I've been using ORWG since I started wearing about 6 months ago. I was really good at the attachment process from the get go, so I was lucky in that aspect. But the clean up for my was such a pain in the ass. My body chemistry and oily skin turns ORWG into a gummy mess that is a nightmare to clean. Even with AutoGlym. Now I have poly on my sides and back with French lace for the hairline and the rest of the piece and I use a perimeter attachment. But ORWG after a week would get gummy and and the poly would start to slide around when I slept. It would get in my hair and the hair on the piece and it was a pain to clean. I had to use Lace Release, then Pure, then AutoGlym, wash the piece twice, and finally Isopropyl alcohol to get it all cleaned up. A full detach and reattach took well over 2 hours. Luckily the lace hairline was easier to clean. I would just use Lace Release and then wrap plastic wrap around my fingers and brush the glue off and it would come off pretty clean, then I'd use Pure.

So here's what I switched to over the last week and I love it. It's made my life SO much easier.

I still attach the hairline using ORWG because it produces a great hairline and is pretty easy to clean up for me. But on the poly and sides I've started using Got2B Ultra Glued styling gel. It's awesome!!! It give me a rock solid hold the entire day. It starts to come loose in the morning but that's no big deal. It's not gummy, oily, and nasty. It's just a little crunchy. I just flip the piece forward, take a cotton ball with warm water and wipe down my head and another one to wipe down the poly on my piece. Then I use alcohol on my head but not the piece. Now this doesn't remove all the gel but it does reactive what's left of the gel on the poly. I add a little more to my head and put the piece back in place. It slides a bit for about 60 seconds before it sets so I have time to get it perfect and off I go. Takes less than 5 minutes each morning and I get a fresh attachment every day. when the glue at the hairline starts to break down (4-5 days) I just remove the whole piece, wash it, and reattach. The gel cleans right off the piece with shampoo and water. Now a full detach and reattach takes about 45 minutes and that includes taking a shower. What a huge difference for me!

AJ,

Have you tried tape on the poly yet? I use the ultra hold and get a week out of it in warm weather. I have poly all the way around, even the front, and only use tape. Clean it off once a week and clean the poly with alcohol then re-tape. Everything takes 15 minutes. I have never used glue and am not keen to try but as I have a comb forward style it does not matter. You can still use the ORWG on the front combined with tape on the sides and back.

I have tried tape but i have a horrible reaction to every tape I've tried. It gets red, very swollen, and painful. Walker tapes are actually the worst for me.

Bummer!

I know. I really want to be able to use a strong tape for when when I'll be sweating a ton or for longer attachments. But, this method works great for daily wear and on the plus side i get to clean my scalp every day. I'm lucky in that i don't get any smell, even with a week and a half attachment, but i have oily skin so my scalp just gets nasty and feels nasty. Although you'd never be able to tell. It's really nice to be able to get a fresh clean feeling scalp every day. I just wipe my scalp with a cotton ball and alcohol and away i go, nice and clean feeling fresh.

I love orwg, its expensive and takes along time to apply because as far as im aware it only comes in 0.5 oz sizes .
so id love another less expensive adhesive for 90% of my attachment and use orwg for the hairline,any suggestions for a good long hold adhesive similar orwg

thanks a million

ANTHONY.

Oldwearer: Question - Are you able to show the front hairline using tape on a poly perimeter in the front? I would like to try poly where I could get more durability than I get with my Full Cap Lace system using combo glue and tape.

I only wear an exposed hairline. I marked on my template where my hairline meets my temples so the poly lines up perfectly.

macmike,

I don't have and exposed hairline so poly has always worked best for me. I tried lace fronts for a while but the attachments never felt secure enough for my liking and at the end of the week they started itching. I wear tape for a week at a time and my routine takes max 15 minutes.

Just an update. I've found that the Got2B Ultra Glued styling gel holds even better if you have some hair under the poly. I actually the sides and back of my piece brought down a little over an inch lower than where my MPB starts. I know a lot of guys just make their pieces fit their balding areas but I get a much better blend with my hairstyle this way. So I decided to let the hair under the poly grow out a bit. It's probably 3/8 of an inch in length and I've found now that I can get 2 solid days attachment out of one application of gel without it lifting until the morning after the second day. I still clean and reattach the back and sides every day but it's nice to know that if I'm in a hurry I can skip the cleaning and attachment the second day if necessary, or that if I spend the night at a girl's place I don't have to worry about the back lifting off in the middle of the night. Another nice thing about this attachment is that if I couldn't get home to reattach the second morning for whatever reason, I can just use a little hot water and reactivate the gel, which gives me enough of a hold to last through the day if need be.