JRob's Hair Replacement Blog

Archive for September, 2009

I have decided that I am going to write a series of posts about different ways you can help to improve the illusion of having a full head of growing hair.

That’s what a full cap does. It gives the illusion that you have a full head of hair, even if you are like me and are bald as cue ball. But as with any good illusion, it can involve more than just the prop itself to make it look more realistic.

In this post I want to talk about facial hair.

Recently I started to grow out my beard for my Halloween costume (which will documented in a future post, since it involves hair!) and I started to realize that having a beard not only helped to balance out my facial features, but it also helps to improve the realism of my full cap. Here is a picture-

What is it about the facial hair that helps improve the look of the hairpiece?

I think it is a couple of different things.

First of all, it draws the eye away from your hairline.

Secondly, it “flows” into the unit, further removing any suspicion someone might have, even if there is something that is a little bit off from time to time.

Third, it is an association thing. When most people think of a hairpiece they don’t think of the guy having a full beard, or any facial hair for that matter.

Finally, although the color of my facial hair is different than the hair on my head (as it is with many people) I also think that the “color congruency” is another factor. They might not be the same color, texture, etc., but if they look like they could feasibly be growing from the same person, it helps make your “fake” hair look more real.

Just as some guys look better bald than others do, some people look better with facial hair than others. I think in my case with the shape of my face and my features it actually improves my overall appearance. This is the first time I have really grown any facial hair since I started wearing and they seem to work well together.

Stay tuned for more Illusion of Hair posts in the near future!

Last night I was supposed to go out with some friends but I had several things I had to finish before heading out. One of them happened to be doing an attachment.

I decided to do the attachment after I finished everything else on my list so I could shower immediately before. I allowed plenty of time (or so I thought) and after my shower I started my normal attachment routine.

For some reason I have been getting the nape attached a little too far forward lately. This is the first part of the unit I attach and even though I was trying to get it right this time, I still attached a little too high for some reason. Since I was using tape I immediately sprayed a bit of alcohol on the area and pulled the unit off my head. I spread a little bit of glue on top of the tape to give it back its tack, and I placed it back on my head, this time in the proper position.

I flipped the unit back while I applied the rest of the tape and glue to the front, and two seconds before I was ready to flip it back over for a smooth attachment, the unit fell to the ground behind me.

By this time I started to sweat because I knew that I was running out of time.

Here I am, ten minutes before my friends are supposed to arrive, and my normal attachment method has completely failed. Having the unit tacked to the back of my head allows me to “roll” it up toward the front, keeping it in near perfect alignment so it hits the glue line just about dead on. Now I have no attachment “anchor point” as I normally do, and I have 5 strips of tape on the top of my head and glue at the hairline and temples. I’m sweating more and more, and I have only seconds to decide what to do.

I decided that in this case it would be best to attach from front to back, and this was the first time doing this with a full cap. I took advantage of the pressure sensitive nature of the tape and glue (it does not gain full adhesion until you apply pressure) combined with a spray of alcohol all over my scalp to give me the time and leeway to position the unit properly. Before I sprayed the alcohol though, I lined up the tip of the hairline and tacked it down.

After a spritz of alcohol I then flipped the entire unit in place. It was only roughly positioned so I had to work quickly to align each section before the alcohol evaporated allowing the adhesives to grab the lace.

Everything turned out ok since my friends didn’t end up showing up on time and I did manage to get a pretty good attachment despite the situation.

Next time I’m not going to count on getting lucky. This will be the last time I put off my attachment until the end of the night.

I wanted to describe the time involved in my application process, which I am very pleased with. I have been using supertape (ST) with good results. This piece has a higher density so you can’t see the shiny tape underneath the base. Just like blue liner (my previous tape of choice), ST holds my full cap’s nape down nicely, even with the full cap’s nape well below the occipital lobe. Given the irregularity of my base shape, I cannot get very close to the edge with the roll tape, so I stop the tape about a quarter of an inch all the way around the perimeter (about a half inch from the edge in the front hairline) and use ultrahold for the edge all the way around. Cleanup is fairly quick, because the amount of glue needed is fairly small. Removal of the unit and cleanup of scalp and mirror slide of the unit only takes me about 20 minutes total. Mind you, I am not washing the unit in that time. I only wash once in about 3 removals. Putting on the unit takes me about 25 minutes (not including styling time), because cutting the ST and removing the backing is time consuming- kind of a tough tape to apply, IMO. The tape tends to fold over on itself causing me to need to occasionally throw out the piece of tape and do that one over. And adding the glue around the entire perimeter, even for a small width of glue isn’t super fast. 25 minutes for application isn’t too bad, given that I have a solid hold until I decide to remove (which I like to do after about 5 days, even though the bond would certainly last at least an additional several days). I hope to learn a trick or two to make removal of the tape backing even easier, which can potentially take off a few minutes from the application time.

[edit- JRob "I have had all kinds of problems with the backing on the stronger "stretchier" tapes, so I know exactly what you mean. One thing you might want to try is taking a t-pin (or safety pin, or any kind of pin for that matter) and slide it between the tape and the backing, pressing the tape down into the lace and lifting the backing away with the tip of your finger or your fingernail. See below. Thanks for posting!"]

