Hey guys. So I've been wearing a topper for a while now but have always had difficulty cutting the lace to match the bald area of my scalp. I could really use some advice to improve my technique.

I've attached a pic of my scalp - I'm a diffuse thinner and I've shaved the affected part of my hair. As you can see, I have decently thick side and back hair. I do leave some front hairline and attach just behind it because I feel it provides a more realistic look.

The trouble I'm having is cutting the lace to the shape of the bald area - I can never get it perfectly matched. My attachment preference is to put tape on the perimeter of the lace and then place it down on my head. Because I'm unable to cut the lace to the shape of the bald area, I always end up inadvertently taping my unit down on top of some side/back hair, which results in a poor attachment.

I'd appreciate any input on how to cut the lace more accurately or any other advice you can offer. Thanks.

If you applied tape to your head, following the line of your natural hair and then placed the whole system on your head, you'd be able to lift the unattached areas and draw a line on to the underside of the lace base.
You'd just follow where the tape edge was and when you removed it, you'd have the exact shape of your bald area marked out onto the piece and then you'd cut around it.

Once you have a base thats the right shape, you can go back to taping the perimeter of the system and your old attaching method.

To get the positioning correct each time, place the untaped system on your head and when you have it in the correct position, flip the front lace up and with a makeup pencil, mark 2 dots on the underneath of the base and corresponding ones on your scalp.

You can then take the system off, tape up the perimeter and if you then match up those dots when attaching, it will always go back in just the right position.

Like this:
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb37...8e3bd3.jpg

That's actually a great idea that I'd never thought of. I'm going to have to try this on my next unit. I really appreciate the advice. The knowledge and generosity of this forum's members, such as yourself, is really a great resource. Thanks!

Dampen down your hair and make a template.
Turn the template inside out and place on the underside of the system and mark and cut.
Hey presto a perfect fit!

Remember [very important] when cutting a base, always trim the sides and back only---leave the front hairline alone as this area has a graduated density by default... you can ruin the look of your system by ` tampering` with it ......when cutting lace, use a sharp hobby-knife and once you have your template lined up, draw the blade ` across` the lace [in a sawing motion] rather than down through it ...you just need to slice the actual lace and seperate one section from the other ...if you push the blade ` down` you`ll most likely slice through hairs that you need to keep... so just ` line up` your template with the front of it up ` against ` the front-edge of the lace...then you trim around the sides and back only..... as LTB suggested, ` pop` your template so it`s now ` inside out`, then you could use a styrofoam head-shape to pin the system and template to using T-pins..that`ll hold it nice and firm while you trim off the ` excess`...good luck with it all !