Eagle,

I have a few suggestions for you. It looks like you're going with a partial in the front right? I saw what you were talking about (the front half is more brown compared to the back half of your scalp). In this picture I can see the lace lifting a bit in the middle of your head. I think a solution when wearing partial pieces is to grow the hair a little bit longer, that way you can comb the hair over where the piece meets your real hair. More hair means there is more coverage of disparities.

Also, for your hairline. to me it would look better if the recession was more subtle. If it's me, I would build the hairline something like this (notice the red dots):


Lastly, I think for newbies like us, it's better to have hair that's a little longer. Longer hair can cover up much more mistakes.

Good luck buddy!

Leamon