Always use Adhesive remover when removing tape from the tape tab area. Even if you have a durable heavier tape tab, it will allow the tape to be easily removed eliminating any chance of damage to your system this is particularly important with all skin systems. We also recommend soaking your system in our Yellow Cleaner/Conditioner. This is a safe and effective all natural product that effectively breaks down the adhesives and loosens any residue in the mesh, lace or hair. To get that stubborn accumulation from your system use a “SOFT” bristle tooth brush and gently brush the residue away from the base and hair.

Once the tape, adhesive and residue have been removed, add a capful of shampoo to a basin or plastic container. Add lukewarm water and emulsify the shampoo in the water. Place your system base side up in the basin and gently swish in the soapy water. You may let your system sit for several minutes if you wish. (We suggest you repeat this procedure 2 to 3 times to assure all the cleaner/conditioner or solvent has been removed from the system) Rinse your system under lukewarm running water for at least 3 minutes and check to be sure all adhesive and solvent residues have been removed. Repeat the washing of your system if necessary.

If you choose to use rinse out conditioner, add a capful to your clean basin. Fill with water and emulsify the conditioner. Allow your system to soak for a minimum of 3 minutes and rinse thoroughly.

(When rinsing, hold your system by the front and allow a low pressure stream of water flow from the bottom of the base through the hair.)

Place your clean system on a clean absorbent towel and gently roll the towel with the system inside to remove excess water. Holding the system by the front of the base gently wave in the air to fluff the hair. You can then apply leave in conditioner and any styling product you choose. Gently brush into your desired style and let air dry if possible.

Before re-applying your tape or adhesive you may want to wipe the tape tab with a small amount of alcohol to remove any conditioner residue that may be on your tabs. This will allow for your attachment to work at its optimum.

You are no doubt cleaning your hair system in the shower. We strongly suggest that you start with a good quality shampoo containing protein. We also suggest you invest in a small plastic travel size bottle to keep in your shower. Remember that your system is made up of a mesh or synthetic skin base so you have to be sure to clean thoroughly and gently.

Stand with your back to the shower head and tilt your head back so the water flows from your forehead back and down your back. You want to avoid direct shower flow in one spot on your head. The pressure from the shower, even low pressure, can cause the hair to back into the base of your system. This is called inversion and the hair will tangle on the underside of the base causing subsequent hair loss and definitely discomfort. Having the water flow back and forth from your forehead down keeps the hair going in one direction and will prevent tangling and inversion.

Put a small amount of shampoo into your plastic bottle, add water and dilute your shampoo. Pour a small amount into the palm of your hand and distribute to your head. If you have a squirt top for your bottle, you can distribute the shampoo using the bottle and in both cases use all the diluted shampoo.
Lather gently by pressing the shampoo through the hair and into the base of your system. Allow the shampoo to work but avoid rubbing or scrubbing your head. This will insure your hair and scalp are clean while avoiding any harmful friction to the hair.

The reason for diluting the shampoo is to make it easier to rinse from the hair and base material of your system.
Rinse thoroughly then rinse thoroughly again. It is important to get the shampoo totally rinsed from your hair and especially the base of your system.

If you use a rinse out conditioner you can use the same system of diluting the conditioner however, we strongly suggest leave in conditioner or conditioning only your hair. At all cost if you apply conditioner directly gently work the conditioner on to the hair with our finger tips and make all efforts to avoid too much contact with the base of your system then rinse thoroughly and rinse thoroughly again.

Gently pat dry your hair, apply a leave in conditioner and any styling products and if possible allow to air dry. If you do need to use a hair dryer we recommend you use an ionic dryer to limit the loss of moisture to your hair.

While you can easily achieve a more natural appearance with a system that is made with lighter more delicate materials it is not impossible to get the same result with a more durable construction.

Hair replacements being made today use a variety of base materials. Recently the trend has gone towards “Program Hair” meaning you have several units, change them frequently and throw away the system when it’s time to change to a new one. What this means is that the hair retailers in the recent past demanded that the manufacturers make products that were lighter, thinner and most importantly they wanted them cheaper and faster. This is where the breakdown begins.

