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Honestly, the lace portion on women's lace front's is often way, way more realistic looking than than men's units. They really pluck the hairlines well on many of them.
First time buyer, need some advice on Lord hair options (or alternatives)
- Thread starter franzliszt
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Absolutely agree about the tendencies for many black women and it can be frustrating to have hair that grows differently or in a more crimped fashion. Hair extensions also seem to be common. I remember a Cosby sitcom where guys were looking at a sleeping black female and both exclaim, "extensions!"
I don't think that most black women unless actually bald try very hard to hide that they are wearing wigs. You can usually tell on wigs regardless by the lack of a realistic part as is mine in my avatar but I still find it cute and I get treated better when wearing than my increasingly long and female-like tresses which are in curly ringlets which I also love. Changing one's look is also more accepted for females as is grooming in general related to hair removal and facial microneedling and salon treatments like injections and filler which work great for "guys" too but in a different way.
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What does everyone think about lift injected systems, has anyone tried them? it seems you wouldn't have to worry about the knots showing, and the maintenance lace requires I've heard is a hassle. I was thinking of something like this (although it's pricey) https://www.lavividhair.com/toupee/...lor_or_texture-nc613_european_platinum_blonde
Noah
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Injected can look good, although it varies. Sometimes the angle at which the hair is injected doesn't look that realistic. However the real issue is longevity. Injection is a far less stable way of attaching the hairs, so they shed much faster. You can get 4-5 months out of a knotted piece, but 4-6 weeks seems to be the norm for injected pieces. They really are disposable.
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I have not found that to be the case at all. I wonder if you've personally worn injected skin units? I've had several and they last much longer than any other base type- one of them lasted me well over 2 years, I simply cut it extremely short when the hair dried out. What's more is they do not shed. The hair is sealed in tight. If the hair becomes dry and brittle, it will break off at the base, but the injected end of the hair remains sealed in.
Not all of them look equally good- but the angle of injection is not as important as the number of hairs per injection (too many looks pluggy) and the uniformity of the spacing of injections (too uniform looks unnatural). The transparancy/opacity of the base is also a huge factor. Unlike other systems, you want the base to be quite opaque ideally so that you don't see the injected part of the hair at all, it looks just like it's growing right out of the scalp and puts knots and loops utterly to shame. (The hairlines however are terrible and I do wear other types for up and back styles.)
Not all of them look equally good- but the angle of injection is not as important as the number of hairs per injection (too many looks pluggy) and the uniformity of the spacing of injections (too uniform looks unnatural). The transparancy/opacity of the base is also a huge factor. Unlike other systems, you want the base to be quite opaque ideally so that you don't see the injected part of the hair at all, it looks just like it's growing right out of the scalp and puts knots and loops utterly to shame. (The hairlines however are terrible and I do wear other types for up and back styles.)
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That Lavivid piece looks quite transparent. Don't fear thickness and opacity when it comes to injected skin systems is my advice. Opacity is your friend.The more you can see through the base, the worse they look. It's not like a v-loop uts where you want the front edge to melt into your skin and disappear.
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By the way, companies I've dealt with have usually discouraged me from ordering injected skin and strongly recommend going with v-loops instead, citing various reasons (e.g. the injected skin will take longer to produce, the hair will be too flat and not as natural looking) - baloney afaict, they must not enjoy manufacturing these.
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hmmm, some conflicting information here. Maybe the thinner injected bases are more prone to shedding than the thicker ones? I wear my hair long and down, sometimes in bangs/parting. Would you reccomend a lift injected system for this? I'm seriously considering buying a blonde v looped system and dyeing the hair up to the roots light brown. Some people have tried some quite clever methods to protect the base from the dye, such as 3d printing a large comb (didn't work though, the comb was too thick), carefully using a q tip to get close to the base, to using hair gel to protect the base (worked really well, just annoying o get all the gel off) and someone wants to try using ice to protect the base. But if pulled off well, it's undetectable, the blonde knots are just invisible.
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Idk what you're referring to
In my experience, no. The thinnest injected skins you will find are around .08mm, which is still pretty thick.
For any style with an exposed crown swirl and a concealed hairline, you're depriving yourself if you wear anything else imo. The problem is I don't know where to get a good one rn. That lavivid one doesn't look the best to me, doesn't have the specs I prefer, i think the part might look pluggy.
This is an absolute must if you wear v loops imo.
You can use one of those razor cleaning brushes, it's basically a tiny dollhouse version of a tint brush. For maximum control. I've done very complex ombre dye jobs for very short hair this way, where i have to fit 2 different colors in the bottom inch of the hair closest to the base so that I can cut it down to 2" in the front and the top half of the length will be the light color.
