A Beginner’s Guide To Making U-Part Wigs
Beauty routines are a balancing act between achieving the latest style and staying healthy. For the past six years I have been wearing weaves, hair extensions that are sewn to your real hair. I would relax my hair every two months and get a weave installed. During the first four years I would wear weave for eight months and then I would wear my real hair for the rest of the year (four months). For the last year and a half I was wearing weaves all year round.
This is the U-part wig pictured below. I styled it with curling wand.
Six months ago I realized that my hair was very damaged and breaking off. I decided I needed to research a healthier alternative to replace my beloved weaves. I’m a very active watcher of makeup and hair YouTube videos. I heard about U-part wigs from many hair guru’s videos and so I decided to have my hairstylist make one for me.
A U-part wig is when hair extensions are sewn to cap that has a U or V shape cut out of the top. The purpose of the cut out is to allow for your natural hair to cover the top of the wig. This type of wig is healthier than a weave because you can access your hair every night and take care of it.
The U-part wig I made.
My hairstylist charged $150 to make the wig and $35 to braid my hair that was going under the wig. After studying the wig she made and watching dozens of videos I was ready to make my own.
What I used to make this wig was a dome cap (purchased at my local beauty supply store), a wig head, weaving thread, hair, and a curved needle. It took me about 5 hours to hand sew 3 bundles of hair. The hair I used was Eurasian Straight/Wavy from Princess Hair Shop, it’s my favorite kind of hair.
First I put the dome cap on my head and traced a U shape with a white eyeliner. Next I started sewing the longest lengths of hair (doubling the tracks) and completed the wig.
The wig I made is on the right. The wig I purchased is on the left.
I made some crucial mistakes when making this wig, which are probably common mistakes for beginners. The first error I made was I doubled the tracks all the way up to the part. Doing this created too much volume at the top, making it more difficult for the hair to lay down flat when straightened.
The second error I made was my cap was too small. The fit was to snug before I sewed the tracks, which I did not realize would be a problem. Once I sewed all the hair to the cap it wouldn’t fit. In order to make it work I cut the back of the cap. I researched “Large caps for U part wigs,” and I found out that there are a lot of options for people with large heads.
Below are two videos that I used to help my make my wig: