Hello there my little snow bunnies! So as promised, here is a super simple tutorial for making your very own Elsa snowflake hair accessories!
Here's what you'll need:
Plastic snowflakes (I used these notions from Jo-Anns)
Tacky glue (or any other glue you have at home)
Jewelry wire in 12 gauge (I like this one also from Jo-Anns)
If you don't want to order online, I suggest stopping in at your nearest craft store and checking out the button aisle. There are tons of cute snowflake buttons that work just perfectly for Esla's hair accessories.
Okay, so let's get started!
Step 1: Curl your jewelry wire into a spiral by wrapping it around a pen or a paint brush. If you have something that tapers, like the end of a pen, it's easier to get the gradual smaller coils.
Step 2: Take a nail filer or sand paper and smooth the edge of the spiral so it's smooth and won't cut an arm off.
Step 3: Take your glue and add a generous amount along the largest coil and place it in the center back of your snowflake. Once you stuck the spiral to the back, I like to add a little more glue just to be safe, 'cause you don't want them falling out while you're building ice castles!
Step 4: Let it dry and VOILA! Super cute Elsa Snowflakes! Just twist them in your hair until they're nice and secure. You may need to press the spiral a little flatter if you're adding the snowflake to a thinner portion of hair.
The spiral attachments are really the best way to go, I think, 'cause they stay in place and you don't have to worry about unsightly bobby pins poking out!
I've also experimented with making Elsa's snowflakes out of crystal beads. (seen in the photo below) They're a little more complex, but I can make a tutorial for them if anyone is interested. If you don''t have the time or desire to make your own, you can also purchase the whole set below in my Etsy shop! (Link to the right ---->)
I'll also be uploading my tutorial on how to style Elsa's wig and how to draft a pattern for her costume, so check back soon! :D
As usual, leave me some comments below if you have any questions or just want to share your own creations!
Hi there my little snowflakes! So, you may or may not have read my Elsa wig guide I posted earlier. (if not, I recommend a quick peek !) One of the wigs I recommended in my guide is the lace front Suzi Wig in Titanium Blonde made by Arda Wigs. This, in fact, is the wig I purchased for my own Elsa cosplay, and I wanted to share with you my review. Now, the pictures below are of the unstyled wig, and are just to give a better reference for the quality. My review is also based on my needs for this wig, which is for my Elsa cosplay. You may be purchasing this wig for an entirely different character, and if so, just ignore my Elsa comparisons!
Attesting to its popularity, this wig has been out of stock forever. Now, that doesn't mean you can't order it, it just means you may have a long wait before your wig finds its way to your doorstep. (ie ORDER EARLY!) I ordered mine at the beginning of February and didn't receive it until almost the end of March. Now, Arda warns you that you're in for a wait because of all the backorders, so waiting until the week before your con to order the Suzi wig is out the window.
Length was spot on. I did a quick braid to give you a better idea of how long the styled wig will rest. However, the volume isn't up to Elsa code. When styling, you will need to pull the braid very loose to mimic her wider braid. You can also achieve this by adding in more wefts for greater volume. Here's a great tutorial for that.
As far as color goes, I could not be more ecstatic. Too often do you buy wigs that end up being the totally wrong shade when you finally get them in front of you. Titanium blonde has the perfect golden yet icy undertones that looks exactly like Elsa's.
This is a lace front wig which you can see hanging from the hairline. It comes with a good amount of lace in the front to give you plenty of room to work with incase you want to add more strands on your own. Personally, I don't think that will be necessary if you're using the wig for Elsa.
I was really pleased with the widow's peak on this wig. It was really well ventilated - which is the process of tying fibers to your wig. This makes the Suzi wig have a very realistic hairline that looks very similar to Elsa's. A lot of precision and care went into hand ventilating this hairline. And because this wig is a lace front, it gives the perfect realistic hairline for Elsa.
The picture above doesn't do the layers justice, but I was also very pleased with them. They're essential for easy styling of Elsa wispy pulled back bangs, and I did not want to have to cut them myself. (I'm dangerous with scissors, like that time I tried to cut my own bangs... oh, man!)
