hairykrishna and Bangless,

Show me pics of men with topper wigs that you think you can spot, and you'll see that one (or more) of the following 7 points were not taken into consideration by the wearer:

1. Color match between wig and real hair.

2. Curl/Wave match between wig and real hair.

3. Density match between wig and real hair.

4. Invisible base (attached firmly all around !).

5. Bleached knots all around.

6. Usage of some hair product.

7. The wig's front hair pattern, needs to naturally match the pattern of the wearer's temple hair (if the temple hair is not NW1-grade, this means the wearer will need to add temple flaps, and/or some hairline recession, and/or starting the hairline way above. There are not plain instuctions of when to use what because anyone's situation is different, and sometime the only way is to use a combination of the 3. This is in my opinion where most wearers fall badly).


(btw, what I like so much about the idea of the full cap, is that you can remove 4 out of these 7 points !!!, you are only left to worry about #4,5,6).

Adult men over age 35 (+/- 5 years) with perfect heads of uniform density hair are suspect. The eye wants to know more.

- Does the shape of the hairline have a normal irregularity (forgive the oxymoron)?
- Is the hairline receding at the temples in the expected formation? Do these areas of recession (there should be some even for men with the most enviable heads of hair) blend well into the temple?
- Does the density of the hairline change along its course? Typically it does.
- Is there a visible part? Does it lead to a natural-looking cowlick?

Perhaps someone can better formalize what I'm laboring to describe, but if I were a game show contestant on "Guess Who's Wearing?" looking at actual heads, not photos with unreliable or flattering lighting, I would walk away a wealthy man. But, I'm not saying that every good hairpiece sticks out like a sore thumb. Most people are oblivious or simply don't care. Mine is a skill that's been honed over many years of hairline gazing.

I want to also add that I think there's anything wrong with wearing a great-looking hairpiece and having people know about it. Mid-'80s Paul Simon comes to mind. I've not inspected close-up pictures of the piece he was wearing back then, but despite whatever flaws it may have had, I thought it brought a great improvement to his appearance. He couldn't have assumed that people didn't know something miraculous grew on his head (he was losing his hair quickly during the '70s) but frankly I don't remember the public really talking about his new hair at all. His talents were such that they dominated the discussion about him, not his topper.

Same goes for Neil Diamond -- as long as I'm on a thread about iconic pop singers. I think most people know he's wearing a piece, but it becomes him and so, who cares?

Quote:Adult men over age 35 (+/- 5 years) with perfect heads of uniform density hair are suspect. The eye wants to know more.

So this makes Tom Cruise a suspect, so what ?, let them suspect, as long as they can prove nothing it’s their problem not yours.

Moreover, People around 30-35 can many times look at their 20’s with a good head of hair… so you won’t suspect them simply because you don’t know their age, and if you know their age, you’ll think they simply look young.

Quote:- Does the shape of the hairline have a normal irregularity (forgive the oxymoron)?

I don’t think so. The hairline has recession, but in most cases I’ve seen recession is symmetrical.

Quote:- Is the hairline receding at the temples in the expected formation? Do these areas of recession (there should be some even for men with the most enviable heads of hair) blend well into the temple?

After you make the template, you need an expert to look at your template together with your side hair, and tell you if it looks real or not.

Quote:- Does the density of the hairline change along its course? Typically it does.

That’s not really a problem since TopLace (and most other places) can mimic this if you ask.

Quote:- Is there a visible part? Does it lead to a natural-looking cowlick?

Not sure what you meant here.

Quote:Perhaps someone can better formalize what I'm laboring to describe, but if I were a game show contestant on "Guess Who's Wearing?" looking at actual heads, not photos with unreliable or flattering lighting, I would walk away a wealthy man. But, I'm not saying that every good hairpiece sticks out like a sore thumb. Most people are oblivious or simply don't care. Mine is a skill that's been honed over many years of hairline gazing.

Bangless, please take into consideration that all of the cues you talked about that make it easy for you to spot a wig, all belong to the 7th point I've mentioned in my earlier post, and indeed this point is neglected by most, and is hard to achieve well without professional help. Still, problems rising from improper execution of this point can be avoided by simply going with a comb-down style. Many people with hair go with this style and it’s cool.

By going with a combdown style, you won’t be able to discern whether there are irregularities in the hairline, or whether the hairline is more or less diffuse than at the back, and it will be much more difficult to see whether the hairline receding at the temples in the expected formation or not.

