Hi again guys.. all in-put is welcome and I give it thought/attention. I`ve always had a dark brown [almost black ] hair..my eye brows are black too ... I`m just not keen on brown as a colour....don`t even have brown shoes !! :-) I always wished I had (1) decent/good hair and (2) that it be black! As this was my opportunity [having got rid of my remaining hair] to not have any color-blending issues, I gave it some thought before ordering and decided to `risk`black...... I knew the `risks` [such as people thinking a guy my age has/had obviously dyed his hair black to hide grey ...that actually wouldn`t `bother`me ..... and it being a `shock`to people who know me ..... the first day after cut-in, it did look stark, especially out in the sunlight.... I`ve since shampooed it and some leave-in conditioner sprayed in... it`s now looking that bit duller.... I `ll see how it goes for the next little while to see how it pans out..... I MAY order 1b for the next one...but I find once oxidation sets in [sun etc] 1b tends to lighten a little bit too much for my liking and I end up using black color products to darken it down ...... I`m hoping that once oxidation sets in with a black system, it will simply lighten to just below a `1b ` thus saving me the bother of using harsh coloring chemicals on the hair..... hope that makes sense ? The template about spot-on JRob and in fairness to the factory, it fits like a glove.......the ventilation is great [correct direction etc] and the hair is very `flush`/down tight to the base at the back/sides.....overall, I`m very impressed with the factory ...the only `problem`as I said, is the density was definitely above what was required , but I`ll deal with that...... I`ve done enough thinning with a thinning scissors---you can only do a limited amount that way or you risk ending up with a ruined system which resembles steelwool, as the knots are still there/left behind with each cut..you`ve simply chopped a number of hairs off near the base but there is still that knot there with [now] 2 strands of short hair ...this means that you`ve only made it look a bit thinner to the eye, but if you feel it with your hands, you can feel the `grain`/thickness of the hair still .. it`s a bit like a field of barley which has been mown...you have a load of stubble left behind...... the best way, although time-consuming and needs extreme caution is to dab on `Nair` hair-removal cream to the knots..this will dissolve the knot and allow the hair to come fully out .....again you could easily ruin your system if you`re not careful and end up with something a scare-crow would be proud to wear !!!
Again guys, thanks for the suggestions etc. I`ll certainly take them into account as I need to order a 2nd system as a back-up as my topper is now redundant though that last one lasted 10 months with NO shedding or any other issues !! Finally, what I`m really liking about this is it`s such a snug fit, I have it on now and it`s not even bonded on and it`s sitting exactly in position [no movement or slipping about ] I reckon I`ll just stick [no pun] to a light bond ---a bit at the front and the flaps in front of the ears.....a small bit at the back...I can then easily do a nightly de-bond as I prefer to sleep with no system on my head. Cheers ... Paul.