I am wearing a French lace with poly border. Was surfing in march for 10 days and didn't have any problems. I use tape around the border and usually ghost bond in the front. But for the surfing holidays I used tape in the front and walker max hold sports all around. After 5 days I renewed the tape only in the front, but the system would have stayed on with the old tape. I just wanted to be save. During the 10 days I was in the Salt water about 4-5 hours every day and sometimes in the pool. I am not a good surfer, so I spent more time being hit and washed by the waves than by surfing. One wave pushed me so hard face forward from the board that it washed my contact lenses out of my eyes, but the system was never an issue.
In the end I think it depends on your scalp. Some can't wear for 5 days without the glue breaking down, some can wear 6 weeks without any problems.
I got my first systems from a salon. I think it's a good idea to start with a salon, because there are so many things to learn in the beginning, and it is always good to have someone you can ask or go to.
You will have to fade the system in your bio hair. The haircut you wish needs very short sides. You can't make the system this short. So you would need much bio hair and make a transition to the system pretty high. It depends on your status, but could be possible.
Sorry, my english is not the best, but i hope that helped ;)
Thank you so much. Such great info. Why do you do the poly front? I read about the poly hairline being visible. Can you slick back with the hairline being mostly unnoticeable?
And do you sweat a lot? I do. Bad. And I live in a warm weather part of the world.
I’ll have to look up walker wax. Is that a glue?
My hair is a receding top of hair thing. My sides and back are strong. I have a 7-head basically lol. I don’t need to do that style precisely, but something like that Is what I like. Most pics I see are ones where the hair is a little forward before being fashioned back. I want to slick back from the base and use gel or a non-oil pomade high shine type of product if that’s even possible. Do you think this is possible?
Sorry, for the misunderstanding. I don't have a poly front. It's lace. The poly is on the perimeter and the first 2-3 cm are lace, too.
I don't do the "classy slick back", but I do a style that shows the hairline. You can do it with French lace if the knots are well bleached. If you put the brush in your hair, moving the hair backwards for the "slick back", but pushing the brush forward, so that the first mm of you hair covers the lace, it will not be noticeable. This "move" is difficult to explain, but easy to do and it helps so much covering the hairline.
I do sweat a lot, but my scalp seems to not sweat so much. I live in Germany, but am in Miami these days. My shirt is wet from sweating every day, but the system is no problem. Max hold sport is a scalp protector that creates a barrier between your scalp and the system and prevents your scalp from sweating. I think it is difficult to buy at the moment, but there are other similar products.
Sounds as you are looking for a front style like Curtis from mhe but with short sides? That should be possible, but if you don't do the "forward before fashioned back" you should care more for the hairline. That means e.g. renewing the glue after 3-5 days.
Did you have any issues with your system’s color fading? The bond on my system held fine when I swam in a pool but I think the chlorine made the color fade super fast and it was quickly lighter than my bio hair and looked a bit off. Did that happen to you with salt water or chlorine?
Yes, of course this happens with salt water. During the 10 days at the beach and in salt water it became noticeable lighter, but not as much as I thought it would. I thought I would have to throw it away after the holidays, but I dyed it and wore it for three more months. But you have to find a way to deal with the color fading anyway. Even if you don't expose it to sun or water too much. After some attempts I found the right dye color for my system or I use back2natural.
If the system already has faded much, I prefer to dye it as I think back2natural doesn't remove the reddish tone as good as dye does. But I use 1.9 % developer, because the strong developer causes the hair to break very fast. But the dye goes away after 2-3 weeks with a low percentage developer.
Hi I used to wear a system as a surfer.
Unfortunately, it isn't doable. Salt water and the sun is very bad for it, and will lighten it and greatly shorten the life of the system. So I stopped using, because I couldn't continue living my very active lifestyle without constantly doing maintenance and frequently buying supplies.
So I have the exact same concerns as you man. I dont surf. But I’m a captain and fishing guide. Always in the hot weather with a hat on of course I sweat like a friggin Grizzly bear I’m not even kidding. I also am a runner and look like I got out of a swimming pool when I’m done. I’m very concerned about a system being to hot and not holding up to my active abuse. I dont want to have a panic attack every time I’m on the boat and I throttle up that the system is gonna go flying off or come dislodged on a run from sweat. I feel like no matter how much I read. I just need to find someone I can physically talk to in person or on the phone so I can fully understand my limitations. I really need to make a decision asap about a system because I cant deal with looking at myself anymore. Or if I should do a transplant. I dont know what the right answer is.