If you require cheaper products manufactured at a faster rate, something has to give, and that’s quality. Once the retailers started getting their cheaper faster systems in they discovered that without the quality they had only one option and that was to sell the consumer more products. Keep them “addicted” to hair and get there hands on your credit card so they could keep charging you monthly whether you needed service or a new system or NOT. Great gimmick!!

This is what has trapped so many into programs where the retailer holds the customer’s additional hair replacements hostage to keep the customer’s business. Here’s the funny part – many of those retailers are still buying your systems one or at best two at a time. It’s your monthly fee that is paying for each new system you’ll require. In our 25+ years of working with retailers, the number who have actually ordered more than 3 systems at a time for a client is next to none. They just don’t do it.

If your hair replacement provider tells you your hair piece is custom, take it with a grain of salt. Most all program hair is stock and readily available for immediate delivery from one of the big wholesalers. Fast and cheap. These systems aren’t made to last longer than 30 to 60 days. Implanted hair and loops fall out like your own growing hair. They look great, for a while, but they aren’t intended for long term wear. We see this most frequently in Skin units as they are most susceptible to breaking down more rapidly than their mesh base counterparts.

If you want durability and a natural look we can give it to you. You won’t be using some of the materials they say are necessary for a natural look, but we’re certain you’ll be happy with the end result. It’s all a matter of taking your desires and your lifestyle into consideration and working with you to give you what you want and need. Remember the two areas that are most important for a natural look are the front of the hair replacement and the blending areas. Give us a call or email us. We can help.

Longevity from a hair piece is really kind of a relative concept. Our basic stock systems while originally designed for Program Selling have a pretty good life expectancy. We’ve found from our customers that based on lifestyle and care of the system our stock pieces have been found to last anywhere from 6 months to a year. The reason is the quality of the production. However, longevity for many means the system should last for one to two years or more. If longevity is a requirement we can definitely build a system for that and would suggest NextGen™ fiber is added to any system in which longevity is the main requirement.

Another important factor to the longevity of any hair system is the application and wear of the system. If you are permanently or semi permanently attached and keep you hair on your head 24 hours a day and 5 to 21 days at a time we strongly suggest you have 2 systems. One way to accomplish this is to have an old system repaired and refurbished while a new system is being made. You’ll get a lot of mileage with your hair system by switching it with another each time you need to re-attach. Think of it this way: how would your underwear hold up if you wore the same pair 24 hours a day for 5 to 21 days at a time took it off, cleaned it and put it back on for another 5 to 21 days? UGLY THOUGHT isn’t it?? Having 2 systems at all times has many benefits the most important being that when you do switch you can really thoroughly clean your other system. Even the retailers don’t have this luxury and I can assure you after wearing your hair for an extended period of time it will require more than an half hour to do a proper cleaning and I would anticipate up to 24 hours due to the need to soak the system in cleaner to remove all residue from the hair and base. Check out our 2nd system savings and hair repair service for more info.

We are fortunate to have our NextGen™ fiber ready for this future situation and find that blending NextGen™ with human hair creates an unbelievable touch and feel along with ease of styling, quick drying and durability without the bulk of increased density to the system. It is truly the best of both worlds. Ask us about NextGen™ fiber when you call we’d be happy to tell you how this innovation can work for you.

Custom is required when a stock hair piece won’t work because of size, color, hair density, hair style, contour and frontal design. Generally speaking most will be accommodated with stock but there is nothing like a custom system for best in fit and appearance. We can help you determine what will be best for you based on your requirements and desires. Call us for a Free Phone Consultation and we’ll tell you honestly which way we think you should go. Naturally we make more money on a custom order but we want you to be happy and come back to us for your future hair replacement needs and we really do want what is best for you.

On an individual level ask yourself the following questions:

Lifestyle—are you at the gym 3 to 7 days a week or are you more of a couch potato?

Because you are making the system a part of you this is important to determine what type of base material and attachment method will best hold up to frequent showering and heavy perspiration. As a couch potato you have unlimited options because a sedentary lifestyle does very little damage to any type of base.