Growing up, I was like any girl, totally and ardently in love with Disney movies. I remember wrapping myself in my mom's oversized furry blanket, walking around on all fours, and belting out "I Just Can't Wait to be King," like I was some Broadway lion. But things have changed since last week. Now I can't stop singing Disney's Frozen album! It was just an adorable movie! High five to Disney for finally creating female roles that think love at first sight is ridic and sistas before mistas! And thus began my desire to cosplay Elsa!
As I'm doing research for my own Elsa cosplay, I will be sharing with you what I find. And so, to start, I have combined all of my wig research into one comprehensive guide.
E L S A ' S H A I R S T Y L E
So Elsa's style is pretty self explanatory: a simple side swept french braid with shorter layers tousled out of her face. Her hair is a platinum or titanium blonde color. It's important to note that her hair isn't entirely white/silver, and she does appear to have golden undertones. So keep that in mind when you're picking out your wig's color.
She also has a sparkle to her hair that you can easily mimic with one of those cans of sparkle hair spray. However, if we want to get really nit picky, it actually looks like she may have strands of silver sparkly hair instead of all over sparkle. It almost looks like tinsel to me, but maybe I'm crazy. You could ventilate your wig, the process of adding wig fibers, with these strands of hair, but personally, sparkle hair spray seems like a more practical approach.
W H A T T Y P E O F W I G S H O U L D I B U Y ?
This is a very important question! To answer it, first you must ask yourself what quality of costume are you looking to don. Then you must ask yourself how much money you're willing to spend. I mean, if you're just putting together a super quick Elsa costume for a weekend party, then you might not mind buying a party store wig. However, for the purpose of this guide, I'm going to assume you're here because you want a quality Elsa wig for your cosplay (costume play). Some people will put a lot of effort into the costume, but then totally skimp on the wig. I cannot stress enough how important it is to buy a quality wig. Wigs will make or break a costume, so if it's within your budget, I would spend a little more for something that will compliment your costume well.
Additionally, there are a lot of levels of quality when it comes to wig based partly on the type of wig fiber used. I go more into detail about the difference in fibers on my Daenerys Wig Guide here. Basically, you want to shoot for wigs made of hiperlon or even kanekalon fibers. They're higher quality and heat resistant so they will be easier to style later.
Okay, getting on to the most important quality you should look for in Elsa's wig: a lace front.
W H A T ' S T H I S A B O U T A L A C E F R O N T?
Basically a lace front wig is going to give you a natural looking hairline. Because Elsa's hair is swept back in the front, you would see a very unsightly wig base (the part of the wig the hair strands are threaded into) at your hairline with a normal, non-lace, wig. You might be able to get away with it in thicker wigs with some ninja styling, but it will tricky.
Lace fronts require a little more care when putting on. You can't simply plop it on and go. You have to trim the excess lace close to your hairline, and then use an adhesive like wig tape or spirt gum to actually glue the lace front down onto your forehead. This can be a little intimidating for some, but there's plenty of tutorials online for easy application steps.
These wigs are generally hand ventilated at the front so they're going to be a little more pricey. So you're going to have to ask yourself what's in your budget. If you want to save money, or you're just looking to expand your fabrication skills, you could purchase a regular wig and add your own lace front. This may be desirable as wigs with widow's peaks are hard to come by (the 'v' shaped point at the hairline).
However, I'm certain I've seen screencaps of her where there was no apparent widow's peak. So really, it's your own personal preference. : )
Okay, on with the wig suggestions!
W I G S U G G E S T I O N S
Wig Name: Suzi by Arda Wigs
Cost: $70 + shipping
Fiber: Hiperlon
With proper styling, this wig could serve as the perfect Elsa wig. The short piecey waves are perfect for her back swept bangs. Additionally, this is an Arda Wig. They have an awesome standing in the cosplay community for their quality and service. However, as of 2/14, this wig is on back order, so if you need your Elsa wig before March, you'll have to skip this option. It is a lace front wig which means that it will require an adhesive to stay on (like spirit gum or wig tape).
Pros:
Lace-front = Natural hairline
Short layers on the top for Elsa's swept back bangs
Widow's peak like Elsa's
Heat resistant for styling
Cons:
Longer than needed so will require some trimming
Because it's lace front, it will take more time to apply
Wig Name: Morpheus in Titanium Blonde by Arda Wigs
Cost: $60 + shipping
Fiber: Hiperlon
Now, I know this wig is a little short, but I wanted to add it to this guide because of a great YouTube tutorial that uses this wig for Elsa (Link below). Additionally, you would need to buy a weft or ponytail to add to the length of the wig. Wig wefts are simply sewn into the wig cap for adding length and volume. This is more troublesome, but because this wig is not currently on back order, it may be a more viable option for some. Remember, lace fronts will require an adhesive or tape to secure at the hairline.
