Got a stock system installed at a salon, is this good/the best I can expect?

SD1984

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It is a sad state he's in. He insist on doing it himself but when he does... its terrible. He LOVED that insanely dense justin bieber piece he had.. where everyone in the comments was practically screaming for him to please throw it in the trash. The only good results he's had were the ones where he went to the salons... and he always found an issue with those pieces.
Ha, I thought I was the only one who soured on Jake Kent. I officially gave up on his videos when he cut his poly system's hairline back and put it on his head with magic marker still at the hairline for the next 5 videos.
 

Jbalding

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I am tempted to try this but how to prevent overshooting the hairline? Every video I’ve watched make it seem so easy but none has really covered how you’d clear this or even prevent it occurring. Is the most accurate method just drawing with a makeup pencil?
Try your best, I mark it with a tooth comb- press the teeth into my forehead. Even if you overshoot just take a q tip or a rag and wipe the excess off, don't overthink it man, its easy.
 

Alsh

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Went to Transitions Hair Australia in Sydney (Surry Hills) today. Spend a couple hours with a stylist there and this is the cut we came to. I'll take some better photos tomorrow but the sides, back and colour are better matched now.

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It's a pretty cool look but it's the only look this hair can do because the length prohibits anything else. Might go to a barber and try a shorter style in a few weeks.

The hairline is pretty noticeable though. I have the .03mm poly S22 unit from Lordhair, while I have much experience with hair systems, the last S22 had an near undetectable hairline. I believe the stylist used tape around the entire perimeter, giving me a chonky hairline. I'll attempt to fix this when I reattach it.

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The session cost an eye-watering $350 for a unit cut-in and haircut. I asked for the plastic template and they gave that to me. Subsequent hair cuts are $100, future cut-ins will be at that $350 rate.

Not a bad result, but the hairstyle feels a little too showy for me - or maybe I don't want to draw attention to myself. Either way I will run with it for a while still and maybe get it cut shorter in future.
 
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JaneyElizabeth

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Ha, I thought I was the only one who soured on Jake Kent. I officially gave up on his videos when he cut his poly system's hairline back and put it on his head with magic marker still at the hairline for the next 5 videos.
This ruins it for everyone else. The worst thing of all are the guys who decide to be ultra-honest and just take them off in public or in front of people who are visitors at their home. My best friend's father used to do that. I remember his piece hanging in the bathroom or whatever. <shudders>. His son, had perfect hair so sometimes baldness does skip a generation, lol, just not mine. I got the shitty father with perfect hair scenario and he is in his 80's and still a perfect juvenile hairline although he couldn't grow it long very successfully so of course, now I shall wear mine long, that and being trans and all....
 

JaneyElizabeth

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Went to Transitions Hair Australia in Sydney (Surry Hills) today. Spend a couple hours with a stylist there and this is the cut we came to. I'll take some better photos tomorrow but the sides, back and colour are better matched now.

View attachment 159667
It's a pretty cool look but it's the only look this hair can do because the length prohibits anything else. Might go to a barber and try a shorter style in a few weeks.

The hairline is pretty noticeable though. I have the .03mm poly S22 unit from Lordhair, while I have much experience with hair systems, the last S22 had an near undetectable hairline. I believe the stylist used tape around the entire perimeter, giving me a chonky hairline. I'll attempt to fix this when I reattach it.

View attachment 159668

The session cost an eye-watering $350 for a unit cut-in and haircut. I asked for the plastic template and they gave that to me. Subsequent hair cuts are $100, future cut-ins will be at that $350 rate.

Not a bad result, but the hairstyle feels a little too showy for me - or maybe I don't want to draw attention to myself. Either way I will run with it for a while still and maybe get it cut shorter in future.
How often do they recommend hair cuts? Are they required as part of tightening or are people back to adhesives and away from sutures, which is what they used in the 80's.
 

Alsh

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They said every 2 weeks to keep the fade looking good, they will also do the reattachment (rebond with tape). Honestly I think I can just go to a barber for the fade and do reattachments myself. All I'd need at that point is to learn how to cut in a new base and find a barber who can blend well
 

JaneyElizabeth

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They said every 2 weeks to keep the fade looking good, they will also do the reattachment. Honestly I think I can just go to a barber for the fade and do reattachments myself. All I'd need at that point is to learn how to cut in a new base and find a barber who can blend well
That's a huge part of it and I know that I would not have been good at that part. You really need to psychologically budget the money upfront annually and stick to it and not say, oh, it looks pretty good, I will skip this bi-weekly tune-up so I can hit Atlantic City or pay my bookie or my dealer or whatever.... So do they apply the adhesive? Do they still do hooks and sutures anymore? I remember getting catalogs in the 80's when I was in a fraternity and sheepishly hiding them when they came in the mail.... I ended up buying their expensive hair growth products full of good for what ails you biotin instead and then I saw the infomercials on late night cable for New Generation and the Helsinki Formula and those worked similarly to Keto, I would say, so those held me at semi-maintenance until min got approved in the late 80's.

