For many cosplayers, finding the right wig is key to making the costume really work. But if you're new to working with wigs, it can be hard to know what to do and what not to do with them. Here's a handy guide to the do's and don'ts of costuming with wigs. 

Do buy a quality wig. While it's tempting to find a cheap Halloween wig and save money, a cheap wig can be much harder to work with due to the cheap materials used. It may also make a good costume look cheaper overall. 

Do use extensions. If your character has long hair (or really long hair, like Sailor Moon!), don't go overboard finding an equally long haired wig. Working with that amount of free-flowing hair can become a nightmare of tangles and static. It can be a particular problem if you have to pack and travel with the wig. To avoid this, start with a shorter wig as a base and add extensions of the same color to achieve the length you need.

Don't try to use gel or mousse that's designed for human hair if your wig is artificial. Gel, for example, works with the natural oils and protein structure of human hairs and won't work the same on plastic wig hair. 

Don't plan to dye the wig with hair dye. As with hair products made for humans, hair dye won't work on plastic-based wigs either. For this reason, it may be important to try to match the wig to the right color you need and work with extensions or other DIY measures to get the style afterwards. Alternatively, look for specially made wig dyes. 

Do use hot water to straighten the wig. This is actually easier than trying to straighten natural hair, which is one good reason not to spend your time messing around with your own hair and possibly damaging it.

Do use hairspray and spiking glue to spike the wig. This is especially important for anime cosplayers whose characters tend to have very structured hairstyles. There are tutorials on the internet that can teach you how to use spiking glue and how to style your specific character's hair. 

Don't sacrifice your hair to this one event. You may be a committed cosplayer, but it's not worth making permanent changes to your own hair. Using a wig instead of bleaching, dyeing, cutting or over-styling your hair can prevent headaches that last a lot longer than one convention weekend. 

Armed with these tips, you're ready to go out and find just the right wig for your costume! Then you can have fun and impress your fellow fans at any fan convention. 

For wigs, contact a company such as Ferrari Hair Service.