Employment–are you in an office all day or do you work outside? Do you wear a hat or a head set?

A guy in a hard hat has a few more issues to address than a guy in a suit with regards to base material, fiber/hair choice even density.

Financial—do you want to replace your hair replacement system every 3 to 6 months, every month or once a year to 18 months?

This question will definitely determine your selection. We can just as easily make a hair piece to last one month using very thin skin with looped hair as make a system with a strong Polyester base, a solid tape tab and 2 to 3 hair ventilation.

Hair Style—do you want a natural look or are you prone to a more styled look?

Certain hair styles will require different base materials. If you want your hair to look like you just got out of the shower, pushed the hair in place and you’re out the door, you can utilize a more varied selection options but if you must have a definite part that shows skin, a crew cut or off the face style it is important to choose the base construction that will best suit your requirements.

All of this being said it’s impossible for us to tell you what is right for you simply by putting these questions out there. We strongly suggest you utilize our free phone consultation service and let’s discuss your options. Often in the course of this discussion we can come up with a myriad of options and suggestions you may not have ever thought about we’ll even be happy to help you choose a hair style based on your face shape and features if you feel you need a change. Since we’re all individuals there are no pat answers but we’ll be happy to make available to you our years of experience in design to help you create a hair replacement system that looks right for you.

Basically the only hair system I would not recommend for Daily Wear would be a Super Super Thin Skin(prophylactic thin).  All the others can easily be used for Daily Wear as well as extended wear.  The thing to remember is that most hair replacement systems on the market today were designed using thin skins and laces for the best appearance possible and the intent of the retailer is to get the customer in great looking hair, bond or fuse the system on and keep the client coming back every 4 weeks for cleaning, reattaching and a service fee.  Then when the hair starts looking bad the hair is replaced–for a charge.  This makes much more fiscal sense to a retailer than selling you a hair replacement showing you how to apply tape, showing you how to remove the tape and clean the system and sending you on your merry way not to return for up to a year before you need a new system and maybe selling you a few bags of tape and shampoo in between.

Daily Wear hair systems are not the friend of the retailer.  Daily Wear hair systems mean you are independent and free to wear your hair when you want to.  Some will wear their hair on a daily basis putting it on in the morning and taking it off in the evening, some will wear their hair when they feel like it, for special occasions or only during the work week and let their heads “Breathe Free” the balance of the time.  It is truly your choice to make.  Now best to know a few things if you want to go to Daily Wear.  First, if you’re wearing a system that has thin skin or delicate lace be sure to have appropriate adhesives and tape and be aware of how you remove your system as well as the tape or adhesive to avoid tearing the base, lace front or pulling out hair.  Always use a solvent before taking the tape or adhesive off the system.  This will loosen the adhesion and allow you to remove tape and residue without putting undue stress on the base, tape tab/skin areas or delicate lace.  Second, unless you’re working out in your system or in some way causing your hair to need daily cleaning, you can clean your system safely off your head once or twice a week saving on wear and tear, fading and hair loss.  Thirdly, if you’re going with tape you can easily apply a new piece of Daily Wear tape to the tape on your system, re-activate the tape using a warm blow dryer or use an Extended Wear tape that can usually be re-applied for up to 3 or 4 times.  There are a ton of options.

If you’re thinking you want the flexibility of a Daily Wear system you might also like to consider a custom system designed to give you both a natural look and durability—Yes it is possible.  The materials for Daily Wear and Extended Wear systems are the same the only thing that changes for us is designing with your wear requirements in mind and we specialize in giving you what you want every time.  If you want to give Daily Wear a try utilizing a stock system we’ll be happy to recommend products and techniques that will assure your success.

These new High Tech fibers are completely different from the Modacrylic fibers we associate with when we see the word Synthetic and they can’t even be compared when applied to hair replacements, wigs and even hair extensions.

