WELL HELLO! Professor Hee-Hee here! In the wake of Pokemon!Go, you just HAD to know that cosplays would be popping up like a Rattata in tall grass soon! Having my own admitted issues with patience– I styled a wig for Professor Willow! And if you follow these Trainer Tips, you can, too!

For this wig, I started with a Morpheus in Silver because I had it in-house. HOWEVER, my recommendation if you’re purchasing wigs particularly for this style would be either a Marty or a Cady in LIGHT GREY (this is a far more accurate color). However! No matter which wig you start with, you can still use these steps to achieve the same result! In wig styling, there are always multiple solutions. Thank goodness, right? In my opinion, you’ll have to do a lot less cutting with the Cady, and even less (if any, really) with the Marty!

The first step was to remove the silver hair from the bottom of the wig to make room for the black section. Instead of splicing two wigs together, I simply used black wefts and attached them where the silver used to be. You can attach wefts in a variety of different ways; you can stitch them in ( a curved needle works best! ), you can glue them to the elastics (these are the stretchy rows of fabric that run vertically down your wig) with a fabric glue or tacky glue ( this glue has a bit of flexibility, so that you won’t lose too much in the base wig’s elastics ), or– if you’re VERY sure-handed and careful, you can just dab wee little dots of hot glue into the elastics and attach it that way. Obviously, hot glue is the quickest method, but it’s also the most risky (you don’t want to burn your fibers) and the most messy. But if you’re in a hurry, it’s definitely possible. Some of my wefts were glued in when I got impatient with the tacky glue (my preferred method- Aleena’s Tacky Glue FTW!).

I discuss the different ways to add wefts here:

I worked my way up from the bottom to the top, making sure to stack the wefts tighter as I reached the end- or bottom- of the empty section. Because Willow’s hair fluffs/spikes backward (at least that’s how I interpreted the ONE photo that exists of him!), I didn’t want to have any holes in the wig when I began styling– just in case! It’s always good to start with too much hair than too little!

So now you have your wig the correct colors in the correct spots– a good start! Now we need to cut down the length. This is where using a Marty or Cady comes in handy, by the way. You shouldn’t have to cut ANY hair on the Marty, and the Cady will just need very minimal trimming.

I always like to section my wigs before I start working, and after trying to match the part in Willow’s hair, I pulled up the top, sides, and parted the back down the middle as well. Then it was just a simple blunt cut to save me from cutting so much hair later.

A lot of wig stylists like to style from the front to the back, but for some reason I’m the opposite! So I began taking down the sections one at a time and giving them a very general trim at the length I would need. Use your scissors perpendicularly to the hair, not straight across! This should avoid a blunt cut (like the ones you saw above in the ponytails- yikes!). You can also use thinning shears if the ends still feel thick after you make your cuts. I worked on the back of the wig first, then made my way to the sides, and finally the top. Remembering that his hair is longer on top is important!

Now it’s time to spike! My favorite part!

Again, I started at the back of the wig. Pulling the rest of the hair out of the way (yes, more ponytails!), I tilted the wighead back at a slight angle and gave it a good shot with my *hairspray. Then, most importantly, I used a blowdryer on GENTLE heat to help set the fibers in this new position. Direct the airflow from underneath to help you, too! You don’t want to plaster the hair flat because you’re blasting it from above.

This part of the styling really just depends on your preferences. Some people spike each individual lock one at a time to achieve the perfect look– I often do this, too! However, for this wig I was able to generously spray large sections of hair, and then, as the wig is drying via blowdrying, I pinched the ends in certain places to make the tips of the spikes. You’re sort of sculpting your wig as you go! Using the blowdryer also helps the style appear windblown; it gives your locks nice, natural looking curves! You don’t want him to look like a hedgehog with the spikes all going straight out. That would make for awesome hair, but not Professor Willow hair. Just keep an eye on your reference photos as you style and you’ll be fine!

(**Hairspray: Anything that’s a freeze spray is godly. Got2BGlued is obviously many people’s go-to, and I love it, too! But, sometimes I just can’t find any at my local stores and it’s led me to experimenting with many different brands. For example, New Image makes an awesome freeze spray! So just look around, play around, and see what works for you!)

Once I added my glasses (using pliers to cut off the top of old glasses I never used before? It’s SUPER EFFECTIVE!), I began adjusting the way the bangs fell, and tried to add the few small details that seemed important to his hairstyle.

Now then, soooomething’s missing–

SIDEBURNS!

This was actually super simple, guys, but it worked great! I took black stretchy material that I had leftover from previous cosplay projects and covered it tacky glue to give it a bit of stiffness. Then, I simply laid what remained of my black extensions over the fabric piece horizontally (while that tacky glue was still a little bit …well, tacky!) and coated them to kingdom come with hairspray! Hold the hair down with the end of a pick comb or something similar, and blowdry it gently to set all of that product without sending the wet fibers flying.

After that… Repeat! Really make sure your hair is nice and stiff, and then pick the piece of fabric back up and trim the edges carefully with your scissors. You can make them jagged if you like- as one would emulate a hairline- thicker at one end, pointed.. it’s up to you! When I wore this wig, I just used a little prosaide to glue them on underneath the wig. It was very comfortable and they held together great! They’re still in great shape. You can watch me put the wig on here in this makeup video:

And that’s about it! Now then, Trainers, let’s see your Pokemon Professors! Happy Pokemon hunting, and happy wigging!

Sincerely,

~Professor Hee-Hee

IG: @xheeheex