Ok, So I've decided to finally take the plunge and get a piece. I've been reading off and on for years and have always figured I'd end up getting one and now is the time. I'm a full time and a half student working on a double major and I work as well so my time to do a lot of research is very very limited. So even though I've been reading, there is a lot of information to go through so I was wondering if the users of this forum would be kind enough to help me out.

Really the question I have is about which base to buy. I'm very active, I workout 5 days a week, I ride a motorcycle every day, and I tend to sweat a lot since I'm 225 pounds and have a super high metabolism. I sweat a lot at work and when I sleep especially.

What I'm looking for is a base that's going to last as long as possible but still look natural. I want an exposed hairline that looks natural but I want the piece to stay stuck to my head. I don't want to worry about it coming loose at work or on the bike. I keep the sides of my hair pretty short and I'm thinking about a 50%-55% density. As a student money is tight and I'm probably going to be buying two pieces on my first order so I don't get stuck if something happens to one. Because money is tight I would like pieces that last as long as possible. I know it's a balance between realism and toughness and I would rather err on the side of realism. So if you guys could give me some advice as to what you think would work best for me I would really appreciate it. Thank you guys!

looking at the systems available take alook @

TL600 Exercise Base
This one was designed for an active person that works-out, jogs, swims, 'plays hard' or is involved with any type of strenuous physical activity. The center is ILace for strength and durability. 3/4" poly surrounds the ILace and provides a smooth surface for glue or tape so you get a solid attachment that will last through hours of sweating and hard workouts. It has a 1" French Lace front to give a strong and realistic hairline.
Price: $329.00

alternatively search the forum for exercise, sweating , gym

youll find related answers which will point you in the right direction

What is the realism of this type of piece? That is my only concern. The area on the sides and back where my piece will mate up with my real hair is pretty short and my hair is fine. I'm worried about this type of piece having a seamless transition. I've seen a picture of the piece itself but I was unable to find any pictures of someone wearing this type of base.

I think your main issue will be bonding-material/s.....profuse /frequent sweating can be a challenge for even the best of glue/tape.....also, the acids in sweat can and do eventually damage even Polyurethane [` Skin` ] material if not removed and cleaned regularly..... usually the hair ` gives out` long before the base does, so you`re not going to get months and months from any system...mine tend to last a long time, but I`m easy on them and detach nightly also.....you`ll usually get shedding of the hair before the lace begins to fray or the Poly begins to get pin-holes [from sweat-acid] in it..... and average life-span of a system [the hair at any rate] is around 3 months or so, but obviously that can vary a lot, depending on many factors.
Bonds don`t suddenly ` come loose` --it normally happens gradually ...you`ll usually be aware of it and can do localised touch-up`s if the majority of the bond is still good. Maintaining hygiene of your scalp will be important with profuse sweating, so you`ll have to factor -in probably having to do more frequent detachments and cleaning than would be ` normal`..... I`d also leave your side hair grow out a bit because keeping it buzzed in ` tight` means the system hair has to also be thinned-in / tapered-in tightly and is challenging to achieve an `invisible` join...... it will be easier for a stylist to make it look natural if there`s a decent ` foundation` [hair] to layer -in onto.
If you`re using glues, you`ll possibly need more layers than most sedentary people would need and with tape/s, you`ll need something like Blueliner but this can be really messy to clean off if left on too long.... hope that helps.

Thanks guys. So will french lace give a good invisible look for the front hairline? When I ride the motorcycle I plan on always wearing a bandanna just to cover the front hairline to keep dust and dirt out of the glue.

As for the sides and back where the piece will mate to my natural hair, I was looking to see where they would meet and the hair is about an inch long there and tapers quickly down from there. Do you think that's long enough to make a good invisible joint? Considering my hair is fine and probably 50%-55% density.

i can only comment on the bandanna...thats a great idea...in my line of work i wear a hard hat so for me to "wear" and expect it stay blended and undetectable is an issue, not to mention dirt building at the front..so i always wear one at work..
any how i would advise to wear a well worn, faded, washed out (color wise) bandanna.
this is from experience..the bandanna i had been using just always seems to bleed color when i wash it. i had not realized this until one day when i got home and removed it i noticed that i had a slight bluish hue at my hairline. i guess the glue absorbed the color fortunately it did nothing to the lace base...

