Hello Paul,
Sorry for not making myself clear, I'm not really familiar with the terminology. I'm attaching a picture I made to show exactly what I would like to achieve (one picture, 1000 words as they say). I used Photoshop - of course it's not perfect (for example, I would like to have longer hair - a full mane - not short as pictured, but that's the most recent pre-balding photo I have), but it should convey my idea relatively well. That's what I meant when I said "restore/augment" the hairline. Lower it, as low as it was when I was in my early 20s. And eliminate completely the "V-shaped" recesses (picture 1), which I hate.

The reddish patch you see is probably the result of rubbing; when I apply the concealer some of it spills over the designated area (concealing the hairline is a PAIN), so I have to remove the spillage with a cloth and carefully shape the front area with a smaller shred or a Q-tip (another reason to go with a hair system - quicker). It's probably the chafing, although I cannot be 100% sure.

Regarding the direction of my hair: the hair in the photo I posted had gel applied to it, which I use abundantly to keep the concealer in place. Left alone, my hair tends to be "puffy" like a sea urchin. Tomorrow I will post more detailed pictures.

Thanks again for your interest and your advice. I actually did the "frowning" test and yes, my hairline is definitely receding.

PS - the photos I included take into account the use of a concealer. Without the concealer, the entire area from the hairline to the crown is almost bald, as I said. I just don't have the Photoshop skills to reproduce that as well

Hi again canty....yup..pics are far easier to `work` with when trying to advise a person....the golden rule here is not to go `forward`of your natural hairline.... the 3rd pic......that will look good as long as you don`t break that golden rule. You can let your hair grow a bit longer while awaiting delivery of your system and then you can have it styled-in to match .....I imagine you won`t be going for a style a lot longer than you now have so there`s no point in ordering the standard 6-inch of hair length as well over half of it will end up on the floor and it`s only making work for the stylist. Pick a style from this site: http://www.hairfinder.com/mens_hairstyles.htm which best `fits`your desired look and [ importantly] matches your own hair-direction [ I notice the front bit there is growing forward in a spikey/down direction] I can`t tell from the pics there what direction your sides are but in the earlier pic it looked like down and backwards? It will be very helpful if you have an older pic of when you had all your hair showing the side-view including the fringe ..... I can see how the temples have thinned out there too.... it`s really a matter of locating that original hairline, then marking a line around to the temples as far as possible re-creating where your hair used to grow from..... have a look at Snipe`s thread up top on how he makes his template including temple-flaps [which is what I reckon you`ll need] Take your time with it...don`t expect to get it spot-on with the first attempt.....be patient with it...you`ll end up with the correct shape [hopefully] sooner rather than later...... honestly ...making a template does not need to be accurate to the nearest millimeter......a reasonably accurate shape which will cover your bald/receded areas and which follows the contour of your head is all that is needed......just dampen down your `middle`hair then get a long strip of cling-film and lay it on the head like a women`s headscarf ...tie it loosely under the chin and pull the back bit down/ back in order to get the creases out....you can give it rigidity as shown in snipes`tutorial by adding alternate layers of sellotape and cling-film.......you should be able to see the front hairline which you have marked with the pencil...just trace it onto the film with an indelible marker..... cut it out with plenty of `excess`/spare material still on it.....you can gradually trim it in once you see how it looks ...the tutorial videos on `Youtube` show it very practically. Hope that helps.....Paul.

Link here to Template-making tutorial on the `Info links for newbies`thread above.....note there are 2 pages of pics/instructions......run the cursor/mouse over each pic for the complete `instruction` attached to each one.
http://s768.photobucket.com/albums/xx325...1QQtppZZ16
If you look at the finished item you`ll see long-ish flaps which will come down in front of the ears there.....in your case canty, you won`t need them to be like that but if you look at the pic of the resultant system with the perimeter `taped-up` ..the shape is approximately what you`ll need in order to provide coverage to the receded temple area.... your sideburn area looks to be ok as it is so no need to come down there with long flaps..just make enough to cover your temples.

