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+--- Thread: Help with template (/showthread.php?tid=6308)
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Help with template - venkman00 - 07-06-2015
Hi everyone, I'm new here and just finished my first template. I can already tell it needs a lot of work and I'll end up having to make a second one. I'm already thinking about making the temple flaps longer, but I really need help with the hairline, when it came time to outline it I got stuck I really didn't know how to go about it. I didn't cut off the excess part of my template in case there's any easy fix by just adding more to the outline. Anyway, I'm 25 and it'd be great if someone would also tell me what the recommended density for someone my age would be. Thanks.
RE: Help with template - Paul In Ireland - 07-06-2015
Hi, Can you post a photo of your head with no template on top?.....from your first photo, it appears you have a reasonable amount of hair on your crown, underneath the template, and probably a front-partial system would be enough for you at this stage ....your side / back hair is really thick /strong [would love to have hair like that !! ] --- from what I`m able to see now, it looks like you don`t need a full-sized topper....regards for now .
RE: Help with template - venkman00 - 07-07-2015
Hey Paul, thanks for the reply. I do have quite some hairloss on the top of my head, and it looks worse than it did a couple of months ago so I'm losing it quick. Here are the pictures you asked of me without the template.
RE: Help with template - EarlyTwenties - 07-07-2015
Looks like the crown is thinning as well, so I would stick with the topper,Venkman.
My second suggestion may come as a shock... I would recreate the hairline to match more of what you have right now. Here are a couple reasons why:
1. You have the luxury many don't of actually having somewhat of a hairline naturally. I know it is receded, but it exists. So you can start wearing hair with a similar recession pattern such that people in your life will not notice the drastic change in hairline.
2. A hair system with a receding hairline will still look and feel to you as a HUGE improvement. That is because rather than sickly, miniturized hairs at the front and temples, you will have strong luxurious hairsystem hair. So essentially, your hair will look the same, but much 'fuller'.
3. One suggestion I have for newbies for their first system is to place the system half an inch behind their natural hairline if it exists. Now, this is technically a short term solution to a long term problem. But since you have a front, NATURAL hairline to work with, hairwearing would be much easier as you wont always have to worry about a perfect, undetectable bond. That being said, learning how to perfect your bonding at the hairline (without natural hair up front) may be worth just struggling with at the start until you've mastered it, but be warned that it will be a difficult learning curve that some master quickly and others don't right away.
Feel free to debate me on these points, anyone. I'm just giving OP my 2 cents to try and help out.
Disclaimer: I am a complete newbie myself compared to other wearers like Paul.
RE: Help with template - Paul In Ireland - 07-08-2015
Hi Venkman .... Photos can be very deceptive .....clarity and definition can be skewed [my own digital cam. isn`t the greatest for getting good pics. with ! ] From what I can see .... and the photo there showing your front-view in the mirror, it appears that you have more recession in the temples area really ..... yes there`s a bit of thinning on the crown and the crown-point itself but that`s kind of normal ... I know you`re still quite young, and naturally it`s a freaky thing to ` deal` with when you notice it, but it`s normal to begin to thin a bit at some stage..... some guys are SO lucky, and suffer little, if any, thinning, but most suffer some degree of it....just varies as to what age it sets in.
I`m glad ``EarlyTwenties`` gave his opinion too .. guys, please don`t take everything I say as literally ``it`` --- yeah I`m wearing hair about 15 years now, and have a lot of experience of it, but honestly, I`m not any type of ` Guru` .... I`m not too experienced in certain areas, such as these new thin-skin units ..... I used to wear all -poly toppers when I first started wearing ..they were functional and sure , I looked /felt a lot better than when looking at a big shiny area on my crown, but there were issues too ..such as these hair-clubs coating my head with glue, sticking the system on and leaving it there for up to a month at a time !! [no time to go into it now ! ]
Going back to your situation and the photo I refer-to: I`m wondering if you kept your hairline as it is now , shaved a little hair off just behind it, and slotted-in, a partial system which would restore your temple area ..... it`s just that I still think it`s a little too soon to shave the top of your head .... you could even use a little hair-thickener product ---``Concealer``, such as ` Toppik` [Google it]..this would help ` hide` or mask any thinning which you can see now ..it`s a temporary thing ...it can buy you time before you finally go to wearing a topper......you can monitor your thinning /hairloss over the next number of months and see if it`s getting worse.......
The trick with concealers is to know when to stop using them and transition to wearing..... a lot of guys use it way beyond what they`re ` designed- for` .......you wouldn`t need much of it as your hair`s not too thin .......concealers can have ` negatives ` ----can stain pillow slips, and in heavy rain , they can ` run` ....
Have a think about things before making a final decision .... come back and let us know what you want to do and I`ll be happy to mark a suggested outline of a template, on whatever photos you want, if that`s your decision [ to go for a topper] ...
Template-making can be tedious and time-consuming / frustrating at times ..most of us have had to make multiple ` stabs` at it at first ... it`s harder when you have a lot of hair in the way, like you do ! It`s a lot easier to make the shape /curve of a bare scalp !
RE: Help with template - lovehair - 07-08-2015
can you post a clear straight on picture, a clear 3/4 side as well? i can try to do a rough mock up.
IMO temple flaps are not as cut and dry as doing a topper template. without the proper ventilation and density they will not look right or blend correctly. i believe it is somewhat easier with longer hair but it looks as though you wear yours short.
as far as a topper or front partial i think if you wish to not use concealers your best bet would be a topper.
in theory front partials would seem easier but that is not always the case. sometimes there are blending issues and the fact that the replacement hair will behave differently than your bio. then there is the fading that will occur with the replacement hair. these issues as well as others would most likely arise more so if you have to use concealer for the rest.
RE: Help with template - venkman00 - 07-08-2015
Thanks for the replies guys. I think ultimately I am going to go for a topper because I don't mind shaving my head this early on when I know eventually it'll all be gone. The good thing is I've been away at school for a few years and the closest friends I have haven't seen me since I left so with this system I can pretty much try and recreate how my hair once was. The idea of keeping the hairline I have right now is good but I kind of want my old hairline, I just can't stand the way my current hairline looks, even it were fuller. Plus, the way I used to have my hair was long and it would cover the majority of my forehead so my hairline wasn't visible anyway. Unfortunately I can't grow my hair out long anymore because it just doesn't, only a few sections of my hair can and it gets uneven which is why I must keep it short. I kind of wish now that I'd taken some kind of photo when my hair was long to show everyone the difference but I've never been photogenic.
I've also looked into Toppik before and I have to admit I had been curious to try it, but I think I'm kind of past that and just want to dive into wearing a hair system, this way I'm able to have lengthy hair and be able to style it the way I want.
Lovehair, I'm not sure what you mean by 3/4 so I decided to just take pics of the sides the front and angled view from above.
Again, thanks for the replies guys.
RE: Help with template - lovehair - 07-08-2015
those are fine...bit late for me so i'll do my best to do a mock up, meaning draw a template on your pics. i might be able to photoshop in the hair to show you a rough idea of what it would look like. its a bit time consuming so i'll do my best to get to it tomorrow (the 8th)
RE: Help with template - lovehair - 07-09-2015
sorry but can you take them without wrinkling your forehead so that a more realistic placement can be done?
3/4 side is just about what you did in pic #2 in reply to me...so if you dont mind please re do that one and the front facing, but again not wrinkled forehead
RE: Help with template - venkman00 - 07-09-2015
Hey lovehair thanks for doing this, I really appreciate it! Here are the photos you asked me for.