First System: Need Feedback And Tips

David1776

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After messaging back and forth with Noah, I decided to get a custom hair system online. I’ve never worn a system before and shaved my head for last 25 years. Ordered system during Chinese New Year and vendor hasn’t been able to tell me when it will be ready. Ordered a cut in for system also. In the meantime, I decided to order a stock lace system from another online company with cut in. Pictures are with system temporarily taped in 3 spots. I haven’t cut and shaved hair under system yet. Just wanted to see what it looked like without fully committing before I got your feedback. I’ll trim up my bio hair at nape and around ears. I’m trying to get bio hair at system edges to grow out more. its only about 3/4” long and system is 2” all over. Trying to do full DIY. I’m looking for feedback on how it looks and tips on how to make it look better. Also, if I should wait until my custom system comes in before starting to wear hair. Thanks for your input!
 

BaldBearded

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It's really hard to tell... you need to send pics for when you are done...

Good luck
 

Noah

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Hi David

Personally I think the front looks really good - very natural. I wouldn't be able to tell that that is not your biohair. You have been quite conservative about the placement of the hairline, going for a receded look, which is a wise move for a first system. I would add a small percentage of grey for a bit of additional realism on your next system.

The back is less successful. That may be because the piece is sitting over some biohair which you will later buzz off. But at the minute the back of the hairpiece looks too short. The transition area from system to biohair looks thin, and it is emphasising a difference in texture between your biohair and the system hair. I would bring the system down further at the back, to allow you more room to blend the two.

Noah
 

David1776

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Thanks Noah. The system is not taped in the back. I’ll shave out the template area to be able to pull it down in the back and see if that helps. You are correct, it’s laying on top of the bio hair and it may also be sitting a little crooked on head. I was looking for a stock unit with a little gray, but couldn’t find one in my color that wasn’t on back order. I’ll try again this coming weekend with full attachment and post some more pics.
 

David1776

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Here are pics fully attached. Please provide feedback. I’m planning on wearing to work tomorrow after the long weekend. Thanks!
 

indie85

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Looks really good! What colour did you go for? I've bought two systems at 1B but the colour doesn't really match my hair, so I've put the idea on hold for now. Do the guys at work know you're going to wear?
 

David1776

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Thanks for your comments. The color is #3 Ash. I got a color ring from to compare my air. #3 and 4 ash were the closest to my color. The ash more of grayish tones where the standard colors had more of red undertones. No I haven’t said anything to anyone at work, so I’m a little anxious.
 

indie85

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Ah, that's a good idea, I probably should have done that before I ordered mine. Well, I guess people will notice a change, but good on you for just going for it. Short of moving to a different part of the country, I was thinking the only way to avoid this is to transition stealthily. I'm more of less at the same Norwood stage as you, and I had the idea of cutting a stock piece to cover my existing hair, but just a tad more than real, and then gradually increase the size of the coverage over time. Maybe some people would just think I've got on a really good hair loss regime. Anyway, I think that's my plan whenever I get the time to do this.
 

Noah

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Spot on, David. The hairline still looks good, and you have fixed the problem with the blend at the back. Good job. Did you go for a stealth transition?

Noah
 

David1776

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I’ve been growing my hair out and using concealer. It’s still going to be a big change. I’ll stop wearing my glasses and switch to contacts. I had planned on shaving my beard, but had to do that for a respirator fit test starts work a week and a half ago. Most people hadn’t seen me without a full beard and still don’t recognize me. Good thing is most meetings are remote and very little exposure over the past month. I’ve ordered a duplicate system to make re/de a little easier. I had trouble with the 3mil tape in front and ended up using Walker SureGrip for hair line. Thanks for all your help!
 

Noah

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You have been very conservative with the placement of the hairline, which will help a lot, I think. There is a high percentage of the population which will have registered you as "receding", without expending the effort to classify whether it is NW1 or NW4, and for those people the shift from where you were before to where you are with the hairpiece will basically not intrude into their consciousness, especially after a short gap during which they haven't seen you. This seems strange to us, because we are used to obsessing with our hairlines and other people's hairlines, but it's true.

Best of luck man.
 

David1776

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Met face-to-face with 3 people so far today. All totally oblivious to any change in hair. I did tell one of my friends and he had no idea that it wasn’t my bio hair. Not wearing glasses helped also as a distraction. I did use my fingers to make my hair a little messier. I like that a lot better than the straight comb back.8364CF04-1C8D-4929-A1A0-6723D85BC9F4.jpeg
 

indie85

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Looks excellent and totally natural! I wish I could just go ahead and do this, but people would definitely notice even with a conservative hairline, I mean I have the same pattern as you but don't use concealers, it looks too obvious to me. Perhaps I should give the big 3 + dermarolling one last go and see if I can regain a bit more so I could then transition stealth. God, I've been on this forum for over 10 years and it's still the big 3
 

Noah

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@ Indie, if a stealth transition is an important issue for you, you could start with just a narrow strip to lower your hairline, and then gradually build on that until you get to the look you want.
 

David1776

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The concealer did very little. You have to use it sparingly and where there is hair. People are much less focused on your hair than you might think. I wish I would have done this 25 years ago. A gradual progression like Noah suggested may help you build confidence with a lot less risk.
 
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