Wig Review: The Second Nachname

If you're a regular buyer of wigs from Taobao, you may have most likely heard of The Second Nachname as a popular wig supplier. Most of their wigs boast of good quality and their prices are a little bit more on the higher range but I've heard nothing but praise from buyers of this brand.

Most of my friends mentioned that their long wigs and clip-on wigs are of excellent quality, so when I decided to cosplay Alice (Heart Kuni no Alice), I decided to try out TSN. The challenge was finding the right color for Alice's hair, which seemed to be a blonde with a mix of ashy brown tones. 

Reference taken from the manga.

Finding the right shade of wig wasn't very easy since most of the long wigs were either too blonde or a straight-up brown. After digging through the website, I found a wig that was closest to the shade I wanted.

I bought this wig from Denzuke Emporium for Php1830, which is pretty pricey for a 90-95cm wig. I also had the option to buy this wig with its fringe trimmed, but I wanted to leave that sort of thing to myself just so I could hide my chubby cheeks with some wig-styling sorcery.

Sorry for the bad lighting.

The wig arrived in good condition, and the whole of it couldn't fit into the netted bag it came with. Instead of a ziploc, it came in a long, plastic bag. At the first look, I could tell that this wig was definitely not 90-95cm like the site claims. It was longer than my 100cm wigs and it was a tad bit longer than my 120cm Galaco wig. Definitely NOT 90-95cm, but of course, anybody has the option to cut it down to their desired length.

Just to prove a point, this is 5'2" me wearing it.

Wig length aside, the color seems to be a shade darker and ashier than the reference photo. I didn't mind at all because the color was exactly what I needed, but some people might find the inaccuracy as a negative point so I'm just going to point this out. The wig I got had noticeable color differences. After all, product photos are usually taken with studio lights and good, high-definition cameras that might alter the outcome somewhat. The wig colors look more accurate when it is photographed in more professional lighting.

Photographed with better lighting - looks more ashy blonde
and more accurate to the product photos.

The wig is also slightly thinner to make it more manageable, but the lace cap isn't visible and it doesn't seem to show what it shouldn't reveal. Just like the reference photo, this wig has a slight shine that makes it look thicker, but running my hand through it reveals the actual volume. It's very lightweight on my head, and it has a slight roughness to the texture but it doesn't irritate my skin.

Without flash - With flash

When it comes to manageability, this wig is a winner. It's so easy to brush through tangles and straighten it out, but what makes wig-fixing tedious is the length. Tangling is very slight, even after long wear in conventions which really surprised me. I used this thrice before feeling the need to dunk it into fabric conditioner for a good washing - which is very rare for my long wigs that usually need a long spa bath after one use.

As for styling, I really didn't do much since Alice's hair is pretty straight down and simple. I used hair spray on the fringe to keep it in place during conventions, and it holds the style pretty well. The strands feel very light, so I'm guessing that heavy styling can be pretty easy on this wig.

Of course, this wig isn't completely perfect. When it arrived, one of the hooks inside the cap was broken and it looked like it wasn't sewn on very well - much to my horror. I quickly grabbed my sewing kit and fixed it right over with my level 1 sewing skills. It works perfectly now and holds very well, but even so, I wasn't very sure what might have caused this little mishap.

RATING

QUALITY

4/5

This wig sheds very minimally even when I'm brushing or washing it, and since it's longer,

this wig is more on the thinner side but the slight shine it has makes it look thicker and gives it nice volume. The only reason I took a point down is because of the broken hook.

PACKAGING

5/5

I imagine that no Ziploc in the world would be large enough to carry a wig this long, so the long plastic packaging was a very smart idea.

COMFORT

5/5

Even if the wig is so long, I don't feel it weighing my head down and I can freely move along with it. The wig fibers do not irritate my skin at all and the wig cap is large enough to fit my long hair into. Smaller-sized heads might need to adjust the hooks or to use bobby pins for reinforcement.

PRICE

5/5

Php1830 (USD38.93) might be a ridiculous price point for one wig, but I think this one is worth it. Managing it is stress free, it holds hair spray and wax well and it looks good in pictures. I think this one is a good splurge.

REPURCHASE?
Yes, I'm looking forward to trying out more wigs from this brand. 
TSN might probably be my go-to for longer wigs.

Photo by Infinity Studios

I hope this review was helpful. Thanks for reading!