Hello Paul,
template making is pretty clear, now, thank you. Seems quite easy once you get the hang of it.

My doubt is really how to shape the hairline, since my old one is lost and I'm just left with a little fuzz which will probably disappear in the next few years (I suspect I inherited my granddad's pattern - the horseshoe - like my cousin, who basically went Mr.Clean-bald-when he was in his early 30s).

I'm afraid I'll botch the hairline contour since I don't really have any point of reference - believe me of not, I have no photos of myself from when I had a full mane of hair (16-22).

(Always been a tad camera shy).

Today I removed the concealer and that's my "real scalp". I apologize for posting so many pictures, maybe some are redundant but I wanted to give a clear idea. As you can see it's in a pretty bad shape (the concealer honestly did miracles).

As you can see I have:

1. Grey hair interspersed with black hair
2. An almost-bald patch going from the crown to the front
3. An almost non-existent hairline. Just a few hairs there and there.

As usual, thank you very much for your interest. Any advice is appreciated.

Hi canty..have marked an approximate outline on 2 of your pics. Your recession is quite common. Just at the crown-point I have marked 2 colored lines.... your hair really grows in a strong `swirl`there ...you can either take in the whole of that vortex by following the blue line or by followig the red line you can have your perimeter sitting right in the middle of the swirl with the hair at the very edge following the `forward` growing hair and keeping the back/down hair .. it`s really a personal choice ..... I think if I had the choice I`d go with blue thus having the factory make/take-in the `entire`swirl area.... it`s hard to be totally sure what might be easiest for you .....maybe some other wearers with similar thinning in that area can tell you which way they went...... just marry-up the suggested lines with the front bit as marked.... I`m assuming your side hair in front of the ears is ok and not receded so no need to have long flaps down there.....just fill in the temple recession with the smaller size flaps as I have [roughly] sketched. Always try to relpace what you had rather than put in `extra`coverage which was never there before. I suggest you enclose those last 3 pics there showing your present hair --especially at the crown -point as they`ll need to re-creat that growing -pattern when ventilationg in the hair on your system and also [importantly] to show the percentage of grey you have.... this is very do-able really. You may initially find the template-making a bit `fiddley`but just have patience..there`s no mad rush to get it spot -on at the first attempt. You`ll need to make your best/most accurate marks on your skin [ use and eyebrow pencil ] where your original hairlines were at the front and temples, then trace them with marker onto the template.....using a hand-held mirror, have a look at the top of the head/crown area and mark the approx. outline of the thinning area onto the cling-film where your perimeter edge will be. You can then add layers of sellotape to give your template `body`.... you can trim it with plenty excess material still on it and then gradually trim it in bit by bit while popping it on the head to see how it looks.....then you`ll gradually get it to a nice fit.....don`t fret over it being deadly-accurate...you just need to represent the areas requiring coverage and which follows the contours of your head for a nice fit..... persevere with it if it doesn`t go without `problems` on your first attempt.... you`ll nail it after a little while. You`re not striving for perfection--just a reasonable representation of the area/coverage...... you might post a pic of the finished item on your head just to show us how it went..cheers.. Paul.

Thank you for your great suggestion as usual, Paul.

I was just wondering; would a full-cap be overdoing it? I know that I've enough hair already, but a full cap would also give me back my original hair color and, I am assuming, it would be a tighter fit than a topper. I could always dye my hair of course, but there might be a mismatch between the topper color and the dye.

Also, do hair systems come ready-to-wear from the factory, or you're always supposed to have it styled by someone anyway?

