Hi again kevin -- likewise nice to hear from you too. Am getting the unit cut -in Saturday 4pm . It`s a local hair salon and the girl who owns it tells me she has some experience with women`s hairpieces in the past. A lot of her ``normal`` clients are male and apparently she has a good reputation for cutting /styling mens hair so she`s happy to layer-in the unit for me [will try post a pic on here afterwards if it`s not a total disaster ] It`s a stock unit so I`m not really too bothered either way until the custom unit arrives in a few weeks time. When your unit arrives, don`t get a fright -- the hair is long and is all in ringlets. Just mist it with water from a hand -pump spray ---the type of thing you`d spray house -plants with, and gently comb through the hair a few times with a wide -toothed hair brush. Leave it sitting on something round --like a football. Leave the hair dry naturally. Mist it /comb it again and let it dry out again --do that a few times per day for a few days and it will soon look `normal`.
As for washing it --well, in my experience of wearing human hair pieces in the past [not toplace ] as it`s not actually growing it won`t be getting any natural oils obviously so the main problem will be dryness so shampooing too often will lead to even more dryness. The hair won`t be `dirty`as such unless you work in an industrial enviornment such as a building -site. I use Lòreal colour protect shampoo --it`s in a red bottle and it says it`s for coloured hair --even at that all I do is fill a sink of luke -warm water and mix in about a teaspoonful and just dip the hair in it for a minute. I don`t touch the hair i.e. scrubbing at it . I drain the sink and very gently rinse the hair under lukewarm water again without scrubbing or tearing at it with combs/brushes. Then I just blot -dry it on a soft towel. Gently comb through with your wide -brush and allow to dry naturally. If you need to dry it with a hair -dryer --hold it in the air and direct the air at it from a distance --heat is a major enemy of treated hair. I usually would wash the hair as little as possible --generally just mist it with plain water while on your head and style it whatever way you like. I use a spray -in leave -in conditioner too -- I found a good one called Equave 2 phase conditioner --- a bit pricey but worth it. Avoid waxes as they build -up and are hard to get out of the hair without hard physical scrubbing --that will shorten the life of your unit. I use Lòreal invisifix gel and there is no build -up and it just brushes out. It comes in mild, medium and strong hold strengths --have tried lots of gels in my time and find that Lòreal is the best for me. The trick [as I said in my earlier post] is to position the unit at the correct spot on your forehead where the hairline should be and to fold it back over the head i.e. position it correctly and adhere it there for the cut -in. That can be tricky with the hair very long --once it`s cut and styled, you`ll be fine on your own --just sit in front of a mirror and have another in your hand so you can see the back. I`m going to position it on my head at home, thne mark the front hairline with a pencil so when I go in to the salon, I can apply the glue just behind that line, leave it `go off`for a few mins [tacky] then with the stylist standing behind me she can attach the front bit, roll the rest back over the head to the neck, and then she can spply some glue there where the unit perimeter is. For the sides, once the front and back have `set`[happens fast ]just pop the hair up and you will see the perimeter --just apply a light rub of adhesive with an artists brush along the inside --- it will be enough to hold it in place for the cut -in. It might sound daunting but it`s not --you`ll get so used to it after a while it`ll be no bother. If you get any glu in your hair or the `new` hair just moisten a cotton pad with glue remover and pull it through the sticky bit and it will remove it so your comb won`t get stuck in your hair when you use it. Hope that`s of help --any other things you want to know feel free to ask -- I`m just telling you what works best for me --other people do things their way and I`m sure you`ll soon have your own way of doing things too Kevin. Have you seen the attachments being done on youtube? Some pretty good ones showing the whole thing --the transformation in people before / after is stunning. Just search mens hairpieces/styling on the youtube site and there are some examples on this blog too which are great to see.
Will let you know Saturday how it went --- fingers crossed ! If u want 2 e mail me direct just let me know and I`ll be happy to correspond. Cheers for now mate.

I forgot to say in the last post --you asked about cutting your own hair --- normally the stylist who you use to do your cut -in would be happy to cut your own hair when needed, though I often trim my own with the unit off my head but my hair is quite straight and fine so it`s easy to take the electric shears to it but it`s best to get a good stylist ---especially the one who is aware you are wearing, as they will avoid any disasters !
Did you track down a salon /stylist yet ? I found here that the ones which actually supply hairpieces [at huge prices] are not inclined to oblige you with a cut -in unless you have bought from them so it`s likely you`ll find the same attitudes -- interested to know how you get on with that particular aspect of things.

Hi Paul,

What a man you are! Amazing with all that information for me, you are a star. Hope your new piece is sitting well tomorrow after your trip to Salon. Be cool to hear about it, and how it's looking.

I'm not found a Stylist yet, but I have a few in Glasgow that are meant to be good, but that involves travelling quite a bit for me, so I'm going to see if anyone is closer up in the North here.

I'm thinking of going with a fringe for my first few weeks of ordering, I've been growing out my hair a bit. I've decided on buying Super tape and Walker No Shine tape, I've also went for Ultra Hold Glue along with Lace Release, Re-Align, Knot Sealer, Scalp scrubber and a Hair Trimmer. Do you think there's anything missing from that? I'm considering to go for a conditioner type thing, but would prefer to see if I can get that in a Boots/Superdrug type place, thanks for the tips on Gel/Wax etc, I'll go for that as well and give it a try..

