Let's Talk About When the Wig Is Wearing You
We've all had it happen. You get into cosplay, you put on the wig, and uh-oh! the wig is somehow just Too Much. You're getting lost under all that hair and it just doesn't feel right.
Add more makeup.
This is the quickest and easiest thing you can do, and should be one of the first things you try (along with #2 down below). Especially if you aren't used to wearing cosplay makeup, you can think that your makeup is super heavy (and it might be out of costume!), but the moment you put that wig on, it vanishes. This is especially an issue with very brightly colored wigs and very stylized looks. Everything needs to be in balance in order to look right, and sometimes the wig can stand out too much if your face doesn't have enough oomph to stand up right beside it. If you're doing a full head-to-toe green Jojo character, you will need a lot more makeup than you think for it to not look like too little in comparison to the full outfit and wig. If you're doing a cute idol girl with very naturalistic hair, you won't need as much makeup to stand up to the costume and wig.... but oh wait, she has a very different hair color than you do, which is washing you out a bit, so better up that blush and glitter so your features show up.
More blush often helps the most if you get easily washed out, but also deepening eyeshadow colors or packing them on heavier more more opacity if a bright color can help a lot. Also never judge the full look until you have your lashes on if you are a fake lash wearer, since that can change the entire balance.
If you aren't wearing makeup at all, put some on! Check out my post on Cosplay Makeup for People Who Don't Wear Makeup
This is the quickest and easiest thing you can do, and should be one of the first things you try (along with #2 down below). Especially if you aren't used to wearing cosplay makeup, you can think that your makeup is super heavy (and it might be out of costume!), but the moment you put that wig on, it vanishes. This is especially an issue with very brightly colored wigs and very stylized looks. Everything needs to be in balance in order to look right, and sometimes the wig can stand out too much if your face doesn't have enough oomph to stand up right beside it. If you're doing a full head-to-toe green Jojo character, you will need a lot more makeup than you think for it to not look like too little in comparison to the full outfit and wig. If you're doing a cute idol girl with very naturalistic hair, you won't need as much makeup to stand up to the costume and wig.... but oh wait, she has a very different hair color than you do, which is washing you out a bit, so better up that blush and glitter so your features show up.
More blush often helps the most if you get easily washed out, but also deepening eyeshadow colors or packing them on heavier more more opacity if a bright color can help a lot. Also never judge the full look until you have your lashes on if you are a fake lash wearer, since that can change the entire balance.
If you aren't wearing makeup at all, put some on! Check out my post on Cosplay Makeup for People Who Don't Wear Makeup
Glue your wig to your face.
This is the other main thing to try. You know how anime characters often have those perfectly face-framing bangs, or that lock of hair that stays perfectly in the middle of their forehead, or whatever else, and it just doesn't work that way irl? This is what wig glue is for. I use a roll-on glue meant for the purpose, called Face Cover Glue and sold by Assist Cosplay, but you can use eyelash glue or whatever other skin-safe but not ultra strong glue you have around. I don't recommend the types of wig glues you can get at beauty supply stores, since most of these are meant for installing a wig for longer term than a single day at a convention.
Often times, a wig will stick out a bit from your face in an odd way, so you want to stick that down so it doesn't move, but more importantly, that it stays close to your face and in a flattering position.
This is the other main thing to try. You know how anime characters often have those perfectly face-framing bangs, or that lock of hair that stays perfectly in the middle of their forehead, or whatever else, and it just doesn't work that way irl? This is what wig glue is for. I use a roll-on glue meant for the purpose, called Face Cover Glue and sold by Assist Cosplay, but you can use eyelash glue or whatever other skin-safe but not ultra strong glue you have around. I don't recommend the types of wig glues you can get at beauty supply stores, since most of these are meant for installing a wig for longer term than a single day at a convention.
Often times, a wig will stick out a bit from your face in an odd way, so you want to stick that down so it doesn't move, but more importantly, that it stays close to your face and in a flattering position.
Thin the wig.
Choose a wig with different undertones and/or color contrast.
