Though serious wigs are often made with human hair, attempting to dye, bleach or highlight a wig can damage it or shorten its lifespan. Many wigs come with highlights, but some people prefer a more conservative, monochrome hairstyle most of the time. If you’d like to experiment with highlights without damaging your wig or buying a new one, you can sew light-colored hair extensions into your hairpiece.

Place the wig on a wig form. Never sew highlights while the wig is on a person’s head.

Choose a hair extension track with lighter hair than your wig, but with a similar length and texture.

Section off a portion of the wig where you want the first extension to go, using a wide-toothed comb.

Lift the wig hair up and fold it over to expose the wig’s framework. Hold the piece of hair in place with a hair clip.

Stretch the top of the hair extension across the exposed wig section, directly under the piece of hair you folded up. Cut off any excess track, using sharp scissors.

Thread a curved upholstery or wigmakers needle. Choose sturdy thread that matches the color of the wig hair.

Hand stitch the weave track to individual exposed vertical crosspieces of the wig, skipping the horizontal sections. Tie a knot and cut the thread after stitching the track to each vertical. Hold the track taut as you stitch to prevent waves and lumps.

Repeat the entire process for each section of the wig you want to add highlights to.

Comb the wig with a wide-toothed comb to expose and blend in the highlights.