JRob Wrote:

Jonesy123 Wrote:If the knots in the piece are not totally bleached all over the piece, then why bother going with lace all around ?, as I understand, the main purpose of lace is to allow people to see your scalp (assuming the density is low enough to allow it), but if the knots are not bleached, the entire illusion collapses...

The only really critical areas are the hairline and the crown. Even if you expose scalp with a light density it's not that big of a deal for me with a #17 light/medium brown hair.

That said, I'm sure it's more of an issue with darker hair.

I still think I am going to order my next unit all blonde and color the whole piece myself. Just seems like a better way to go to keep from killing the hair with a bunch of chemicals.

The first time I ordered a system I had Debbie dye a stock piece for me. She recommends ordering a #17 and then dyeing to suit my color which is a #6. The knots on the #17 were beautiful. I don't know if you ever had the opportunity to look at a #6 through 1B up close but the knots are embarrassingly obvious if they are not bleached. I always thought that dyeing a blond system was the best way to go as well but, I did run into a problem with a blond system I ordered from another supplier and had dyed professionally with permanent dye. It looked great for the first week but unfortunately after that, the color faded so fast it didn't match my hair anymore. That's why I was asking on the forum what kind of results people were getting dyeing their own pieces. Just speculation, but I think when a developer is used with a lift, it strips some of the cuticle layer so the color doesn't stay in as long. In this respect, no matter what we do we are treating with chemicals. I think it's safe to say there is a reason why the factories are using textile dyes and I suspect it has to do with color longevity. It would be a lot easier for them to use normal hair dye as they wouldn't have to boil the color in. Debbie mentioned that dyeing the piece twice sometimes helps the color set in. Perhaps that is the key. If you do it yourself, I would recommend using #10 developer as it deposits the color with minimal lift. That might help with the longevity a little. When you decide to do it on your own, let me know how it works out for you.