(08-28-2011, 06:18 AM)expriest Wrote: Re: what Jrob said. Yes, shampooing often will speed up the time that the piece turns brassy. However, I don't really see how guys can go that long w/o shampooing it. If you use any products they need to be washed out, in my opinion. If you just wet the hair the products just stay in the hair and make the hair less than clean and soft feeling. That's just my experience. So I shampoo often and use that unred drabber product.

I agree. When you use styling products you have to get the old stuff out at least once every week or the hair just doesn't look and act right. That's why it is super important to use a shampoo that is not only gentle on the hair, but that also has conditioning properties so it stays hydrated throughout the washing process.

Shampoos can be the "silent killer" of hair systems. You probably won't notice a difference over the course of a few days or a few weeks, but the reason why a lot of people have dryness, fading, and shedding issues after a couple of months is because they are slowly stripping the color and moisture out of the hair.

Before I really understood how all of this worked I was using "natural" shampoos that I got from CVS. In retrospect I can now see that this was what was destroying the hair. They didn't have sulfates or parabens, but they weren't "lubricating" the hair properly and I am guessing that the pH was too high because every time I finished washing the hair felt like wet cardboard.

On a side note- when you use styling product regularly as I do, It is important to use a clarifying shampoo or something with a little more strength (dishwashing liquid works well) to remove buildup on occasion. I was reminded of this recently when one of my units started to look ratty and feel nasty. I assumed it was because the hair was almost dead, but since it hadn't really shed I decided to see if it was product buildup that was making the hair look and feel unnatural. Sure enough....I got the buildup out of the hair and it made a huge difference.

Jrob, so what shampoos do you recommend for a wearer who washes frequently? I'm currently using the everpure shampoo and conditioner. It's ok, but I would like to try different ones. I have medium brown hair (#4ash) and I get brassy pretty fast.

I on the other hand am extremely grateful to Paul in Ireland,
from someone desperately concerned about his hair loss,self-esteem, identity ect
I knew that ultimately if I had to wear I would, and that step seemed light years away,but one day it did arrive as I knew inevitably it would.
What can I say,im overjoyed, made my first piece “topper, partial” last a year 14 oct 2012.
Only real problems, are.

1) ¼” hair loss at the hairline, where all I have is sfsl--------so I moved the hairline ¼ “ forward,but ultimately im making the job harder than it need be, I think I’ll trim some lace off. As I said I’m making concealing much tougher not having hair there just lace.i do a dam good job bonding even if I congratulate myself.ofcourse draw back of moving forward is you compromise the rear, but its ok.
Real shame because when the piece is washed and with leave in conditioner sprayed in,looks really nice.fresh.

Just wish I had the guts to colour, I watched the utube review, paul-reff Back2natural,
The reviewer said you could leave it on as long as 10 m without the system coming to any harm as the product
Chemicals ect are so gentle,but suppose that depends on how deep you want colour.

I recon once iv cracked colour touch ups, I’ll be soughted.
Urm I wanna just stretch my piece for one more month and say I got a year out of it
And I’’ start wearing my second hair system, skin (medium)

Reff bonding hairline, I love orwg,
Mistake I now know I sometimes made or got a tad cocky,
Just one rule make sure the scalp area is mega clean,not sure it’s clean, doubts? Clean with alcohol again and test with your finger.
If in doubt clean it again,
Works for me evereytime.take no chances,
Same applies to lace (ditto)

Anty 

Anty--thanks for that.....just to clarify....Back2natural is fine to leave on for longer...it`s the proprietary coloring products that you have to `watch`..... they are strong and will really deepen the color quite fast , so no more than about 3 minutes for those, and they are not as `kind`to system hair as `Back2natural`..... coloring your system hair is not too tricky...just be careful to keep it off the lace to avoid permanently staining it, and `watch`the clock carefully if using proprietary products. Paul.

(08-29-2011, 04:42 AM)expriest Wrote: Jrob, so what shampoos do you recommend for a wearer who washes frequently? I'm currently using the everpure shampoo and conditioner. It's ok, but I would like to try different ones. I have medium brown hair (#4ash) and I get brassy pretty fast.

I try to avoid talking about my products on here but I can't stress enough the importance of using the right shampoo. A person could probably get away with using just about any kind of detergent or soap on the hair a few times and not notice much of a difference but over the course of time it can cause a lot of damage if it isn't formulated to address the issues that are specific to processed hair.

On one end of the spectrum you have strong clarifying shampoos that are made to strip the hair of hair product buildup. Obviously you would only use something like that when it is necessary. On the other end of the spectrum you have plain water. Water itself won't harm the hair but its cleansing properties are very limited.

When you wash a hairpiece it needs to be with a shampoo that is far down on the mild end of the spectrum. People really like the sensory experience of big, fluffy suds in their shampoo, but that is part of what is responsible for stripping the hair of color and vital moisture. With any shampoo, wash after wash, the hair slowly gets robbed of the essentials that make it look and feel like natural growing hair. The trick is to use something that dramatically slows this process, and use it sparingly.

I haven't tried the everpure products but if the hair is gets brassy quickly then it might be stripping the pigments out of the hair prematurely.

Do you use a water filter when you wash?

I just got the back2natural, can I just put it on my hair like a regular shampoo... I am worried it will stain the lace...

Just shampoos the hair and then rinse/blot -dry it on a towel. Apply Back2natural to damp hair..... I applied it using a wide-toothed comb....just squeezed it onto the comb teeth and drew it through the hair [hold the system upside down] from the `roots`to the tips.... I kept it off the lace but it doesn`t really do any staining as such if some gets on..... it`s not as strong as the `normal`products for coloring hair...try not to snag your lace with the comb too. Also apply it to your own damp growing hair to help with color-blending issues...... just hop into the shower to rinse it off.