In my opinion, almost everyone who wears hair can benefit tremendously from using hair products.

The only exceptions would be the VERY few people I have seen that have dark hair and THICK sides.

So many of the challenges of wearing hair can be minimized by finding a gel or wax that works well for you, and experimenting to find the best way to use it.

In a million years I would not have been able to have worn a topper without using hair product. I know my case was extreme in that my sides and neck hair was in BAD shape, but I see so many systems that although they look fine to the untrained eye, they could look SOOOOOO much better with a little wax to hide that color, texture or blending problem. It can go from "nobody in the general public is going to notice" to "Even fellow hairwearers can't spot it".

A guy I know casually wears a piece. Not sure where he gets them from, but even though the density isn't overbearing and the blend and color are good, his hair just looks odd. Like it's a "shell", combed so perfectly and all. If he were to use just a little something to break the "molded" look, i don't think even I would bat an eye.

I can understand how some of the older wearers, or those who like to keep it on the conservative side might be hesitant to use products, but it's kinda like the female who goes to the gym and won't touch weights because she doesn't want to be a muscled up freak. If she only understood that she will look BETTER by getting some muscle tone, and that she isn't going to look like AHHHNOLD with a normal weight training routine, she could add another dimension to her efforts to shape her body, making her look amazing.

It isn't like you're going to look like a punk rocker sporting a purple spiked out 'do, or a rastafarian surfer with dreads if you use a dab of wax to help shape and control your hair, so don't be afraid to experiment. You may think you are looking the best you are going to look, but from an outsiders perspective it can make a huge improvement.

hey JRob is that paul mitchell waxworks stuff as good as they say or is it just hype like so many other products?

I just got my hands on a tube of the Waxworks and I forgot about it when I moved last week so I haven't tried it yet.

I have two different kinds of wax by Fructis that I like, but they both dried my hair out until I started adding a drop of my Blue Max serum.

One is Surf Hair, which gives a flat, "matted" sort of finish (like you've been out in the sun all day)

The other one is Play Style Reshapeable Putty, which gives a flexible "hold" without too much shine.

Waxworks is made with dimethicone. I suspect that's why those who have used it have claimed that it works well and doesn't dry the hair.

hey JRob is that paul mitchell waxworks stuff as good as they say or is it just hype like so many other products?

I think you really have to experiment and see what works for you. What will work the best depends on what blending issues you have, and how you like to style your hair.

I have some Waxworks, and I find it be kind of like a modern version of Brylcream, or something like that, but I think that gel works better for me. Especially if I want to make my side hair more shiny, as the remy hair is shinier than my natural hair.

If you don't like the gelled look though, Waxworks seems like a good product.

- Darius

thats purelogy color cair and debbies nearly natrual and pretty slick are good for me ..i dont wan a unit to last 1 year 3-5 months is good for me..i think guys get alittle crazy with products..keep it simple..wearer 5+ years
bob/philly

bobby-

Not talking about making the unit last longer, I'm talking about making it look better.

I wouldn't have gone out of the house without my products when I was wearing my topper.

And the thing is, even with the perfect cut if you're wearing a topper we all know the color shifts and the hair gets thin in places. Or maybe you didn't get the unit 100% straight....

A little dab of product goes a long way toward covering minor issues.

My first two full caps (when they came back from being corrected) were still too thick. If I wasn't able to gel or wax them in the beginning before they shed some hair, they would have been absolutely unwearable. The hair product allowed me to "cheat" thing until the hair thinned out and settled down.

The great thing about this situation was that even though they were too thick, I made them work. Now one is a bit too thin and the other is just right, but they would undoubtedly BOTH be unwearable long ago due to shedding had they not started out too thick. A few pennies worth of hair product saved me $$$

The way I see it, in addition to glues, tapes, alcohol, adhesive removers, styro head, etc., every hairwearer should have some Dermmatch on hand to correct minor issues (I was using it to try to correct MAJOR issues....no good) and should pick up a couple of recommended gels and waxes, even some mousse (3-in-1 is nice AND cheap!!!!) and hairspray and so some testing to see what might help them look their best.

Plus, who in their right mind outside the hairwearing world would think that it's a piece if you are using product. Think about it.....

