Taking Care of Costumes and Wigs



Washing Costumes:

Do not dry clean - dry cleaning places ruin poly/cotton costumes on a regular basis. Secure all Velcro and zippers and turn each item inside out. Spot-treat all stains with Shout or comparable product. Machine wash in cold water, set on the gentle cycle. Use liquid detergent. Do not use bleach. Hang dry. Fluff up in dryer on low if you need to. It is better to simply warm a wet costume up in the dryer and hang to dry, than to bake it to a crisp in the dryer. Leaving it for more than 30 minutes in the dryer is not a good idea. If you want to iron the costume, use the cotton setting and do not run iron over plastic buttons or decorations. If you have wool fabric in your costume or need help, please call us first! Wool is wonderful for a performer to wear, but can be tricky to clean.
Taking Care of Costumes:

Tips -- Helpful hints for wearing your new Pricilla Mooseburger Original costume: Our pants are designed to be worn with suspenders. As Pricilla says, "If you can wear pants without suspenders, they're too tight!" Our jackets and vests are designed to worn with fun clown stuff in the pockets. That's why we gave you so many of them!

Elastic -- Most places in the costume that contain elastic can be adjusted. You will find an opening in the casing. Pull the elastic through the opening as much as you need to make it more snug and secure it with a safety pin or sew it. Some items that have this feature in the waist are: Bloomers, Boxers, Capri Bib Pants, Circle Skirt, Clown Bib Pants, and most of our Pants. The items that have this feature in the sleeve (either wrist or puff sleeve) are: Ladies Lite Blouse, Ladies Deluxe Blouse, Puff Sleeve Lite Blouse, and all Dresses.

Buttons -- The Clown Bib Pants and Capri Bib Pants have buttons on the shoulder straps. If you find that the pants hang too low or too high on you, you can take off the buttons and re-sew them to the strap at the place where it fits you better.

Cuffs -- The Pleated Pants and Clown Bib Pants have rolled cuffs at the bottom. These are tacked into place. However, if you find you want them slightly shorter or longer, you can snip the threads and re-tack them at the place you prefer. We have lined the insides quite a ways up in case you want to roll them further up.
Washing Wigs (synthetic):

Depending on how often you wear your wig and in what conditions (heat, humidity, level of sweating, with or without a skull cap), you usually want to wash your wig after wearing it a dozen or so times, or once a year (whichever comes first). Again, depending how often you wear a wig and in what conditions, a good synthetic wig should last about 3 - 7 years if worn with a skull cap -- which you should always do!
  1. Fill the sink or basin with luke-warm water and a small amount of Woolite detergent or your own shampoo (also, Brandywine brand make hair care products especially for synthetic wigs).

  2. Place the wig in the water to soak for about 10 - 15 minutes. Rub gently on the places where the grease paint has come in contact with the cap or fibers. Extra soap may be used in these places. If that doesn't get the grease paint out, try using some Mehron makeup remover when the cap is dry again.

  3. Squeeze the soapy water through the wig several times and then remove from the sink.

  4. Drain the water and re-fill the sink with clean luke-warm water. Place the wig back in the water and swish gently to rinse. DO NOT RUN YOUR WIG UNDER A RUNNING FAUCET -- this will tangle the fibers!

  5. Repeat step #4 as many times as necessary to remove all the soap. You can put conditioner in a straight wig at this point and rinse out again.

  6. Squeeze the excess water out of the wig -- DO NOT WRING.

  7. Lay the wig out on a towel and roll it up. Squeeze the towel to soak up the excess water.

  8. Shake the wig out and put it on a wig head to dry. You may want to put some styling gel on the curly wigs at this point, or some spray conditioner if it looks tangled. Do not comb the wig while it is wet, since this will pull the fibers out of the cap. Do NOT use a hairdryer on a synthetic wig -- IT WILL MELT.

  9. After it has completely dried, you may use a pick or wide-toothed comb to detangle the fibers. A leave-in spray conditioner can help to ease this process. Comb and style your straight wigs. Never brush or comb through a curly wig -- this makes them frizzy. You can, however, use a pick to loosen the fibers at the cap of a curly wig.
Taking Care of Wigs:

When you buy a new wig, don't simply take it out of the bag and stick it on your head! Take some time to make that wig unique in order to fit your unique character. Add some fun barrettes or hair accessories from the kids' section of your local department store. Give the wig a haircut or put it into braids or spikes or anything! Don't be afraid to play with your wig as if it were your own hair.

If you buy a straight wig with bangs, make sure to put it on and imagine where your eye makeup will be on your face. If your makeup goes up beyond where the bangs are, you will need to trim them (otherwise, it will hide your makeup and get greasepaint in your wig). Make sure you can move your head around in your usual clowny way (lean over to kids, look sideways, toss your head, etc) without your hair getting in your face. If it does create a problem, you will have to either trim it back so your profile shows, or secure some of the hair back so it doesn't obscure your face.

If you have a wig that hangs past your shoulders, you will end up having a matted and snarled clump of hair at the back of your neck within a year. Here is the solution: trim the underside of the hair at a slight angle away from the back (tapering down to the end). This will leave less hair to come in contact with your neck and back, thus creating less friction and matted hair. When you get your wig trimmed or cut, be sure to wear it while someone else does the snipping! Do not try to cut it while wearing it yourself or while you are holding it in your hand.

If you need to, take it to a barber shop or salon. You will probably make their day - how often does a clown walk into a hair salon?! Some stylists will not cut synthetic wigs because the fibers dull their scissors. You can easily remedy this by purchasing an inexpensive pair of barber shears from your local drugstore (usually around $8). Bring the scissors with you when you go the salon and offer them to the stylist to use on your wig.
Storage for Wigs:

When not in use, wigs should be kept on a wig head -- some straight wigs can be rolled in a towel or tissue paper for easy storage. Some styles, such as the Fun Flip or Circus Circus, retain their bounce if hung upside down. If you have a specialty-style wig (i.e. Braids, ponytails, pigtails, buns, etc.), be extra careful when you wash and dry the fibers. Make sure you are gentle with the hair so as little as possible comes out of the styled parts. If some hairs do fall out of the braid or bun, you can tuck them unto the folds again when dry and use hair spray to secure it.
Styling for Wigs:

If you have a way you want to keep your wig styled, feel free to use mousse, hair spray, gel, or any other hair product. A good rule of thumb is to use anything you would normally use on your own hair, unless it involves heating elements (curling iron, hairdryer, hot rollers, etc.). Most hair accessories (clips, barrettes, schrunchies, etc.) can be used on wigs, but be careful when using small pony-tail holders - these may leave damaged or broken hair when they are removed. Sponge-rollers have proven helpful in keeping a subtle curl in a wig.

If you have a specific wig question, or would like instructions on how to style your wig into specific shapes (spikes, curls, etc), please send an email to Katie@mooseburger.com.