Want to know more about how we create our world-famous custom Santa beards and custom Santa wigs? Take a look!
The first step is placing your order. We know every detail about your Santa wig or beard is important, so we’ve created Style Guides and Which Tier is Right For Me? to help you pick.
Once you’ve placed your order, we’ll ask you to send us a tracing of your head (for wigs) and face (for beards). Our tracing video tutorials will help you get the job done.
These tracings may seem a little peculiar, but they’re actually one of the biggest leaps in wig making technology! That’s because the basic idea and mechanics of wig building hasn’t changed much over the centuries. But using flexible plastic wrap to capture the shape and size of someone’s head is a huge leap forward over just measurements.
These tracings give us incredible insight into the size and shape of your head and face. They also provide a copy of your hairline so we can make sure your wig or beard matches or covers your own.
When we are ready to build your wig or beard, we place the tracing on a canvas block that is close to the size and shape of your head. If necessary, we pad the block to ensure the tracing fits perfectly.
With the tracings on the block, we pin the foundation materials to the head or chin, and hand sew them, right on the block, to create the wig or beard foundation. This helps us tailor the pieces to fit you, and helps ensure they keep their shape while we are working.
After we’ve sewn the foundation, we add the hair! All of the hair is put into by hand. Some parts of your wig or beard will include machine made strips of hair called weft. Weft is used when there needs to be both length and fullness – for example, the bottom edge of a wig or the lower portion of a beard. Though weft is useful and necessary, most of your wig or beard will have the hair knotted in one hair at a time.
Knotting each hair into the foundation singly means we create a wig or beard that is lightweight, has a natural density and moves and behaves like a real head of hair or beard. It also means the hairline on your wig or beard is incredibly lifelike and realistic.
With the hair placed in the wig or beard, the next step is styling. We usually begin by trimming the hair to shape it correctly. The final length depends on the desired look of the pieces. We style the wig and beard using rollers. The rollers set wave, curl and volume in the hair. After the pieces dry, we remove the rollers, comb out the pieces and they’re ready to go!
Remember, custom Santa items need to be ordered well in advance of the holiday season. We create a limited number of custom Santa beards and custom Santa wigs each year, and by late June, our orders slots are usually filled. Don’t be left out, place your order now! If you have questions, be sure to let us know, we’ll be happy to help you!