I have tried shampoos' that cost $50 for a small tube and $2.70 for a good sice bottle of shampoo designed for colored,damaged hair and have found the latter to be better!

also, soaking hair in bowl of filtered water with baking soda after washing helps sometimes.

Regards,
HJP

Not sure what all the fuss about shampoo is all about.
It's rare that I wash the unit itself, after the first initial wash before I attach a new unit.
Washing seems to be the single biggest cause of color fade, not the sun, contrary to popular belief here

Even BA has said before that there is usually no need to wash the unit as often as so many people seem to.

Y'all that wash so often must crawl under your vehicle, daily, rub the top of your head in axle grease and then go out in the yard and push the top of your head around in the dirt , or use a ton of some product that doesn't renew with some water misting and/or doesn't rinse out

I commonly get 10 months ~ 1 year out of a unit, with no shedding and very, very little color fade.
I wear for 7 days at a time and I do shower everyday and shampoo my existing hair. This does get the rear and the sides of the unit some, but the top doesn't get washed and only sometimes, maybe once a week or so, rinsed while I'm in the shower.
I use no product in my hair and I'll use, maybe once a week, a very little spray, leave in conditioner, very lightly on the unit itself.
Over use of conditioner will certainly contribute to shedding if it's allowed to get down to the knots.

I mentioned this before, over on the old forum, about the lack of shedding and the lack of color fade that I get.
Everyone said that if I got a SFS unit it would shed and fray (I usually wear french lace).
The last custom that I got, I ordered SFS and just a couple of months ago changed it out after 10 months of wearing. The only reason that I changed it is because I'm wearing my hair longer now.
The unit did NOT shed and has only minor color fading, not enough to worry about.
Also, regarding the lace fraying, it frayed only a very minor amount at the very back of the unit. None at all on the sides or front.



Fred

I agree....the less often you wash the hair the longer it will last.

But the thing is, you have to at least shampoo the base when you remove. So even if you don't wash the hair itself, you are still washing the knots.

For me, I use styling product and pretty much have to wash twice a week. I suppose I could stretch it by only washing the hair every other time I remove, but I don't think I could get the hair to play nice if I did.

About the sun doing damage.....I have to caution not to underestimate the effects of UV rays. My very first piece started turning orange after only 2-3 hours in the sun.

I've had great results with Biolage shampoos, and Infusium 23 Leave-In hair treatment. We have to remember we are dealing with "dead" hair. The Biolage conditioning balm works well too. Most conditioners I've found make the hair "heavy". Some hair polishers like fantasia ic work pretty well too. Overwashing, over conditioning is just bad for any hairpiece.

JRob Wrote:I agree....the less often you wash the hair the longer it will last.

But the thing is, you have to at least shampoo the base when you remove. So even if you don't wash the hair itself, you are still washing the knots.

For me, I use styling product and pretty much have to wash twice a week. I suppose I could stretch it by only washing the hair every other time I remove, but I don't think I could get the hair to play nice if I did.

About the sun doing damage.....I have to caution not to underestimate the effects of UV rays. My very first piece started turning orange after only 2-3 hours in the sun.

I don't wash the base (lace) when I remove the unit. The 99% alcohol that I use to remove the unit, cleans it just fine.

I live in Tucson AZ and we have some the most intense sun (UV rays) in the US. We have the 2nd highest rate of skin cancer in the world.

I still stand by my statement that shampooing causes far more fading than the sun.
That fact that you had a unit start turning orange after just a couple of hours in the sun would suggest, at least to me, that there was something else going on with that unit.
I've been wearing these lace units with human hair for several years now (I've worn for about 20 years but all the other time the hair has been synthetic) and I quickly figured out that it's the shampooing that really causes the hair dye to fad. Same with one's own hair, if you dye it. Shampooing will fade it, turn it reddish, etc., really quickly.

I regularly work outside in the yard in the intense summer sun and as often as not, don't wear a hat.
My units last a long, long time, with hardly no fading at all, no shedding, and no lace edge fraying.

Rob, I've noticed that you've mention several times that your full caps shed kinda quickly, that is you said to get them higher density than one wants as they'll shed down to the "correct" density quickly.
As with the SFS unit, I'm getting ready to try a full cap.
My prediction is that I'll not see that shedding with it either....
Haven't had a single shedding problem yet with any of the units that I've gotten here from TL, either with a french base nor with a SFS base.

Having said that I do some things that most probably don't:
- I rarely wash (shampoo) the unit
- I sleep with a satin pillow case
- I wear a hair net (usually) when I sleep

Quote:For me, I use styling product and pretty much have to wash twice a week. I suppose I could stretch it by only washing the hair every other time I remove, but I don't think I could get the hair to play nice if I did.

Try maybe just misting it with some water and see if that wakes up the styling product.
It will for a lot of styling sprays and gels.




Fred

ftwguy Wrote:I've had great results with Biolage shampoos, and Infusium 23 Leave-In hair treatment. We have to remember we are dealing with "dead" hair. The Biolage conditioning balm works well too. Most conditioners I've found make the hair "heavy". Some hair polishers like fantasia ic work pretty well too. Overwashing, over conditioning is just bad for any hairpiece.

All hair is dead. You must be referring to the fact that the hair no longer receives lubrication via a hair follicle.

That said, I don't think there is a such thing as "over conditioning". And if the conditioner is weighing the hair down, you need to change it up. Haven't had that problem at all personally.

FredTJ Wrote:I don't wash the base (lace) when I remove the unit. The 99% alcohol that I use to remove the unit, cleans it just fine.

There's no way I could do that. My skin is too oily.

Quote:I still stand by my statement that shampooing causes far more fading than the sun.
That fact that you had a unit start turning orange after just a couple of hours in the sun would suggest, at least to me, that there was something else going on with that unit.
I've been wearing these lace units with human hair for several years now (I've worn for about 20 years but all the other time the hair has been synthetic) and I quickly figured out that it's the shampooing that really causes the hair dye to fad. Same with one's own hair, if you dye it. Shampooing will fade it, turn it reddish, etc., really quickly.

I agree, I was simply pointing out that the sun can wreak havoc on a piece.

What color is your hair? I think hair color makes a difference as well.

Quote:Rob, I've noticed that you've mention several times that your full caps shed kinda quickly, that is you said to get them higher density than one wants as they'll shed down to the "correct" density quickly.

Actually, my first two units shed terribly, partially I think due to the hair being kind of dry to begin with, then on top of that I bleached them because they were too dark, so it probably cooked the hair.

The unit I am wearing now hasn't lost a hair. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but at the rate it's going this unit is going to last for a long, long time.

I don't know how much of it has to do with the fact that I ordered straight hair, how much it has to do with the hair being better overall on the unit, or the fact that I am now using the prototypes for my shampoo and conditioner (along with using the serum religiously after each washing AND a drop in my styling products), but at the rate this unit is going it's going to be around for awhile.

Quote:Try maybe just misting it with some water and see if that wakes up the styling product.
It will for a lot of styling sprays and gels.

I usually use a leave-in conditioner to re-style. I only use straight water when I wash.