It's tedious but they came out perfect. The hair on this one was delivered in awful condition but still:
I wouldn't worry too much about staining the base tho. It's usually not very noticable on thin skin once the piece is bonded down. Like, certainly try your best not to stain it, but don't freak out if you stain it a little. I'd worry way more about staining lace.
With a v-loop piece your crown is going to be less defined and your part is going to look irregular and broken, most likely. That can look very good and natural, but you're not going to get a perfectly straight, defined part.
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Btw i have not worn lift injection, just standard injection. I could believe that lift injection "sheds" , since the length of hair sealed into the base is extremely short, like half a millimeter. But i would be *extremely* surprised if it sheds faster than knots and loops, based on my experience wearing standard injection. I think it's good to clarify 'this is what i've heard' vs. 'this is what i've experienced firsthand' in general.
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I was referring to the different experiences people have had with injected hair pieces, which I'll probably avoid because my hairline is exposed. I think I'll go with a blonde v loop system and dye it, which is a bit terrifying since I've never dyed hair before. I'm wearing a partial system, just a front piece so I should have some spare bits to experiment with. What hair dye would you recommend for a light brown/dark blonde sort of colour? Is there one that would be easier to use for such fine work?
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I agree with you, repeating what you've heard isn't great when we need to review the overall experience of something, it kind of contaminates the date.
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Yeah for hairline exposed you would need some kind of hybrid system with a v-loop front. Northwest lace used to offer this pre-pandemic, but again, their injected skins are the pluggy, transparent . 08mm version that i do not prefer.
Light brown/dark blonde would a level 7 color, but I can't get any more specific unless you are. Could be a plain ol' 7, or not.
Use a demi color with 10 vol developer. Not a diy kit from the pharmacy.
Start with a color 22 system. Any lighter and you may need to use a filler color under the main color, even if you're not going that dark.
The easiest way to do it if you've never colored hair before is probably to apply some color to a comb and comb it through the hair, as you would apply a color conditioner. Or apply it to the hair with a tint brush, then comb through. Don't worry about getting it very close to the roots to start. Go back and do the roots separately afterwards with a very small brush like a razor cleaning brush. I don't recommend a mascara wand as some do because hair tends to get caught in it.
When you're more comfortable with it it you can forego the comb and do it all in one shot.
The problem with these v-loop pieces in the covid era is the loops are so much bigger and spaced further apart... it's hard to make them invisible no matter what you do.
Light brown/dark blonde would a level 7 color, but I can't get any more specific unless you are. Could be a plain ol' 7, or not.
Use a demi color with 10 vol developer. Not a diy kit from the pharmacy.
Start with a color 22 system. Any lighter and you may need to use a filler color under the main color, even if you're not going that dark.
The easiest way to do it if you've never colored hair before is probably to apply some color to a comb and comb it through the hair, as you would apply a color conditioner. Or apply it to the hair with a tint brush, then comb through. Don't worry about getting it very close to the roots to start. Go back and do the roots separately afterwards with a very small brush like a razor cleaning brush. I don't recommend a mascara wand as some do because hair tends to get caught in it.
When you're more comfortable with it it you can forego the comb and do it all in one shot.
The problem with these v-loop pieces in the covid era is the loops are so much bigger and spaced further apart... it's hard to make them invisible no matter what you do.
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Honestly with a level 7 color, i really don't think it's going to be noticable if you get a little on the base. It's more the issue of getting color on the loops. Just be careful especially at the hairline and around the part.
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Thanks for the advice, if I go this route I'll definitely use your advice as there's some good info there. I just can't decide between that and a medium density lace system (which are extremely hard to find right now).
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OMG dark blonde/light brown is level 6, not 7. sorry idk what's wrong with me today.
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XD don't worry about it, thanks for your help
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@franzliszt Sorry I didn't read the beginning if the thread or see your photo.
Your color looks to me to be a level 7 color and a bit warmer than a straight up 7, pretty close to a 7/73 or 7/7.
If that's too light try 6/73
As others pointed out you are wearing a Super Thin Skin base with v-loops in the photo.
The dead ants are the v-loops, they weren't that obvious pre-covis but nowadays that's what you get.
Your color looks to me to be a level 7 color and a bit warmer than a straight up 7, pretty close to a 7/73 or 7/7.
If that's too light try 6/73
As others pointed out you are wearing a Super Thin Skin base with v-loops in the photo.
The dead ants are the v-loops, they weren't that obvious pre-covis but nowadays that's what you get.
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Photos are a bit unreliable mind you, if you can cut a small 'swatch' of your growing hair and take it to a beauty supply shop to compare to their color swatch catalog in person to find the nearest match that would be best... But i suspect it's going to be close to 7/73
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Just a quick note: UTS V-looped hairlines look RIDICULOUS. Lace looks amazingly real in comparison.
So ya, I would not recommend v-loops in anything on the darker side of the spectrum.
So ya, I would not recommend v-loops in anything on the darker side of the spectrum.