Have waited many months to reveal the ``new`` me..today`s the day !
As most readers know, I`ve worn Fullcaps for a long time.......early this year, I was noticing tape-shine /visibility through the lace, in strong sunlight..... it`s one of those issues associated with wearing.
Instead of shaving my head regularly, I allowed the hair to re-grow, as I intended to use ` Got2b glued` spiking glue for my bonds, for the reason that it doesn`t shine once dry and it`s SO easy to apply and remove.
It sticks / holds better to stubble / short underlying hair, than to bare scalp-skin.
I noticed that my own hair was still pretty ` good` at the [vital] temples areas, but quite thin / wispy at the back in particular .....I began to wonder if it grew down, over time, could I transition back to topper-wearing.
I got scalp pigmentation done at the back /nape area [will post photos in a separate thread in the next few days] ..this is different to tattooing in that it`s like short paper-cuts in the skin, into which dark pigment then goes......now I would have a ` caution` about this in that [ pure speculation on my part] slicing through follicles could defeat the purpose ... I was wanting hair-growth but could be damaging it by slicing into the skin with a sharp blade ..... tattooing tends to be ` heavy` and like black `dots` on the skin...to me , this looks unnatural....this pigmentation looks more like short, growing, hairs, ` tight` in to the scalp...gives the illusion of hair ! It was reasonably expensive, but the [ Chinese ] lady who did it was very skillful...it didn`t hurt as such...mild discomfort / stinging afterwards but nothing too dramatic. I got it done over three visits to the salon. It`s not permanent...it can /does fade over time ...you can get anywhere from 12-18 months from it though....tattooing IS permanent.It can be ` topped-up` as you require though .....
I ordered two toppers recently ..they duly arrived ...wasn`t too happy with the color , despite sending them a hair-sample.. it wasn`t too far out, but wasn`t a good-match to my own ..... I got a tube of color and 6% peroxide and am happy now with it ......I`ve jumped a bit ahead of myself ... I hadn`t intended to do this [wear] them until early in new year, as my back hair is still not long enough in places ...another few weeks should be ok though ..... ordered one thin-skin [ the photos here are it] and one in lace ---that`s not been cut-in yet ...... I had this styled, on Monday of this week....
I don`t want to make a huge /long thread... I took a lot of photos today and during the pigmentation process a few months back ..... I`ll post them gradually over the next few days or so..... a few were taken with the flash on [today], hence a bit of ` glare` ...the light was fading this afternoon so I had no choice......in the second one, the unit is just sitting on my head, and the hair is damp, hence the ` difference` between my own.....anyway.... I could go on and on but hopefully, you can ` follow` my tale......feel free to comment /ask questions....... I`m also using a ` staining` / volumizing Mousse on my own hair behind the ears / at the nape, just to mask the lack of density,which will hopefully improve as the hair carries on growing down from the crown area but I hadn`t applied it in these photos, so you could see the reality......I`m very pleased so far ....

no need to have that extra worry about the nape area now, just really the hairline,
would you say its a lot easier now than wearing a full unit?,
just a trade off between colour matching ,between growing hair and system
5 years of wearing for me now, wearing a thin skin medium grey unit cut in around a month ago

I suppose each type of system has it`s own issues....one of the main ones is cost ..toppers are about half the cost of Fullcaps....then, in warmer weather, Toppers are ` lighter` .. of course getting the blend-in onto the side/back hair is vital as is maintaining the correct shade of colour ...all part of the constant balancing-act we engage in......
I remember when you began wearing ...5 years ....hard to imagine now, how quickly time passes ...with Fullcaps, the main concern for me was would they tie-in the hair correctly on the flaps/ sideburn area.....unless that`s ``Flat-to-base`` the unit is all but useless..... colour is not really an issue as it`s all the same colour all over ...... the main thing that ruins topper colours is shampooing them too often ...dries-out the hair [which is already dry compared to growing -hair] and lifts the colour...very visible in good natural light.....

Hi Paul,
We customers that make the transition from topper to full cap--that happens often as a guy loses more hair. But you're the only one that went the other way. Congratulations! It looks great! I was a bit skeptical about that coloring process done by the Chinese lady but it seems to have worked fine. For the newbies, you can see how the difference in lighting makes the color of the hair look different in the photos.
Regards,
John