Hi, I'm sending off my first order in the next couple of days. Its a custom full cap.

Kind of nervous about getting it wrong.
Although it's been refreshing to be able to relate to other guys experiences in their early 20's on the forum, and soaking in the knowledge of the veteran posters also. John has been helpful but other opinions are always useful.


I have attached pics of hairstyles that I generally wear also a photo of my template and some of me to show ventilation direction, minimum density and hair colour in bright lighting.


My main issues are with colour selection as I'm use to numerical colour charts. I have naturally multi tonal hair which looks different depending on lighting from dark brown to a dark honey blonde.


Other issue is the Top Lace density % completely throws me off and most of the other users its seems. I cant tell if they are they ventilate to the same % range but that the the density name is different
i.e. they expect a male medium density to be 60%-65% and a female to be 100%


The density ranges I'm familiar with are:
Extra Light 60%
Light 80%
Medium 100% (average head of hair)
Medium Heavy 120%
High 140%

In contrast to Top Laces:
Extra light density is 40% - 45%
Light density is 50% - 55%
Medium is 60% - 65%
Medium heavy is 70% - 75%
Heavy is 80% - 90%
Extra heavy is 90%+ (For women only)


I do have issues with bases but I'm just sticking with TL200 French lace to simplify my 1st system. Ordered a silk top in past from different cheaper company density was good but silk top base colour was wrong.

Anyway here's my order notes which I will be attaching with these photos.


System base:
• Custom full cap (template has been cut to exact shape, i.e. no further trimming expected).
• TL200 (64F) Fine French lace.
• Lace colour to match olive skin tone (see pics of me).

Hair type:
• Virgin Indian/Malaysian Remy Cuticle.
• (please ensure all the cuticles are facing the correct and same direction)

Hair texture:
• Silky Straight.
• Normal hair shaft diameter.

Hair colour:
• My hair is naturally multi tonal, looks different in bright or natural light, but mostly medium to dark brown indoors.
• An even blend of 2-3 colours: possibly dark brown/off black, mixed with medium golden brown/medium ash blonde.
• No highlights please.
• (not sure exactly which colours to choose on chart system - please refer to pics of me for final colour choice)

Hair length:
• 6 inches.

Hair density:
• Hairline, temples and nape starting at Medium 60%, graduated through rest of head, reaching full density of medium heavy 75-80% in crown.
• (not sure on your density % range - please use "hairline and sideburns density + texture - hair up" pic for graduation reference, and other pics for overall density)
• When hair is dry/wet, my scalp is barely visible, unless I part it with a comb (including sideburns).

Baby hairs:
• Light density, blended into graduated hairline, temples, nape.
• Wispy and ventilated to lie down, except on front hairline between apex.
• Slightly heavier in the nape perimeter, for natural grown out look.

Bleached knots:
• 100% throughout.

Hair style:
• Clockwise right crown, to be worn flat or spiky.
• No partings or breaks, therefore freestyle where necessary.
• Front hairline to be flexible between hair up/quiff and fringe/bangs.
• Please match general ventilation to direction to pics of me.
• Template has also been marked with rough guidelines for ventilation direction, and crown location (please ignore red outline around perimeter).
• (refer to pics of me and other pics for general styling for ventilation)

Your suggestions on colour and density primarily will be of much appreciated help.

Many thanks for the help.

Those are some pretty comprehensive specs

If you aren't integrating nape hair the color isn't that big of an issue.

Although the styles you posted are fairly high density you have to be careful not to get the density too high. Personally I would keep it at 70-75% MAX. When you first get this thing cut in it is going to have a lot of "loft" to it. Even a standard 65% density can look wiggy until it settles in. I would be concerned that getting up into the 75-80% range that the hair might never truly settle enough to take the wiggy look away. Styling product is your best friend, especially during the first couple of weeks, but even that has its limitations.

Make sure you send pics of the look you are trying to achieve. Might not help but it certainly can't hurt.

Is that picture of you wearing a full cap or is it your natural hair? Because if it's your natural hair it doesn't look like you should be wearing at all. You have a pretty good head of hair I'm those pictures, it wouldn't make sense to shave all that off for a fullcap

that's pretty much the exact style i am aiming for too! i'm going for a partial though

(10-23-2011, 11:05 AM)JRob Wrote: Those are some pretty comprehensive specs

If you aren't integrating nape hair the color isn't that big of an issue.

Although the styles you posted are fairly high density you have to be careful not to get the density too high. Personally I would keep it at 70-75% MAX. When you first get this thing cut in it is going to have a lot of "loft" to it. Even a standard 65% density can look wiggy until it settles in. I would be concerned that getting up into the 75-80% range that the hair might never truly settle enough to take the wiggy look away. Styling product is your best friend, especially during the first couple of weeks, but even that has its limitations.

Make sure you send pics of the look you are trying to achieve. Might not help but it certainly can't hurt.

Hey JRob, thanks for your reply.

I don't intend on incorporating, my nape hair except for when it grows back naturally below where you would have your nape line up with the clippers. I have requested graduated nape with wispy baby hairs blended into it for a more natural look. Also i generally wear the back longer occasionally currently its 7 inches nape to shoulder. So will be ordering other caps to wear hair longer and shorter for more natural look of growth and mixing up my styles, every 6-8 weeks hopefully.

My hair is naturally pretty high density, I ordered from another company in the past as mentioned above. They just made errors with the base construction, was way too small and the base colour of the silk top didn't match the lace or my skin.

For that order I requested it to have a nice natural volume and bounce at 100%medium density graduated to 120% medium heavy density on the scale and it matched my density volume and bounce well.

