wantmorehair Wrote: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.

I had a stock unit dyed by Debbie one time and it held up well.

The one I dyed myself seemed to do ok as well, but it was only to replace faded color, not dyeing to a 7 or 17 from straight blonde.

For me it isn't much of an issue with a full cap with zero hair match. My natural color is close to a 7, but that looks way too dark on me. #17 is much better, but before it fades it looks dark compared to my older units. I think ideally I'm about two shades lighter than a 17, but starting out at 17 works pretty good cause it gives me extra longevity.

I'm so lucky. With a full cap you can get away with quite a bit of color variation. I feel sorry for you topper guys cause I was there myself at one time