In a nutshell, this is what I understand haha..
First look, is 6" or so for me, so i'm going to wear a fringe/bangs, I think for the first week or so, as I've not had my hairline exposed for a few years, as I've hid it under my hair , so maybe in a few weeks i'll be conifident after wearing to do that.
After cut-in, blending, colouring (if required), I prepare the scalp with the methods, then I apply tape round the Perimeter, and then no-shine at the front edge of the piece - say a few prayers haha! then, make sure my scalp is ready/dry for attachment and then place it on..
Also, re-align/adjust a bond stuff ready for helping me stick it on, and either stick it on to help if it's on squint.

Hopefully, it goes well, and then that's me for a while..

As for clean up, sorry again for the questions, but for cleaning the system - do you clean the underside(the bit that goes on your scalp)the lace even, or do you leave that alone? I'm a bit unsure about this , then once oyu've cleaned it , you leave it to dry, clean scalp,dry etc, and get ready when dry for attachment.

Once again, thank you so much for your help...
it's all coming together, ( I think )
have a good weekend pal,

kevin

Hi Kevin -- will keep this a bit brief as it`s getting late and am tired after today. Went to stylist -- was pleased with the job she did but as it`s a stock unit, the fit [ obviously ] is not as good as a custom unit made from a template [ have ordered one but it will be a few weeks more before it arrives] and this stock one is only to ``tide me over`` really until the custom one arrives. The only real problem for me is the back --my own hair [long story] was cut up too short a while back [am letting it grow back down] --it needs about half an inch more in length so she couldn`t leave the ``new`` hair longer than my own hair as she said it would look really odd [ I guess it would be really noticeable] so she kind of layered it in but up so there is still a bit of a density issue between mine and the unit --it`s fine at the front /sides but I would be conscious of the back but I can still pop on a baseball cap to mask that--it`s still better than the last unit I had supplied in Ireland -- it`s just the bit at the back that`s at odds now but in a few weeks I hope that will no longer be an issue. You asked about cleaning the piece ---well this is the first time I have used all -lace so from that point, I am new to it --yes you would have to gently wash /cleanse the base along with the hair in order to remove oils etc. As for the attaching of it, If you are using just strong tape, attach the tape to the base and once in the correct position [ your stylist can hold the unit in place at the crown] just `fold`the unit back[about half-way] from the forehead and peel off the cover of the tape and attach the unit at the hairline, then the stylist can catch the back and fold that forward, peel off the tape covering and fold the unit back down over hte head to the neck area and that`s it --attached. A very useful thing to mark your hairline at the front is a womens`eyebrow pencil ---- much more visible than a normal pencil /pen. I think my main problem today was the fact that the unit is a bit bigger side-to-side than the actual bald area and so was overlapping my own hair so I didn`t want to coat my own hair in glue as it`s messy . I used tape and that is obviously designed to stick to skin and not hair so the thing wouldn`t sit down firmly all around but we managed -- she put a lot of spray -in conditioner in it and some hair gel too --- I will give it a mild rinse tomorrow and do my own ``tipping and tapping`` with it ----when I`m finished I might post a pic to give you an idea of what it`s like [and anyone else reading this thread] There are some really good tips and advice on this site from many others and ones who are wearing lace units for a long time --no doubt you`ve read many so hopefully, I`m not confusing you ! I suppose it`s all food for thought anyway.All the best for now Kevin and hope the weather there is better than here --- strong gales all day, winter is really here now. Talk soon.

forgot to say . if using an eyebrow pencil, don`t forget to wipe it off just before you attach the unit in it`s final position or it will show through the lace. I was in contact with Debbie about ordering some products and was telling her about the stock unit / the fit of it ---- she was telling me [which I didn`t realise when I was looking a while back on the site here] that if you make a template, you can put that into the stock unit and cut all around the perimeter ---- I thought it was only the excess piece of lace at the front which is trimmed off --didn`t actually realise you could cut to a better fit --it`s a learning curve anyway and I suppose by sharing our experiences, we can all learn. I still think that by sending in a template and having your unit custom -made in the factory, the fit should be more snug --would you think? Might post later this evening again.Cheers for now -- Paul.

Hey Paul,

Again, what a legend you are! Nice to hear your views, and I hope the piece is looking well on your dome.

Thanks for the insight into the wearing, and the pencil tip for the hairline. I've still got my hairline there - so I'm hoping I'll be able to find it a bit when placing it on. Like you say, it is a learning-curve and I'm prepared for a few mishaps and errors, but I think through time we'll have it looking great.

Not arrived here yet, but I'm getting my supplies tomorrow from Debbie, well that' what the Post say So, should be fun,

Keep in touch and take care, The Gales are here too! Nightmare living on the coast! Bad enough that it rains over 300 days a year in Scotland, but we have almost 2-3days a week of Gaelforce winds.

Hi again Kevin -hope you`re well ? I`m not sure if this will be successful or not -- [ nor too sure what size these pics will be when I upload them as I`m not a computer geek ---- hope they don`t take up the whole page ! ] Will give you some idea of the way the piece was styled -in. It`s not a perfect fit as I explained in the other post --- these are taken under artificial light hence the shine off the hair --it is fine in natural light --- I wore it out yesterday in the car and had a person in the passenger seat alongside me who I had not seen for about 6 months -- he just sat in and it was totally obvious to me that he didn`t ``notice`` a thing different about me. The only bit I am conscious - of is the back where it joins my own as my own hair needs to grow down , as I have explained.

Hi Paul,

sorry for long time since I posted, I´ve had my birthday recently and my Gf came to visit me for a week or so, so I´ve not been checking the net so much.

I think your system looks good and not bad at all for you not being completly satisfied about it. Hope it works out for you, and thanks again for all your help. I´ll try get some photos, posts up once mine arrives, still not arrived yet, but I´ve got the tapes and goodies.

Take it easy bud, and all the best for now.

Kevin