Found new salon after 3 years. 10 months of wear vs. 3?

[Mbow10]

Hi all. Boy it's been a while since I've been on but I def need to make the board regular reading. I was getting pretty complacent with everything..care, maintenance, wearing, everything.

Anyway the girl I've been going to for 3 years left my salon, so I was motivated to try to find a new place and low and behold there was something right near where I work that I'd never known about, instead of 90 minutes away like currently. I started out going every 3 weeks for cleaning, cut, and replacing the system about every 3 months. So ~ 4 systems a year. Today the lady I met with suggested a poly base with a bit of lace in the front. She told me I'd get 10 months out of one system. And I just pay the salon as I need as opposed to a contract monthly payment like I'm doing now.

My question is just about the base and if that 10 months of wear sounds right? This place has been around for a long long time and plenty of guys go to this lady, I've read very good things. Just kind of nervous about going with a base change and just leery about relying on the 10 month estimate. Like now, if something happened or I slacked on maintainence, I knew every few months I'd be getting a brand new one. Locking in for basically 1 system per year feels risky if something happens. I'm going to give them a shot, as that would save me a decent chunk of money than what I'm doing now. And since its pay as you go, she said if I just need it cleaned or just need a cut, I'm not paying for extra services each month that I may not need at the time.

I've read enough of the board that I know many of you get that much life out of your systems, but just from what I'm accustomed too it's hard to picture.

 

[Mbow10]

Edit: I see there's a thread not too far down on Poly/Lace combined bases, so some of my questions are answered there.

 

[Noah]

There is a lot of variation between different poly bases, from ultra-thin onion skin units which are highly undetectable but basically disposable, to moulded ones which stand up by themselves. The finest skin units (0.03 mil or less) will definitely not last 10 months, so you will be getting a heavier-duty piece than that. If the lace front is well done that may not matter so far as the look of your piece is concerned, but it will have implications for how detectable it is to the touch, and how hot it may be to wear. The answer is to go in and investigate what you will actually be getting.

Best of luck.
Noah

 

[deg_dilemma]

My UTS 0.03mm has various grades that I see it go through over the months. I would say that it's perfect for 1 month, then excellent still for another 2 months. After 3 months I notice the quality go down every month, with hairs shedding and the UTS itself become harder and more detectable. At the 5 month mark it needs replacing. During Covid I had to make my system last 8 months and was really desperate to get a new one from the 6 month mark onwards. It looked bad. And yet, I've seen worse

I take good care of my hair (conditioners, not washing often etc) but I do wear it 24/7, so really I would think getting 5 months out of a 24/7 system is great. In my ideal world I would change the system every 3 or 4 months because the hairline is then always perfect. It's always the hairline that suffers the most.

In your case you are looking at a poly base with lace front. I reckon your poly won't be 0.03mm because it's pointless going that thin if you're not exposing it. A thicker base will last longer for sure, but it might feel too hot if you've been used to wearing lace.

I've always wondered what a poly with lace front would feel line. I think it could be the best combination. I mean, in my case I am delighted with my UTS system/hairline but only really for the first 2 months. It would be great if the hairline was undetectable for longer - which it might well be with a good lace front.

It would be interesting to see pics if you can post them.