(07-29-2010, 01:21 AM)Paul In Ireland Wrote: Hello Apollo -just saw your post now as I was browsing the forum --it`s 2pm here now -- I see you left your post earlier on this morning --by now you have the new system bonded into place -- I really hope you`re happy with the `new`experience .... let us know how it goes -- best wishes and enjoy your holiday.Paul.

Hi Paul!

Sorry about the late update, but after coming home with my new hair it was just time to pack and leave for vacation a few hours later....

I also wanted to wait for a while to write this «review» so that I could get acquainted with the new hair system.

I've now worn it for 11 days and it's been both positive and some negative experiences...

For those who haven't read this thread, I've been waring a conventional hair system from Apollo for the last 15 years.
After discovering that there was an alternative here in my town which sold skin systems for less than half the price that Apollo would charge, I gave it a go since I was going away for holiday for a few weeks and that way could get a chance to try it out and still be able to go back to the old one if I didn't like it....

This new company I discovered, can get any type of system you want (also custom made), but they have been specializing in stock pieces with the newest type of skin base which their customers usually wear for 3-6 weeks and then buy a new one. The videos seen in the first post in this thread is of a customer that uses this company and their stock pieces.

So will I continue with this skin system when coming home...? Unfortunately no :-(

Not because it isn't a good system – it really is...

When walking in for my first appointment with the stylist I was of course quite excited and nervous.... It felt almost like I was cheating Apollo and sneaking of with a lover still being married, he he he. The stylist was a very cool guy and he definitely knew his trade and what he was talking about... He told me he travels around the world on seminars and teaches others what he does – and I have no reason not to believing him because when I called the salon a few months ago to book my appointment, the women on the phone said he was in Lisbon doing a seminar....

Anyway, there I was in the chair getting ready to say goodbye to my old rug...
The first and only problem he encountered with me, was that the stock piece was a bit too small since my Apollo piece is glued to my own hair and therefore there was about 1-2 cm of my own hair that was shaved down to a millimeter size. His stock piece would not get a good blend with my own hair because there would be a section around my head with very little hair... Kindly of him, he offered to use a full cap piece which normally would be a bit more expensive for the same price since he could easily cut this into the right shape for my head and hair.

So let's move on to he point when he had glued the skin piece to my head.... It was DEFINETELY a very strange feeling to NOT feel the piece on my head :-)
The skin was so thin it was almost impossible for even myself to feel the transition between my own scalp/hair to where the hair system started...!! Quite amazing!

The two things I immediately reacted to when sitting there with the new piece was 1: it was quite curly and I've always used very straight hair pieces and 2: it was very thin in density... it almost looked like I was balding – at least that's how I felt.

For number one, he agreed and used a chemical to straighten the hair – which helped a bit and for number two he said that this way it looked more natural as you could see some scalp without people being able to detect that I was using a hair system because of the skin's transparency... I guessed I just had to give it a few days and maybe it would feel better since my Apollo system has very heavy density (probably a bit too much I must admit myself).

And then let's fast forward 11 days to present time...

Am I impressed with the system? YES
Did it work for me? NO
Will I continue with my Apollo system? YES and NO

I am impressed with how thin and realistic it looks - and the softness of the real human hair compared with synthetic is amazing. The front is also amazingly undetectable and even my wife was unable to see that it was a hair system.
The color match with the stock piece was also very good and the stylist didn't need to color either my own hair or the system to get it to match!

So, why didn't it work for me? Well, first of all the hairs in this piece is injected in a way that makes it impossible to comb the hair forward. For the last fifteen years I've always had a hairstyle where the hair is combed forward – so the change would also be quite drastic moving to a combed back style. The only choice with this new one is to have it combed back (it almost looks like the style Travolta is using here: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/john-travolta – except my piece had less density) and this makes it very important to keep the front impeccable at all times...

And that moves us over to my experience with the gluing of the piece. So far the piece sits very firmly attached to my head. But as far as the front goes, I've not been happy about that at all... A part of the front loosened about 3-5 millimeters after coming home the first day – and now 11 days later, I've had to re-glue most of the front 3-4 times already :-(
To me this was not what I was hoping for... I am used to tapes in the front which is easy to clean and change, but with this veeery thin skin the process of cleaning and re-gluing the front was both time consuming and a bit messy at times when getting some glue in my hair by accident. I of course know that there is a learning curve to this and I probably would get better in time, but still I don't consider myself a newbie!
Actually today I had to glue the front again and I noticed that could easily lift up two-three centimeters of the front now and that makes me wonder if the piece would stick for at least three weeks which is what I would prefer.
It also started to itch a bit after 4-5 days. Now after showering and combing the hair the whole scalp itches a lot and combing the head gives a very good feeling and a don't want to stop combing if you can understand what I mean... Luckily the itching feeling calms down a bit after the head and hair dries, but this makes me think of your warnings about the scalps health and future problems with this way of attaching the hair system.... :-(

I'm quite an active person and in my work I deal with hundreds of people face to face every day, so I already miss being able to hide the front of the hairpiece by combing the hair forward so even if the piece is having some trouble with the attachment in the front, it's always possible to hide it with hair – but not this one unfortunately since the hairs can not be combed forward without the style looking ridiculous...
So YES the front part looks absolutely amazing compared to what I've worn up until now when it's attached properly, but NO there is now way of hiding a front that has loosened a bit if your not in reach of the tools to fix it - and at work I have no way of walking around with alchohol, wipes and glue in my pockets at all time...

Finally I have to comment on the hair density... I agree with the stylist that it looks quite realistic with the medium to light density that this one has, but I still would like to have more hair since I'm only in my mid 30's and I can get a away with a full head of hair. And I still think I look better with more hair than less hair ;-) My wife also supports me in this even though she thought this new piece looked good, she still commented that I look better with less forehead showing and that is what this combed back style gives me.

So what will I do now....? Well, later this week when coming back from my vacation I will go to my new stylist and discuss all these issues with him. Since I'm going back to work and I am not totally satisfied with this new piece I will change back to my old rug for the time being. I've also checked out the different options Top Lace has and as far as I can understand, the lace pieces can be attached in front with a tape(?). If so I think a system with the conventional poly perimeter on the sides and back with a lace front is something I would consider. The reason is also with a combination like that, I can continue my Apollo way of attaching the hair system (which I like) and still have a more realistic front – and last but not least having as much hair as I want with the options to comb it forward.... (correct me if I'm wrong here, Paul!).

My new stylist said he could provide custom made lace pieces as well and I will check out how much this would cost compared to Toplace since I also have to pay shipment, tax and customs for the Toplace pieces. I think I will also continue to use this new stylist for my monthly service as he provided a much more customer orientated means of doing his business than I experience at Apollo.

So there you have it.... Maybe this was much to read, but it was also nice for myself to put my thoughts into words ;-)

PS. If ever I will give Toplace a go, can I send one of my two Apollo pieces as a pattern?


Regards, Apollo2009