I notice you have mentioned that perma rite glue a few times- can you give me some details please- is it a white glue? where can you buy it from? also do you generally have good luck with glues in terms of long holds? thanks for any help

oh and wanted to ask you used those proflex no shine tabs- what was the shine like and will they be suitable for a 55-60% density piece like mine? thanks

Yes, the Perma Rite #15 is a white glue, but it is apparently a new "revision". Perma Rite has a number of different glues that all have numbers, but #15 is apparently the one to get. (I.e., not #11 or #13.)

Unfortunately, I can't tell you where to get it, as they seem to only sell to salons. So, your hair stylist, if you have one, can get it for you. If you really want some, my hair stylist might sell it mail-order. I'd have to ask her. It's not cheap, though: $29 for 1.3 ounces (plus shipping, I imagine).

Debbie said she might look into seeing if she can stock it, but I haven't heard anything back as to whether she's been successful. They might not want to sell it to anyone who advertises it on the web. Kind of like how you used to only be able to buy Paul Mitchell and Nexxus products at salons.

I don't have that much experience with glue (or anything in this hobby as I'm still a newbie), so I can't tell you that this glue is definitively better than anything else for me. This is what I can tell you:

- My stylist was raving about this new glue, and says that it has been a godsend to her and her clients. Salespitch or truth? I dunno, but the hype turned out to be true for me. (16 days and still going when my stylist applied it, 14 days and still going when I applied it. Clean-up of unit was easy with platic-wrap slide & 99%. Clean-up of head was messy.)

- I did have to do touch-ups every few days. Strangely, I didn't have to do any touch-ups in the front. I had to do them on the sides where hair underneath is growing more thickly. For the touch-ups Coolpiece Oil Resistant glue worked better than the Perma Rite.

- One reason that Perma Rite may not be so good for touch-ups is that it wants to be used in three medium-thick coats, not one thin coat, like the Coolpiece glue. This means you probably go through your bottle at a quick rate. Minus the fact that I only needed to do this once every two weeks.

- My other experiences with glue: (1) Old, half-evaporated (i.e., concentrated by time) iGlue lasted a week, but got a bit gummy by the end. (2) New iGlue only lasted a day or two. (3) I've been trying out the Coolpiece glue (one coat) for the last four days, and so far so good. Only one tiny touch-up needed.

- I shampoo every few days and at least run lots of hot water over my head every day.

Regarding the Proflex no-shine tabs... they're still a bit shiny. Personallly, I wouldn't use them for a front hairline unless combing forward, but YMMV. Even then, I've been a bit uncomfortable with any tape shine. (That may be just my paranoia speaking.) My stylist says that one can use baby powder to reduce the residual shine, and there's also the finger tapping and backing rubbing techniques. There's also a Maybeleine anti-shine powder. I haven't yet tried any of these things to see how much they might help.

- Darius

Darius,

Ok, you've gotten me curious about the Perma Rite stuff. I admit we have come along way with tapes like ST-30 and also the no-shone Proflex tabs (they work for me, at least). In my humble opinion glue is still better for the very front edge. But, all the glues I've ever tried get gooey very quickly, meaning I have to tweak at least every two days, if not every day. I wish I could say that there's a glue I really like out there that doesn't consistently disappoint, but the way they behave you'd think I sweat de-solv-it.

That said, I did a little looking around and found some Perma Rite #14 for sale on a canadian site. I don't see any 15. Of course, I would rather not mess with anything but the newest stuff, since you recommended it. If Debbie got a hold of some of the 15, I would be willing to pay for a sample to test it out on my uber sweaty scalp and report back.

Mark

P.S. I hate glue.

Write to Maureen at <NCorco6528@aol.com>. She'll probably sell you a bottle.

Remember three coats -- not too thin. Let each coat dry clear before applying the next coat. Attach immediately after the third coat dries clear.

Keep your air conditioner running while you are doing this. If it's hot and sticky or you are sweating, the glue won't dry right.

Let the glue cure for 24 hours before you stick your head under a shower.

The last time I used it, I only used two coats and had to take a shower (because I dyed my side hair), and it completely lifted after a day. So, now I'm never ever going to use less that 3 coats or not wait 24 hours.

I'm not sure whether the problem was the two coats or the shower. Probably both together was a bad combination! There's a lot of trial and error in all this!

Caveat: I do have to do little touch-ups every few days, but usually not in the front (I don't comb my hair back, though. If I did, things might be different). I use Coolpiece ORWG for the touch-ups. It seems to work very well for that.

- Darius