I have been getting lots of great questions via email lately. One of the most common questions that new wearers ask is “What supplies will I need”. Fortunately I am in the process of working on my Full Cap DVD and I just finished the (tentatively) final script revisions for the basic supplies segment, and I thought it would help answer this question regarding supplies. Questions about knot bleaching seem to be coming up a lot lately as well. Here is the email:

hey jon

how’s it going. hope everythings’s fine over there.

I recently ordered my first piece and now i am waiting for it to finally arrive

however, i hope you don’t mind if i ask you 1-2 questions:

1) what is this knot bleaching all about? i ordered very dark hair at 75% density. from what i have heard the fullcaps do not come to us bleached. i am sending my piece to debbie for cut in anyway so would you say it’s a good idea to have her bleach the knots for me as well or will i not need to bleach any knots at all? its all french lace. i don’t want to do the know bleaching myself.

2) i will have to order some supply from debbie too, so she can send me the whole package together with my fullcap. could you kindly tell me which glue and which tape you would recommend to order from her site? also, how long does a package of tape or glue last? i have no idea. what other products for removal and cleaning do i need? debbie got 6-7 products on her page but i don’t know which one will be the best for my frenchlace fullcap.

your advise is highly appreaciated. i visit your blog everyday to check for updates. actually i don’t know anybody how is “wearing” but if i should get to know somebody i will definitely promote your site!

please let me know if there is anything i can do for you. thanks a lot and have a great day!

My reply:

Here is the script taken directly from the Basic Supplies segment from my upcoming DVD-

Basic Supplies

Before I explain the ins and outs of ordering, wearing, and maintaining a full cap I want to take a few minutes to talk about supplies. I will explain some of these items in more detail in later segments, and you can also find a complete list of essential and recommended supplies in the extras section on the main menu.

There are only a few essential items that you will need in order to attach and maintain a full cap. These include:

• Adhesive and/or tape
• 99% alcohol or “lace release”
• Adhesive remover
• Shampoo and conditioner
• Scissors
• A spray bottle, syringe, or dropper for dispensing alcohol

You will also need a few items for building a mold, or “template” of your head for your first order. For making your template you will also need:

• Clear packing tape
• Kitchen plastic wrap
• Black marker
• Makeup pencil
• Handheld mirror

Some additional items that I highly recommend are:

• A styrofoam head
• Wax paper
• A hair dryer
• T-pins
• Absorbent headbands
• Microfiber towels
• A ball tipped bristle hairbrush
• A wide tooth comb
• A hobby knife
• Cotton swabs
• Pallet wrap
• Paper towels

Many of these items can be purchased from supermarkets, discount stores, or beauty supply shops, but you might have a hard time finding tapes, adhesives, 99% alcohol, and skin-safe adhesive removers locally. You might be able to find some of these supplied in salons that specialize in hair replacement, but it will probably be more convenient for you to order them online. If you decide to purchase a styrofoam head, I recommend buying one that is as close to the size of your own head as possible. Beauty supply shops usually carry the smaller ones which are suitable for most women, but if you are guy you might want to consider purchasing a larger one from a retail store display supplier.

There are a few additional items that you might want to purchase to help with attaching, wearing, and maintaining your full cap. For more information on these additional supplies, refer to the supplies segment in the extras section that can be found on the main menu.

The only items that you really need for very basic attachments and removals are glue/tapes, alcohol, adhesive remover, a shampoo and conditioner, scissors, and a spray bottle or syringe/dropper for the alcohol. You are beyond the template stage, so you won’t need any of those supplies, but I would highly recommend picking up a few more items especially the styrofoam head, t-pins, headbands, a brush and comb, and pallet wrap (to wipe the base free of stubborn adhesive residue after you mirror slide).   As for specific glues and tapes, you just need to bite the bullet and get a good, strong solvent based glue, a white glue, and several different kinds of tape. For an all lace base, blue liner tape works well and is easier to handle than some of the other tapes, but I would also order up a few of the other strong tapes to give them a shot. If there was a right or wrong answer I would tell you exactly what you need, but unfortunately it’s trial and error. You can start out with blue liner, one white glue, and one solvent based glue, but I would throw a few more adhesives and glues on your first order so you can find what works best for you. Glues and tapes can last from a few weeks to many months depending upon a lot of factors.   As for the knot bleaching, I have had conversations with Debbie regarding this, and she will probably also tell you that there are no guarantees. If you are uncomfortable doing this yourself, by all means let Debbie do it, but keep in mind that sometimes the knots will weaken after bleaching, and sometimes they will be nearly impossible to bleach.   Usually the knots at the hairline will be bleached pretty well, at least with my #17 hair color they have been. The issues for me have been in the crown area and in the nape. When the knots aren’t bleached in the nape and you attach below your occipital bone, when the hair gets wet you will see a definite line.   Ventilation has also been an issue in this area. The factories need to start tying the napes as if they were hairlines, with smaller single and double knots instead of these huge knots with multiple hairs tied into them. (This of course assumes that your density is low enough to allow this type of construction) I am working with the hair companies to address this issue as we speak.   Don’t worry about getting the rest of the unit bleached (unless you have a part), especially with that high of a density. You might not even have an issue with the nape with that much hair. If Debbie is going to cut it in I would get her recommendation and take her advice.   Let me know how everything goes,   Jon

In the interest of creating the highest value informational resource possible, I will be enlisting the help of some of my fellow hair wearers by inviting them as guest bloggers from time to time. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up!