I posted a while ago, decided to keep roughing it out with HCM since I was still at school. I live in a house with 24 kids, each of us has our own room but we share bathrooms in 2's.

Thus far, no one has known I rock a HCM topper, I learned how to blend it well, I still hate the maintanence (and driving up to the centers to take care of it), but whatever.

My sides have always been thin, I get them straightened to blend in with the system but taking showers, swimming in pools, etc. reveals how thin the sides truly are and I'm sick of having to use a straightener to fix the problem.

I've considered switching to Farrell for a full cap. Besides price, anyone have any opinions on the quality of farrell's systems? I'm looking for something that will not give the secret away when: the wind blows in my face or all over my head, going mountainbiking, swimmming, skydiving, snowboarding, etc.

Ha, any advice guys?

Whew--that's a switch--someone that wants to go to (the F word). Let us know how that turns out--I'm sure a lot of people would like to know.

I had a Farrell topper in the past and it was WAY expensive. WAY too expensive for what it was.

I thought Toplace could do full caps-- why not get one from here?

Edited to add that I just read that you said "besides price" - personally, I think price matters when comparing. I will put it this way- even though I am still trying to find the right base design for me and trashed the hair on my first order, the system itself is just as good (if not better) than the F systems I had. There is no need to pay 6+ times the price for a Farrell system. It's not 6 times better. The only reason to consider F is because of the full cap thing-- but I am almost sure that TL does full caps.....

Dan, go back in the archives and read Jrob's posts. He's got TL fullcaps and loves 'em. I'm sure he will probably reply to your thread as it has the word "fullcap" in it and he has basically become the MB of all things fullcap

A full cap doesn't require anything special other than maybe a little tweaking when you first get it. No color hassles, no blending, etc. It's super easy.

I personally wouldn't pay whatever they are gonna hit you for, but if you got the money to burn I'd love to see the end result.

How good is the undetectability within the hairline. Or the maintanence, I engage in a lot of different sports and if my hair was wet, or if wind was to hit it in a large gust, would there be a significant revealing of the perimeters? I've looked through and tried to find some pictures however the same ones always come up. I was hoping there would be a forum or thread with many different full cap success photos.

Also do the perimteres dissolve well into the skin?

I don't necessarily want to burn money, but hair club is already $356 a month. So I guess farrell is technically a down grade ha.

To any who respond, I certainly apprecaite the help.

Dan, if you simply type "full cap" into the TL search, many threads will come up. Maybe not all w/pics but with answers to a lot of questions. I don't wear a fullcap, but hairline detectability would all depend on your choice of hairline base and attachment skill. I believe that a full cap can be made with your choice of materials. Only things I really know are that FC's take longer to make and cost a little more than toppers, but nowhere near the 350/month you're paying now! Most of the TL full-cappers seem very very happy. If you're totally new to this forum, here's my advice: take time to read, read, read! As a start, pay particular attention to BA's posts (he's the Yoda of the sight) and Jrob's posts (he's like a full-cap scientist). That should get you started, good luck bud!

Yeah I hope so. I just don't want to end up making a devastating mistake.

Undetectability is what I'm aiming for as well as being able to be quite versatile with the piece.

I'm hoping JRob or BA recognizes this thread and can provide some answers.

I cannot and will not tell you were to spend YOUR money but I will tell you what you already know, Salons are very expensive with hair replacement, If you want a full cap I can get you one and if you want a custom hairline done by my ventilator I can get it done, And it will be far cheaper than spending a load of wedge with a hair replacement salon. My advise is get the full cap yourself then find someone local who can do the cut it and help you with the maitenance, The full cap may have to be tweaked here and there but we can get you want you want without the major expense.

Regards BA.

Yeah i'v experienced how expensive it can be to be part of a salon, particularly with hair club. The big problem for me also is having to go back and forth to the salon for maintanence, considering I'm a college student, don't have much time for the hassle and driving long distances for the salon is quite annoying. I'm hoping that Farrell hair systems do not require monthly maintanence driving back and forth to the salon.

I have no idea, nor do I really beleive i'm competent enough to get the measurements right for my own full cap, nor would I really know of anyone to perform a cut-in where I'm located.

Aside from hairline detectability, I'm worried about other portions, for instance the perimeters where the piece is bonded elswhere besides the front. If a gust of wind blows the side of my hair up, I do not want questions of why it may look odd around my ears (if using a full cap that is) or around the back of my neck.

Any advice or experiences on this matter anyone can inform me of?

I basically want to know how to do it all myself (other than cut in) and do so in privacy (because I live in a house with 24 other people)

The difference in price between us and Farrell is like night and day. Have you checked what they will charge you for a full cap? And they will show you nothing about how to maintain your unit.