Cyberhair is a nylon fiber that was created to give better curl retention, simulate human hair in light reflection, provide better color retention and most importantly it tolerates heat application allowing the wearer to use curling irons, blow dryers and other heat related styling tools without fear of having the fiber frizz or melt.  The down side to Cyberhair is that it has such good heat resistance it is almost impossible to change the curl pattern should the product be delivered with too much curl or not enough and for someone who is used to working with human hair they will find that Cyberhair while heat resistant is not like wearing human hair and will take the wearer some getting used to.  Cyberhair has been readily available but for many consumers the price is out of range.

NextGen fiber is a Polyester fiber.  It has basiclly the same curl and color retention but it is slightly less heat resistant–by design.  Unlike Cyber Hair, NextGen fiber can be manipulated with heat and will restyle much like human hair but unlike human hair, it will maintain it’s new style until it’s been changed.  Style retention and re-styleability all in one make NextGen fiber more stylist and consumer friendly.  But don’t be fooled both fibers are synthetic and posses the same downsides.  They will both eventually frizz and the hair wearer will find that their base will wear out long before the fiber does so base design is important when choosing these fibers for your system.

Hair-necessities has introduced NextGen fiber to it’s customers and at the same time we will educate any of our customers to all the up and down sides to the fiber.  Unlike New Man, we like to slowly introduce our customers by encouraging blends of human hair and NextGen.  Blending the fiber with human hair allows the consumer to get the benefits of this new High Tech fiber with the familiarity of human hair.  For those currently wearing synthetic fiber the switch to 100% NG fiber is an easy one so we encourage those customers to go for it but for the long time human hair wearers a gradual introduction makes the process easier while the NG fiber helps to buffer the inconsistencies of human hair.

From a price point Cyber Hair and NextGen fiber don’t even come close.  For those who know about Cyber Hair or have purchased a Cyberhair unit will see immediately that price wise NextGen beats Cyber Hair every time.  In almost every market the cost for a 100% NextGen system will come in at two thirds less than the price of Cyberhair and these days price is everything.

If you’re currently in Cyberhair, Synthetic fiber or are experiencing dissatisfaction due to poor quality human hair we welcome you to give us a call or send an e-mail and we’ll be happy to answer your questions about our NextGen fiber and assist you to determine what blend is right for you.

In fairness to the stock system it is important to point out its benefits before we tell you about the benefits of a custom hair system.

First, stock hair pieces and toupees are usually pretty consistent and what you ordered today should be pretty close to the one you ordered 6 months ago.  The production facilities love to make stock hair, the colors are consistent, the density is always the same as with the direction of knotting, making it easy for the workers and there are generally no surprises.  This is great for the factory and the retailer but what about the person who is wearing a stock system?  This is where we tell you just how inconsistent a stock system can be for you.  The first issue is size.  Our stock hair replacements are 7-1/2” X 8-1/2”.  This is pretty standard for all stock pieces out there and the size difference may only be ½” up or down from there.  This is great if you’re a 7-1/2 X 8-1/2 size and have a “standard” contour (shaped) head.  If you’re smaller than this you’ll need to first “Cut Down” the system to fit your hair loss area.  This isn’t a problem if you’re only cutting the system down a small amount say 1” front to back and/or side to side but what happens if you need a system that’s 5-1/2” X 6-1/2”???

Here’s a little something that is really good to know.  When the hair system is made and the hair is knotted (Ventilated) into the base it is done with a basic finished hair style in mind.  Whether that is Freestyle or Left Crown doesn’t matter the hair has to be put in going in a certain direction.  Also, if the product is designed correctly there are different knotting techniques used in different parts of the system, specifically the edges.  The hair around the perimeter should be ventilated using a single flat knot so the hair on the sides and back lays flat to the head and doesn’t poof out creating a “tunneling” effect.  Unless the hair lays flat you will find it more difficult for the hair to blend from the hair system to your own growing hair. The balance of the hair is ventilated using a “Split Knot” technique so the hair will have movement and lift.  If you cut the system down you are cutting away the area of single knots and what you’re left with is Split Knots around the perimeter and that means lift and poof and that is exactly what you don’t want on the sides and back of your hair system.