Thanks!

canty---it`s WAY too early for you to go fullcap.... I can understand the temptation but it`s best to use your own hair and integrate a topper....you`ll have enough issues to deal with initially as a topper-wearer without dealing with fullcap issues too.....certainly, once you begin wearing and as you get used to it [and you WILL have a learning-curve] you can consider the fullcap route later...your back/sides are still good, though I guess you`re not entirely happy with a lot of grey.... I guess coloring your hair to hide grey could become tedious and you run the risk of not getting the color blend with your topper correct and it being `off`....it will be less time-consuming to have a topper made to match your existing hair [one less chore for you to do as a new-wearer] Grey hairs on a system are man-made [fiber] so that in the event of color-fade/oxidation of the human hair [ requiring coloring to `freshen `it up] the grey will remain grey i.e. not take on the new color. I wouldn`t order hair length more than 4 inches in your case..you wear a short style and even with 4 inch there will still be a lot which will end up on the cutting room floor. You`ll have to locate a stylist to do your cut-in......failing that...you can have John send your system to Debbie [who will then send it on to you] who does cut-in`s for a small charge..... your pics showing your remaining hair /direction / crown area will help her to trim it in for you....you could then always go to a stylist/barber near you for any little `tweaking` here and there if you felt the need once it`s on your head...making sure they `go easy`with sharp comb-teeth near the lace...last thing you need is for them to catch it and rip it..... http://www.splitendshairreplacement.com/ click the `services`link up top of Debbie`s site .....you can also choose a selection of products there too. If you choose that route, you can order a bottle of Knot-sealer under the `Accessories`link but you can ask Debbie to apply/seal the knots for you for the first time [ it`s usual to re-apply it after 4-6 weeks depending on how frequently the system`s been washed /shampooed] Go VERY easy with it----tutorial on applying it is on the `Info links for newbies thread` up top here.
So my recommendation ...ease into wearing by doing a nice template and order a topper..get used to this `game`and then consider the full-cap route a little later....you should really easily utilize your growing hair and integrate a system for a nice look...... as long as you have good sides and back keep that as long as you can.. Paul.

Hello Paul,
Yes, I must say I'm not entirely happy with a lot of grey. And as you pointed out, dying my graying hair would potentially make my topper stand out if the color doesn't match perfectly. (Although I could always send a sample of my dyed hair to the factory, but I don't know how well that would work out). I guess I'll go 100% black when I'll be ready for a full cap

I wear a short style right now because it suits my amount of hair, but I wouldn't mind a slightly longer one, perhaps one covering my hairline - although, for now, I'd rather stick to what I'm accustomed to and eventually go longer once I'm used to the whole topper thing.

Regarding the cut-in from Debbie, that sounds like a great idea but I really don't get how it works exactly. Do I make a template, send it to TopLace, then instruct them to send it to Debbie, and then Debbie cuts it and sends it back to me?

Thanks as usual.

Hi canty..... yeah for your first system and to ease you into this whole thing, I`d `work with what you`ve got` and just blend a system in onto your existing hair....as you get used to wearing and de-re bonds / products etc. you can [and will] become a bit more adventurous. Also remember, fullcaps are twice the price of a topper !! You could let your hair grow out a bit while waiting on your system to arrive and the system hair can be trimmed to match. No need to send Debbie a template---that would only be needed if she was going to cut an [over-sized] stock to fit your head which requires cutting the base to size---- your custom is made to the correct size and it`s just the hair which needs to be cut/styled......you can send Debbie pics of your [longer?] growing hair near the time when your system is delivered to her from Toplace...that`ll help her big-time to trim the hair to the correct length...you can contact her directly through her site there...her e-mail is on it. She`ll ship it to you then when it`s done..... you`ll just need to let John know you want it sent to her for styling etc. Cheers, Paul.

hey you have exactly the same status like me as i started to wear.
good luck

here some photos how i looked as i started. The last one was prewearing and with concealer (every picture was at the beginning of my journey between the first day and 4 month) I am better now, especialy at the hairline, but this will show you how i accomplished it during my journey.
Of course it could be better, but a noobie has to be realistic and it takes time to learn it by doing it.

http://abload.de/gallery.php?key=zAx7tMdJ

I would recommend to slowly reach the hairline instead of reaching it with the first order, because your friends will notice a drastic hairline change at the beginning. But with the time it will be easy to achieve