Quick Hairpieces You Can Make Yourself

The next time you’re in a hurry and need to do something fabulous with your hair you can be prepared with an assortment of hairpieces you’ve made yourself. Today’s hair clips and headbands make it oh, so simple to create fantastic looks that simply clip or slide into place.

It’s important that you start with great locks to make a really nice hairpiece. Craft stores carry doll hair that can work for some people, depending upon your hair type. Make sure the locks you purchase are of good quality or your hairpiece will not turn out well. Some beauty supply stores also sell hair in various textures and colors. If you don’t find what you need go online and you’ll find several places that sell quality hair for making hairpieces.

Purchase an assortment of inexpensive clips, headbands and other accessories to make hairpieces. The clips that are available now, usually a plastic squeeze-to-open type of clip, is perfect. The clips work so well because you can simply attach the hair to them and then clip them on the back of your head. This gives you a look of your hair pulled back and into somewhat of a ponytail. Make sure you start with enough hair that will make a sizeable pony tail.

Start by laying the hair out onto a table and straightening it to where the ends align. This is a tedious process where you have to make sure the hair is grouped together, yet laying flat and straight at the edges. It’s important that the hair is clean and combed. For hair clips you’ll need to attach the hair just inside the clip, at the top, then allow it to spill up and over the clip, and hang downward. This gives the appearance of hair that has been gathered in the back, then held with the clip. The hair will have to be put on in thick sections that are flat and evenly dispersed.

Open the hair clip and place a line of contact cement along the upper edge. The cement needs to be more of a smear than globs that rise way above the surface of the clip. Gather the first group of hair strands, making sure they’re aligned at one end, and set them into the cement. Push them down into the contact cement, making sure the cement grabs the very ends, then shake the clip to loosen any hair that didn’t attach. Don’t pull at the hair or run your fingers through it. It will take more than one application of cement to get enough hair attached to the clip to make a nice hairpiece.

Place hair on the clip in stages. After the first batch of hair has dried into the cement add additional cement and additional hair. The contact cement is waterproof and will allow you to shampoo the hair later without losing it from the clip. Some hair loss may be seen, though, because a few strands won’t adhere well.

Another easy hairpiece is made from a plastic headband with teeth. Actually, any headband will work but the ones with teeth keep the hair in place better. Use the contact cement to affix hair to the underside of the headband. Hair can be as long or short as you wish. The hair doesn’t have to cover the headband for this project. After the cement has dried simply place the headband on your head and let the hair pieces dangle.

For a fake bun hairdo use a cloth headband, solid-colored and similar to your hair color, and shape it into an appropriate size circle for a bun. You can also glue large, flexible hair curlers together, at their ends, to make the bun shape. Hair curlers that are dark in color are perfect for women with dark hair. Glue the ends in place and allow to dry. Now encircle the headband with hair pieces. To do this, glue the hair ends on the inside of the “donut shape” then take the hair up around the front of the donut then through the center, and back up and around. Make sure none of the contact cement shows and that you have plenty of hair to cover the entire bun shape well. With each new handful of hair glue the ends to the inside of the bun shape, then wrap it around and around the bun shape, gluing it in place at the end of each hair grouping. Trim any end pieces that stick out from the bun shape. Use bobby pins to clip the bun into position on head.

You’ll be ready for any occasion with fabulous hair you’ve created yourself. Try doing small pieces first, like barrette hairpieces. That will help you get used to working with the hair, and if you mess up, you haven’t wasted much money on an entire headband. Experiment with different head bands and hair clips for various looks. Add strands, here and there, of colored tinsel for evenings or tiny faux hair jewels for a dressy occasion. You’ll find all types of great ways to fashion and decorate the hairpieces. It’s fun, saves money over wigs, and keeps you looking great in a matter of minutes.