I wear a med light density (65%) all-French lace piece. Over the course of many years I've tried just about every type of tape on the market. I have very oily skin and always use scalp protector before bonding.

A few weeks ago I ordered a package of the new Walker UltraHold tape contours to test. I was less than impressed... Here's my review:

1.The Walker UltraHold tape is hard stuff to work with... It's very stretchy, very sticky and extremely hard to handle & apply. The cut-out shapes stick to each other easily and are somewhat hard to separate. If the tape even slightly contacts your skin, it's almost impossible to remove, ruins application, and means having to start all over again. I struggled with this tape more than any other I've ever tried—just removing the backing paper was a chore. 2. It has a VERY strong, unpleasant, lingering odor. 3. Although it has an "embedded fingerprint" (surface pattern) that's supposed to deflect light, it's still very shiny. 4. It absorbed oil quickly from my skin causing the bond to fail—I never could go more than 2-3 days without significant lifting and/or having a feeling that my bond wasn't secure. I never went past 4 days without having to re-bond using this tape.

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Along with the UltraHold tape I ordered a package of NS-Pro2 ES-9000px contours to test out also. This tape is marketed by HD as having extra strength hold (that's what the ES in the name stands for). I wanted to try it because I read in the description that the bond was supposed to be so strong that once it was applied to lace you could carefully remove your unit from the scalp, then re-apply it several more times using this tape. I thought any tape that strong deserved a trial. Here's my review:

1. The NS-Pro2 ES seems at least 2 or 3 times thicker than regular Supertape (I could feel a noticeable "bump" at the edge of my lace) and is a very rigid tape. The tape did not stick very well to my French lace base at all. After just one night of sleeping with it, my lace lifted off the tape in places on both sides of my head, and within 2-3 days the tape-to-scalp bond started to lift in places around the hairline. 3. While I managed to remove my unit with the tape still attached, I was unable to successfully reapply the tape more than once, as advertised—it just wasn't sticky enough to re-bond again. 4. The NS-Pro2 ES seemed to absorb oil quickly from my scalp (about the same as the UltraHold tape). In both cases this quickly compromised my bond. I never got more than 4 days out of a bond using this tape either. -- One good thing I can report about the NS-Pro2 ES tape is it's VERY dull—probably the nearest thing I've seen to a true no-shine tape—as are all the other types of NS-Pro tapes I've tried.

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Disappointed with both the new UltraHold and the NS-Pro2 ES 9000px tapes after alternating between both of them several times over the last few weeks, I've now switched back to using my standard, regular Supertape, with a big sigh of relief. The bond I get with Supertape is so much better—always totally reliable, and a breeze to work with. I like how easily it applies, and also like that it's very thin & super stretchy so I can stretch it a little to line it up exactly to the very edge of the curve of my lace. I find I can always quickly change out Supertape using little to no lace release or alcohol and it never leaves a visible residue... I just wipe the lace with a little 99% alcohol, and I'm ready to re-tape. Easy!

(I think the reason this tape works so well is that, a) it doesn't absorb oil like other types of tape; and/or, b) because it's extremely flexibile/stretchy, which allows it to "grab" onto the lace better, gaining better overall adhesion.)

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After testing lots of tapes over the years, here are my top 4 favorites in the order that I like to use them, with my ratings for overall performance for extended wear bonding on my very oily scalp:

#1 •••• Regular Supertape (4-7 day bond; no visible residue; doesn't seem to absorb oil; very easy to work with; has a slight odor that goes away quickly; very thin & super stretchy)

#2 ••••• Blue Lace Tape (the longest bond—at least 7-10 days & sometimes longer if I want; absorbs oil slowly & leaves a gooey, messy residue the longer it's bonded; somewhat flexible, but not stretchy; the very best tape to use when sweating a lot or while being active)

#3 •••• Walker No-Shine (4-7 day bond, absorbs oil, leaves a somewhat messy residue if left on too long, slightly thicker than regular Supertape; not stretchy)

#4 •••• Stick-It tape (4-7 day bond; nice & thin; leaves almost no residue, but seems to absorb oil and get "stiff"/change texture a bit after a few days; not stretchy)

(Note: The bond times estimated reflect my personal experience. The range varies depending on how hot I get and/or how much I sweat... I CAN leave my unit bonded longer than the stated times in most cases, but I get a little uneasy whenever I feel my bond weakening, so I probably change my tape a little more than some people do.)

Hope everyone finds this info helpful!