Wigs are a busy girl’s best friend. Whether you’re a carpool driving and couples game night hosting wife and mother or a single college student trying to cram four years of study groups and coffee runs into three one thing is for certain-a wig can save you valuable time. But while this low maintenance styling option can relieve some serious styling pressure it still requires a little TLC. We tapped celebrity hair stylist and Lucid Bliss founder Tiffany Lamb to give some tips on how she prepares her clients including “Power” actress Naturi Naughton, “Refill” songstress Elle Varner, and "Girls Trip" star Tiffany Haddish for getting the hollywood treatment on their (often removable) hair.

1. Keep it Clean

Tiffany doesn’t allow her clients to neglect undercare. She stated “the first thing is definitely keeping your hair clean. You need to be washing your hair. You want to make sure that your hair is clean before putting the wig on. A lot of time people put wigs on and think because it’s an easy go-to style they can do whatever but keeping your hair healthy up under the wig is the most important thing. What I have my clients do is come in and get their hair washed at least once a week.”

2. Lay Then Play

She believes that a strong start will ensure a flawless style saying “Braiding the hair under the wig is important as well. The foundation is important. You want it to be natural and look as flat as possible. So having your hair braided in the proper size braids is very important. And if you’re wearing lace wigs parting it right is important as well. If you’re wearing a middle part it’s important to part your hair down the middle when braiding it down, because you want that part to match up with your natural part to make your hair look as realistic as possible. That goes for side parts as well and hair length doesn’t matter. I have clients whose hair is short and they still part it where the wig’s part is perfectly.”

3. Don’t Forget The Details

While some stylists advocate for physically sewing together the braids in preparation for wig application Lamb says paying attention to hair texture prevents those extra measures from being necessary saying “No matter what I pay attention to hair texture. For someone who has fine hair it’s okay to for them to get a regular cornrow. But for someone who has thick hair they should be getting their hair under braided. It makes your hair very flat so you don’t need all that. I don’t braid all of the braids together. I don’t want the hair to be so tight. That’s the whole point of wearing a wig. You want to feel free and loose.”

4. Choose Custom

One size fits all wigs may be more affordable but they’re certainly not the most comfortable Lamb says  “You shouldn’t be getting a headache. We all know if our hair is too tight. If you have to keep popping an Advil or something like that, the wig is too tight. What makes a custom wig special is it fits your exact head shape. If fits perfectly.  If I was to give you my wig it wouldn’t fit. A Lot of time people aren’t properly measuring. If you measure properly you don’t need anything else. Also the number one mistake I see with lace front wigs is the lace color and the hair line! They drive me crazy! With any style weave or wig it’s supposed to look as natural as possible. Some people they I don’t know what they be doing! Anything custom is going to fit you nice. It’s going to fit you to a tee! It’s just like buying a custom suit. It fits you better than a suit out of the store! That's what makes it so special. It fits you and it fits you properly.”

Check out some of our custom creations in our crown collection and considering keep them fresh with some of Lamb’s Lucid Bliss OOOH and AAAH refreshers!

 

Photo Credits: Hype Hair, SashaNycole.com 

So you’ve done it. You ignored your bossy bae, skipped consulting with your stylist, sought blogger inspiration and you just cut it all off. Now you can start rocking that tapered cut you’ve been ogling on Pinterest for six months. There’s just one problem now that you’ve finally shed the dead weight-what do you do with your hair in the meantime! Don’t let being stumped about your current style suck the fun out of your transition. Latched and Hooked’s protective styling options are the perfect hack for you to fake it until you make it. Here are three products that can help you skip from stressed to cute.

Extra Small Curl

Fast forward a full nine months in your natural hair journey by recreating a tapered cut with our extra small curl. This pre-curled textured hair is available in two lengths that can easily be snipped to suit the style of your dreams. See how our model slays sporting them below.

Zima Wig

A woman’s hair is her crowning glory and the time right after a big chop can be very unsettling even for those who have gone through the process before.The Zima Wig is a complete immediate hair style customized to your needs. It’s available with micro-size braids, straight twists, and kinky twists. Having a go to back up hairstyle on deck is a great way to ensure that you can get out of the house in five minutes at all times, at least the times when you’re not trying to get the line of your liquid liner as perfect as our model’s. Unsure how to style it? Check this tutorial. 

 

Custom Crochet Wig

 Life is so much easier when you can shake, fluff, and go and you can do that with textured hair in braided or wig form. Consider creating a customized crochet wig to imitate the big fluffy curls you had to let go off in favor of creating healthier ones. Use hair in an unexpected color or simply stick to your natural hair texture. Experiment by manipulating the hair at different angles to get different looks. There's nothing you can't accomplish with a latch hook and a little ingenuity-- just ask Chimere Nicole.