JRob's Hair Replacement Blog

Archive for the ‘Products’ Category

I am happy to announce that my new video, JRob’s Full Cap Essentials is finally complete!

Here is the trailer:

The downloadable version is available  at the  HairJive store. You can purchase it as a complete video, or by single chapters or by post-order or pre-order segments only.

If you have any questions regarding the video or hair replacement in general please post them on our new and improved hair replacement forum.

We are still in the process of  making the final tweaks to the website so if you experience any issues please let me know!

Have a question about hair replacement? Visit the new HairJive forum at http://HairJive.com/forum

The focus is on full caps, but I will be happy to answer any questions you have regarding hair replacement. Hopefully we can get plenty of good discussions going and build a rich knowledge base in the process.

Cannedair has already asked some great questions to get us off to a great start, so sign up and start posting today at http://HairJive.com/forum

Earlier this week I met with the management and staff at Hair Direct to discuss some promotional ideas for the RemySoft line and to give them a preview of my soon-to-be-released Full Cap DVD.

While I was there I offered to do a live attachment demonstration for their staff. They wanted to tape the demo so that the members of their staff who weren’t able to attend would be able to view it later, so I ended up in their studio in front of an audience AND cameras! (This attachment method will also be on my Full Cap DVD)

I wasn’t expecting that much of a production, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.

The next day we did a photo shoot for a RemySoft promotional page that they are working on. Here are a few shots from my “modeling” debut, hehe.

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

I’ve spent a fair amount of time behind the camera writing and directing t.v. commercials, but I found out yesterday that things are a lot different in FRONT of the camera! Actually, I didn’t get much camera time last night. My producers and I spent most of our time discussing different avenues that might help us to present the information in a manner that is easy to understand. This project is taking a lot of time, but at least we are making progress! Here I am stumbling over practicing some of my lines, hehe