Lace system with black hair... how to handle bleached knots?

[doubleindemnity]

I have my poly Lavivid Mirage system and I think that it's good but to me it is perhaps too dense and I am not a big fan of the hairline; if I glue the base down perfectly and reveal the hairline, one can see the plastic. I'm thinking that I should just try a full swiss lace with low density. I see that there is a Lavivid model with 80% density. I just want a system that looks beautiful and is comfortable to wear. It's ok if it doesn't last so long because I have a budget to try out and get to grips with systems this year, and good looking hair is worth whatever price. So I figure that I should just go for the most realistic of all, swiss lace, rather than French lace.

Anyway, my natural color is a 1C (black/true black) but this comes without bleached knots at the hairline and I definitely don't want that. Has anybody here been in a situation like this? Do I need to go down a color to 1B or am I supposed to buy it in blonde and go to a salon to have it dyed to my color? Thanks for any help.... hair systems are awesome!

 

[Blue eyes]

I would definitely not go blonde and dye the system. You're just asking for trouble. I would also not go with a pure black color to stay away from the black "shoe polish" look. Natural hair is usually not all one color.I always order mine with 2 shades and it seems to work out fine.
I ordered a poly/lace hybrid system from Lavivid and didn't like it. Poly is hot and harder, to clean and keep tacked down. I also reduced my density from 130% to 100%.

 

[BaldBearded]

You basically have 3 choices.

1. Stop exposing your hairline.
2. Get a custom system from a company that does a dye-after hairline (virgin blond for the hairline, that is dyed to your color).
3. It is possible to go down to #1b and have the salon dye the system, if they do it right.

 

[doubleindemnity]

You basically have 3 choices.

1. Stop exposing your hairline.
2. Get a custom system from a company that does a dye-after hairline (virgin blond for the hairline, that is dyed to your color).
3. It is possible to go down to #1b and have the salon dye the system, if they do it right.

Thanks. I am still at the experimental phase so I definitely want to try exposing the hairline once in my life. For 2, getting a custom system that can do this, is there any practical difference between getting bleached knots all over vs. just on the hairline? If I'm paying for custom, should I just get bleached all over so that the crown looks perfect too?

 

[BaldBearded]

Thanks. I am still at the experimental phase so I definitely want to try exposing the hairline once in my life. For 2, getting a custom system that can do this, is there any practical difference between getting bleached knots all over vs. just on the hairline? If I'm paying for custom, should I just get bleached all over so that the crown looks perfect too?

Dye after for the entire system is way more expensive, no one does this, really. And the crown is usually not a problem, it's the hairline that gets the most scrutiny. I never get requests to bleach the crown.

 

[doubleindemnity]

Dye after for the entire system is way more expensive, no one does this, really. And the crown is usually not a problem, it's the hairline that gets the most scrutiny. I never get requests to bleach the crown.

Yes I see. I inquired at one place but that's for a custom system, not using this dye after thing. They said that the black can't have bleached knots. It looks like what I will do is get the 1B color and live with the difference or dye my bio hair if I want to. The salon said that it would be better not to dye it with bleached knots. One more related question... do I need to order with the exact hairline shape that I want? The stock systems have too straight a hairline for me. Last time with the poly, the salon just cut it down to my size and hairline curve. I can do the same thing here, but is there a risk that the bleached front hairline would have to be cut away to get the correct hairline shape? On the other hand, if I order a hairline and the bleaching is wrong, I can just take it up with the system manufacturer.

 

[whatintheworld]

Solution: Transplant for the front, system on the crown.

 

[mrdavies]

Solution: Transplant for the front, system on the crown.

Or just a transplant all over lol.

 

[doubleindemnity]

Or just a transplant all over lol.

If a guy has the donor, then sure that's a good option. Many system wearers do not have the donor needed for a good hair transplant.

My 1C system is getting lighter by the day and I worry that 1B will be too light. My current system looks great everywhere except for the hairline. I think that it really looks wrong because my skin is quite a bit lighter than the hair. I am enquiring around town if anybody can dye some of the front hairline areas blonde like this guy has done

I'm not even sure if that will work on black hair (does blonde + black give red ? ) but I'll at least ask around. I am happy to pay good money for a system in my color with a good hairline, but I can't see yet how I will find one.

 

[TEG]

There is a good youtube video on bleaching the knots. He uses a steamer. My hair is blonde so it has never been an issue with me, but I kept hearing all these posts about "bleach knots" that i decided to watch the video. I saw the before and after and it was done very well.

 

[notsohairymon]

I know this is pricey but if for now you just fully use a salon they should be able to find a way to make it work. I had your problem and they went 1B or 1C and dyed the sides (granted I'm a little grey there to begin with). I tried to go off concealors 2 years ago doing DYI and it didn't go well so now I just use the salon. Good luck!

 

[doubleindemnity]

I'm thinking of going with the M161 from Superhairpieces.
The guy in this video got their darkest color and has back and sides hair similar to mine and seems to pull it off ok

This one is a bit light though

But even if I can't pull it off, the M161 is lace at the front and poly everywhere else. Will we at least easily be able to dye all the hair on the poly area? Maybe a last resort is to leave the front hairline alone and dye everything else. The color looks very close, just a little too brown. Surely there are even hair products that I could use to make the hair look a bit darker e.g. styling clay which takes the shine out of the hair.

 

[cottonReville]

If a guy has the donor, then sure that's a good option. Many system wearers do not have the donor needed for a good hair transplant.

My 1C system is getting lighter by the day and I worry that 1B will be too light. My current system looks great everywhere except for the hairline. I think that it really looks wrong because my skin is quite a bit lighter than the hair. I am enquiring around town if anybody can dye some of the front hairline areas blonde like this guy has done

I'm not even sure if that will work on black hair (does blonde + black give red ? ) but I'll at least ask around. I am happy to pay good money for a system in my color with a good hairline, but I can't see yet how I will find one.

