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+--- Forum: General hair replacement discussion (https://forum.toplace.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Thread: Day 1 results... (/showthread.php?tid=4822)
RE: Day 1 results... - needmorehair - 11-25-2011
You're a bad man in a good way, 24 hours.
By now you've dealt with the Thanksgiving Day ordeal. Let us know how it came out.
You'll figure out the rest as you go. There may be a time when you pass by a mirror and notice the edge is lifting a little and other little things. Just always remember it will be much more noticeable to you than anybody else. Just go with the flow and enjoy the new hair and improved look. If you sit around worrying about your hair now, or getting busted, then you've gained nothing. The whole idea behind this is to give us one less thing to worry about. You never have to worry about going bald again. Pretty cool, huh?
Looking sharp, dude. I'll be danged if they didn't give you a heck of a hairline with a thin skin piece.
RE: Day 1 results... - lzlmt - 11-25-2011
(11-24-2011, 03:35 PM)24hours Wrote: For those who haven't read my original cry for help, you can see it here....
http://www.forum.toplace.com/showthread.php?tid=4786
It's been only 2 hours I have been wearing my new thin skin piece. I decided to grow a pair and made an appointment thanks to everyone here. I left the salon and my heart started beating when I was almost home..... I walk through the door, say "Hi", hang out for 30 minutes or so and....SO FAR, it's been cool. I am insanely nervous for tomorrow though. It'll be a Thanksgiving miracle for no one to mention my hair... Some of my relatives know I use concealers and was thinning a bit, but damn....There is no way any concealer could make me look this good....EVER!
So any advice what to tell them if they bring it up? I'm thinking of saying that;
I've been back on Rogaine and Propecia for the last month or two along with a new Shampoo that makes my hair a little thicker...
Or that I'm using a little concealer....?
Or I decided to leave my hair a little longer?
Or should I just say thanks and shut up?
I also posted a pic (More to come hopefully soon)
Along with the piece I bought a Shampoo, Leave-In Conditioner, Hair Spray, Solvent, Alcohol, and Glue.
My main concerns are:
1. The hair spray that was applied is pretty hard. It's keeping my hair in place which is great, but will it ruin my piece if I don't wet it for a couple days?
2. The piece falling out of place or the hairline slowly peeling off...
3. Showering in it, I was told to shampoo once or twice a week.
4. If I end up doing a de/re, I'm definitely going to need some help with the clean up and maintenance.
Also thanks to everyone including needmorehair, JRob, furball, elvis, Paul In Ireland, fante, standbyme, topcat59, and Spartan for the encouraging words. I'm going to do my best to get this hair wearing game to be successful. God bless you guys and Happy Thanksgiving.
Hey Guy....looks great!
I have a Swiss lace unit, my first one...and I still have not let family and friends see me wearing it. Actually the only time I wore it was when I had it cut. After I got home I enjoyed it for awhile then took it off...I need to get over what others think and just do it!
I just ordered a thin skin a few days ago...that will make my 2nd system...I think I will feel more comfortable knowing I have 2 on hand in case of a "hair emergency" ..all this is very very new to this, but once I jump in I am determined to not look back and have hair on the top of my scalp. I just wanted to ask you or anyone who has a "thin skin" system what you used to hold it down?
I will continue posting on here because I need everyone's support to move forward with this big change.
RE: Day 1 results... - needmorehair - 11-25-2011
Then you get your butt moving, too, Izlmt. Get some hair on your head, boy. You can do it.
RE: Day 1 results... - JRob - 11-26-2011
Once you get through the initial shock of having to face everyone with your new hair you will see that most people won't even notice anything different, especially if you are transitioning out of concealers.
Looks great man! And it only gets better and easier from here.
RE: Day 1 results... - 24hours - 11-26-2011
Thank you guys again. Very much appreciated. I hope you guys can help out further as well, but here's a slight update....
Out of the entire 20 family members there, about 4 family members mentioned my hair. All they said were "it's gotten much better" or "wow, you're hair got much thicker!". Some still believe it's from the surgery 3 years ago....my closest cousin noticed about 2 hours later and I just told him that I'm leaving it long and gelling it. He asked if that was all and I said yes.... I know he'll bring it up again because he's bald and hates hair loss as well.