I wear French lace..to be honest, I find it practically the same as Swiss... I got one system last year and was convinced it was Swiss --even asked John to check with the factory to see if they`d made a mistake ! It`s only marginally ` heavier` than Swiss and just as invisible--that`s my experience of Toplace French lace to date
Your side hair-length where the system will be sitting sounds ok at a 1-inch length as does your proposed density....if you want, you can post a pic. of your sides/back hair and readers can tell you what would work best for you.....a classic error and give-away is getting a system with way too much hair on it..in the anxiety to ` cover up` the baldness [understandably] people order way too much density and end up having to thin it out ...excessive thinning is laborious and in my opinion, can ruin the overall ` look/ style` of a system.

Ok, here's a pic I just took. This is after I woke up and I have bed head but I do a really good job concealing. My hair line is much more aggressively receded and I have significant thinning at the crown. I've got a comb forward and concealer in this pic. The sides are about the length I like. I use a 4 guard on them but i would like to use a 3 guard I think if I could get away with it. Because of the concealer my hair does look thinker than it is on top. After viewing a bunch of the pictures in the gallery I'm thinking that maybe 60%-65% would be right for me over a 50%-55%. And I want to bring the hairline down about about where the red line is. You can't tell from this angle but my forehead is pretty large with my current hairline. Before I started receding my hairline was at least a full 1+" lower. What do you guys think?

i remember concealer days,it leaves youre concealed area looking very matt.
where the rest is glossy.
i used to put of washing my hair for up to 3 weeks s i detested going through the camaflaouge routine,thank god i moved on i had to my hair was leaving me at a scarey rate, plunging me into deppression anxiety
but i can say all youre hard work will be rewarded bigg time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
when you start wearing, because youve put in a hell of a lot of effort concealing,
so the transition will be great.

im not going to bang on around he techicalities of wearing, others do a better job than me @ that side.but focus on the fact that as i mentioned earlier, i concealed for years with nano fibers.

and bar a fantastic hair transplant, i can tell you wearing is amazing.
no real comprimises on hair stlyle ,
youre back in control and youll see the old or new you once youre wearing and youll be gobsmaked ! amazed! euphoric.

as there are no more concerns about, rain, wind, restyling.
and bonding debonding-touching up, are pretty easy once you get into a working routine.

anty

Yeah --side-hair looks relatively ` strong` still ... probably 60% would be ok..... Toplace densities are relatively high, so just send John a few pics before ordering and he`ll know what will be the best to order..... I don`t think you need much ` wave` in the hair either...yours looks like it`s got a good smattering of Grey too..... definitely worth considering factoring that in...you can get natural [real] grey hair but most guys order synthetic grey in case they need to colour the system down the road...the synthetic will not absorb colour so will remain grey.....
Freestyle systems are about the easiest to work with, especially for a beginner..I think one would work just fine for you..the hair is not tied in ` tightly` into a particular style [direction] so you can mess-around with it .... in relation to bringing down the hairline.....it`s important not to come down below the real hairline, or it will look ` off` ...you can locate your natural hairline by holding the top hair back, then frown /crease your forehead....the scalp skin doesn`t move whereas the forehead skin does....so if you look , you`ll see /be able to mark the spot where your natural hairline is, when making a template. A few pics. sent to John will help the factory to see your needs ..... you may as well just get a max. hair-length of no more than 3 or 4 inches..you`re going to be wearing it relatively short, so it`ll be far easier for a stylist to work with that than getting the [standard] 6 inches of hair and then spend time cutting 50% of it off / ending up on the Salon floor !