just wanted to update you all, particularly those that contributed to my previous thread and helped me decide to change my first system into a front partial and retain my natural hair in the back half of my head.
I got the piece cut in on Friday after much more consultation with my stylist and so far I'm happy with the result. it blends in pretty well with my natural hair and the density in the front third and the consistent hairline is much improvement on how my natural hair was in that area. That said, it doesn't look like too much of a drastic change which is exactly what i was going for. I've been back at work for the first time today wearing the system and everyone has been really complimentary. I'm certain nobody suspects a thing (like i said its not a dramatic change) but it definitely looks better and people have commented on my new "hair cut" and said it looks good. it's exactly the reaction i was hoping for. I've gone much shorter on the sides and i think that is what people are noticing rather than the hairline looking a bit fuller.
However it's not all been a great few days and i have to say the anxiety of knowing I've got this big secret has made me quite edgy and paranoid all day today. hopefully this will subside over the next few days/weeks as i get used to it and start to believe that it really isn't going to just fly off and nobody is going to spot that its a system. It's still very new and since sending my template off at the end of February I have been building up to this and now that I've actually gone through with it, beyond the point of no return, it really is a weird feeling.
the other downside was last night when I removed the system for the first time and re-attached. I wouldn't normally have done this so soon but my stylist had left a few black pen marks where he'd marked the area for the system that were now under the lace and they were quite visible if you looked closely. So i decided whilst i had the full evening to do it that I would give it a go. Wow! please, please, please tell me this part gets easier guys. the whole process from getting it off to putting it back and looking right took me nearly two and a half hours. and it was two and a half hours of absolute anxiety, fear and stress. Firstly when i released the system i managed to get a load of hairs stuck in the tape residue and curled round it so there was no way to separate them. so I lost a few there. then i was so paranoid about attempting any sort of mirror slide etc, for fear of ripping the lace or forcing more of the residue into the hair that it took me ages to carefully remove the tape. i really hope I get more confident soon with it because it really was a nightmare. trying to then get new tape onto such a small system just for the back line was a real pain too. trying to line up the tape against the edge without getting more hair stuck in it was really tricky. I decided it was too difficult to try and do that with the front so opted for two layers of ORWG in that area. it went on without a problem but when I layed the lace down i ended up with so much hair stuck in the glue that it just became a bit of a mess. luckily i'm not exposing the hairline very much at all with this style but seriously if I carry on at this rate there won't be anything left on this system after a few more bodged attachment attempts. i tried to relaese the dtuck down hairs with a bit of alcohol on a cue tip but it did nothing so i've basically got some of my hairline stuck to my forehead and can't move it. any suggestions on how to stop this happening again? it seems so hard to stop the loose hairs ending up either curled round the side of the system and stuck to the tape or glue when removing or getting in the glue when I place the system down! also like and idiot i was fiddling with the front whilst still holding the glue brush in my hand so 7/8 strands ended up literraly stuck together like hair gel with the ORWG. again i tried to separate them using some alcohol on a cotton make up pad but it did nothing I didn't want to work too hard at it for fear of harming the bond underneath or snapping/pulling out the hairs so i left it. again, any tips for what to do about this?
I'll stop moaning now because i know this is a steep learning curve and i will undoubtedly get better with practice but any tips anyone can give based on their own experiences of starting out with removal/attachment and how they got better at it would be really helpful at this stage to give me a bit more confidence. I intend to order a couple more systems right away so that i can rotate them around and not be so reliant on a two hour+ turnaround if i need to remove and attach.
Anyway, here are a few pictures. I've marked on some where the system actually is. the ones of the hairline possibly show what i mean about a few hairs being stuck down. luckily not much of the hairline is exposed which gives me a bit more margin for error at this learning stage.
I have to say it looks GREAT!
There is NO way anyone would suspect a thing.
I'm really pleased you went with the front partial.
It looks 100% natural and blends perfectly.
It makes me think I must pass guys everyday that are wearing and I'd never realise.
What strength alcohol are you using?
I've found anything below 99% pretty ineffectual.
I've actually found (in an emergency) liquid lighter fuel on a Q-Tip works better and it evaporates.
A fine tooth nit-comb is really good for separating hairs stuck together with glues.
Also if you use a microfibre cloth, this removes excess glue quite well.
And finally, the best glue remover I've EVER found is Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover.
When you say you got hairs stuck in the ORWG, do you mean into glue that went past the front edge of the lace or do you mean the glue in between the lace?
If its the first one, then next time, to mark where to apply the glue, take the teeth of a comb and press them into your scalp all along the front hairline edge of the lace. This will leave dents that last long enough for you to apply the glue and shows you exactly where to apply it.
If its the second one, then try not to press the lace into the glue with you fingers, use a comb and systematically work your way along the lace pressing it down. That way you don't get clumps of hairs being pressed down at the same time.
Thanks, I've seen autoglym mentioned quite a lot in here so I will definitely try and get some this week and try it out. I used 99% alcohol to try and separate the hairs but possibly I didn't work at it hard enough as I was so scared of pulling the hairs out or damaging them. Soaking the whole unit in a solvent such as autoglym when I remove it seems like a less aggressive and therefore more appealing way to try and separate these hairs so ill try that out. Is it a problem getting autoglym in the hair though? Does it just wash out and not damage the hair at all?
Thanks for the feedback on the system itself. I'm glad I chose this route to as it means none of the system is touching my pillow so sleeping us comfortable and also the view of my crown looks totally natural (because it is!) the downside to the partial is that when its not styled you can see a big difference between my hair at the back and the system hair in the front in terms if texture and the direction it lies in. It's not a problem once I've put done styling product in there though.
re getting the hang of it, piece of cake, honestly.
it not all about perfection or getting things right, its also being able to sought out a mistake.
and realising glue in you're hair or below youre hair line, is not the end of the world.
its fixable, changeable,do-able, your in control now.and that's the most comforting feeling.
a few touch ups, full debonds,bonds and you'll have you're routine in place and you'll be flying.
usually it will be maybe badly placed, and that means clean up re bond, re position, that's usually the bottom line. "time"
maybe as a new wearer you could use alcohol on you're bond before placing the system this gives you around a minute to move it or make corrections before the alcohol evaporates and the hair piece is set in place
enjoy the wearing game, looking and feeling euphoric,
the modern brave guy takes the risk, jumps the fear confronts the attitudes,
and payback, looking feeling you're best
Unbelievable - I had no idea a front partial could look so good - would be interesting to see if it actually looks as good in person but the impressions from the pic are good.
The major problem I've got currently is getting glue in my hair. I used the autoglym as recommended by Hersute and it really did a good job of cleaning the adhesive off the lace and i thought it had cleaned the ORWG out of the hair. I'm a bit clumsy with it at the moment and am making some massive mistakes when attaching the hairline to the point where I'm getting glue on my fingers and then glue in the hair that is really stubborn to remove. After using the autoglym bath I combed through the hair, washed it, put conditioner in, combed it through again and it seemed fine, but then once the hair was dry it was apparent that the hairs were still locked together where I had got glue in it. I'm not talking about a couple of hairs either i mean big clumps together like i've put hair gel in there. I think i may have to abandon glue for now and use tape for the hairline until I'm a bit more confident, but until then, how do i get rid of the glue from the hairs and get it back to how it was. do I need to leave it longer in the autoglym or give it a second bath once the adhesive is off the lace and comb it through several times before I wash the autoglym off?. i'm worried i've made irreversable mistakes here and my new unit is going to be 5/6weeks away. the hair is matted together and is really unmanageable in certain areas. has anyone else ever done this and managed to correct it? any further help would be really appreciated. thanks
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