How to travel with cosplay wigs!
I’ve certainly been in this dilemma. You’re planning to travel to a cosplay convention outside of your area. You have a beautiful cosplay that comes with an amazingly detailed and styled cosplay wig.
However, you’re worried about how you’ll ever bring that perfect wig all the way to the convention center without completing ruining the styling.
To be honest, I myself have had this happen to me. I had wigs that looked great in my home but looked terrible when it arrived at the convention. Mostly my fault, because I simply threw my wig into a bag and hoped for the best. Please don’t do this!
Instead, there are better ways.
In this post, I’ll give you 5 different ways on how to travel with cosplay wigs. These methods of transportation will ensure your cosplay wig will arrive in good shape and ready to go for the cosplay convention.
Whether your cosplay wig is long or short, these techniques will work for all shapes and sizes.
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
1. In a shoe box
This is one of my favorite techniques in regards on how to travel with cosplay wigs. When I was tired of my cosplay wigs being messy when I arrived at a con, my friend suggested putting my wig in a shoe box. At first I was confused how that would work. But when I actually tried it, was like a miracle! When I got to the convention, the wig was perfectly intact and still beautifully styled to perfection!
You see, when you shove a wig in a bag or suitcase, the wig will get pushed around with your other things inside. But when you put it inside a shoe box, the box protects the wig from anything hitting against it. This makes it easy to transport your wig, as you don’t have to carry it in your hand. I’ve put the shoe box in my suitcase and my wig is perfectly fine.
The only downsides are that the shoe box can take up a LOT of space in your luggage. On top of that, shoe boxes won’t work if the wig has to be styled from the side. However, shoe boxes work great for cosplay wigs with only styling on the front.
| Pros | Cons |
| Provides great protection for your wig | Takes up tons of space in your luggage |
| Easy to do and inexpensive | Doesn’t work with large wigs or wigs with styling on the side |
| Don’t have to carry shoe box; can put inside luggage |
2. On a wig stand
I’ve seen my other cosplay friends do this; they literally carry a pole with a mannequin head! Of all the techniques, this is by far the best way to travel with a cosplay wig and ensure the styling is intact. Not only can you monitor your wig at all times, but the stand can pretty much accommodate any type of wig, including the large ones.
But as you can probably guess, it’s not very convenient having to carry a wig stand with you all the way to the convention; in fact it’s a pain in the ***! It’s not fun carrying a big pole around. And logistically speaking, if you need to travel on public transportation like a bus, train or plane, I don’t think it’s very practical or doable to carry a pole around with you. In this case, you’ll likely need your private vehicle if you plan on using a wig stand.
| Pros | Cons |
| Best method to protect your cosplay wig, especially if it’s long and intricate | Very inconvenient having to carry a pole around with your wig |
| Can easily monitor your wig since you’re carrying it | May not be possible to take it on long-distance vehicles |
3. Wearing the wig along the way
If you don’t care what others think of you and rather not bother, you can just wear the wig along to the convention! Of course, you should carry a small mannequin or something to hold your wig when you do need to take it off.
Wearing the wig is great if you don’t need to travel far, for example such as a local convention. I’ve gotten away with wearing my wig all the way to the convention when it was a convention in my area, and I did just fine. I wore a hoodie to mask my wig, so that’s how I did it. However, you may not feel comfortable wearing a wig in public, so that is a disadvantage (check out my article here if you want to learn about cosplaying in public). Also, this method is not practical if you need to go somewhere far, such as traveling outside your home area for a convention. For the most part, wearing a wig is uncomfortable, so you simply cannot wear a wig that long!
| Pros | Cons |
| Convenient – don’t need to carry any extra bags or pack anything | Involves wearing your cosplay in public, which you may not be comfortable with |
| Good for local cons that aren’t too far | Not practical for cons outside your home area |
4. On a mannequin head
This is my favorite way to transport a cosplay wig, especially if there is a lot of styling for it. You can buy a mannequin head for cheap, and they come in handy not only for styling your wig, but also bringing a wig to the convention.
Because a mannequin head is shaped to be like wearing a wig, you can bet that the styling for the wig will stay intact. Mannequin heads are lightweight, and they’re easy to take on and off. You can even put the mannequin head and wig in a large bag to carry around! You just need to be careful. One disadvantage I find is that the wig tends to easily slide off the mannequin head, meaning you’ll have to adjust and put the wig back on frequently. Also, if you have a very long wig, then a mannequin head may not be large enough to hold it all together.
| Pros | Cons |
| Keeps styling intact | Wigs tend to annoyingly slide off mannequin heads |
| Nice and portable, can fit in a large bag if done properly | Won’t work for very long wigs |
5. In a sealed bag
Last but not least, you can place your cosplay wig in a sealed bag. Notice how I said sealed bag and not a regular plastic bag;, doing the latter is asking for trouble!
If your cosplay wig is short, you can safely put your wig into a sealable plastic bag. I’ve done this for my Marth and Prison School cosplays, where the wig was very simple and small. It’s great when you have the opportunity to use a sealable bag; it’s very convenient and does not take up much space.
Unfortunately, you can only use a bag for short or simple wigs. Any long wigs, or wigs that need a lot of styling, will not work. You would ruin the styling if you tried to stuff the wig into the bag!
| Pros | Cons |
| Compact and convenient | Only works for small or simple wigs |
| Can fit anywhere in your luggage or other bags |
Summary
To summarize, here are the 5 ways on how to travel with a cosplay wig:
- In a shoe box
- On a wig stand
- Wearing the wig along the way
- On a mannequin head
- In a sealed bag
And there you have it; a complete guide on how to travel with cosplay wigs! I hope you found this post useful. These techniques will keep your wig in perfect shape and ready to go for the convention!
Which technique or method appeals most to you? Let me know in the comments below!
My name is Roger Senpai. I’m a cosplayer that’s been in the community for well over a decade now. I’ve traveled all over the world to Anime and Comic conventions and hosted my own cosplay events. Now I’m writing articles for new and experienced cosplayers like you to help inspire, save you money and improve your cosplays!
