Early mistakes and lessons learned!

[jimlad]

Hi all!
Just reflecting on my early days as a wearer and I thought it might be a good idea for people to share their early experiences of wearing. That way, newbies who feel that inevitable feeling that they can’t make the transition will see that they are not alone.

I remember the first night. I was freaking out about the dead animal that was strapped to my head. I had a lift straight away from sweating, and tried to fix it, but ended up pulling clumps of hair out because the glue was stringy. Even now when I use Walker Clear Bond it takes me right back to that night! The next day, I got on a night coach to Scotland and fell asleep with my head against the seat in front. Woke up to find the system peeled right back from my forehead!!!!

It’s a learning curve for sure. I had destroyed that system in a month!!!

 

[cottonReville]

Right before attaching a piece, spray it with alcohol before applying for time to readjust (aka, "Reposioning Spray"). Also take care to avoid getting hairs along perimeter trapped under piece

 

[deg_dilemma]

Go for lower density and get a good colour match. In my case, stay away from solid black! #1 (as it's known in many suppliers) is a horrible solid black colour.

Custom is always better, especially if you are older and/or want a specific shape of hairline with graduated colours and hairline.

Use lots of leave-in conditioner to make the hair look healthy/natural and to help with styling.

Don't use a hair dryer.

 

[Hair2019]

The next day, I got on a night coach to Scotland and fell asleep with my head against the seat in front. Woke up to find the system peeled right back from my forehead!!!!

Lol - did anyone on the coach notice?

It’s a learning curve for sure. I had destroyed that system in a month!!!

Yes, it certainly is a learning curve. My first system was finished within a month or so too.

 

[Hair2019]

Right before attaching a piece, spray it with alcohol before applying for time to readjust (aka, "Reposioning Spray"). Also take care to avoid getting hairs along perimeter trapped under piece

A better method is to put the tape on the lace but don't peel off the backing, then position the system where you want and use an Alice band to keep it in place. This leaves both hands free to peel off the backing for the tape at the back, which can then be stuck down. You can then take off the Alice band, peel the tape on one side and press it down, then the other side, then finally the front. This gives a perfect attachment and positioning, and you can take as long as you need with it to get it right. I don't like the 'repositioning spray' method. It's much better to get the unit in place before peeling the backing off the tape and use the method I describe to attach it.

 

[albar05]

A great tip i have been using the last few months after watching MANY ladies on Youtube apply their wigs , Which is a must for any hair system wearer as these ladies have the hair line PERFECT every time! .... most of them , after glueing or taping the hairline , then brush all the hair back and use a silk scarf over the hair line tied tight to, as they say , melt the lace into the glue. I have used this method many times now and it works REALLY well.. glue down your front hair line, then brush hair outta the way , then tie a silk scarf round the hairline for 15mins, you will be shocked at how it makes it look SO much better!

 

[fallendawn]

A better method is to put the tape on the lace but don't peel off the backing, then position the system where you want and use an Alice band to keep it in place. This leaves both hands free to peel off the backing for the tape at the back, which can be stuck down. You can then take off the Alice band, peel the tape on one side and press it down, then the other side, then finally the front. This gives a perfect attachment and positioning, and you can take as long as you need with it to get it right. I don't like the 'repositioning spray' method. It's much better to get the unit in place before peeling the backing off the tape and use the method I describe to attach it.

Damm, this seems like a much better method. Gonna have to try this out, all the videos I have watched use the repositioning spray method, but I always feels like they are just guessing. Also this would make it so much better if you are using a scalp protector that makes the spray less effective and you can just glue the hairline at the end.

 

[Hair2019]

Damm, this seems like a much better method. Gonna have to try this out, all the videos I have watched use the repositioning spray method, but I always feels like they are just guessing. Also this would make it so much better if you are using a scalp protector that makes the spray less effective and you can just glue the hairline at the end.

Yes it's a great method. To line up the front, I leave a bit of my bio hair unshaved on the hairline and line the system up with that (or you can put a mark with an eyebrow pencil where the edge of your hairline is). As I wear my hair in a central parting, I can use this as a guide too - if it looks pretty central in a mirror, I can be fairly sure the system is lined up more or less ok. The next thing I do is once I have the tape on the system (with the backing tape still on), I can lift each side up slightly and see if the tape lines up with the edges of my balding/shaved area. Once you know these little tricks, it becomes quite easy to get a perfectly lined up system. It can still be a bit fiddly at times, but it's much better in my opinion that try to line the system up with the backing tape off.

 

[cottonReville]

A great tip i have been using the last few months after watching MANY ladies on Youtube apply their wigs , Which is a must for any hair system wearer as these ladies have the hair line PERFECT every time! .... most of them , after glueing or taping the hairline , then brush all the hair back and use a silk scarf over the hair line tied tight to, as they say , melt the lace into the glue. I have used this method many times now and it works REALLY well.. glue down your front hair line, then brush hair outta the way , then tie a silk scarf round the hairline for 15mins, you will be shocked at how it makes it look SO much better!

