21 Year Old's Diy Hair System Journey (pics)

[Noah]

I think the most popular ones are Ultrahold, Basebond, ordinary Ghostbond, Davlyn (which I personally use), ORWG (oil resistant white glue), Walkers Great White, Walkers Safe Grip, and Vapon No Tape. It is not the first time I have heard of someone having a reaction to Ghostbond, although it is a good glue. I would try Davlyn or the Walkers products first.

Another possibility would be Walkers 3-mil thin lace support tape.

I agree that a lace unit with a perimeter bond might be better for you. You could try doing a perimeter bond with your skin unit to see if it helps. You will get the "plastic bag" noise from the unattached part of the base, but it will be a useful experiment.

I don't think not cleaning your scalp was the source of the problem. It looks very clearly like an allergic reaction.

 

[Stubble]

I think the most popular ones are Ultrahold, Basebond, ordinary Ghostbond, Davlyn (which I personally use), ORWG (oil resistant white glue), Walkers Great White, Walkers Safe Grip, and Vapon No Tape. It is not the first time I have heard of someone having a reaction to Ghostbond, although it is a good glue. I would try Davlyn or the Walkers products first.

Another possibility would be Walkers 3-mil thin lace support tape.

I agree that a lace unit with a perimeter bond might be better for you. You could try doing a perimeter bond with your skin unit to see if it helps. You will get the "plastic bag" noise from the unattached part of the base, but it will be a useful experiment.

I don't think not cleaning your scalp was the source of the problem. It looks very clearly like an allergic reaction.

Thanks very much for those suggestions. I'll take a look on Amazon and see what I can get to me quickest, but yes, I'll probably go with an adhesive by Walker first as I'm familiar with their brand name.

Definitely think I will try that perimeter bond as an experiment. I had some rustling when it was on the other day since I didn't bond it right and honestly, it wasn't too much of a problem. It was only really the rubbing on the irritated areas that bothered me.

It's weird because I'd plastered the frontal hairline part in lots of Ghostbond Platinum yet there's no irritation there, it's just the parts that were rustling and rubbing about really.

 

[TEG]

So last night, my mum gave me a hand with installing my first ever hair system. This is the hair system I went with. It's a poly super thin skin system made by Lord Hair. I ordered it without getting them to give it a haircut, so the hair was really long (like 6+ inches). Before shaving my head, to get an idea of what it would look like, I placed it on my head and it just looked ridiculous. Was getting some negative feelings, but I kept going with it. Knew I had to make it work.

The first thing I did was cut away the excess plastic at the hairline. In all the video, this always looks so easy, but for me this was actually quite hard. All my scissors are blunt, so I had to cut tiny bits of at a time. Got there in the end without nicking into the hairline.

Next I made a hair template that was exactly the same size and shape as the base of my LordHair hair system. I did this by placing my hair system on my polystyrene mannequin head inside-out and then followed Curtis' guide for making hair templates. Once made, I placed this on my head to see how it fit. Thankfully, the stock base size of 8"x10" was a great fit for my head.

I tightened the hair template to my head using an elastic and got my mum draw my hairline on with a makeup pencil and then to cut below the outline of the template the whole way around my head. I took the template off and there was a shaved outline the whole way around my head. I cut off any of the remaining hair on top that was above this outline.

To stick down my system I used Ghostbond Platinum. My mum helped me with this part too. She said she felt more comfortable painting the back first, letting the glue set, sticking it down and then starting to glue the front, so we did that.

After it was all done, we did realise there was a crease in the system around the top centre of my head, but it's not a major issue. It's the first ever installation, so it's to be expected. I'll be doing some maintenance soon and getting to grips with how to fix things like that. However, the front of the hairline actually bent in on itself and got glued down, but with some C22 Solvent Remover I was able to fix it and get it straightened out nicely and re-glued. Was a good bit of practice.