John have you been a member with them before?

I understand the price difference, I do not plan on being a member for years and years.

I do not know how and don't have the time to do a measurement of what I'd need, so far i'm just using a topper. I also don't know which types of features to get for what I'm looking for so instead of perform the struggle myself via. internet, I figured it'd make more sense to do it in person, get what I want and worry about the rest as the problems come a long.

I do appreciate all of everyone's advice here haha but not one post on here has responded to any of my questions...so if there are any full toppers looking at this thread, could you please look through my posts and give me some advice on several of my questions.

sorry to be the @sshole here, but someone is gonna do it sooner or later. Why do you even come to one companies forum asking about the services of another company. What logic does that make?

if u want to know how good farrell is.. this isnt the place to ask. Ur only going to hear negative feedback. probably rightfully so.. If i were to guess.. despite the negative comments about farrel here. i would say they are pretty much the same as toplace or any other hair system producer but u pay g's instead of 2 hundred.

Hi, Dan -- I can't really answer any of your questions. Sorry. But I'm curious as to why you think that dealing with Farrell would be any easier than dealing with Toplace plus a local stylist. If there is no local stylist in your area who has expertise in these issues, on the other hand, I can certainly understand why you might want to go a route with more hand-holding. Toplace might be able to recommend a stylist in your area. I found my stylist via Toplace's list of stylists. I'm sure she could have helped me with all the issues of even a full cap.

- Darius

I didn't even know this was a toplace forum. As far as i'm concerned, 'network54' comes up on my url bar and the title of the forum is 'Hair Apparent'. I'm just an average joe looking for solutions.

Xeon, I appreciate your attitude.

It aint no big problem mate, But I have already gave free adverising for others out there, Let them use their own forum.

So I put this on the Top of this forum

"Hair Replacement discussion group for help, advice and tips about TopLace hairpieces"

Regards BA.

well I have been doing research on ripoffreport.com

I had searched for reliability of the farrell company and found no complaints until this website (ripoffreports). After several complaints reccomended looking into TopLace, I'm going to look into a solution here.

As far as i've seen, Top Lace does seem reliable and the overflowing forum means there has definitely been many success stories.

We do try our best mate, We DONT always get it 100% correct all the time (Nobody does regardless of what anyone tells you) But I do have the knowledge and resources to get the job done if you E-mail me with any problems.

Regards BA.

Dan,

You are an idiot and an *******. If you have questions about Farrell, call Farrell. If you have questions about toplace products, this is the appropriate site. Even a college student should be able to figure that out.

what a prick. of course farrell would endorse their product if I called them, figured i'd expand my resources of who to get my advice from.

anyways

in regards to a full cap from top lace, what options would I have in regard to sideburns?

Dan, with all due respect, you need to go back and search the archives, man! You would have already found the answers to your questions about toplace fullcaps, and you would have found the answers to many more questions you probably never would have thought to ask. Just click on "search," type in "full cap," select "sort by match," and a wealth of knowledge will appear at your fingertips!

You will be able to have sideburns, You can use your own or make the template to include them.

Regards BA.

Hi Dan,

You are in the right place, TL produces great pieces and the service is the best. Lots of guys and girls here have been at this for a long time and once TL is found there is never a reason to leave.

I wear an all SFS full cap and I am very happy with it. I use an all SFS base because I wear my hair short (1" and under) and the realism is a major goal. Your best bet is to follow BA's advice and make a template and have someone cut it in for you. If your traveling to a HCM now, there has got to be an independent salon in your area that can do this for you. Lots of TL customers do this all the time. You can also send the piece to Debbie and she can cut it in for you. Your first step is making a full cap template. The full cap template is tougher than a topper because you do have to deal with your temple hairline down to your sideburns and the area around your ears and nape. (Check out pics of Gary Sinise and Shatner's full caps. They both have very good side hairlines that you can copy.) I take an eyebrow pencil and trace the hairline I want right onto my scalp. If I make a mistake, I use some water and "erase" the line. Then I cover my head with plastic wrap and trace the eyebrow line onto the saran wrap with perm marker. Then just make the template as described on this site. I leave about 1 1/2" of my own hair in the back so I don't have to deal with attaching at the nape. I attach with ST30 around the back and middle and I use base bond on the front and side hairlines. Generally, the longer the hairstyle the easier this will all be. Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to do this yourself. Believe me, 17 years ago when I started wearing, I NEVER thought I would cut in a piece and attach myself. Read up on Traco and JROB's full cap advice. They both have helped me out a lot with great tips. Good Luck!

