To Wig or Not to Wig?

First of all some thoughts from our own dancer Siobhán! Well you all know how hard hair can be to get right, (don't you?) I usually have my own hair done in ringlets, as demanded by the current fashion. (see here) A couple of my friends have decided to save all the hassle and just wear a wig. (one of them was over £100) It seems a little bit unfair after all I have to go through. Still, I think that most people can actually tell if the hair is real or not, and a wig doesn't move around in the same way either. I would be frightened to move in case it fell off as well. I think that it is all part of getting ready for the feis when I get my hair done, and each time it seems to get a little bit better as Mum finds another way to improve it. At one feis I saw a girl with several wigs and she was choosing the best one to go with the dress she was going to wear. Talk about taking things too seriously! What do you think? If you want to consider wigs there are several good suppliers (click here for details)
Irish Dancer has been looking into Wigs to help you to decide for yourself whether you ought to do your hair in ringlets with the Magik Wand curlers (details), or buy a wig. Read on for what we found out. Siobhán might even change her mind yet! (see here for update)
We approached Nuala at Celtic Creations in Belfast for her thoughts. She is one of the leading suppliers of Irish Dancing wigs and everything else you might need for your Irish dancing, from shoes to dresses. She really knows her stuff, and she just happens to be a very nice lady too! She's really cheerful and I've really enjoyed chatting to her about Irish Dancing in general!
Irish Dancer Nuala, Tell us how you got involved with dancers wearing wigs. Nuala When wigs first appeared on the dance scene I absolutely hated them, and refused to sell them! I thought that they made beautiful children look like old women and not natural looking at all. Irish Dancer So what changed your mind? Nuala Well, a few months down the line I was forced to sell them, simply due to demand. This and the fact that I prided myself on having available everything that an Irish Dancer could want or need. I selected a few styles which I thought were the best of a bad bunch but still advised my customers that I felt that natural hair was nicest. Irish Dancer Did they listen? Nuala Not really! As the demand for wigs grew I resigned myself to having to supply them, but felt that the wigs that I did stock had become hideous. In addition, if not cared for properly, or put on incorrectly I thought that they still looked ridiculous. This was a major turning point for me. You see, our aim at Celtic Creations has always been to be the best Irish dance shop in the world, offering the best products at a reasonable price. The wigs that we were selling just didn't fit in with this ideal. I realised that if I was to continue to sell wigs I should stick to my principles and only sell a product that I really believed in. This meant that I would need to design one myself that looked like real hair. It needed to bounce like real hair and should be extremely secure. Irish Dancer So is that what you did? Nuala Yes. This is where the Alana, Roise, and now the Erin, wigs were started. The rest, as they say, is HISTORY! We feel our range now covers the needs of Irish dancers of all ages, from the shoulder length ringlets of the younger dancer, to the longer split ringlet style preferred by some of the older girls. And I am happy to sell them too!

Irish Dancer Can you give us some ideas on how to choose a wig then? Nuala Of Course! What would you like to know? Irish Dancer Is it easy, or even possible, to match a dancers hair colour? Nuala Yes, there are a few ways to match hair colour. The first is simply to send us a snippet of hair to match. The second is to phone us and describe your hair colour - we are 95% accurate so far! Irish Dancer That's not bad! But what happens if I order a wig on the phone and it's the wrong colour when it arrives? Nuala If you have ordered this way then we will gladly accept the wig back for exchange. All we ask is that you ring us straight away to say it isn't suitable and send it back by immediate return post. The wig obviously must be returned in the same perfect condition in which it was sent, and we do reserve the right not to exchange in extreme circumstances. We cannot refund the additional postal charges incurred. Irish Dancer That's seems fair enough, but that's only two ways, you said several! Nuala Yes I did! We will also have colour rings available soon, so that if a dancing school or group of dancers want to order wigs we can send them the colour rings to match up with their own hair before ordering. Irish Dancer Any more? Nuala Well the last way is to actually come into the Celtic Creations shop! We always welcome dancers, and they might see something else they need at the same time! Irish Dancer Are the wigs available in different sizes? Nuala Yes they are. The Alana has natural ringlets and is really suitable from around age 5 to a petite 10 year old. The Erin, which is our newest design, has the same style ringlets but would fit girls aged from 9 upwards. The Roise also fits from age 9 upwards but has looser, split ringlets. We generally find that the over 14 girls like this style. Irish Dancer How do you make sure they stay on a dancers head? Nuala All our wigs come with comb slides attached inside. The Alana has 4 - for smaller heads and finer hair - and the Erin and Roise have 2 larger ones. I recommend that you split the hair into four sections, creating two ponytails on top and two at the back of your head. Secure the ponytails with strong covered elastics as theses will not slip. Then clip your hair to your head, nice and flat. Irish Dancer Is there a right and wrong way up for the wig? Nuala Actually, there is an obvious top and bottom to the wigs. Place the bottom comb slide over the two bottom ponytails first, and then stretch the front comb slide over the front two ponytails. The comb slides will catch in the hair and the wig should feel very secure. You do not need to use any clips in our wigs! Irish Dancer So once a dancer has the wig, does it need looking after in any way? Nuala Yes, it makes sense to look after it properly. The specially designed Irish Dancing wig is an expensive and important part of a dancers costume, and it only takes a few minutes to keep it in tip top condition. Irish Dancer So what do they need to do? Nuala As soon as you receive it we recommend that it is removed from its plastic cover and kept in a box - a hat box or shoe box would be ideal. Irish Dancer Why do you need to do that? Nuala This prevents the curls from being disturbed too much in between competitions. We also recommend that the wig is sprayed after every use using a fibre hair conditioner. This helps to reduce the appearance of frizzing. Irish Dancer Should the wig be washed at all? Nuala We recommend that the wig isn't washed, and it shouldn't really need it anyway as the wig is really only a stage piece. Most dancers would remove it between competitions and only wear it on stage for a few minutes at a time. Irish Dancer That's great Nuala, thanks for being so helpful and informative. I'm sure people will find this very useful. Any last comments you would like to make? Nuala Only one. If you take care of your Celtic Creations wig and follow the simple instructions, the only comments you should get are "Your hair is sitting beautifully today!" and not "I love your new wig"
You can contact Nuala at Celtic Creations at the following address : CELTIC CREATIONS 55d Kennedy Way Belfast BT11 9AP Northern Ireland Phone or Fax : 44 (0)28 9062 2922 email nuala@celticcreations.fsnet.co.uk