Here are some pics i had posted over at the other site awhile back, but thought some new guys over here could get some ideas from them. I do my own cut in and dye the system myself to match my hair.

I have very thinning side hair. Mine is bad and i cannot wear it long as it looks horribly thin and has become a different texture, so i fade the sides up to try to hide it. My back hair is still thick on the lower part of my head and i usually cut this area 1 guard shorter then the side to give the appearance that it is as thin and short as my sides.

Here is my response i posted over there as well....

"I dont color my own hair, just the system. I just use the cheap box brands. Its either between Clairol Nice and Easy or Revlon Color Silk, depends on which one has my color in.

I cut the system and my own hair myself. For the system I use thinning shears the whole time, except for the front hairline. But for the rest of it with the thinning shears - i lay it down base up and go around it on the ground trimming length of off it until its about 1 1/2 inches long off the lace and thinned out. Then i tack it to a styro head and turn it upside down to let the hair hang and i trim it down to match the sides. On the front i use regular scissors, just because the thinning shears makes it look too "wispy", so i use angled-blunt cuts. I also leave a little it more length in the temple area to cover the temple. I usually add about 3/4 inch in these areas to give the appearance of thicker temples. Also, sometimes if the edge isnt thinned out enough there is a "line" that we see as a system. A tip i use is when i have the system on the ground (base up) i will take an edge of the lace and "roll" it to the center to get the the next layer of hair to thin the tips on that part. This will thin the "line" out around the system without thinning out the base of it or your edge of the system too much.

For my own hair, i cut the longest part with a #7, then i take a #3 and start to fade up. Just take your time. I press against my head for about an inch or two then i slowly pull the clippers away for the rest of the distance. I then use a #2 on the back to make it look as thin as my sides, but i dont cut the sides with the #2 - just the back. Normally i go higher then whats in this picture. If you need to make the blend better (if you screwed up in a spot) i found it easier to fix an area if you put a #1 guard on there and touch up the spot. Dont touch your scalp with the clippers, but just the hair. It seems easier with a small guard to fine tune it. And thats it. It takes me about 20 minutes to cut my own hair and about 30 min on a new system."

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