If you don`t order graduated it WILL be a wall of hair... graduated is exactly that... thinner at the very front and graduating `up`to a thicker density as it goes back....Mr. Burns whose images are on the homepage in the `before and after` shots is wearing a non-graduated system. I don`t `get` how /what you mean when you refer to tape being dirty possibly making hair look thicker?
I think you have some transplanted hairs in front of your system-hair if I remember correctly? It may be that the blend between that and the system looks a bit off? Can be tricky to get that looking `right`..... if you want to thin the system hair, do so as in this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPULkcyVD2Y