We all agree that wigs are just the perfect accessory to spice up your look. But what should we do with them once they no longer have the original glamour that made us fall in love with them in the first place? If you are a wig lover, I am sure you have one or maybe many wigs inside your wardrobe that haven’t seen the light of day in more than a year, am I right? If that is the case, you might be wondering “what am I supposed to do with it (them)? Should I just though it (them) away?

The answer to that question is definitely “no” and we are here to give you many ideas on how you can recycle your wigs, even the ones that are not biodegradable and therefore are not very eco-friendly. 

Beginner's Guide to Wig Recycling

Let’s start with human hair wigs. They are the easiest ones to recycled because human hair is biodegradable, so even if you throw them away, they wouldn’t have as a negative impact on the environment as a “plastic” hair would. But way before you think about disposing of your human hair wig, you should think about many utilities that it might have to you, even when you don’t see yourself wearing it anymore.

The first and most important question that you should ask yourself is: “Is there a way that I can fix this wig”? You definitely bought this wig for a reason and it was probably one of your preferred wigs at some point. Why don’t you consider taking it to a rejuvenation program where a professional hair stylist will use all his/her skills to bring the wig back to life? You can also consider trimming it or giving it a new and more modern hairstyle just so you fall in love with it again. There are many reputable hair salons out there that offer legit wig rejuvenation programs and the results are just incredible.

If after consulting with a hair stylist you still think there is no much you can do to make your wig look appealing again, you might as well consider using your human hair wig as your experiment unit. You can use this wig to practice plucking the hairline, bleaching the knots, adding curls, dyeing the hair or even for testing different ways of caring for your hair and see what brings you the best results. The best part of doing it is that you don’t have to care so much if you are not pleased with the results at the end.

What about synthetic wigs? Synthetic wigs are not biodegradable and therefore they are not as easy to recycle. Considering that human hair prices continue to increase year after year and synthetic hair is becoming more and more similar to human hair, this type of hair is continuing to grow in popularity. Synthetic hair is becoming amazing and more affordable, so even if you only wear human hair wigs at the moment, chances are very high that you will add a synthetic wig to your collection in the near future. 

When we think about recycling a synthetic wig, we must know that there is a big difference between synthetic wigs that are not heat-resistant and the ones that are, like the synthetic wigs we sell at LolaSilk. Heat-resistant synthetic wigs will last much longer and they can also undergo a rejuvenation program like human hair wigs can. Because this type of fiber is washable and heat-resistant, a skilled hair stylest will be able to properly clean and use heat to give back the original silkiness to the hair.

You won’t be able to dye your synthetic wig and test many different colours on it as you would with your human hair wigs, but you could still practice many other skills with it, like plucking the hairline and testing many different styling techniques using a blow dryer or a flat iron. 

After a few years of testing and practicing, there will come a day when you will feel that you have already done everything that you possibly could with you wig and you are ready to let it go. Before throwing it in the dustbin, consider donating your wig to an institution. You might be done with your wig but there many other places that might be able to give it a new destination and transform the life of another person in need.

If you are concerned about the planet and how can you make better decisions that will help us to care more about the environment, just remember that when it comes to wigs, try to give preference to human hair wigs or heat-resistant fibers when choosing your next glamorous style. These types of wigs will last the longest and you will be able to rejuvenate or re-use them for many years.