Here is a good example of a combdown style:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.network54.com/Forum/241571/thread/1201947383/1202054001/Brand+new+wearer+-+with+pics%21">http://www.network54.com/Forum/241571/t ... th+pics%21</a><!-- m -->

But, the following combdown didn't succeed nearly as well. Even though it's a combdown, he lost so much of his side hair that he simply can not totaly disregard the 7th point as he did. He should have included some recession to the hairline, and possible started the hairline higher. This is where a professional would really be of help...

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To tell the truth, I'm not even sure his side hair can support any decent hairline on top, maybe his only option to look good was to go with a full cap.

Jonesy123 Wrote:Here is a good example of a combdown style:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.network54.com/Forum/241571/thread/1201947383/1202054001/Brand+new+wearer+-+with+pics%21">http://www.network54.com/Forum/241571/t ... th+pics%21</a><!-- m -->

A very good one, for sure, but hardly undetectable. (That is if you define undetectable as meaning undetectable.)

Bangless Wrote:

Jonesy123 Wrote:Here is a good example of a combdown style:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.network54.com/Forum/241571/thread/1201947383/1202054001/Brand+new+wearer+-+with+pics%21">http://www.network54.com/Forum/241571/t ... th+pics%21</a><!-- m -->

A very good one, for sure, but hardly undetectable. (That is if you define undetectable as meaning undetectable.)

Do you really think that this guy got spotted on the street for wearing ?, hard to believe. People give you the benefit of the doubt that you don't wear, unless something screams otherwise.

What screams otherwise here ?

The fact that you KNOW he is wearing might cloud your judgement here.

Jonesy123 Wrote:Do you really think that this guy got spotted on the street for wearing ?, hard to believe. People give you the benefit of the doubt that you don't wear, unless something screams otherwise.

What screams otherwise here ?

The fact that you KNOW he is wearing might cloud your judgement here.

I didn't say it SCREAMED. One of the telltales is the difference in the orienatation (i.e., direction of hair growth) of the topper to his own hair. I can see the topper sitting on his head. It's subtle but discernible, again, to the knowing eye. The color is slightly off. But the biggest giveaway, to my eagle eye, is the solid hairline.

Are you familiar with science exhibits (and books) that show side-by-side photos that are nearly identical and the viewer has to find the differences? Being able to point out the differences is, to a degree, a learnable skill. It may sound like bluster, but I've acquired that skill. You probably have too. If you get a topper do you really think you'll be able not to tell? Great cosmetic results are achievable and therefore worth pursuing, but I'm not buying into undetectable.

Quote:I didn't say it SCREAMED. One of the telltales is the difference in the orienatation (i.e., direction of hair growth) of the topper to his own hair. I can see the topper sitting on his head. It's subtle but discernible, again, to the knowing eye.

This could have been solved if he grew his hair just a little bit longer, and used *more* gel. Then it would have been very difficult for you to discern direction of hair growth.

Quote:The color is [*]slightly[*] off.

True, but with more gel (or a "wetter" look), this would have been fixed too.

Quote:But the biggest giveaway, to my eagle eye, is the solid hairline.

I'm not sure you are right here. First of all Why do you assume his hairline can't be full ?, his sides support it in my opinion. Secondly, You've seen my pics when my hair is combed back, I have NO hairline to speak about, it's there, but it's extremely diffused. Now, if I comb my hair forward, then with all the hair I bring from the back and sides, it looks like I have a solid hairline too. Even if he got a lower density for the front, still, with the comb-down style, it would have been hard to notice.

JRob Wrote:I had to give him props, cause aside from a couple of minor issues (one being receded temple points) the guy managed to fool me at least twice, and that, IMO, is as close to perfection as one needs to get in order to wear "successfully".

Nicely put.



And I thought the pieces in the video looked pretty good.

When all else fails go the gel well. You may be right about this miracle fix-it tool. I've always been a dry guy, so what do I know? If I started using gel THAT by itself would raise questions!

Quote:When all else fails go the gel well. You may be right about this miracle fix-it tool. I've always been a dry guy, so what do I know? If I started using gel THAT by itself would raise questions!

Using gel is a huge part of my transformation strategy.

The only time I used a hair product was at a party I had when I was 12 years old.

I'm counting on people to think a large part of my wig transformation is due to gel and a new haircut (and maybe color, if I choose to do that too). People will want to understand how come you look so different, because lets face it, with a wig you WILL look somewhat difference, by using gel and a new haircut I'm just giving them the excuse they search for (hopefully they'll settle for that).