As I promised last week, I’m going to be sharing my experience making my first wig! Y’all this was the ultimate struggle, but I finally remade the wig to look the way I wanted it. If you missed some mistakes I made (and that you might too) while making a wig, be sure to check out that post. If you don’t like to read (no shade), there’s a video at the end of the post with most of this info, so feel free to watch that instead!

Why a Wig?

I’m not shy to protective styling – I firmly believe you need to rest your hair every once in a while, whether its by wearing braids, havana twists, weaves, crochet braids, or wigs. While I’ve worn synthetic wigs before, I’ve struggled with having them look natural along my hairline. When Mayvenn reached out to me to do a collabo, I immediately knew I wanted to create my own custom full wig that would look natural and flattering.

Mayvenn Brazilian Curly

Mayvenn sells 100% natural hair extensions backed by a 30-day Quality Guarantee. That means if you don’t like the hair – even after you’ve manipulated it – you can exchange it. If you haven’t done anything to the hair, you can get a full refund within those 30 days.

I chose to use the curliest hair Mayvenn offers, the Brazilian Curly, for my wig. Mayvenn also has Straight, Loose Wave, Body Wave, Deep Wave, and Straight Blonde options. The 14″ bundles of the Brazilian Curly are $69, while the 16″ bundles are $74. I initially ordered 3 bundles… which mighttttt have been enough if I used the correct cap (more on that later). If you’d like to replicate this style, I suggest ordering four bundles, or 3 bundles and a closure, knowing that you can always return anything you don’t use for a full refund. If you buy 3 bundles, there’s a 10-15% discount, so the price isn’t too crazy!

The hair shipped quickly and was packaged in cute satin bags – the 14″ bundle came in a labeled pink bag, while the 16″ bundles arrived in black bags. The hair is sold by weight, not by weft length, so the 14″ bundle actually had longer wefts than the 16″. This is a no-brainer for anyone who isn’t a noob with extensions, unlike myself.

Making the Wig

I decided to use a hot glue gun and secure the wig to a spandex dome cap that I had placed on a mannequin head. I essentially followed the steps laid out by YouTuber Peakmill in this video, except that halfway through, I realized I wasn’t going to have enough hair. I reached out to the Mayvenn team and they rushed me another bundle, but then I went to Chicago and couldn’t finish the wig for another few weeks.

Once I finished it, I wasn’t exactly happy with it because it was a bit sparse, especially in the front, and had a lot of extra flappy material at the crown that wasn’t sitting on my head. In addition, it was hard to get the wig on my head because I glued on top of the seams of the wig cap, making it completely non-stretchy. To make it fit, I cut slits in between some of the wefts to reclaim some stretch.

First Version vs. Second Version

Although the wig was alright, I wanted a lot more volume in the top/bang section of my hair. I decided to remake it, this time using a wig cap by Annie (would totally recommend!) as opposed to original men’s sports cap. I ended up using less hair – I do think I would’ve managed to get away with just the 3 bundles if I had used a correct sized cap in the first place. Plus the new wig is more voluminous so now I don’t have to worry about whether anyone can see my tracks!

The new wig was still a bit tight fitting on my head despite me not gluing on the seams, which made me realize that the styrofoam mannequin I used was quite smaller than my head. If/when I make my next wig, I will purchase a canvas wig head from Amazon – they run about $40 and come in different sizes.

I’m not completely happy with the shape – I’m still deciding if I want blunt bangs or asymmetrical, a more layered and rounded look or how it is now. Even though some people said they like the darker hair, I’m feeling unrecognizable so I will add a bit of color to the hurr at some point.

Final Thoughts

I would definitely recommend Mayvenn hair to anyone who is interested in purchasing virgin hair with a money back guarantee! My experience with Mayvenn’s customer service was spectacular, and while it would be cool if they carried slightly kinkier hair textures, there are a few other companies that fill that void (see a few here). I think I might have been bitten by the wig bug, so don’t be surprised if you see more looks from myself & Mayvenn hair! If you do plan to purchase from Mayvenn, please do so from my shop!

What do you think about my wig? Any suggestions for how I can color or shape it to look even nicer?