How To Treat Hairpiece After Alcohol Soak?

[JasonM]

How do you guys take care of the hairpiece after an alcohol soak?

I've done an alcohol soak a few times with 99% isopropanol, maybe once a month. (Isopropanol is the only kind available to me.) I feel every time after the treatment my hairpiece looks like crap, and loses some quality.

I thought using argan oil shampoo and conditioner might help, but still the hairpiece is ends up looking like roadkill. Hair seems dead and dry, is difficult to style because it's so frizzy, and gets tangled in the brush. Only after a couple of days of use it gets some of the shine and natural look back - I guess due to natural oils, and additional leave-in conditioner.

I'd avoid doing the alcohol soak altogether, and I think I could manage getting the glue out with alcohol-soaked and cotton swabs, but I feel I can't get it clean enough with shampoo only. Otherwise the hairpiece will get dirty over time and starts having an unpleasant odour.

Oh, and I have swiss lace base with PU edge, if it makes any difference.

I read the discussion about the best way to get the glue out is to do the alcohol soak, rinse, shampoo, and condition, but is there more to it?

Any advise? What are the best (kinds of) products to use?

 

[BaldBearded]

If you have a Swiss lace with a pu edge, why are you using glue? Your systems is designed for tape, to attach the scalp to the PU. If the hairline is lace, than you can use tape/glue or a combination. But this systems is NOT designed for a full head bond (glue).

Your system hair doesn't benefit from your natural scalp oils, but any product you may be adding to it. You should be deep conditioning after cleaning.

 

[JasonM]

It's a lace base with PU horseshoe edge on the sides and back. I thought it's maybe not that important for the topic, but maybe it is. The products I've been using is Walker Ultra hold tape on the PU edge, and Ghostbond XL for the hairline. Will try Walker Ultra Hold glue soon as the summer is approaching.

What's deep conditioning?

 

[BaldBearded]

OK,

What you are doing for attachment sounds fine. Why do you need to soak the entire unit, or soak at all? Dry cotton wool to remove the glue from the hairline, alcohol if you have some remaining. If it's deep in the lace, use C-22.

Ultra-hold glue won't be easier to clean, I would stick with the Ghostbond XL, or do a hybrid Tape/Glue bond for the hairline.

When you remove, wash the unit with shampoo, rinse, and the condition with a color-protecting moisturizing conditioner. Don't get it on the knots.

 

[JasonM]

Ok, so according to some websites like wikihow, I leave in a special deep conditioner for 10-30 minutes, perhaps apply low heat. DIY versions may contain, bananas, honey, avocados, olive oil, eggs...

I'll check the local selection of products before throwing my hairpiece in a fruit salad. Lol.

 

[JasonM]

OK,

What you are doing for attachment sounds fine. Why do you need to soak the entire unit, or soak at all? Dry cotton wool to remove the glue from the hairline, alcohol if you have some remaining. If it's deep in the lace, use C-22.

Ultra-hold glue won't be easier to clean, I would stick with the Ghostbond XL, or do a hybrid Tape/Glue bond for the hairline.

When you remove, wash the unit with shampoo, rinse, and the condition with a color-protecting moisturizing conditioner. Don't get it on the knots.

Thanks. I'm new to the game, so I'm still learning. So far I'm skeptical about how Ghostbond will hold in the summertime. I break a sweat easily, and I plan to do plenty of outdoor sports, also in the sea, so I'm doubting how well the Ghostbond will hold. I've read that Ultra hold is more messy, and difficult to clean, but want to try and see it's worth the trouble.

I'm also getting there with the glue removal process. Apply dry cotton wool, scrape it off carefully, and rub the rest off with alcohol. Luckily the tape is super easy on the PU, usually peels right off with very little residue.

The problem is that even after shampooing the hairpiece still has some odour. It starts smelling like yeast, and I want to make absolutely sure I kill everything that doesn't belong on my head or the hairpiece. I don't know if I'm being too careful, but I definitely don't want to create breeding ground for a skin condition. Apparently I've got to be careful with hygiene with my body chemistry, and hairpiece plus the products.

 

[BaldBearded]

So are you soaking in alcohol after washing, I don't understand? There is no need... just a good shampoo. Also, while you are wearing, you can also wash you system in the shower with shampoo if you think you need it. Just wait after the first 24 hours after bonding to be safe.

 

[JasonM]

Yeah, I've tried to read a lot to learn. I think I got some of the basics. My routine at the moment is like this:

Shower every 2-3 days, sometimes with a shower cap, sometimes rinse with water or conditioner only, but usually a normal shampoo + conditioner wash about twice a week. I get about 2 weeks of comfortable wear with the tape, then I'll do a complete detach+cleanup, and sometimes switch to my other piece. In the 2 weeks time the Ghostbond gives up first, naturally. For that I usually have to do at least one complete reattach of the hairline (includes removing the Ghostbond with dry cotton wool, and reapplying, tape stays on), otherwise occasional minor cleanup and fixing the hairline will do.

I find the Ghostbond is easiest to remove after a shower when the the hairpiece is wet after wash. Sauna makes it even easier, and also loosens up the tape nicely. Usually it's a breeze to remove. As part of complete removal process, I've tried just shampooing and conditioning, but as mentioned, it gets smelly, and also itchy pretty quickly after I put it on again. Therefore I've experimented with the alcohol soak process, which is discussed elsewhere in the forum as part of the cleanup and glue removal so I thought it would be ok to do. I does sound like a harsh thing to do, and if I can, I'd be happy to avoid it since it's probably shortening the lifetime of the hairpiece. Plus I think the colour fades as well.

Maybe it's my shampoo, or I'll just have to give it a more thorough wash to get it really clean...

 

[Noah]

Hi Jason, a few thoughts from what you have said:

99% isopropanol is the best solvent/cleaner, but it does dry the hair out. So the aim should be, so far as possible, to soak just the base and keep the hair shafts out of the alcohol. I have a big shallow dish, like an old-fashioned soup plate. I put in about a centimetre of alcohol, and that is enough to allow me to submerge the whole mesh base. I Propecia the longer hairs out of the liquid with some chopsticks.

Once the soak has finished you rinse with tepid water and then shampoo and condition. Keep the conditioner off the base and knots. Always rinse the hairpiece upside-down with the water running through the base mesh to the hair below.

I guess your shampooing schedule depends on where you live and your body chemistry, but definitely shampooing the piece shortens its lifespan, so the aim should be to do it as infrequently as is compatible with good hygiene and personal fragrance. Personally I find once a week with shampoo is enough. The system never really gets dirty the way biohair does, because it doesn't have sebum being pumped onto it. The rest of the time I just let the warm water of the shower run through the hp hair and the lace mesh, and I find that is enough to keep everything fresh. Your mileage may vary, but it's worth experimenting. Don't assume you have to wash the piece as much as you wash your biohair.

One last thought: are you protecting your hairpiece from sun damage? The sun is the number one factor which fritzes the hair and shortens the life of your piece. If you are not already doing it, get some leave-in conditioner with a sunscreen, and use it every day you will be out of doors.

Hope there is something useful in there.

Noah