Here’s another issue there is a color that you always order but it isn’t quite the same as your hair color—what do you do??  You color your own hair or you color the system.  When you color the hair piece you’re dealing with a natural fiber (Human Hair) that comes from many different sources and is inconsistent.  This month’s batch of hair may have been processed differently than last months and you really can’t be sure to get the color you need because frankly coloring a system is iffy at best, even for a professional.  If you color your own hair you need to keep that up and color every few weeks.  Hair color on top of hair color means a different hair color all together not to mention that over time the hair color in the system my change slightly so you will have to adjust your color from the last time you colored it.  Sounds a little complicated doesn’t it.

How about you have a flat head in the back?  This isn’t uncommon and every head shape if different.  Any head shape that goes beyond the “Standard” will require some compromise to the hair wearer.  You may have bumps or folds in your base because the fit doesn’t contour your head correctly.  Now if all of this isn’t a problem then we say continue with the stock systems.  We’ll keep supplying them to you happily but we want you to know the real difference and benefits to ordering a custom system.

With a custom hair system there is NO COMPROMISE at all.  The system is made to fit your heads contour.  The custom production assures that the finished product will match the pattern sent in exactly.  There should be no noticeable or uncomfortable bumps or folds in the base.  The system is “Ventilated” in exactly the hair style you want.  The biggest benefit to this is that you don’t have to “Fight” or “Train” the hair to go where you want it to go it is knotted into the system to maintain the desired hair style for the life of the system.  The biggest downside to having to change the hair style on a stock system to the hair style you want is that the knots are put into the system for the hair style intended and when you start to try to re-direct the hair, you’re also trying to re-direct the knots.  This causes the knots to weaken and break and then you have hair loss.  If you’ve had the same hair loss pattern in all the stock systems you’ve worn, this is most certainly the reason why—Broken Knots due to Re-Direction!!!!!

Then we have the perimeter ventilation we talked about before.  To have a good blending area and quite frankly that is the “Toupee Give Away”, the hair has to flow smoothly into your growing hair, not poof out and require gobs of gel to try to get it to lay flat—it’ll never work.  Custom hair replacement units should all be designed with the perimeter hair directed down and knotted to lay flat to the head.  We do that standard on all our custom ordered systems.  (We do it on our stock systems as well but if you cut that away—–)
Then we have color.  When you order a custom hair system we blend the hair specifically to match your hair sample.  It is not matched up to a color ring for the closest match; the hair is actually BLENDED to match your hair sample EXACTLY.  That means the color blend from system to your growing hair is exact, not close, exact.  Color variation between a system and growing hair is another “Give Away”.  Not to mention it ends the vicious cycle of dealing with hair color.

For those who deal with “Customizing” a stock hair system every 3 months or so and deal with the degradation created by hair color, cut downs and hair style adjustments you may want to consider doing yourself a favor and consider a custom hair piece.  Just add up the cost for systems, hair color, cut downs and cut ins not to mention the aggravation and uncertainty that comes with all those practices and see how really cost effective a custom system from Hair-Necessities really is.  We also offer some really great services and options with our custom orders.  You can get your custom hair replacement system and get a second system for ½ price!!  What could be better than having 2 hair pieces at once?  Would you wear the same pair of underwear every day week after week and expect them to always look and feel good???  With a second hair replacement you will always look your best and stay fresh and clean not to mention if something should happen to your system you have one ready to wear while your other is in for repair or your waiting for a replacement.  With our cost effective products you really can afford to have 2 systems.  You’re still way under the price you’d pay at a hair replacement center for one toupee.

Finally, we will keep your pattern and hair samples along with your system specifications on file in our offices.  When you’re ready to re-order just give us a call or send an e-mail and we’ll get your new system ordered and make any adjustments or changes you may want and you don’t have to send anything in.  We also are available to consult with you and we really want to help you design the system that is right for you.  We have over 25 years of experience in design and custom production and have seen it all.  We will help you get the most out of your custom design and help to eliminate any possible problems before the order goes to our production facility.

Our goal is not to have you order systems over and over until you get it right.  Our goal is to make the process fun, easy and affordable and make sure YOU LOOK GREAT!!!!!