Costume Workshop/How To Make a Cats Wig

Cats wigs are immediately recognisable, and unique to the look of the show. There are various methods to recreate the look of the stage-used wigs, there is no right or wrong method but some techniques work better for some people. This page aims to break down all the elements you will need to think about when making yourself a Cats-style wig.

Authentic wigs are made from Yak hair, each hair hand ventilated into a mesh base. This technique is exquisite, extremely time consuming, and requires expert knowledge and skills. Cosplayers have found various methods to imitate the look of the original wigs, while saving time and money. The resulting wigs are not the same quality as the stage used wigs, but that is not the intent - cosplay wigs will look good for multiple events but would not withstand 8 shows a week and professional washing and restyling.

Preparation - Wig Block
Firstly you need some basic tools. You need a wig block or stand that is close to the size of the finished wig. Adult heads vary in size, and a wig that is too small will be painful, a wig that is too big will shift around and fall off!

Common head sizes range between 21" to 25". The standard polystyrene head is 21" so only suitable for the smaller end of the scale. It is possible to pad out the polystyrene, but beware of making it top-heavy, it will fall over while working on it.  A basic wig block may well be worth the investment to make a wig that will fit, and save a lot of hassle in the process.

Whether using polystyrene or a wig block, it is worth taking the time to wrap up and protect the block before use. A few layers of plastic wrap, reinforced with sticky tape, will prevent the glue penetrating through to your base. Otherwise, the glue from the wig will pull polystyrene beads onto the inside of the finished wig.

Wig Base
This is what you are going to attach the hair to. This needs to cover your scalp, and is customised for "Cats" wigs with sideburns in front of your ears. It is essential to the illusion of the Cats costumes that the human ears are obscured, and this can be done either by adding sideburns, or making a very large wig base that can be pulled down over the ears. Either way the front edge of the wig base needs to be shaped, it's not enough to pull a round edge down. That gives the effect of wearing a beanie hat, not a wig!

Materials for the wig base - most cosplayers use pantyhose/tights. Take the top of the tights and pull it onto your head, and trim off the legs. The sideburns/front edge of the wig can be made from various materials - the simplest is to use the toe section of the same pair of pantyhose you have already cut up, but also stiffer materials such as tulle, "Aida" (cross stitch fabric) or spandex can be used.

The stretchy quality of the wig base makes the wig fit easily, and hold onto your head without extensive fittings needed for professional quality wigs. However, depending on the techniques used to attach the hair to the wig, a lot of the stretch can be lost so it is important to have a close fit and a fairly accurate sized block before you begin.

Wig Hair
Cosplayers have experimented with a variety of materials to make Cats wigs - homespun yarn, crepe wool, anything with long, fine, textured fibres. However the most popular material is Kanekalon, which has been developed for braids and dreds. It comes in a variety designed to resemble yak hair - "Yaki" - it is available in a full rainbow of colours, it is inexpensive and easy to work with. Kanekalon Cats wigs can be indistinguishable at first glance from the authentic stage-used wigs. Kanekalon is a finely extruded plastic, and it is heat reactive. It can be straightened if it is too frizzy with careful use of a low heat hairdryer, but too much heat will immediately destroy the fibres.

The hair fibres are applied to the wig base using hot glue. This dries/cools almost instantly, has low toxicity (not without fumes though), is cheap and easy to come by. It also works with the heat-reactive properties of the Kanekalon.

Techniques
This is a very rough description of the techniques, with far more detailed tutorials available.

Some people blunt-cut the hair ends, cover them in glue, and press to the wig base. Others will cut hair to double the length required, fold it and twist it, apply glue to the twist, and press that to the wig base. If using hot glue it is possible to dip a finger in cold water and press into the applied hair to arrange it - the water prevents the glue from sticking.

Some people start with the back/bottom edge of the wig, some prefer to start with the ears or sideburns and work backwards.

It is strongly recommended to resist the temptation to style and trim as you go along - wait until the end to trim. Otherwise you waste a lot of time and length of the hair.

Do not use too much hair - it is actually easier to go back and add more rather than to thin out the applied hair. Similarly, do not use too much at once. It is much easier to get a smooth result using lots of small plugs rather than fewer, large ones. Keep the back of the wig short - very few Cats wigs have any significant length to the back of the head. It is easier and faster to simply make the back short, than to make it longer with the intention of trimming it after.

Always cut the Kanekalon from the package at an angle. Avoid blunt, hard edges that will then need a lot of styling to blend out.

Sometimes it is necessary, and very rewarding, to blend colours. Blend a handful of two or more colours at a time, pulling a few fibres to the top of the handful repeatedly until it is quite evenly mixed. Incidentally it is worth doing this time-consuming process while the glue gun is turned off.

Styling
For most characters, almost all the styling required is around the face. The back of the wig simply needs to be trimmed to an even length and any obvious blunt edges smoothed out. The sideburns and ears often need to defy gravity - back-combing/"ratting" is a useful technique to add volume without increading weight.

Be sure to take the wig off the block and try it on before styling the wig. It will look very different on your head than on the block. Take reference photos - don't feel the need to share them anywhere but you will benefit from having images of how it fits on you.

It is vital to not use any heat styling tools on kanekalon - however there is a trick using hairspray and a COLD hair dryer, where the blown air freezes the spray far harder then simply allowing it to dry.

Authentic wigs often have the ears tied off with small, transparent elastic bands. These are a tiny detail for an authentic look, and are far more practical for a wig being worn for 8 shows a week and frequently restyled than for a cosplay piece. The transparent bands degrade and break apart within weeks/months - not a problem onstage when they are restyled all the time, but if you finish your wig months before the convention, they will need replacing before it is wearable. A simple, longer-lasting alternative is to use sewing thread to wrap around the ear tips.

Washing and Storage
Wigs can be stored on wig heads, or laid in boxes. It is important to keep them clean, dust-free and away from heat. They require enough space to not have the front edge crushed, but they can be laid with the back of the wig folded in as this will only require gentle brushing out.

Kanekalon wigs can be washed if necessary, however they will then require complete restyling. As mentioned before, the fibres and the glue are heat-sensitive, so they must be washed in cold water with a tiny amount of gentle detergent, left to air dry before styling. It is preferable to spot-clean stains and to use products like Febreze rather than fully washing when possible.