Overall, it looks great. I am happy, but until I master this technique of DIY, then I'll be at ease. I have yet to see a few of my friends, but you're right JRob, I feel much more comfortable now after Thanksgiving.
As far as what was used to attach, she attached it with Ghostbond. It's holding up pretty well for two straight days but I know once I start exercising that it's going to loosen a bit. That's what I'm scared of. I've never detached/retached a hair piece in my life.
One very important thing for you guys to know is that I am wearing a Thin-Skin piece. This isn't lace.... Will I get a longer hold with thin skin compared to lace? Also, what's the best glue I could buy for thin skin that would give me the longest hold? I keep hearing ORWG, but is that a specific brand or is there different types of ORWG?
I also already bought C-22 Solvent, some type of Lace Release alcohol, and QSHI shampoo, QSHI leave-in conditioner, and QSHI hairspray.
If I'm missing anything, please feel free to recommend anything.
RE: Day 1 results... - stealth - 11-26-2011
Well I guess it really is all piece! That's the first exposed thin skin hairline I've seen. Would love to hear more. Do you know the actual thickness? Are the hairs knotted or injected? What kind of lifespan does it have?
Does the front edge completely vanish into the skin? This has me back leaning toward thin skin over lace again. I went to a salon and they were pushing thin skin and I thought they were conning me, but your photo looks every bit realistic as lace. Congrats!
RE: Day 1 results... - 24hours - 11-26-2011
Thanks stealth!
But as far as he hairline goes, I should have mentioned this before... The stylist put the piece right behind my remaining hair on the hairline. I believe it was the right choice since it looks more realistic this way...she even recommended it too.
The piece is considered "medium" density. I'm not sure about the difference of injected or knotted...I'm still very new, can you please elaborate? And it's supposed to last anywhere from 3-4 months or more depending on the lifestyle. This part concerns me a little because I have oily skin and dandruff. I've struggled with dandruff for a long time.
Also, any recommendations on what glue I should by for thin skin?
RE: Day 1 results... - stealth - 11-26-2011
Yeah by the looks of it going behind the hairline is the way to go if you can pull it off, which you definitely do!
The difference between injected vs. knots is how the hairs are actually attached to the base. This is what I know about it but I still have a lot of knowledge gaps that hopefully the gurus can help fill in. Basically, injecting the hairs into the base is supposed to create a piece that will look like the hair is growing directly out of the scalp. Some people find them difficult to style because the hairs are more fixed at one angle than when knotted, and the hairs also lie flatter to the scalp, making the hair look flatter. However, the base cannot be too thin because the hair would shed so quickly (injected systems apparently shed quicker and so do not last as long as other skins, and they may not even last as long as lace), so the very thinnest thin skins must be knotted. That said, the problem of knots can be solved with bleached knots. I'm not sure which is more realistic, hair with bleached knots or injected hair. But given your medium density rather than light, maybe this all doesn't matter. Hopefully an expert can chime in here.
An advantage of skin pieces is that attaching is easy. A wide variety of glues should work for long bonds, I would think, such as salon pro 30 day bond. I was planning to go for short-term bonding, using Got2Be glued spiking gel for attachments of a few days. It works really easily with skin pieces for short-term bonding. Hardly any clean-up, washes out with warm water, super quick attaches and detaches. For long-term, over a week or two, clean-up can get a lot messier and take a long time, so detaching before too much time is helpful. But hopefully your dandruff shouldn't be as bothersome now with the piece, since the scalp won't be exfoliating as quickly or as much if you've shaved off a good amount of your own hair and covered the area with glue.
