Arda Iron Wig Round 2: Hair Millinery

Challenge:
I will link rules and results at the bottom of this post.

TL;DR: In this challenge, contestants were asked to design a wig with a removable hat or accessory. We could color the fibers and create whatever design we wanted, but we could not add any additional hair besides that which was provided.

The Materials:
Links to products used will also be provided at the bottom of this post.

Arda gave us the following to use for this challenge

• Nina in Crimson
• Short wefts in Pure White
• Candy Striper Ponytail clip in Purple Rain

Inspiration:
I am not sure what put the idea into my head, but my first concept of this project was centered around a silly idea of making a literal hair helmet. As the idea grew, I realized that I had not seen very many submissions to past Iron Wig rounds in which the face had been obscured. I felt making some kind of masked helmet would be new and if done right, exciting once people realized it was made entirely of hair.

I set out to make something structured that was simultaneously regal and strong, and eventually landed on a design for a Spartan helmet. I mainly focused on the face plate and and the mohawk aspects of the Spartan’s helmet design and made the base of the helmet look more like hair typically found on an ancient Greek statue. As absurd as it may sound, I decided I wanted a hair design that looked like a helmet rather than a helmet made of hair.

In order to meet the requirements of the challenge, I made the mowhawk and face plate removable. I wanted each stage to be a separate look as follows:

1. Curly Greek hair, no accessories
2. Basic helmet, mask on
3. Ornate helmet, mask and mohawk on

In the end, I only showed that the mohawk was removable as I did not like the look of the curly hair by itself. In retrospect, I'm not sure if this hurt or helped my final score.

Process:
Base Wig:

• Cut the length off of the Nina provided and set it in rollers.
• Steamed the wig using a handheld steamer and a plastic bag to trap the warmth/moisture.
• Styled the wig once it dried using ancient Greek statues of men as reference.
• Spray painted the wig metallic gold and brown for texture and to reduce shine (shown later).

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Face Plate:

• Constructed base shape out of foam using reference pictures of Spartan helmets found online.
• Fitted the mask dimensions of my fiance's head (not pictured).
• Used the short white wefts and Tacky glue to add the hair to the surface of the helmet for texture.
• Spray painted the face plate reddish brown first to match the wig then added a coat of the gold and brown to match the curls on the base wig.

Mohawk Base:

• Crafted the Mohawk base out of foam and clay at the same time as the face plate.
• Carved shallow holes to fit magnets that would secure it to the base wig without shifting hair around.
• Glued the hair from the short white wefts onto the surface for texture.
• Spray painted the Mohawk base reddish brown first, same as the Face Plate, then metallic gold.
• Glued magnets along the underside of the base wig with the same spacing to match the magnets in the Mohawk base. 

Mohawk Plume:

• Cut a strip of felt and glued hair in rows down the length of the felt strip.
• Used hair from the Nina and the ponytail clip for dimension in the hair color.
• Rooted the hair with diluted black ink to tone down the Valentine's Day and add some grit.
• Texturized the hair with a crimping iron.
• Teased and hair sprayed the roots for volume.
• Twisted hair down the sides of the felt base to hide the glue and add texture.
• Glued the strip of felt into the base of the Mohawk after the painted base dried. 

Painting:

• Spray painted the Base Wig, Face Plate, and Mowhawk Base, as described in the previous sections.
• Used a red base coat for the Face Plate and Mowhawk Base so they matched the Base Wig in case any pieces were missed or the metallic gold showed any undertone.
• Spray painted all three items metallic gold.
• Dulled the shine on the gold with brown spray paint. 

Results:
I did better this round than the previous round! Each new round, I am not sure if I will actually win, but my goal is to at least beat my previous score. I managed to accomplish this, place higher, and do better in the Cleanliness section which was my ultimate goal. While I would like to win, and I am trying my hardest to, I also know that I will get more out of this competition if I make it more about improving my own skills and less about beating my competition.

SEE THE FINAL PRODUCT

​Links:
Here is the promised link to the rules.
You can see the scores here.

Here is the promised product list:

• Nina in Crimson
• Short wefts in Pure White
• Candy Striper Ponytail clip in Purple Rain (discontinued)