My own hair looks wiggy anyway lol, always been asked if it is by loads of grannies since i was little hahaha

Still not sure on how to which colours to blend to blend together of TopLace colour chart either. The tone of hair against skin is more important than the colour.
i.e. don't want to end up too brassy, coppery or ashy then it will look wrong wiggy and fake.

Will be sending all the above pics, they have descriptions in the filenames which don't show up in the attachments on the post.

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(10-23-2011, 11:20 AM)drew100 Wrote: Is that picture of you wearing a full cap or is it your natural hair? Because if it's your natural hair it doesn't look like you should be wearing at all. You have a pretty good head of hair I'm those pictures, it wouldn't make sense to shave all that off for a fullcap

Hi drew100

Thats all my hair, or at least whats still growing of it.
I have Telogen Effluvium the mid to long term type.

Fortunately I have quite heavy density hair and manage do a pretty good job of cutting my own hair, as you think it looks full enough not to shave it all off all I can say is thanks!!! was a major confidence boost .

My hairs really dense its like a solid wall of hair, I can barely get a fine tooth comb through a 1/4 inch weft of it, crown and rear sides of vertex is like the most dense part cant get comb through that unless hairs wet.

Downside is that like 40% of my hair is stuck in the telogen phase, its increased to that slowly over the last 6 years, hairs fall out grow back but only short (8-20mm)and dense. It stays static and suspended like that and never falls out again, i have no recession, just diffuse areas of dense short hair. Which my dense remaining wall of hair covers quite well, I think of my hair like a rainforest you have all the tall trees with the lower layer of low growing shrubs and vines hehehe

I could buzz cut but short hair on me looks weird also kinda worried bout not being able to distinguish the rate that the effluvium is spreading.

Sometimes I get an improvement if lucky normalisation in growth in areas but it's effects are short lived, as some 6 months later it just seems to get worse again and migrate somewhere else . Still working with dermatologist to figure out the triggering factors.

NB: If you was wondering, I don't use any concealers or Minoxidil as I'm allergic.

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(10-24-2011, 01:57 AM)noneother Wrote: that's pretty much the exact style i am aiming for too! i'm going for a partial though

Hey noneother

Which of the above styles are you aiming for?
(btw I've also replied to one of your earlier post )

Seems crazy to me that you want to wear a wig with all that hair you still have.

(10-24-2011, 04:49 AM)standbyme Wrote: Seems crazy to me that you want to wear a wig with all that hair you still have.

there's like a huge patch with several smaller patches of short 8-22mm telogen (solid mass of baby looking) hair between my fringe area and vertex also my temples.

The longer hair from behind are like mud flaps covering the short hair and the short hair is like Velcro holding the longer hairs in place. if it was bald under there this would not be possible as skin would possibly come through and the longer hairs would have nothing for styling product to adhere to with no shorter hairs there.

sadly its probably the best comb over you've ever seen

I'm after a style like the one below. It's the same style but can be styled up for more formal settings.

Still not wearing because I got scammed by Whitecliffs and waiting for my money back before I order a custom piece online.

BTW you've got so much hair left it's amazing you're going for a full cap. Have you tried concealers for the patches?

(10-26-2011, 11:47 PM)noneother Wrote: I'm after a style like the one below. It's the same style but can be styled up for more formal settings.

Still not wearing because I got scammed by Whitecliffs and waiting for my money back before I order a custom piece online.

BTW you've got so much hair left it's amazing you're going for a full cap. Have you tried concealers for the patches?

Is that you in the photo with the girl? and is that your natural hair colour, or did you colour it? got to say the colour looks really nice and the style

Hair looks full also for a pic a year 1/2 old
Are you going for full cap or topper?

I'm allergic to concealers, and the concealer wouldn't help that much as the wind is enemy no. 1 and hairspray and wax are my besty's

Going for full cap for convenience, hair matching issues especially colour and texture, don't feel comftable with the idea of forcibly subjecting myself to a monk cut for a topper (all or nothing I say no keen on being a patchwork doll between removals) or having to have cut ins, also have short patches around my ears and temples, which only full cap can cover.

I'm still not wearing either as I had issues, with my 1st order, kinda left me quite distraught after all the energy I built up into making the leap to wearing a couple of months back.

It was with a cheaper London salon based/online company they specialize in women's orders mostly but have male clients too. Customer service was lacking as they are a busy salon so phone messages were always leading to miscommunication in the order or different people passing on the wrong message.
So I ended up with being sent a tiny full cap that would fit only a babies head hehehe as measurements were wrong (never knew about templates then) Its a shame as the quality of the hair,ventilation, graduation and density was exceptional and they surprisingly even gave me a no questions asked refund. Once I could actually get through to the busy salon though lol

Hope you get your refund, never heard of Whitecliffs what was there pricing like?

If the company got my order right it would of been a good deal.

£120 would get you custom up to 10 inches of high quality Indian remy hair, Chinese remy, Malaysian, Brazilian hair or European Remy hair (tangle free remy cuticle) on a Swiss, French, stretch lace or ultra thin skin available in your choice of 4 skin tones , up to any 3 Colours blended or highlighted, any Curl or Wave Pattern, Texture, baby hairs, 100% bleach single, double or hidden knots 100-120% medium - medium heavy standard density up to 180% ultra heavy thick density and down to 60% extra extra light density and 3-4weeks delivery.

Prices went up by hair length in increments of roughly £20-35 for every 2inches so looked a good deal for us boys.

Again love the hairstyle noneother