RE: Day 1 results... - Paul In Ireland - 11-26-2011
Hi 24hours.... I used to wear all-poly...what way the hairs were put into the material never really `bothered`me ... it`s only when I decided to go the `DIY` route that the technicalities of systems /material/ventilation etc. began to enter my mind. Now bear in mind I have not worn Polyurethane [which is what `skin`is ] for quite a few years and I know these new `thin` ones are probably better in that they are lighter to wear and less detectable to touch or sight [as your pic proves] Just to differentiate for you: Lace is a fabric -polyester- and it looks like a fisherman`s net [magnified] and hairs are individually inserted one by one into the grids / `boxes` and looped / tied into a knot approx. at the mid-point of the hair shaft....so in a standard 6-inch hair-length system, each hair is 12 inches long,.....each individual hair is inserted into a grid-box by 6-inches, then tied into a knot on the grid and the remaining 6-inch bit comes back `out`...so a 12-inch hair shaft provides 2 hairs with a knot tied at the half-way point. Usually ,skin systems have the hairs injected by machine [presumably while the material is warm / soft and `sets`around the hairs] or it can be looped which is a bit like how hair is attached to lace , but it`s not tied in knots....it tends to shed earlier for that reason i.e. there is no knot to `anchor`it. Some of the newer skin systems have a two-layers of material and the hairs are `trapped`/sandwiched between the two layers [I think there are small loops/knots on the bottom of each hair to prevent them slipping through the skin/shedding ] How the hairs are attached to a particular material can often affect the overall `look` and how the hair `sits`....which is why systems using a combination of a skin-material and lace can sometimes have a bit of a `clash` in regards to the way the hairs lie on both materials. Having said that, I`ve worn lace with a poly strip around the sides /back with no issues at all.
Just one point there--- lace -release is an alcohol which is sprayed on at close-range,at the base of the hairs so it seeps through onto the adhesive underneath and breaks it`s hold on the lace, thus allowing for removal.....poly, is not permeable/breathable like lace, so for removals [hopefully a skin -wearer will chip in here] what I used to do /or the salon, was spray/apply a little glue melter onto the skin [your actual skin] just at the front hairline [be very careful to avoid your eyes] and gently `work`it with a finger until the bond breaks just there...carefully catch the edge of the skin and lift it upwards.....spray on more glue-melter to the exposed glue and particularly at the point where the glue is still holding the poly.. .. do it slowly, allowing time for the melter to break the bond, and peeling the system back as you go.....a good idea would be to tie a bandana or put on a sweat-band before you start to avoid the melter running down your face/into your eyes. The citrus-based solvents are great for bond-breaking and cleaning the residue off poly/skin bases.Once you get that `start` at the front hairline, it will peel back gradually...don`t rush it...allow time for the solvent to weaken the glue as you go..... you asked about Ghost bond etc. --again some guys get great results with it, others don`t -- ANY of the glues or tapes behave differently form one person to another due to your physiology and local weather conditions etc.... use shampoos/conditioners which are sulfate-free and designed for system hair...... a light amount of pomade such as Brylcreem helps to keep moisture in the hair or a leave-in conditioner such as `Enhance` which also has sun-screen in it ... I don`t `mix`the two though..
ORWG is oil-resistant white glue...... if you google the full name you`ll get a list of suppliers..I`ve not used it but many guys swear by it for oily scalps etc.. I`m not a fan of all-over applications of glue.... you may `relax`a bit as you go and just do maybe a perimeter bond with a middle `strip` front -to-back to hold the centre of the system..... I just think coating your skin in a glue all over prevents sweating etc. and can lead to irritations over time, especially in hot weather, which is why I like the breatheability of lace .... dandruff is usually a fungal issue with the scalp..use a shampoo like `Nizoral` which combats it will usually solve it for you.....also , if you leave your system off overnight occasionally -- it will help the scalp to `breath`--you can apply a thin layer of `Sudocrem` which has a drying effect and soothes any irritations....it`s used for diaper-rash in kids....an excellent product. Just shampoo /clean your head as normal next morning.....anyway, enough of my ramblings, this is a learning curve just now....you`ll relax into it as time goes on but you`re bound to have some concerns/issues as you go.....don`t stress too much ..the worst part is over now ..you`re wearing and pleased with it all so far so just enjoy it !
RE: Day 1 results... - Hersute - 11-26-2011
Right! Now you've said its a piece behind your own natural hair at the front, I can kind of see it in the picture.
Before you explained, I didn't notice the line.
One suggestion would be that you use a small amount of thickener/concealer (Toppik) just along the front to soften that line and blend the density in to your piece.
Besides that.... looking good!