100% Synthetic System: Pros & Cons

[Diesel guy]

I bought this up in a separate thread, and I didn't want to hijack that conversation, so I started this topic.
I have been playing around with the idea of switching to a full synthetic system. My current set up is 60% natural med-brown hair, and 40% gray synthetic hair. Here is my thinking on this - I'll be curious what you all have to say:

I run into fading issues with my current systems. The brown becomes 'brassy' and sometimes you can easily see the outline of the system. When it starts to 'brass-up', I tend to use more product in the hair to keep it wet looking. I typically wear my hair short - and it really dries out quickly. While it looks perfectly fine - it feels like straw. Yes, I know that our systems will never behave like our natural hair would have - but sometimes I feel like it should do better than what it does.

Here are some basic question:

1. Styling on a daily basis - today I change my style quite often - wearing an exposed hairline, hidden hairline, with a round brush and blow dryer (set to cold), I put more wave and texture in my daily routine

2. Bleached knots - I bleach my knots today. I know synthetic hair does not color - but do they have a process where they have that same effect with synthetic hair? I am very fair completed - and if my knots are not bleached - you just suddenly see this hair jutting out from my scalp - It doesn't look bad, just not quire right. Bleaching my knots remedied that problem

3. Blowing and fly-away hair. Is synthetic hair as manageable as natural hair? I ask this because the gray U have in my units not - they gray hair seems to have a mind of its own, and likes to stick up, and kinda fly away. Hair gels and products don't seem to hold as well on Synthetic hair - which makes since to me.

4. Longevity - how does synthetic hair hold up for the life of the unit?

 

[cottonReville]

I really want an entirely synthetic unit, but I'm worried it will look unnaturally shiny.

You cannot manipulate your hairstyle as much with synthetic (which I like). It retains its form more.

Synthetic hairs also neither tangle nor lose color. The former issue is a big one for me. Tangling is my biggest issue in this toupee game.

 

[Noah]

Hi Diesel

I don't have a huge amount of experience of synthetic units, but I can give you a few thoughts.

There is not just one kind of synthetic hair: there is a range. The most expensive synthetic hair is made in Japan, and is called Toupelon or Kanekelon. It looks extremely realistic - pretty much indistinguishable from real human hair - but it is expensive; considerably more expensive that the usual human hair. At the other end of the range there is cheap synthetic hair, which looks totally unrealistic. This is the stuff you see in cheap off-the-shelf women's wigs.

As you say, synthetic hair doesn't fade, and the good quality synthetic hair has good styling characteristics and a much longer life than human hair. It is more sensitive to heat than human hair - it can melt if exposed to sudden heat, e.g. if there was a puff of lighterfuel at a barbecue, or if you opened the oven door on a very hot oven, but I'm told the expensive synthetic hair is not as sensitive as the cheap stuff. The big problem with it, as you point out, is that it cannot be bleached or dyed, so the knots cannot be bleached either. That may not be much of an issue for a woman's wig or extensions, but it is a big problem for a man's short hairpiece. If you can't bleach the knots, you can't have a realistic exposed hairline, except for colours which don't need bleaching - light grey and light blond. I have read that one of the high price Hollywood hairpiece makers (Ed Katz) uses all synthetic on his pieces, except for a strip along the hairline, which is done with human hair with bleached knots, and replaced at regular intervals. I guess that would work provided the density was high enough that knots elsewhere on the piece were not visible. If the gossip is to be believed, that is the type of piece William Shatner is wearing.

I see that BaldBearded is suggesting that there is a solution now to the knot bleaching issue - that is something new to me, so I am hoping he can elaborate on it. It seems to me that is the key to our being able to use synthetic hair for our hairpieces.

Noah

 

[BaldBearded]

I really want an entirely synthetic unit, but I'm worried it will look unnaturally shiny.

You cannot manipulate your hairstyle as much with synthetic (which I like). It retains its form more.

Synthetic hairs also neither tangle nor lose color. The former issue is a big one for me. Tangling is my biggest issue in this toupee game.

Synthetic hair will tangle just the same as human hair. The issue is quality. The higher quality oft he hair, the more realistic it will look. My system is 80-90% synthetic grey, but the other color, #2 is human, remy.

Much of what Noah wrote is true. It's awesome for grey hair, not so much of dark colors.

 

[Fanjeera]

My first unit was synthetic. Went to a 110 degree C sauna with it and it started looking very bad.

 

[AxC123]

Just to add, ask your supplier for the heat tolerance of their synthetic hair prior to ordering. Tell them you will use a curling iron with various degrees setting. (Even if not the case) High heat tolerance is an indication of quality. Read that normal kanekalon can withstand 130f and high heat kanekalon 250f, so strong enough for low heat hair dryer..