This last weekend I got to wear Drisella with Hustle and Bustle Cosplay and Ginger Lass Cosplay to Disney's D23 expo! It was a lot of fun: I am still hunting down pictures of us, so if you find any, let us know on Facebook!
One of the most frequent questions I was asked (besides "can I take your picture?" and "did you make that?!") was "How did you do your hair?" I actually thought far enough ahead to take progress pictures this time, so here is how I managed her hair.
Drisella's hair (left) from Disney's Cinderella (2015).
This is what the wig looked like to start: I got it second hand from one of my teachers, and thought the color and curl would be just right for Drisella. The wig hadn't been used in years, so I decided to give it a bath.
I used a gentle dish soap and warm water to wash it, being careful not to agitate it too much: not sure if this applies to all wigs, but this one in particular loved to tangle on itself. I hung it in the shower to drip dry a bit before transferring it to a towel on a wig head.
Oh, and a friendly reminder: don't forget to put a strainer in your drain before you wash your wig. This is the aftermath of Drisella's bath.
Here is the wig after it had dried the rest of the way. My brother said it looked like a dead rat: he wasn't too far off.
This is the wig after "brushing". I use that word lightly: the wig itself didn't want to be combed or brushed with any sort of comb or brush. I ended up finger combing it, which the wig was much more receptive to. It ended up having a lot more volume than I expected.
First, I pinned down the wig. I like to pin twice in the back, once on each side in front of where the ear will be, and once at the center of the forehead. This usually keeps the wig from moving while styling.
Next I pulled up the bangs of the wig, separating them from the rest of the hair. The front of her hair forms waves that go up towards her left, so I wanted to do that section last.
Next, I wadded the hair behind the front of the left side, spraying it and pinning it in place to create a bump. Then I pulled the front hair over the bump, twisting slightly to give it dimension.
Next, I pulled up the hair on the right and teased it in, spraying and pinning as I went. Again, I kept the forward section free to use for covering.
I pulled it over the bump, making sure to tuck in the ends. There are probably more bobby pins and hairspray in this wig than in most bathrooms. I made sure to tuck up the back hair as well, smoothing as I went.
Finally, I arranged the bangs on the top of the wig and along the right bump. Lots of hairspray was used to smooth and set this wig.
All in all, I think it was worth it to style the old wig rather than buy a new one: the curl and frizziness made it easier to tease and style, as it would not heat curl. Hopefully my next wig will be easier!!
