(11-05-2015, 09:06 AM)Paul In Ireland Wrote: I read your other thread, as well as this one ....
Why could you not ` use` the front hairline of the system? All systems [stock and custom] have graduated-density front hairlines by default, unless , in the case of a custom-made, you specify non-graduated.
If when trimming a system`s base, you should never trim /interfere with the front hairline, if at all possible......trim the sides/ back, only......cutting lace from the front means you are going ` back` into the denser hair, and this will not give a natural look, in most cases.The front area [most visible] will normally have the knots bleached /invisible, therefore, removing /cutting off sections of lace there, means you lose the best-bleached knots.
To thin-out a lace system, tweezers is not advisable..the hairs are tied in knots..trying to pull out the hairs will result in them simply snapping off, leaving the knot intact.
Using things such as Nair, is more practical, but in my experience, you need to take time and be patient..remember too, that not all hair will shed-out immediately ..so don`t go overboard when using it initially....more hairs will shed out over the next day or two when brushing the hair.
This video should help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPULkcyVD2Y
If I were you, I`d consider ordering a new system and this time, don`t cut the front area ` across` .....if you need to re-shape it to suit your ` look`, you can trim the sides and back of the lace......use a very sharp blade [a hobby /craft knife is ideal] and draw the tip of the blade across the lace....don`t push it down through it....you only want to separate one section of lace from another..don`t cut the hair under the lace, and do NOT under any circumstances use a scissors. You can also purchase a thinning-scissors..this is useful for doing a ` light` thin-out....bear in mind that this cuts hair ..it will simply shorten the hair strands...it will leave ` stubble` [shortened hair/s with knot still intact ] but it helps to ` soften ` the overall look by making it a bit thinner....hope that makes sense.

Thanks for your response, I couldn't use the shape of the hairline on the stock piece, just wouldn't match the desired look I needed. It would have looked strange when trying to join to the temple/sides area. I've got to make this unit work for now, so I'm going to go get some Nair. I briefly tried the water, conditioner and pulling method. It seemed like the hair was just snapping instead of pulling from the knot. As far as when I thin out the density for the entire hairpiece, do you think that'll look horrible with the unbleached knots? Or if I only thin it out a little bit, maybe the dark knots will still be mostly covered up by the remaining hair?

I guess if it comes down to it and the knots show too much, then I could always try to bleach them.