StickOnHair is a fun guy but he's very experimental & admits those units don't bleach well.


Dark haired UTS looks as fake, if not more fake, than its french lace counterpart. I can't the plastic showing in the front, which is does much more than the darker-colored french lace bases do. Either way, I don't fully expose my hairline.

 

[HairlessWhisper]

After reading this and your other thread about Ultra Thin Skin, I think the level of realism you are after is something that usually only DIY wearers are able to achieve through tireless experimentation or trial and error. You have to decide if you're committed enough to put in the time and to try to do things you maybe don't really know how to do, because I really don't think the factories and salons are going to be able to give you what you want to your fullest delight and satisfaction. They are going to be more focused on the limitations of the system and the economics (incl. their time/labor), which I think you see in BB's response. And putting these questions to guys who use salons for almost everything except bonding and maintenance is only going to help so much.

I think step 1 is being able to visualize it, and I say that because in the most recent photos you posted, your hairline looks to be about a finger's width too high (which is an awful lot).

Bleach tends not to work on the darkest colors (black, off black, dark brown) because most factories use textile dyes for at least these colors. Typically you need a product like Rit Color Remover to lift it, which is risky and requires caution and patience.

I would definitely not go blonde and dye the system. You're just asking for trouble

This statement is bad and wrong.

 

[doubleindemnity]

After reading this and your other thread about Ultra Thin Skin, I think the level of realism you are after is something that usually only DIY wearers are able to achieve through tireless experimentation or trial and error. You have to decide if you're committed enough to put in the time and to try to do things you maybe don't really know how to do, because I really don't think the factories and salons are going to be able to give you what you want to your fullest delight and satisfaction. They are going to be more focused on the limitations of the system and the economics (incl. their time/labor), which I think you see in BB's response. And putting these questions to guys who use salons for almost everything except bonding and maintenance is only going to help so much.

I think step 1 is being able to visualize it, and I say that because in the most recent photos you posted, your hairline looks to be about a finger's width too high (which is an awful lot).

Bleach tends not to work on the darkest colors (black, off black, dark brown) because most factories use textile dyes for at least these colors. Typically you need a product like Rit Color Remover to lift it, which is risky and requires caution and patience.



This statement is bad and wrong.

It looks like I will have to buy a cheap system and try one of these DIY methods. Maybe the best one for me to try is to buy a cheap blonde lace system and try to color it.

The hairline is that high because I needed 10.5 inches and the stock base is 10 inches. It will have to be there as long as I use stock. That hairline is roughly where it would have been if I had gone for a hair transplant, so it's not necessarily bad that I had to get it. But I always wanted a modest looking system. That's why I went back to get the system taken down in density and I am happier with it now. I don't think that I'm asking for a lot... I just want an exposed hairline and/or a hairstyle that lets me show some of my forehead with my black colored system. I know that I can only expose the hairline on special occasions and all and I am fine with that. It seems that I can't pull off either one with what I have now without exposing the plastic base. Maybe I've gone down in density too much and don't have enough hairline hairs to cover the base??

StickOnHair is a fun guy but he's very experimental & admits those units don't bleach well.


Dark haired UTS looks as fake, if not more fake, than its french lace counterpart. I can't the plastic showing in the front, which is does much more than the darker-colored french lace bases do. Either way, I don't fully expose my hairline.

Dark haired UTS vs unbleached lace for hairline?

 

[HairlessWhisper]

Maybe the best one for me to try is to buy a cheap blonde lace system and try to color it.

That's the spirit.

If you use lace I would coat the base in Got2BGlued to protect it from staining. I posted a video showing how to do this a while ago.

I am getting the sense, based on the prolificity and detail in your posts, that you are committed enough to a specific result go full DIY.

The hairline is that high because I needed 10.5 inches and the stock base is 10 inches.

In that case, you have a couple of better options. You can either leave a gap at the back and the overhanging hair will fill it out, and apply some dermmatch or a similar product if needed.

Or, if you're not using the full 8" width of a stock poly unit, you can graft some of the excess onto the back using hairpiece tape and clear nail polish or liquid polyurethane.

I think either approach would yield a much better result than what you're doing now. The way you have your hairline now, it just doesn't connect to your temple points in a way that looks natural, and at the same time it's too strong to look like a naturally recessed hairline.

It seems that I can't pull off either one with what I have now without exposing the plastic base. Maybe I've gone down in density too much and don't have enough hairline hairs to cover the base??

YES, most guys on here will recommend light density or medium light at most
What you have to keep in mind is that almost all of them are wearing their hair in a style that's at least an inch longer than the way you have it, or the way you want it. If you want to go with a very short, structured style (as you do), you are looking at densities in the 110-120% range to achieve decent coverage of the base.

You can texturize the ends to make it less full, but you really need to have that density at the root.

. I don't think that I'm asking for a lot...

You want a very short, structured style. Most wearers are wearing their hair in a length and style that conceals the structure to some extent.

This is kind of an uphill struggle for me since fall 2020, since it's become much harder to find a piece that's well ventilated and the cruder ventilation on the pieces we are getting now is a major hurdle in achieving that kind of a look.

edited for clarity

 

[HairlessWhisper]

Stylists who are willing to color a blonde piece dark typically will either get as close as they can to the root with just a tint brush, or use foils to keep the dye off the base. That leaves too much blonde at the root.

I use a razor cleaning brush at the roots for maximum control, it's a time consuming method that a stylist probably couldn't reasonably turn a profit from, you know?