Help! I Need Advice On My New 1st Hair System.

[SeeDoubleYou]

Hello all,

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this, I’ve already learnt loads by reading all your posts but there’s just a few things I could do your help with.

I had my first system fitted around 2 weeks ago and whilst I imagined taking the step would help build my self esteem and help me regain my confidence, it did the total opposite. When I looked in the mirror at the end product I just wanted the ground to swallow me up.

I got home and had a melt down thinking I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. It wasn’t blended, I was left with a huge weight line and the colour doesn’t match meaning it was even more noticeable! I’m due to get the weight line fixed and the colour, I’m hoping will correct it self with the good old British Summer weather :/

Whilst I am now slowly getting used to it, there’s still some issues I’m not 100% happy with.

The first being the hair line and how the lace system has being attached. The stylist used both bond and tape around the entire perimeter of the system including the hair line. I’m not yet confident enough to wear my hair up as I feel the hair line is far from the un detectable hair line they advertised. I feel the tape makes it much more blunt and noticeable. So my first question is, would using tape around the back and bond on the front help me achieve a more natural looking hair line?

I also feel there is way too much density in the front, meaning I find hard to run my fingers though. With out prising apart my new thick locks, you even struggle to see my scalp. I’ve seen a video of a guy plucking the hair line to reduce the density but at the same time videos of people advising against it... is there any other ways I could do go about doing this to get a more natural look?

And last but not least, (sorry to go on) but there’s one other thing for those who haven’t fallen asleep already, are you supposed to feel the edge of the system around your head? Like when I run my fingers around the perimeter, i can feel a slight lip. I imagined to the touch it would just feel like a normal head with out a thick ridge all the way around it? Is this normal?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again!

 

[Noah]

Hi SYD

Some of these issues seem quite specific to you, but I will offer some general comments.

Putting on a system for the first time tends to produce a strong reaction. It can be a strong positive reaction - euphoria at getting your lost hair back; or a strong negative reaction - buyer's remorse. That can be composed of several different elements. One is simple shock at the change of appearance - after so long without hair the system looks like far too much hair, you feel everyone is looking at you and knowing that it is artificial. Another is disgust that it has come to this - you are wearing a wig, like all those losers on the sitcoms.

Those strong reactions are possible and normal irrespective of what the system actually looks like, and they are a shock emotional reaction which wears off in a few days. But there is also a third factor, which is what the system actually looks like - has the salon done a decent job of giving you a good-looking undetectable age-appropriate hair system and a nice haircut which improves your appearance. Sometimes yes and sometimes no - there are quite a few salons out there which, through inexperience, failure to keep up with developments in technology, or just plain profiteering, will not provide you with those things. Unfortunately in those first few days after getting the system it can be quite difficult to distinguish between the emotional backwash and a genuine and fair appraisal of the system and the salon's workmanship. It is nice if you have a significant other or close friend who you can trust to give you fair evaluation of your system, but not everyone wants to bring another person so fully into the process, and anyway someone very close to you like a spouse can be have as emotional reaction to your new look as you do. If you are willing to share a few photographs (by all means blank out your facial features) a forum like this can provide an alternative. There are decent helpful people here who wear hair themselves, and will give you honest feedback.

It sounds from your post as if some of your negative feelings were just that initial "hair shock", which has subsided with time, but clearly there are also other quite substantial real issues with the system. They sound like they could all be fixed pretty readily by a competent salon. The bigger issue, I think, is that the salon you used let you walk out the door unhappy and with a substandard system. That is unprofessional, and you should not let it happen to you again. So I think you need to start looking around for somewhere better. Again, if you say where you are we may be able to suggest somewhere not too far from you which can fix the issues you have and be a better alternative to support you going forward.

On the specific problems you have mentioned:

Yes, tape doesn't work for hairlines if you want to be able to expose the hairline - glue is the better solution. There is one exception to this, and that is Walkers 3-mil tape. It is not really tape in the conventional sense, but rather semi-solid glue sold in a tape format. Once you remove the backing tape there is only glue left; no plastic tape. It is not quite as fine and undetectable as glue, but pretty close. Probably good enough unless you want a very exposed slicked-back look.

Reducing density is tricky, and best done in bits - take some hair out, see what it looks like, and if you need more, rinse and repeat. If you soak your system in warm water for 10 minutes, that will make the knots swell up with water and lubricate them so that the hairs can be pulled out fairly easily, without any risk of tearing the lace. Alternative you can buy some Nair hair remover and put some dots of it on the underside of the base - it will eat through the knots where you apply it, but leave the lace intact. Either way, take it slow and easy - the last thing you want is to take too many hairs out and create a bald spot.

I can't comment on why you can feel the rim. Is your base just lace? What is it that you can feel?

Noah

 

[AxC123]

I feel many would benifit from comments/answers on forums topics like this..

First off, don't dispair. It takes getting accustomed to and we are our own worst critics. To answer some of your questions, yes bond at hairline is better than tape. Some put tape , but leave 2 cm of edge for glueing. As for feeling the perimeter , yes and this is mote prominent if you have a poly back and side. Lace is less detectable.

I too am confused on the plucking and would like to know what others have to say..seen it done on videos, but unsure how to proceed on lace unit...

Thanks

 

[SeeDoubleYou]

I am my own worst critic I know, I thinks it’s just far from what I imagined in my head and came as a huge shock to me when it wasn’t.

And to pay what is a quiet a lot of money to me for something I’m not 100% happy with instantly made me hate it. But I’m sure with all your advice and a few tweaks I’ll get there.

Thanks for the heads up regarding bond and hair line, I’ll request this at my next regroom. Better still I’m wanting to learn how to do it to save the expense, so I may have a go my self.

I’m wondering if using thinning scissors/shears would help with the density of the hairline as apposed to plucking....?!

Thanks