Hi Sidebender,
You have an easy bald area to cover. It's oval shaped and all you need it the length, width, and front curvature. That's simple. Not all bald areas as that easy. Many people have temple flaps, uneven shapes, and any number of unique characteristics that don't fit the oval shape. They need to send in a template so that the size is right. Also, the larger the size of your unit the more important you provide a template. On smaller units the lace is soft enough that it will just lay flat on a smaller unit. Larger sized units will cover more area and therefore have more contour.
Shedding is normal part of hair wearing. Adding more density can extend the life of a unit if you don't mind being a little heavy in the early stages of wearing.
Regards,
John