My base recommendation

[CCS]

I've been reading on toplace, and it seems french lace with poly perimeter and a strip down the middle is the easiest base to work with. I'd probably go with 1/2 inch or so attachment, maybe even less if you got a strip going down the middle. The density has to be high enough though, to hide it visually and keep a finger tip from being able to touch the base. The hair does a good job of making it feel real.

A base like that would be cool, attach solid, and have easy clean up.

Lift often occurs for one of 3 reasons:
1. There is old glue or oil residue on the base when you are trying to re-attach. (alliviated with the easy to clean poly)
2. Tension from the back is pulling on the front (alliviated with the center strip)
3. Not a perfect fit (I think since poly is pressed rather than pleated, it would have a better fit on the edges)

Poly is much stronger than thin skin, which makes it easier to peal off without damaging it, and clean more vigorously. The super thin skin of top lace is 0.06 mm, whereas normal thin skin is 0.08 mm. Not much of a difference. I don't know how thick poly is, but I'm sure it is not by much more, and it is strong. Typical office paper is 0.10 mm thick.

I know we all want the thinnest thing out there. But I can tell you from experience that lift is much more noticeable than 0.02mm. So is spending 30 minutes in the bathroom. I think you are much less likely to get caught if you can quickly and easily remove, clean, and reapply, and not worry about lift.

You might want lace, but you can feel glue and tape stickiness through it, or at least I can. Maybe if you use a lot less you won't feel it. But most tapes are at least as thick as the poly. I'd rather use poly and basebond.

 

[CCS]

But I'm sure many of the super experts will still go with all swiss. You definitely got to pass a learning curve to do that though.

 

[beemark]

There's no such thing as a perfect base for all wearers. Each material and/or design offers benefits and liabilities...

The thickness of ThinSkin can vary a lot. The higher the density, the thicker the base needs to be, although the difference may not be visible. In addition, knotted ThinSkin is always thinner than injected ThinSkin, assuming equal densities. And obviously, if it's too thin, it will be very prone to tearing.

You can also order ThinSkin for the back and side perimeter on a lace unit. Even using tape, it's virtually impossible to feel.

I see no reason to order all-Swiss lace. Swiss lace at the hairline is understandable. Swiss lace elsewhere is unnecessary because neither French nor Swiss lace is visible anywhere except the front. And French lace is easier to manage than all-Swiss.

A poly perimeter around the back & sides makes your attachment more secure. But it doesn't stretch like lace, so you need to make sure you've got the placement perfectly correct. With lace, you can stretch it a bit to compensate if you're slightly off.

I suppose that if you're very active, the strip of poly up the middle of the base might make the attachment more secure, but otherwise, I see no reason for it.

 

[CCS]

Thanks for the feedback. I heard that hair tied to french lace sheds much less than hair tied to swiss, probably because they can pull harder on the knots when they tie them.

For me cleaning swiss lace is just too hard. I know I gave up after only 6 wearings. Maybe I tried 8 wearings. But it was so hard to get all the glue residue out of the holes, and if i did not get it all out, I'd get lift almost immediately. I just think skin would be easier to clean, which would mean I could avoid lift.

The other reason for a strip down the middle is it makes the base slide less. If you pull on the center of a hair piece that is only attached at the perimeter, it will lift at least 1/8 to 1/4 inch, and if the bond is not perfect, you can rip it off, though it would hurt like duck tape. The center strip would eliminate that. I just want it to be as secure as possible if a woman puts her hands in my hair.

I'm still planning to body hair grafts on my front sides in the temple area. My hair is shorter there and in plan veiw of anyone looking, so if they spot me, it would be on the sides. I think I can fill the area in for $5,000. Doing the top would cost $20k-$30k more. I plan to do it eventually if I get the money, but until then, paying $120 per piece plus a few extras from finalhair.com, and doing french lace with PSB perimeter to last 4-6 months, I think I could look good and have an easy life for now. It is about price and ease. And with lace in the middle it would be comfortable too. When I can afford the $5,000. I'll chop the temple flaps off the piece and do the BHT. Then I'll just do the front topper until I can afford the $20k.

I heard knotted hair lasts longer than injected. Can the bleach knots in skin?

Could you compare skin, PSB, and super thin skin in terms of rips, longevity, and how well you can feel them? I know the order, I just want to know how big the difference of each is. I'm thinking about putting PSB in my hairline.

Thanks.