Simply personal choice...some like all-over hold,others don`t. You don`t have to get exfoliator...again a matter of personal choice and maybe some wearers with oily-type scalps find it good, so as to provide the best `foundation` for the new attachment. You asked on another thread about soaking the system overnight..I`ve read posts about that... I know there were a few reasons why guys did it..some like to leave the system sitting in a conditioning-solution while others had found stubborn adhesive residue difficult to remove etc.... I`ve never done it. If you use Lace -release correctly, your system should come free of the head with most of the residue remaining on the scalp....your glue-melter, C22 , or whatever will get rid of that.