things for me are going great! last attachment is 1 week away, washed my hair 3 times so far and finally the thing stays in place. gonna do some touch ups at the front tomorrow and then see if i can hit the 2 week mark.

if anyone is also suffering from short attachment times, what made a huge difference for me was using 70% alcohol to rub my scalp. never imagined it could have such a huge effect but it did. my hairline is also looking better and better with every attachment. so yeah overall im very happy! i wasnt sure if wearing really was for me because i struggled somewhat at the start but at this point i know this was the right decision and im so glad i made it.

on to my question! after trying back2natural (thanks paul!) to correct the very slight color difference of my hair and system hair without success, i bought some real color. the mismatch is very very slight, and not noticeable if the hair is combed properly, but it still makes me paranoid.

so after searching trough the forums i found lots of different information and i wanted to ask again before potentially ruining the only system i have right now.

can i just comb the color into the strands at the sides of my head, wait a couple of minutes and rinse? or does the system hair soak up color faster than my real hair? will the result even be satisfying? since i have dark i can imagine both my real and system hair just turning respectively darker but still having a mismatch.

maybe someone can help! what would i do without this forum

Hi Waldo... did you leave the `Back2natural` in long enough I wonder ? It`s organic and not as strong as chemical colorants so if you rinsed it out too early it might not have had time to work.... now if you really want to use chemical coloring products, you must make sure it doesn`t get onto the lace or it will stain it permanently. It`s best to do this when the system is not attached to your head. Only leave it on for about 3 minutes as system hair `takes` color much faster than growing hair. When I used it I put on a pair of rubber gloves,and after shampooing the system to remove styling products, blot-dry the hair, then, having mixed your coloring product, I sat the system upside-down in the sink, then, `pinched`/caught the very front hairline lace between the thumb and first finger with my left hand [I`m right-handed] and I used a steel comb [which had the `mix`spread along the teeth and spine] to carefully comb the color mix from near the base out to the tips of the hairs. Just apply a little at a time to the comb so it doesn`t drip a big dollop onto the lace base. Move your hand a bit along the perimeter so you can grip a `new` bit of the edge, and again comb some more into/onto the hair moving away from the base....just always comb AWAY from the base and out to the tips...if you apply it carefully and don`t have big dollops on the comb, you should be ok..... as a guide, `begin`your comb stroke about 1/4 inch from the base and move out to the tips...... you might think it will look `odd` once it`s dry/styled.....it won`t--- when he hairs are lying down normally you`ll only see the ends as such....... you`ll get used to it in no time... timing is crucial as is keeping the product off the base..... max. time to leave it on is about 3 minutes and rinse it off by running water through the base so it runs down the hair AWAY from the base ...use a conditioner on it then and you`ll get the blend you require !! Let me know how you get on...regards for now.. Paul.

I tried to colour mine while it was off my head and it was really tricky. Now I do it when it's on my head and I find it so much easier. You have both hand free and you don't risk getting colour on your fingers and then touching the lace.

I `ve always used rubber gloves to keep it off the skin.... you can actually scoop up a little of the `mix`and apply by `rolling` the hair between the thumb and first two fingers [ if you find using a comb tricky]..that way you can avoid the hair because you draw the fingers away from the base....just my method.

Newbie question but I thought Back2natural was suppose to restore colour in a faded piece, is waldo's piece old? because it sounds like you have not been wearing for very long.

thanks.

As far as I can remember, he ordered a stock [he can clarify that himself] but just to say that Back2natural can be used any time to help mask minor color-blending issues no matter if the system is relatively new....it also won`t stain lace to any severe degree if it gets onto it. It`s a conditioner too, so is good / `kind`to hair, in contrast with other [chemical-based] coloring products. Stock hair can be `off`in terms of color-match ---the best way to [hopefully !] get as good a match as possible, is to order custom-made and send in a sample of your growing hair. Back2natural has it`limitations ` as it`s an organic product.....if the hair needs a fairly deeper color, well then chemical-based solutions are the best but they can be harsh on the hair. Paul.

yes paul remembered correctly, its a stock piece and i have only been wearing it for about 6 weeks. im gonna give back2natural another try, and leave it in 10+ minutes this time.

coloring really seems to be a very tricky thing. i tried one of those chemical permanent hair colors, and put it on a small strand of my own hair, and on a strand of system hair that i had over from when i cut the system into shape. rinsed my own hair after 10 minutes, the system hair after 5. while my own hair was unaffected (atleast i cant notice any different color in it) the system hair is now close to black. scary stuff, a nice and fast way to ruin a system. so yeah what one should try to do is color either the system or his own hair, in an attempt to match the other one.

but since the color difference im struggling with is so small, im gonna look for alternative products if b2n doesnt do the trick this time. somthing that can be applied on the go without much work, like a regular hair product. i remember someone posted about how he used dermatch to create a nice blending. since i never leave the house without tons of products in my hair anyway, this might be worth a try.

or is there maybe such a thing as hairspray with color? or gel with color? never heard of it but maybe someone knows.

thanks again for the help guys

Hi Waldo ..you can leave `Back2natural`in far longer than other products--- I used to leave it on for at least 20 minutes, so it may be that you just need to leave it on /in longer for it to work for you--have you tried `Brylcreem` styling cream? Can really help with disguising small color mis-matches as it makes the hair look damp/dark. Just a small amount on to the palm of one hand and spray it with water..... rub both hands together to spread it onto the fingers especially, then having `back-combed`/brushed the DAMP hair, run the fingers into the hair left to right and right to left and the same at the back etc..try to spread it evenly . Apply to both system and growing hair.. just a little is the trick. You can mist the hair next day and style as usual... I only apply it maybe once a week if I can get away with it, as too much [like with any product] can lead to build-up and hair looking `tired` or greasy. Paul.

waldo what color is your hair and what color is the system hair? are they both black? howcome theres a mismatch in color?

His hair is a brown-ish color [from memory] and his Stock is color 1b.....as explained above, the only way to get as good a color-match as possible is to send in a hair sample and order a custom-made system....stocks can only do `` so much`` and that applies to the color-blend between the stock and the wearers own hair. `Back2natural` can help disguise it if it`s not too severe...regards, Paul.