Due to the hair still being 6+ inches in length, it looked ridiculous. Kinda looked like Serge from Kasabian. But I slept with it on, didn't experience any lifting that wasn't already there and got myself to the barbers' first thing today for a more realistic hair style. Would say the results were decent, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out on how to improve because it obviously isn't going to be perfect straight away. Here are a few before and after pictures:

Me before I had any serious hair loss (May 2017):
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After hair loss (April 2020):

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After getting my hair system installed and cut (July 2020):

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It does seem very dark (almost black) in these pictures, but the hair on my sides was always darker. Ultimately I feel it's a good match. I asked my dad and he agrees (if it wasn't, he definitely would tell me it wasn't). Any opinions/criticisms/tips are welcome.

Also, big ups to this community on here. So many little posts here and there where I was able to pick up useful bits of info. I appreciate it more than you all know.

If any of you have advice on taking better pictures please let me know. Probably aware that these could be more detailed.

Cheers.

Looks great! It really does. I agree with others about the blending, but nobody would be able to tell, unless they wear themselves and even then probably not

. I had a problem with blending and when I reduced my density it seems to have gone away...go figure

 

[Stubble]

Hi guys, here's an update:

So, I waited until the irritation on my scalp went away and had another go at wearing my unit. I cleansed by scalp and unit using surgical spirit and used Walker's Scalp Protector 'Thick' to coat my scalp before putting my unit on. I also used Walker Ultra Hold adhesive instead of Ghostbond Platinum. As it was just a test, I only did one light coat. Took the unit off after 4 days as the glue had started to break down... and lo and behold, my scalp was fine. There were maybe 3 or 4 small spots. Nothing like the proper rash last time. Was really pleased, the scalp protector seemed to be a game changer for me.

Last night I cleaned my unit and re-attached it. Was definitely my best attachment yet! The process was way more fluid and less time consuming. Gave the C-22 time to work on the glue and it came off way easier. Wiped the unit and head down with surgical spirit. I ended up giving Ghostbond Platinum a go again, this time with the Walker Scalp Protector 'Thick' on. Did a coat of Ghostbond Platinum on the unit and a coat on my head. Set the unit on my head. It was positioned absolutely perfectly and there isn't a single wrinkle on the system this time. Absolutely stoked. The best it's felt so far. So secure. The hair on my sides have grown out a bit as well and the transition from top hair to side hair seems to be perfect:

 

[ChromeyFirefox]

Yeah so that's far better. The blend is far better.

And you seem to have had a better experience this time in general.

Good update!

 

[Mystery411]

Looks great!

 

[Noah]

That blending looks excellent. The acid test is the hairline though; how does that look?

 

[Stubble]

That blending looks excellent. The acid test is the hairline though; how does that look?

Hi Noah,

The unit is a SuperThin Skin unit (0.08mm) and not an Ultra ThinSkin unit, so I always just go with a fringe hairstyle. It means I never really have to give the hairline much thought since it's covered. Although, I'll attach some photos anyway. Let me know what you think.

From a distance:

Dark lighting:

Harsh natural lighting (I was facing a window, you can see the light bounce off the lip of the skin base, but I don't really mind):

 

[Noah]

Hey Stubble - you've done a great job. You're right: it's not the best system for an exposed hairline, but if it works for your hair style then go for it. Overall, you look young, stylish and confident. Enjoy!

 

[BaldBearded]

Love it!

 

[StayPositive]

Hey Stubble - you've done a great job. You're right: it's not the best system for an exposed hairline, but if it works for your hair style then go for it. Overall, you look young, stylish and confident. Enjoy!

Hi noah, for an exposed hair line, what is the best system? Swiss lace?

 

[Noah]

Hi noah, for an exposed hair line, what is the best system? Swiss lace?

I would say so, StayPositive. The thin skin units can be very good too, but there is always a defined edge, and if it catches the light the wrong way you can get some shine from the poly film, as Stubble has mentioned, which can give the position of the unit away. Lace doesn't have a hard edge for anyone to spot - the edge of the base peters out in tiny frayed threads which just look like little hairs. Fine lace is the preferred base type for actors and performers who work in front of the camera under strong lights, as it has been since the 1950's.

 

[Manny007]

wow stubble excellent results..the hair style suits u a lot since u r very young...amazing result so happy for you