I mentioned in my last wash day post that I was going to do my first quickweave. I wore it for a little over two weeks before letting it go. I used hair I had leftover from the u-part wig I made earlier this year. The terminology of a quickweave seems, to me, to apply to several different styles that all use hair glue. In the first style, your hair is molded to your head, similar to that of a wet wrap, and the weave is then glued to the mold track by track. The next is just like the first except you use a wig cap between your hair and the weave, making it easier to remove, but still glued to your hair. The third, and the method I used, is to glue the hair solely to a wig cap, making it completely removable at any time. When I decided to do this, I began to wonder if the term quickweave refers to the time it takes to complete the style, the length of time the style lasts, or both. Let's discuss the whole experience.
The only supplies I needed were: hair (of course), a shower cap, hair bonding glue (BSS brand), a wig cap, and a blow dryer. The process of completing this style was surprisingly easy and yes, it was quick. After watching a number of YouTube videos, it took me about 30-45 minutes start to finish. A chunk of that time was spent simply trying to decide how I wanted the hair to lay on top and around my leave out. Here's what I did:
- Braided my hair straight back, except for a small section in the front. I wasn't concerned about any special braiding pattern since I didn't know how this was all going to work out anyway.
- Put on the shower cap then covered it with the wig cap. This step ensures that no glue is applied to your actual hair.
- Starting in the back, I began measuring each track against my head before cutting it from the weft.
- I applied glue to the backside of the track and immediately put it on the wig cap.
- I pressed down on the track for a few seconds and then used the blow dryer to ensure the glue set with the heat.
- I repeated steps 3-5 for my entire head, spacing each about an inch or so away from the last.
- Once I got about eye level, I began curving the tracks upward. This helps the hair to lay in a more natural looking way and keep tracks from making guest appearances :)
After I was done, I removed the shower cap and cut the area I left open for my hair to be left out. I thought about sewing wig clips to it, but with the thinness of the wig cap, it didn't seem like something that would work out well. So, I just secured it to my braids with bobby pins around the perimeter of my head, which kept it very snug.
Overall, I really enjoyed wearing this piece! It was very easy to just pin it on, unbraid my leave out, blend and go every morning. It also made moisturizing and sealing a breeze with the my hair being braided. I felt my hair blended really well and it matched the appearance of my real hair perfectly. Most people thought it was my hair until I told them it wasn't. Score! On one hand, this made me realize I would enjoy wearing wigs as a long-term protective, but on the other, I realized I would have to buy some high quality hair (or a wig) in order to be okay with wearing this kind of style for awhile. This Sensationnel Wet N' Wavy hair just loves to get matted! And that is something I simply cannot do.
When I got to almost two weeks of wearing this, a track just fell off the back when I was combing it one night! Ha! Sooo, I decided that the term quickweave refers both to the short amount of time it takes to create the style and the limited amount of time the style lasts. I was so glad that did not happen in public, too! I had a lot of fun styling the piece. I loved the big hair look, but also enjoyed pulling it back and twisting it up. Here's a simple side twist I did one day. Can't wait til I can do that with my own hair!
So, I made my first 3/4 (or u-part) wig. I have never attempted to do anything like this before and previously, I probably would have just laughed at the suggestion of wearing a wig. However, the more I have witnessed these part wigs in action, the more my interest has been piqued. They can look so natural and seemed pretty easy to make. So, after watching only God knows how many tutorials/tips and tricks about u-part wig videos, I went for it!
I went to one of my few choice beauty supply stores to get everything I needed. This particular store always has their hair buy one get one free. The selection is huge and a bit overwhelming if, like me, you are not a weave connoisseur. Luckily for me, there was a really nice sales girl that walked around the store with me for awhile, listening to what I wanted and making awesome suggestions. I ended up going with the Silhouette brand of Wet n' Wavy human hair. Right out the pack it looked just like my texture of hair. I figured even if I didn't go for the wavy look it has after you wet it, it would match my hair anyway. I got a 10" pack in #1 (black) and a 12" pack in #2 (brown) in an attempt to match the highlights in my hair.
I also needed a weaving cap, hair thread, a weaving needle, wig clips, and a styrofoam head. I thought that was it, but once I started sewing the hair onto the cap, I quickly figured out I needed some straight pins to secure the cap to the head and the tracks in place as I sewed them on. I bought the weaving cap with the adjustable straps. It was nice, but for how I was styling my hair, I don't think I will get that one the next time I make one. I felt like I kept having to tuck and hide pieces of it that would creep out on the sides. Of course, it could've just been the way I made the wig and have nothing to do with the cap.
At first, I thought it would be better to sew the longer hair on the bottom and the shorter on the top, but I did not like the way that looked. So I weaved them in together, alternating layers of each, about an inch apart. It took a little more work to do it this way though since my goal was not to cut the wefts (tracks of hair). But I inevitably ended up having to cut them because each pack of hair was one weft and I only used half of each. Once I got as close to the top of the cap (a little of that black line in the bottom left pic above) as I wanted, I cut a u-shaped section of the cap off and sewed wigs clips onto each side.
I left about a handful of hair out on the top and some on each side in the front. I put the rest of my hair in 4-5 braids and pinned them together. I LOVED the way this hair looked with mine. My own hair blended perfectly with it, colors and all! People couldn't tell if or when I had it in, including my own mother. Score!!
I didn't actually wear the hair all out at all. I kept telling myself to do it, but not going through with it. Probably because it's new for me and all I could think when it was all out was: Melanie, you know you do not have this much hair! lol! So, I protective styled my protective style! It made styles I normally do look so full and thick! Can you tell how much I enjoy wearing this thing?! Eventually, I think I'll get over the whole I-know-I-have-on-hair-I-didn't-grow-so-I-think-everyone-else-knows-too issue I was having and wear it out.
The only complaint I have about this experience was with the hair. Keeping up with the wet n' wavy look the way it's suggested to do was too much for me. As in, continuing to re-wet it daily. But if you start and then don't keep it up, it gets matted looking! Gross! I did find that if I wet it and braided it up like I would my hair for a braid out, I wouldn't have that problem. So, it wasn't the biggest deal to me. It was very convenient and I'm sure I'll be making more in the future.
I mentioned in my last wash day post that I was going to do my first quickweave. I wore it for a little over two weeks before letting it go. I used hair I had leftover from the u-part wig I made earlier this year. The terminology of a quickweave seems, to me, to apply to several different styles that all use hair glue. In the first style, your hair is molded to your head, similar to that of a wet wrap, and the weave is then glued to the mold track by track. The next is just like the first except you use a wig cap between your hair and the weave, making it easier to remove, but still glued to your hair. The third, and the method I used, is to glue the hair solely to a wig cap, making it completely removable at any time. When I decided to do this, I began to wonder if the term quickweave refers to the time it takes to complete the style, the length of time the style lasts, or both. Let's discuss the whole experience. 
When I got to almost two weeks of wearing this, a track just fell off the back when I was combing it one night! Ha! Sooo, I decided that the term quickweave refers both to the short amount of time it takes to create the style and the limited amount of time the style lasts. I was so glad that did not happen in public, too! I had a lot of fun styling the piece. I loved the big hair look, but also enjoyed pulling it back and twisting it up. Here's a simple side twist I did one day. Can't wait til I can do that with my own hair!