My hairline is fully melted

 

[Noah]

My top tip is when you buy tape, buy the contour strips and not the rolls. Not because of the shape, but because the contour strips have backing paper on both sides, whereas the rolls only have backing paper on one side. Unless you are very lucky, you always have to do a bit of trimming to get the tape to follow the edge of your unit. That is easy enough with the contour strips. You can put the tape strip on the unit (with the backing paper still on) and make sure it's a perfect match. But the roll tape - it sticks to your scissors, to your fingers, to stray hairs, to itself .... I ended up throwing half of it away.

 

[Noah]

A better method is to put the tape on the lace but don't peel off the backing, then position the system where you want and use an Alice band to keep it in place. This leaves both hands free to peel off the backing for the tape at the back, which can then be stuck down. You can then take off the Alice band, peel the tape on one side and press it down, then the other side, then finally the front. This gives a perfect attachment and positioning, and you can take as long as you need with it to get it right. I don't like the 'repositioning spray' method. It's much better to get the unit in place before peeling the backing off the tape and use the method I describe to attach it.

Maybe an obvious point, but it's a good idea to fold back just a corner of each bit of tape. That way, when the unit is on your head and you are starting to take the backing paper off, you have something to get hold of, and you don't risk pulling the whole tape off.

 

[jimlad]

Lol - did anyone on the coach notice?



Yes, it certainly is a learning curve. My first system was finished within a month or so too.

Pretty sure the woman next to me did…

 

[yurguardianangel]

Go for lower density and get a good colour match. In my case, stay away from solid black! #1 (as it's known in many suppliers) is a horrible solid black colour.

Custom is always better, especially if you are older and/or want a specific shape of hairline with graduated colours and hairline.

Use lots of leave-in conditioner to make the hair look healthy/natural and to help with styling.

Don't use a hair dryer.

What's wrong with a hair dryer?

Plenty of times I seen hair systems dried using a hair dryer.

If it's on warm, not hot it should be fine. I had no issues like that.

 

[Couperin111]

My advice being a new wearer. Do your research on the supplier and get advice from people on this forum about suppliers they use before buying.

Have an idea about a hair style that will work for you, your template and what’s left of your bio hair. This will give you more of on idea about getting lace, poly or combo and what’s achievable.

 

[JMC]

A better method is to put the tape on the lace but don't peel off the backing, then position the system where you want and use an Alice band to keep it in place. This leaves both hands free to peel off the backing for the tape at the back, which can then be stuck down. You can then take off the Alice band, peel the tape on one side and press it down, then the other side, then finally the front. This gives a perfect attachment and positioning, and you can take as long as you need with it to get it right. I don't like the 'repositioning spray' method. It's much better to get the unit in place before peeling the backing off the tape and use the method I describe to attach it.

I like it!

I’ve been using I believe Noahs method (better yet my girlfriend uses it) where you put 2 small pieces of take in the center to stabilize it. It’s been a relationship saver

Im going to see if she wants to try this method too as it seems like a really good idea.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[JS2206]

A great tip i have been using the last few months after watching MANY ladies on Youtube apply their wigs , Which is a must for any hair system wearer as these ladies have the hair line PERFECT every time! .... most of them , after glueing or taping the hairline , then brush all the hair back and use a silk scarf over the hair line tied tight to, as they say , melt the lace into the glue. I have used this method many times now and it works REALLY well.. glue down your front hair line, then brush hair outta the way , then tie a silk scarf round the hairline for 15mins, you will be shocked at how it makes it look SO much better!

Yessss. This comes out perfect and makes the lace wig look like the hair is coming from your scalp. This is excellent.

 

[cottonReville]

To further improve the aesthetic, apply some Got2B to your scalp, before wear your piece starts. Do the bandana after, making sure to get some hairs stuck to your Got2B'd area. The hairs gel down to your head in a very realistic way, especially if you cut in "baby hairs."

It's gel so it's water soluble and can easily be adjusted, washed off without ruining the hair.

 

[TooBad]

My top tip is when you buy tape, buy the contour strips and not the rolls. Not because of the shape, but because the contour strips have backing paper on both sides, whereas the rolls only have backing paper on one side. Unless you are very lucky, you always have to do a bit of trimming to get the tape to follow the edge of your unit. That is easy enough with the contour strips. You can put the tape strip on the unit (with the backing paper still on) and make sure it's a perfect match. But the roll tape - it sticks to your scissors, to your fingers, to stray hairs, to itself .... I ended up throwing half of it away.

I always use 1 spritz of alcohol on the scissors before cutting tape.... no sticking for 2 or 3 cuts....