Pros:
Lace-front = Natural hairline
Short layers on the top for Elsa's swept back bangs
Titanium blonde has a good golden undertone
Not on back order
Heat resistant for styling
Cons:
A tad too short so will require a wig weft to lengthen
Because it's lace front, it will take more time to apply
Despite not having a lace front, this wig could potentially serve as a decent Elsa cosplay. It has good length, good color, and already cut bangs. The only issue would be potentially seeing the wig base at the hairline, so this will make styling a little trickier. You would need to bring down the strands enough to cover the hairline while styling. You could also sew in lace and glue in or ventilate more stands of hair, making your own lace front.
One cosplayer used this wig as well as the same wig in white, wefted them together, and came out with great results (picture here). The golden blonde and white strands married well together to create Elsa's shade. Here's a good tutorial for splicing two wigs together: here.
Pros:
Good length
Long bangs for swept back style
A good shade of platinum blonde
Heat resistant for styling
Less expensive than lace front wigs
Cons:
Not lace front so no natural hairline
May need additional wefts to mimic Elsa's thick volume.
This wig is promising because Epic Cosplay states extra wefts have been sewn into the crown giving it more volume for Elsa's thick braid. However, despite it's title on the site, this is not a lace front, so styling will be trickier as you attempt to cover up any wig base showing at the hairline.
This wig is perfect for anyone who is intimidated by wig styling. It's already ready to go! It has a nice lace front and extra sewn in wefts for more volume. Also, this is an Etsy listing which makes me super happy because I love supporting Etsy artists! : ) Again remember that lace fronts require an adhesive at the hairline to be worn.
This wig could be a good option for those of you in Europe looking for a good Elsa wig. This wig has perfect tones of blonde, a good length, and a lace front! Braiding through the waves shouldn't be too much trouble, but trimming the bangs could be troublesome.
Supernovadobe has a great video tutorial for styling your Elsa cosplay. She also includes in the video how she sews in wefts for length and thickness, and glues hair to form a widow's peak.
I will be uploading my own tutorial and pictures of the styling process once my wig comes in the mail! : )
The basic guideline for her styling is as follows:
Before styling, test your heat source (curling iron, blow dryer) on a small wig strand in the back to make sure your wig can withstand this form of heat.
Carefully comb or brush wig if a little tangled.
I like to use my fingers to comb out tangles if I can.
Trim wig to proper length including bangs.
bangs should be around chin length
always remember to cut parallel to the hair strands
Add wefts or widows peak using tutorial above.
wefts can be sewed or glued onto the wig cap
Carefully brush strands into place and begin a french braid at the crown of the wig.
Pull braid to the front as you are braiding and secure with clear elastic.
Divide bangs into 7-8 pieces.
Spritz hair piece with hairspray and heat the fibers with your hairdryer.
My own picture tutorial coming soon!
H A I R A C C E S S O R I E S
Elsa has crystal snowflakes that decorate the length of her side braid. However, the snowflakes design and appearance differ scenes in the movie, and they're completely different from promotional ads. Sometimes the snowflakes appear tinted blue, sometimes clear, sometimes silver. So at this point you're basically just going to have to decide which ever one you find cutest! : ) Elsa generally looks like she has 6 snowflakes in most scenes from what I can tell. She has one large at the end of the braid, two medium sized, and three small sized.
Here is my take on Elsa's snowflakes:
Here's an older version of snowflakes I made:
I've posted my tutorial for Elsa's snowflakes here.
(Shameless plug: you can also order these at my Etsy shop by clickin' the link to your right)
I will be uploading my tutorial for her costume in a few weeks. So check back if you're interested! : ) (Or subscribe by email to the right!)
If you guys come across other wigs you think would be perfect for Elsa, comment the links below! I'd love to add them to the guide. : )
And as always, you're welcome to message me with any questions you guys have at n.jellyfishsoup@gmail.com