People often state now that not enough is spent on baldness research. I am an agnostic on that but back then, people actually derided Upjohn for "wasting research money" on male vanity instead of say, curing hyper-tension.... Oh wait, that was what they were trying to do and then serendipity struck. The world will criticize business and entrepreneurs no matter what they do, it seems....
 
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HairsonUnique

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I'm sorry but is they front simply too visible? The base material seems incredibly visible from those photos.

Otherwise it looks really good though!
 

HairSystemUk

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Have you got some more pics of the hairline?
I was considering a poly front as my next one but that seems as though it’s a little visible. Are they generally not a little more discrete? Possibly the tape is creating the somewhat thicker edge/lift?
 

HairsonUnique

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Yeah tape is generally not recommended for a hairline. Between the thickness of it and the difficulty in going right to the edges..

I have worn tape at the hairline but I don't expose it!
 

BaldBearded

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Yeah tape is generally not recommended for a hairline. Between the thickness of it and the difficulty in going right to the edges..

I have worn tape at the hairline but I don't expose it!
Not correct. There are many folks who successfully use tape for an exposed hairline, a number of my clients do.
 

smoka123

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It looks good but I don´t want to have that style.
Its too much maintenance. Yes you can go out like this with a perfect hairline even if its colmb back. But you have too much problems in the future.
I don´t want to look half an hour in the mirror in the morning. Just go outside thats it. Have Hairs back on which looks somehow realistic and make no problem thats what I would go for.
 

Alsh

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I got the unit installed around 3 days ago now and the bond was still very secure (2 week eta I'd say) and I have been going to gym without issues. I wasn't too keen on the tape on the hairline as it was making it too obvious.

I just reattached it at home with tape along the perimeter of the rear/sides and glue on the front hairline. The center is not bonded with anything but it doesn't feel worse in any way. I used scalp protector as a primer for both the tape and glue.

The hairline is almost invisible now. There is a patch in the hairline where the unit has reduced density (noticed this when the unit arrived so it's likely a quality control issue for Lord Hair) and if you're staring at it and the light hits it just right, you can see the shine of the poly base.

Experimenting with some stubble that I might graduate to a beard

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And here is a photo of the bald spot, it's the most obvious spot, but again not noticeable unless the light hits it at the right angle
1616389274662.png
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If I decide to keep rocking the exposed hairline I will try the injected poly system from Lord Hair next time.

I feel like I am getting pretty comfortable removing and rebonding units at this point. The next step for me is to learn how to cut a base against a template (I got my template from Transitions Hair).
 

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BaldBearded

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I got the unit installed around 3 days ago now and the bond was still very secure (2 week eta I'd say) and I have been going to gym without issues. I wasn't too keen on the tape on the hairline as it was making it too obvious.

I just reattached it at home with tape along the perimeter of the rear/sides and glue on the front hairline. The center is not bonded with anything but it doesn't feel worse in any way. I used scalp protector as a primer for both the tape and glue.

The hairline is almost invisible now. There is a patch in the hairline where the unit has reduced density (noticed this when the unit arrived so it's likely a quality control issue for Lord Hair) and if you're staring at it and the light hits it just right, you can see the shine of the poly base.

Experimenting with some stubble that I might graduate to a beard

View attachment 159875View attachment 159876

And here is a photo of the bald spot, it's the most obvious spot, but again not noticeable unless the light hits it at the right angle
View attachment 159879View attachment 159878
If I decide to keep rocking the exposed hairline I will try the injected poly system from Lord Hair next time.

I feel like I am getting pretty comfortable removing and rebonding units at this point. The next step for me is to learn how to cut a base against a template (I got my template from Transitions Hair).
Looking good.
 

SD1984

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The bald spot pic bring attention to just how poorly the hairline was crafted there. No irregularities at all.
 

HairSystemUk

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The hairline looks significantly better now you’ve reapplied with glue. I wish I had your confidence levels doing self maintenance already. Seems like poly is the way to go and significantly easier than lace.
 

Alsh

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Thanks for the support everyone, I wouldn't have been able to attempt DIYing it without the support I've received in this thread.

I just feel like I need to take control of as much of the process as I can because there aren't places I can go in Sydney. It'll also help me reign in the costs and make sure emergencies don't cause anxiety.

The part I have found the most difficult and emotionally draining is being objective about the results. The fact that I can only see myself from a limited number of mirror angles and the fact that I am so grateful to see a full head of hair on me makes it hard for me to be critical. I can see how some of the YouTubers end up with embarrassing results they think look fantastic.

Seems like poly is the way to go and significantly easier than lace.
I have no experience with lace, but watching the old videos by Curtis (mhe) where he bonds lace and talks about stretching the fabric and such makes me feel like I got into this easy.

I see a lot of conflicting information on this question but I am not sure how long a poly system lasts. Also. given how neutral the .03mm hairline is, I wonder how detectable a .08mm poly unit hairline would be.
 
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