Best Ways To Avoid And Treat Scalp Redness

[George Hen]

I wear a French lace system with poly borders around the side and back.

I’ve recently changed some things in my rebonding routine. The biggest change was that I stopped using bonding/glue altogether so was only using tape.
Removing bonding from my routine made for an incredibly easy clean up. Cleaning the system itself is super quick with hardly any mess to deal with, it’s great.

the problem is that itchiness has become a real issue since I made this change. I think it’s probably because the system is looser on my head without the extra hold from the glue and that’s causing a lot of irritation.

yesterday I rebonded and the redness was worse than ever. I’m not able to stop wearing or take a break because I’m always working and around people. The redness usually goes away by itself but I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on how best to reduce it in general?

steps I’m going to take from now on include:

• Applying a small amount of bonding again to the very back and near(ish) the front of the system. Using tape on the actual hairline has been a game changer for me in terms of maintenance (dramatically reduced it) and I don’t want to go back to only using glue there and having to clean it every two days.

• Reduce the time between rebonding. At the moment I change every two weeks. My new plan is to change roughly every 10 days. The last 4 days are when things rapidly deteriorate for me anyway.

• minimise the time I have cleaning agents on my scalp. Yesterday I think I left some things on my scalp for too long. I also tried shaving my head before shampooing just to save time but I’m going to revert back to shampooing asap after cleaning and then shaving.

Big question - what’s the last thing you use on your scalp during rebonding: shampoo or alcohol and why? I should say second last because I use scalp protector last but I’m curious it’s see if using shampoo/alcohol second last makes a difference at all(?)

thanks in advance for any insights

 

[Nostab2]

Good topic

Are you getting redness on the areas where the adhesive is only? Or on the areas that are not bonded?

 

[George Hen]

Good topic

Are you getting redness on the areas where the adhesive is only? Or on the areas that are not bonded?

Bit of both. I’d say it’s slightly worse in the areas which aren’t bonded.

Important detail I missed out: I renewed the tape at the front of my system halfway between rebonding last time and it made a big difference to the redness at the front, I’m assuming because it held the front of the system firmly in place again.

 

[Manny007]

use scalp protector that should help

 

[George Hen]

use scalp protector that should help

As mentioned in my post I always use scalp protector.

 

[BaldBearded]

As mentioned in my post I always use scalp protector.

You may want to try different types/brands of adhesives, or tapes to find the ingredients you are not sensitive to.

 

[George Hen]

You may want to try different types/brands of adhesives, or tapes to find the ingredients you are not sensitive to.

Thanks. I do suspect that could be an issue here. It’s just weird that I have hardly any redness when I use tape AND bonding, but lots of redness with only tape.

 

[BaldBearded]

Thanks. I do suspect that could be an issue here. It’s just weird that I have hardly any redness when I use tape AND bonding, but lots of redness with only tape.

By "bonding", you mean adhesive/glue? It means you might have an insensitivity to the adhesive in the tape. There are dozens of different tapes to try.

 

[Nostab2]

Bit of both. I’d say it’s slightly worse in the areas which aren’t bonded.

Important detail I missed out: I renewed the tape at the front of my system halfway between rebonding last time and it made a big difference to the redness at the front, I’m assuming because it held the front of the system firmly in place again.

Is there any pain or just redness? How long have you been wearing? I have never kept it real tight on my head as it bothers me. General red areas could be friction but do you notice any movement when you turn your head to one side or another? I had a couple months of this and it turned out I was not using enough glue.

 

[George Hen]

Is there any pain or just redness? How long have you been wearing? I have never kept it real tight on my head as it bothers me. General red areas could be friction but do you notice any movement when you turn your head to one side or another? I had a couple months of this and it turned out I was not using enough glue.

There’s a bit of pain, yes, but only when the affected area is touched. I can’t feel anything when my unit is on (like right now).

I’ve been wearing for three years now. I’ve had spells of this before but this is the first time in a long time it’s been this bad. It correlates with the change to tape only so it’s either a reaction to the tape or just that the unit is looser, probably the latter.

I don’t ever feel any movement of the unit when I move my head - it’s very firmly on my head but not so much that I can feel any restriction of any kind.

sounds like you had the exact same problem as me then! Looks like I’ll be going back to using glue in order to maintain a stronger hold.

 

[Nostab2]

There’s a bit of pain, yes, but only when the affected area is touched. I can’t feel anything when my unit is on (like right now).

I’ve been wearing for three years now. I’ve had spells of this before but this is the first time in a long time it’s been this bad. It correlates with the change to tape only so it’s either a reaction to the tape or just that the unit is looser, probably the latter.

I don’t ever feel any movement of the unit when I move my head - it’s very firmly on my head but not so much that I can feel any restriction of any kind.

sounds like you had the exact same problem as me then! Looks like I’ll be going back to using glue in order to maintain a stronger hold.

Interesting, as you said above it must be cause of itching all the time. I have found using the minimum products is best. Try bonding in more areas for starters

 

[Nostab2]

There’s a bit of pain, yes, but only when the affected area is touched. I can’t feel anything when my unit is on (like right now).