Darius-

If you like gel you really need to try the John Frieda gel. they have one that is alcohol free, with "encapsulated silicone". Great hold, and the dimethicone silicone keeps the hair from drying out. I also like the Fructis PureFix gel.

Now I can't wait to try the Waxworks.Might have to do that tomorrow....

If you like gel you really need to try the John Frieda gel. they have one that is alcohol free, with "encapsulated silicone". Great hold, and the dimethicone silicone keeps the hair from drying out. I also like the Fructis PureFix gel.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll have to try them out.

- Darius

This thread is perfect for me. Now that I have a full head of hair for the first time in my life ever I suck at the styling part of wearing and having hair. As soon as I read this thread I went out to the pharmacy right away and bought a jar of fructis and it did help with blending. Now that I have been wearing my horseshoe for 2 weeks I notice that my piece hair looks a bit nicer than my real hair. My real hair seems a little dull in color and the piece looks like it has a bit more shine to it.

I have two theories here, either using head and shoulders on my real hair made it a little dull or I developed an eye since wearing my piece. Can head and shoulders change my real hair color and make it slightly dull as I was not using H/S on my piece?

When I got my piece I could not tell the difference in color at all> What do you guys think?

Good posts JRob. I think one should never be too lax when it comes to the fine tuning.
All it could take is one oversleep and a rush out the door to set yourself up for Exposure <<<<capital E
I bought some generic waxworks and liked it but somebody said the generic sucks and the real waxworks is much better. That makes me want to know what I'm missing, so the real deal is on my list.
Along those lines, I have the Pureology shampoo because they didn't have the Nanoworks where I bought it. It's really nice shampoo but I wish I'd held out for the Nanoworks shampoo because the Nanoworks conditioner may be the single best product I've ever bought for my real hair. I didn't use conditioner all that often before but I
am a nanoworks devotee now. With this conditioner my hair doesn't seem dry now and it's shinier and healthier looking. It seems stronger.
I have difficult hair so I've got quite a collection of different products but I don't have any matte finish products. I want to experiment with that next. Surf hair you say? And there's some type of tea tree oil or something that sounded good I need to look up that somebody mentioned for matte look.

Okay, I'm up waaaaay too late....

Xbaddboy-

The "high shine" factor is another issue that hair products can help address.

The piece hair often has a different amount of shine from your own hair. By using product, you can even the two out.

You are going to be at the convention, correct? If so I will get you a sample of my Revitalizing Spray. I want to get feedback from topper wearers, since the oils in the spray tend to give more of a matte finish, and also help to "tame" the hair. I wear a full cap nowadays so i want to get opinions from guys who are blending real hair with piece hair to see if it helps knock down the shine to even things out.

My other product, the serum, can also potentially help on the other end by adding shine to your real hair.

My hope is that all of you with toppers will experiment with both products to figure out what helps. With a full cap both have their own benefits for ME, but I need you guys to try them out and give me feedback as well.

Moremane-

I bought the generic waxworks at Sallys and took it back. It sucked with a capital "S". I have higher expectations for the real thing, especially with Snipe's rave reviews.

I need to pick up some of the Pureology stuff. So far I haven't locked down a decent shampoo.

And yea, the "Surf Hair" is a really cool product. It was recommended to me by a "younger" girlfriend of mine who likes that look, and I love the product, but without adding some silicone it will dry the hair. At least in my case it did.

JROB,

As soon as I read the first post on this thread I went to the pharmacy and found surf hair. When it comes to products
I am on the slow curve so this was a good thread for me. I will be at the convention for sure and if you have a product I will glad to try it out and give you some feedback. I hope to learn all that you guys are willing to share when I am there.

Thanks again

Hey badboy-

Try the Surf Hair and let me know if it dries out the piece at all.

That's the one thing about products. Even if they don't have a bunch of bad alcohol in them (as opposed to fatty alcohols which do not hurt the hair), they often tend to somehow release moisture prematurely from the hair shaft. I have products that seem to have zero bad ingredients (some even have stuff that looks like it SHOULD help to moisturize) that for some reason dry the hair prematurely.

I got that problem covered though, and I plan to demonstrate it firsthand at the convention.