sorry if i came off snotty. I would rather look into online sites and systems and see the results. There are many people who post pictures here that look excellent. You will see that you can get a great look for 1/10th the price. The wigs are standardized.. The people who are making the farrell wigs.. are the same type of people who are making toplace wigs or any other. thats the funny part about it. HCM and farrell they arent even making inhouse ultra custom wigs. They are producing them in other countries cheaply.

everyone will blast you on farrells but what i like the most about not going to a company..not the money..thats not it..the hair is not always as you want and you pay top dollar for it...having a 2pm appointment at hcm and getting thier 1.30 waiting till 3pm not leaving till 4pm 3-4 hours lost...hcm glued on so tight i would get headache and lose the rest of the days work =big$$$$...then instead of a nice blend i would get a perfect blend into my hair from thier hair no over lap..get home and be schcked in mirror like i got a 50 stich scar and must go back..simple math $20 work x 3 hour at hcm = $60 month min..x 12 =$720 lost time from work plus tips and headaches...FREEDOM FROM AND COMPANY IS A GREAT THING..I WAS IN PI 1 MONTH USED SAME RUG THE WHOLE TIME BROUGHT A BACK UP..didnt need it..anyone know the phone # to hcm in cebu pi
bob/philly

I've already resigned from any thought I had toward farrell after reading so many client complaints on www.ripoffreports.com. The reason I considered was because HCM always said the topper would just need to be longer if my thinning sides increased and always reccomended against the full cap. I was purely just uneducated on the issue.

What i'm most looking forward to is my parents saving a ton of cash from the switchover than dealing with $356 a month at HCM.

Check out the photos in this thread Dan.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/241571/thread/1191934791/last-1195937382/Off+The+Head+and+On+The+Head+Full+Cap+Photos

Those pictures look great. At the bottom of the page the way the back of that guys head/hair looks is what i'm trying to acheive.

I stumbled upon some pictures of a guy with the name on here 'sdguy' once. Does anyone know if he still posts? Because A. I lost his pictures, and B. He has the same hair style I style for the most part.

I haven't worked for Richard and Laura Farrell for many years. I have noticed many post about this company on this forum, and purposely avoided them so I wouldn't come off as a disgruntled ex employee. It has come to my attention, that after ALL these years, I still hit a sore spot with Richard Farrell.

I would like to begin by saying that first, I thank Richard for the chance to work at his company. I never knew what hair replacement was before, and if it weren't for my experience there, I wouldn't have the knowledge that I have in this area.

I am posting this once and for the last time, despite what was written about myself, I am FAR from a disgruntled ex employee. My business with hair replacement(thanks to Toplace) along with my other projects within the beauty business are flourishing. I have no reason to be disgruntled, I have no ill will toward Richard or Laura Farrell, but I stand 100% by everything that I have posted (also leaving out even more incriminating situations).

I do not keep up with Farrells business, but what I can say is that since the loss of Didi, and myself, the NYC salon has been in chaos. This is comming from ex clients of Farrell's who have gotten in contact with me and have since become very happy Toplace clients.

I do not take pleasure in anyones failures, but I refuse to accept being called a "liar" or "disgruntled".

I wish Richard and Laura the best, and again thank them for the experience. I have taken what I have learned and ran with it and continue to educate myself so I am able to offer the best quality service that I can.

Erin

You have two pencils. They look the same, they have the same functionality. They were designed the same way, and they are made from the same materials. One pencil you can order online from a Chinese factory thru toplace pencils for 20 cents each. Another place is selling the same pencil locally calling them the biowood pencil at farrell for 50 dollars each. Where would you buy your pencils from. Its that simple.

Xeon-

It's not exactly that simple....regardless of the quality of the service these other companies do provide a service. Some people aren't comfortable going DIY. I'm the kind of guy who dives in head first, so it wasn't even a question for me, but for some others it's a bit more of a challenge to do something like this.

I've never been the customer of a chain or local salon so I'm not going to comment on the value of the service they provide, but to compare DIY to going through a salon is like apples to oranges.

That said....with the prices I've heard other people throw out there for the chain salons there's no way in HELL I would pay that kind of money just to have hair. Not worth it unless you have more money than you know what to do with or if your income relies on it. But then again I look sexy bald, so I'm not one to comment, haha

yeah you are right. but i was just talking about the product itself.. not the services. i never been to a hair salon so i dont know if the services are included in that price or if you pay more.


but if u want to include services thats fine.> how much should it cost to get a haircut and/or to have someone glue something to your head. I do not think these services should add up to the price it costs.. i dont even think you get a happy ending!