I’ve been wearing for three years now. I’ve had spells of this before but this is the first time in a long time it’s been this bad. It correlates with the change to tape only so it’s either a reaction to the tape or just that the unit is looser, probably the latter.

I don’t ever feel any movement of the unit when I move my head - it’s very firmly on my head but not so much that I can feel any restriction of any kind.

sounds like you had the exact same problem as me then! Looks like I’ll be going back to using glue in order to maintain a stronger hold.

Did you ever get to the bottom of the redness?

 

[George Hen]

Did you ever get to the bottom of the redness?

Yeah, using adhesive at the very back and a bit at the front has solved the problem - a firmer hold than tape alone.

 

[AxC123]

In my case, it was not the glue but slight rubbing of lace on unglued scalp. I am a side sleeper and when my head is resting on pillow, creases are created and lace rubbing occurs. Here is a picture of my scalp with creases caused by resting head on pillow to better explain.

I currently am wearing a UTS (daily wear ) using got2be attachement. No redness at all and giving scalp a break..

You can also try liquid plaster on red area prior to attachement to protect it. See my previous post
https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...ion-from-your-lace-piece.117078/#post-1865764

 

[Nostab2]

I appreciate you showing an example, its helpful

 

[Blue eyes]

I wear a French lace system with poly borders around the side and back.

I’ve recently changed some things in my rebonding routine. The biggest change was that I stopped using bonding/glue altogether so was only using tape.
Removing bonding from my routine made for an incredibly easy clean up. Cleaning the system itself is super quick with hardly any mess to deal with, it’s great.

the problem is that itchiness has become a real issue since I made this change. I think it’s probably because the system is looser on my head without the extra hold from the glue and that’s causing a lot of irritation.

yesterday I rebonded and the redness was worse than ever. I’m not able to stop wearing or take a break because I’m always working and around people. The redness usually goes away by itself but I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on how best to reduce it in general?

steps I’m going to take from now on include:

• Applying a small amount of bonding again to the very back and near(ish) the front of the system. Using tape on the actual hairline has been a game changer for me in terms of maintenance (dramatically reduced it) and I don’t want to go back to only using glue there and having to clean it every two days.

• Reduce the time between rebonding. At the moment I change every two weeks. My new plan is to change roughly every 10 days. The last 4 days are when things rapidly deteriorate for me anyway.

• minimise the time I have cleaning agents on my scalp. Yesterday I think I left some things on my scalp for too long. I also tried shaving my head before shampooing just to save time but I’m going to revert back to shampooing asap after cleaning and then shaving.

Big question - what’s the last thing you use on your scalp during rebonding: shampoo or alcohol and why? I should say second last because I use scalp protector last but I’m curious it’s see if using shampoo/alcohol second last makes a difference at all(?)

thanks in advance for any insights

Try applying tea tree oil. It works great.

 

[cottonReville]

In my case, it was not the glue but slight rubbing of lace on unglued scalp. I am a side sleeper and when my head is resting on pillow, creases are created and lace rubbing occurs. Here is a picture of my scalp with creases caused by resting head on pillow to better explain.

I currently am wearing a UTS (daily wear ) using got2be attachement. No redness at all and giving scalp a break..

You can also try liquid plaster on red area prior to attachement to protect it. See my previous post
https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...ion-from-your-lace-piece.117078/#post-1865764

View attachment 149084

How do you achieve a solid UTS/Got2B attachment.

I find it holds amazingly well at first, but once it peels, it's liable to peel right off w/a little force.

On lace, this just isn't the case. Any peeling is localized & the hold is outstanding.

I ask because I would use a poly system if I could get Got2B working well with it. It'd just be the easiest thing.

What is your application method and how long does it last?

I've found painting Got2B onto Poly does virtually nothing, that, like Glue + Mesh, the gel needs to be applied directly to the scalp. A lot needs to be used. I wait for it to dry a little, but not fully, and apply...

 

[AxC123]

How do you achieve a solid UTS/Got2B attachment.

I find it holds amazingly well at first, but once it peels, it's liable to peel right off w/a little force.

On lace, this just isn't the case. Any peeling is localized & the hold is outstanding.

I don't wear uts a lot, o ly a few times, daily wear with got2b. Holds for one day, but not as strong as glue...

 

[cottonReville]

I don't wear uts a lot, o ly a few times, daily wear with got2b. Holds for one day, but not as strong as glue...

Oh, ok - so it "works" - but it's not viable for doing things in...

To be honest, it works beautifully with lace, provided that you use it correctly (amply, attaching while semi-wet still). I'm sure it'd be fantastic with mono but I can't get a good feel for it owing to the poly perimeter I have on mine.

 

[cottonReville]

To the OP: @Nostab2 asked a very smart question. Is the redness everywhere, or just where the tape is?

When you used glue, did you use white or clear?

I was able to wear pieces w tape for 3-4 days max initially, getting so itchy I'd have to remove the wig ultimately. I thought that was just from wearing something on my head for a sustained period of time, but the more I wore, it became evident I was having contact dermatitis from the acrlyic in the tape.


I wish I didnt have this problem as tape is spectacularly easy to use while glue is annoying. I've finally discovered a fast way to remove Ghostbond/WG from both my head and hairpiece - but it's still nothing compared to glue, which makes wearing a hairpiece a sinch.