I'll buy some of your stuff in Windsor.

Hans

hans dont buy it you look to good already
bob/philly
products your secret????????????????????

JROB,

I am wearing surf hair now and it helps to control my hair. I will let you know if it dries it out. I hope to learn which
products to buy for my hair type(fine) at the convention so that I am not waisting my money on stuff that does not help. I have no clue in this area.

xbaddboy

Hans- I hadn't even considered bringing product to the convention to sell, but I guess it would make sense to bring a few bottles to save people the shipping (I believe it has to be sent UPS due to the silicone).

I will have samples though, so one way or the other you'll get to try it.

"hans dont buy it you look to good already
bob/philly"

Yea, if I remember correctly Hans is one of those "dark hair thick sides" guys.

Xbadboy-

If I can manage to find room I will bring samples of a few products that have worked for me.

Over the past 12 months we at NearlyNatural have been developing and testing a coumplete line based on the needs of veteran hair wearers.Those products were announced in May. No matter who it is there are always companies working hard to have a product that a person can use to make their life easier . That is the goal and NearlyNautural will be announcing other product plans very soon .


Great information on the site - Keep it up !!


NearlyNaturalHair.com

"No matter who it is there are always companies working hard to have a product that a person can use to make their life easier."

Couldn't find anything that worked the way I wanted it to, so I took the products that produced the best results and researched the ingredients to each one to formulate something that would specifically benefit hair wearers.

I have had very good results with nearly natural, brought back to life some dead pieces and kept the hair soft. Definetly worth a try fellas.

Sam

JROB,

You were right about the surf hair drying the hair piece out. The product works well but the hair does not feel so nice when I touch it. IT only took a couple of days to dry it out for me. I sprayed conditioner in my hair to try and get it back to the way it was. You are definitely right about
it drying out the hair.

xbaddboy

See.. As JROb doesnt understand how people dont use products, Which i agree with to a degree.. I never understood why people like those matte finish products for the hair. For me personally, the last thing that would help would be something that mattes down the hair. It starts making it look like a dry, polishy look. I always like something that has shine in it like waxworks. or pomade etc. When i try some of the matte finish products.. i feel like theres nothing in my hair, it just makes it more stiff, but nothing visually different just a dried out look.. kind of makes it look wiggy too.

I'm on the wall on this matte-ing products. I haven't gotten them to work well myself, but I haven't really tried. I'm using gel at the moment, which makes my unit hear really, really shiny. So then I have to put even more gel on my side hair to try to make it equally shiny.

That seems to work well enough, even if it makes me like one of those hair gel wanker sorts.

I keep grilling a female friend about my hair subtly: "So what do you think of this messy gel'ed look that my new hair stylist has foisted off on me?" She seems to like it, and says that it's a big improvement from when I had my hair parted a few months back. She also says that I should add blue highlights to my hair, though, so I'm not 100% convinced of her objectivity.

- Darius

I'm glad Nearly Natural works for some people. Unfortunately it didn't help me at all.

I am a firm believer that there are so many variables in the world of processed hair, that what works great for one person won't do a thing for someone else.

For me....as this thread states I am a fan of styling products to help achieve realism (and a stylish look). In my case a thicker silicone product works wonders to coat the hair shaft and keep it from drying out.

Hey baddboy-

Bring that Surf Hair with you to the convention and I will show you how you can use it and just about any other product you desire WITHOUT drying the hair.

I do like to have a matte finish product in my lineup. In my opinion if it's done correctly it looks great with certain styles. I'm glad I was able to find a way to continue to use this and products like it, cause often I would get ahold of something that made my hair look great for a day, then it would turn it into a pile of tinder the next.

BTW....the only gels that I have used that keep the hair moist are the John Frieda stuff with "encapsulated silicone" and the one alcohol free Fructis gel i posted about, although the John Frieda stuff is by far the best for keeping the hair moisturized.

Oh yea, and I tried Waxworks.....that stuff is the shiznit.....I'm so impressed I might even offer it on my site eventually.

Darius-

If you don't want to look like a gelled up "wanker" try some more of the waxes and puttys and such. There's a happy medium between enough shine, enough hold, enough softness, etc. you just have to find what works for you.