Sometimes a wig can be completely accurate in isolation, but not look right on you because the undertones of the color don't work with your skin tone. While I believe that anyone who wants to can find a flattering blonde, blonde is one of the worst offenders for this. I can't wear blondes that are too ashy or else my skin turns tomato red, for example. This can happen with any color, though, so learn which colors look good on you and which don't, and use wig swatches when possible to check. As a rule of thumb, if you have warm undertones, warmer colors look better, and if you have cool undertones, cool undertones look better, but of course this can vary, and it gets complicated when you get into olive and neutral undertones.
Also look at color contrast. Contrast between your skin and features and the wig vs the character's features and wig, can be too bright or too dull for your features
In a pinch, you can nudge your undertones a bit in one direction or the other with makeup (LA Girl sells colored mixers for your foundation that can help make them warmer or cooler, for example), but sometimes that can look weird as well, especially if your costume reveals more of your skin and your face doesn't match or the foundation isn't full coverage and it mixes with your natural undertones. I would say this is a last-ditch effort if you already have a wig that doesn't work on your skin and you want to wear it.
Sometimes a wig can be completely accurate in isolation, but not look right on you because the undertones of the color don't work with your skin tone. While I believe that anyone who wants to can find a flattering blonde, blonde is one of the worst offenders for this. I can't wear blondes that are too ashy or else my skin turns tomato red, for example. This can happen with any color, though, so learn which colors look good on you and which don't, and use wig swatches when possible to check. As a rule of thumb, if you have warm undertones, warmer colors look better, and if you have cool undertones, cool undertones look better, but of course this can vary, and it gets complicated when you get into olive and neutral undertones.
Also look at color contrast. Contrast between your skin and features and the wig vs the character's features and wig, can be too bright or too dull for your features
In a pinch, you can nudge your undertones a bit in one direction or the other with makeup (LA Girl sells colored mixers for your foundation that can help make them warmer or cooler, for example), but sometimes that can look weird as well, especially if your costume reveals more of your skin and your face doesn't match or the foundation isn't full coverage and it mixes with your natural undertones. I would say this is a last-ditch effort if you already have a wig that doesn't work on your skin and you want to wear it.
Add or reduce volume strategically.
This one sounds a bit vague, but that's because what you would need to do depends on your own face. Often there's too much volume in wigs and that makes someone's face look too small or like they're being overwhelmed by the wig. Sometimes, a wig is too flat and doesn't look quite right on the person because it doesn't have enough volume. Try playing around with some wigs you own and seeing what the commonalities between the ones you really like yourself in are. You can also put on one, look in a mirror, and either lift hair out to visualize more volume or push it flatter to visualize less volume. You can also scribble on a photo of yourself in your wig to add or remove "hair" to see how that looks.
Typically, there will be specific areas that will look better on you with more volume, and specific areas that will look better with less volume. Personally, I need a lot of volume on the top of my head. big floofy bangs, big 80s curls, 90 hair vents, anything like that will be the most flattering, and even on straight wigs I need a bit more there to balance out my face. If a wig feels like too much, you might have too much volume on the sides of your face so that your actual face is getting lost. Experiment and see what looks best.
This one sounds a bit vague, but that's because what you would need to do depends on your own face. Often there's too much volume in wigs and that makes someone's face look too small or like they're being overwhelmed by the wig. Sometimes, a wig is too flat and doesn't look quite right on the person because it doesn't have enough volume. Try playing around with some wigs you own and seeing what the commonalities between the ones you really like yourself in are. You can also put on one, look in a mirror, and either lift hair out to visualize more volume or push it flatter to visualize less volume. You can also scribble on a photo of yourself in your wig to add or remove "hair" to see how that looks.
Typically, there will be specific areas that will look better on you with more volume, and specific areas that will look better with less volume. Personally, I need a lot of volume on the top of my head. big floofy bangs, big 80s curls, 90 hair vents, anything like that will be the most flattering, and even on straight wigs I need a bit more there to balance out my face. If a wig feels like too much, you might have too much volume on the sides of your face so that your actual face is getting lost. Experiment and see what looks best.
Resize the wig smaller or get a different wig (especially on very sculptural wigs).
Make sure the wig has a similar degree of realism vs stylism as the rest of the costume.