As I'm reading and researching I find myself at the crossroads of conflict.

There is the opinion that these things are perfect and nobody will ever know. Then there is the opinion of "dont fool yourself kid." Kinda like, yeah these things have come a long way but it is what it is.

We have the usual cheer leading going on every time someone posts a good set of pics but is this realistic? I mean it's perfectly healthy and I do encourage the complimenting but are we doing it as an attaboy while we secretly know the truth, or is the truth something different?

Basically what I'm asking is not how good and realistic these things are. I'm asking a 100% truth seeking question. I'm asking are they perfect? Can I wear one and NO ONE will ever know? Not a you will probably fool most but some will know, I mean whats the realistic ratio of these things?

Opinions comments and personal experience please. I hope a lot of people chime in as 1 person cant answer this question. 1 can say perfect another may say not perfect. If we get a lot of people posting good honest replies we can notice the real trend.

You're asking the wrong question.
You need to ask if everyone is applying them perfectly.
Is everyone ordering the perfect & appropriate piece for themselves?

Look... its a piece of lace fabric with hairs knotted on to it.
There isn't much more to it than that.
You can ponder, dwell, hypothesise until you're blue in the face and several stages nearer being balder.
Or you can invest a relatively small amount of money and try it for yourself.

Because whatever answers you get from other people, it still won't get you any nearer to knowing the answer you need.
The important question is, "Does it work for you?"

I can tell you now that the overall answer you'll get will be that its not "the perfect solution"
A) there is no such thing as 'perfect'
B) The real solution is to not have lost the hair in the first place.
C) Perfection is an unreasonable expectation and predetermines the likelihood of being disappointed.

So the answer you'll get is that its your best option.

Hi there,

I can 100% definitely understand your slight doubts over this decision and it's perfectly normal as we've kind of all been at that stage in the first place.

When I first opened the package and seen the lace hair system I thought, 'Shit, what have I done'. However because I was cutting the piece myself just for a partial at the front, I took the gamble and attached with the adhesive, and after attachment It came to huge surprise at just how good and natural it looked! No word of a lie. I think the key to it looking at it's most natural is a good blend. Colour match and cut-ins are essential in my opinion.

I'm 21 and been wearing a partial system for a year now. I started receeding at 19 and my hair was starting to get noticeably thinner this obviously making me feel really uncomfortable and down. I literally can do everything with it on from sports to playing live music shows!

I hope this was of some help.

As someone who doesn't wear yet I have some of the same concerns as you do. There is another recent post titled "feeling like it won't work" which addresses some of the same concerns. I feel as though some of the pics posted by members on the forum are amazing and look pretty damn realistic... BUT I also see pics that the hair looks obviously fake, out of respect to all forum members I would never mention anyone in particular. I do believe that a previous poster on this thread hit the nail on the head as far as his comments concerning density, color and cut in making the difference. The other huge factor is the quality of your side and nape hair. When someone has great temple hair that is still in tact I think that makes this hair wearing game a lot easier to sell. The most common problem i see with the not so great looking pics is density being to high. I go through days that i really believe this is the answer and then i have days where I don't believe it will never work. I can say that I met a couple of friends last night that I haven't see in a while for a beer and one of them who has been thinning for a few years was there. So because I've had my own hair issues for a while I'm the type that takes notice and pays attention to everyones hair. Well this guy looked younger and healthier than before so it caused me to start evaluating what was going on, well after close inspection I came to the conclusion that he was wearing. Now there were no give aways that would expose this and the blending and color were spot on but there is no other explaination and there is no way that transplants could achieve the change in appearance (trust me on this I've had them). The bottom line is that this guy looked 10 times better than before and there is no way that the normal person who isn't obsessed with checking out everyones hair and paid attention to what his hair looked like before would know. His appearance didn't really change that much he just looked healthier and younger. I also had a friend a few years back who I always believed had the best hair of all my friends and after years a scorned woman he was dating outed him to all of his friends that he was wearing. This guy had a modern pushed forward with the front spiked up but not really showing much hairline which i think made a big difference in selling the illusion. There is just no way that anyone would have thought that this guy was wearing and I used to run with a lot of brutally honest guys that would have spoken up if it there was ever any question. The downside about this guy is that when he was outed it changed him and he totally widthdrew from the group and seemed depressed. I think thats another aspect of hair wearing that needs to be considered, even if it does look great how will you react if the same thing happens to you (or me). So I've seen two seemingly undetectable hair pieces on my own friends that looked great, I hope this helps you in your decision making process. In the end I guess there aren't many good options available to us and it won't kill us (though the stress of doing nothing might) to give it a try and see for ourselves. Sorry for the long post.

Quote:I'm asking are they perfect? Can I wear one and NO ONE will ever know? Not a you will probably fool most but some will know, I mean whats the realistic ratio of these things?

This is a very common question.

If you absolutely require 100% perfection, wearing a hairpiece probably isn't for you. If you are willing to accept the fact that there is always a slight chance that someone, at some time might know or suspect that you are wearing a hairpiece or that you are "doing something" with your hair then you might be able to make it work.

To the best of my knowledge no one has ever been able to tell that I was wearing fake hair unless I shared it with them. But I know that it is always a possibility. Most hairwearers have good hair days and bad hair days. A new unit will tend to look a little poofy for the first week or two. Once it settles in it will look the best it is going to look for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and then it will generally start to deteriorate over the course of the coming weeks or months.

If your specs are right and you stay on top of your maintenance routine and don't try to squeeze every last bit of wear out of an old unit the chances of people knowing are pretty slim. And even though most of us have a day here and there where the hair isn't cooperating, other people are usually so wrapped up in their own issues to even notice. Fellow hairwearers are often able to spot a hairpiece on a bad hair day because they are tuned in to that sort of thing, but most people don't pay a whole lot of attention to other people's hair.

Hope it works out for you!

I don't wear (yet?) but I hear ya. There are lots of times that I see pics of users here who get raves from other members and I just hold my tongue. And, of course, there are others who nail it down very well, though I think as hair-obsessed as I am, I can still spot a wearer.

Two things to consider. The first is that the major sin that I think most users are guilty of is not opting for a hairline without enough recession. But without a gallery of pictures to reference this is a difficult point to expand on.

The second area for consideration is far more important to your psychological well-being. If wearing a hairpiece is going to be a deep, dark secret, then I think the paranoia of being discovered (and feeling like a fraud) is far worse than being bald. Wearers who, pardon the pun, baldly open about their hairpieces are in the best position to enjoy it the most. Short of announcing to the entire world that you're wearing, don't be afraid to volunteer the information to someone or acknowledge it if asked, or acknowledge that you've had "something" done. The point is, don't surrender your sense of humor at the ridiculousness of human vanity, as everyone suffers from it to one degree or another. It's either your hair, your big nose, your crooked teeth, your fat ass -- the list of things we punish ourselves over is endless. It's not accident that vanity is one of the seven deadly sins.

Watch the interview with Jason Alexander discussing his decision to start wearing hair. He thought through his attitude about wearing and presents it in a way that is disarming to would-be critics. He had a plan about how to share his decision and the one-time commitment of courage needed to implement it. Everyone knows he's wearing, after all, he's practically typecast for playing a bald character on the most famous TV sitcom of all time. He knows he's not fooling anyone and the best part is that he doesn't have to waste any psychic energy to even bother trying. And that's the liberating bottom line. He's enjoying it, not fretting about. He's in control.

http://farrellhair.com/jason-alexander/index.php

Please don't remove this post because of the link to Farrell (boo!!). I think Jason Alexander's attitude toward wearing is must-see watching.