How to Make an Albert Einstein Wig

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Things You'll Need

  • Comb

  • Hair gel or

  • Hairspray

  • Bald cap

  • Scissors

  • Makeup brushes

  • Spirit gum

  • Makeup sponge

  • Liquid latex

  • Translucent powder

  • Foundation makeup

  • White crepe wool

  • Ruler

Make your own realistic looking Einstein wig.

Complete your Albert Einstein costume with a realistic-looking wig. Pre-made Einstein wigs are available from costume shops, but you can create one yourself that doesn't itch or shift around on your head, with inexpensive materials that movie makeup artists use. Albert Einstein signature's hairstyle when he was older was a receding hairline and long wild white hair. Purchase the specific things you need to make your Einstein wig from a specialty costume supply store.

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Step 1

Spray your hair with a water bottle to get it damp, not soaking wet, and comb it all straight back so that it lies as flat on your head as possible. Use hair gel or some hairspray to help it stay down.

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Step 2

Put a bald cap on your head use scissors to trim the edges of it that hang down lower than 1/2 inch past your hair line. Carefully trim around your ears to expose them. Bald caps are thin, so you can use a regular pair of scissors.

Step 3

Apply spirit gum to the underneath edges of the bald cap, where they overlap the real skin right below your hair line. Smooth the edges down and spread some more spirit gum along the edges to seal them. Wait 15 minutes for the spirit gum to dry.

Step 4

Dab liquid latex on the edges of the bald cap and your skin to blend it in with your real skin. Wait 5 minutes, or until one layer is dry, before you add the next. Use three layers. Apply translucent powder over the liquid latex with a powder puff to set it, and brush away excess powder with a soft makeup brush.

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Step 5

Apply foundation makeup that matches your skin color along your forehead over the liquid latex and up to almost half-way back on your head. Since Einstein had a receding hairline, this much of the bald cap will still be showing. Apply more translucent powder to set the makeup.

Step 6

Unravel white crepe wool and prepare it by getting it wet and hanging it up so that it will straighten itself. When the crepe wool is dry, separate it into 30 groups of 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Fold the groups in half and tie them together with another thin piece of crepe wool, about 1/4 inch from the fold. Trim the loose ends to about 3.5 inches long.

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Step 7

Glue the folded ends of each piece of crepe wool to the bald cap with spirit gum, starting from where you left off with the makeup on the top of your head. Hold each piece in place for 2 minutes to let the spirit gum get tacky so that it will hold the crepe hair in place. Continue across your head and space each group apart less than 1/4 inch.

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Step 8

Style the wig by gently holding the ends of the groups of hair straight up and back combing them at the ends. Spray a small amount of hairspray to help the wig stay frizzy and wild, like Einstein's hair.

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