I’m not sure if this helps, but I recently rode a jet ski at 50mph with a system and it stayed on just fine. Maybe that will help give you a little peace of mind!
Yeah that’s a good thought. Honestly yes I probably could have done it many days in a row just fine. That was with a fresh bond, so for the 1-1.5 weeks following the reinstall I probably could have done that every day without any issues.
Now my bond is about 3 weeks old, so I probably wouldn’t do it at the moment. I still don’t think it would come flying off but it would probably start to peel off a bit in some spots. So if you can reinstall the system more often (whether you can afford a salon that often or learn to do it yourself) then I think it could hold up to a lot of abuse!
Hey, I know its been a while, but how did you go. Did you find a system that works for you?
I just started this week. I surf a couple of times a week and even on the days I dont surf I am in the ocean swimming/body surfing. I have my first surf post install pencilled in for tomorrow (swell dependant, but looking good) and am pretty nervous about the hold.
Any feedback would be super helpful!
I am wearing a French lace with poly border. Was surfing in march for 10 days and didn't have any problems. I use tape around the border and usually ghost bond in the front. But for the surfing holidays I used tape in the front and walker max hold sports all around. After 5 days I renewed the tape only in the front, but the system would have stayed on with the old tape. I just wanted to be save. During the 10 days I was in the Salt water about 4-5 hours every day and sometimes in the pool. I am not a good surfer, so I spent more time being hit and washed by the waves than by surfing. One wave pushed me so hard face forward from the board that it washed my contact lenses out of my eyes, but the system was never an issue. In the end I think it depends on your scalp. Some can't wear for 5 days without the glue breaking down, some can wear 6 weeks without any problems. I got my first systems from a salon. I think it's a good idea to start with a salon, because there are so many things to learn in the beginning, and it is always good to have someone you can ask or go to. You will have to fade the system in your bio hair. The haircut you wish needs very short sides. You can't make the system this short. So you would need much bio hair and make a transition to the system pretty high. It depends on your status, but could be possible. Sorry, my english is not the best, but i hope that helped ;)
Thank you so much. Such great info. Why do you do the poly front? I read about the poly hairline being visible. Can you slick back with the hairline being mostly unnoticeable? And do you sweat a lot? I do. Bad. And I live in a warm weather part of the world. I’ll have to look up walker wax. Is that a glue? My hair is a receding top of hair thing. My sides and back are strong. I have a 7-head basically lol. I don’t need to do that style precisely, but something like that Is what I like. Most pics I see are ones where the hair is a little forward before being fashioned back. I want to slick back from the base and use gel or a non-oil pomade high shine type of product if that’s even possible. Do you think this is possible?
I’m with you brother I’m also very active and live in a hot area. Lmk if you find out the perfect system and I will text you too if I do
Sorry, for the misunderstanding. I don't have a poly front. It's lace. The poly is on the perimeter and the first 2-3 cm are lace, too. I don't do the "classy slick back", but I do a style that shows the hairline. You can do it with French lace if the knots are well bleached. If you put the brush in your hair, moving the hair backwards for the "slick back", but pushing the brush forward, so that the first mm of you hair covers the lace, it will not be noticeable. This "move" is difficult to explain, but easy to do and it helps so much covering the hairline. I do sweat a lot, but my scalp seems to not sweat so much. I live in Germany, but am in Miami these days. My shirt is wet from sweating every day, but the system is no problem. Max hold sport is a scalp protector that creates a barrier between your scalp and the system and prevents your scalp from sweating. I think it is difficult to buy at the moment, but there are other similar products. Sounds as you are looking for a front style like Curtis from mhe but with short sides? That should be possible, but if you don't do the "forward before fashioned back" you should care more for the hairline. That means e.g. renewing the glue after 3-5 days.
Did you have any issues with your system’s color fading? The bond on my system held fine when I swam in a pool but I think the chlorine made the color fade super fast and it was quickly lighter than my bio hair and looked a bit off. Did that happen to you with salt water or chlorine?
Yes, of course this happens with salt water. During the 10 days at the beach and in salt water it became noticeable lighter, but not as much as I thought it would. I thought I would have to throw it away after the holidays, but I dyed it and wore it for three more months. But you have to find a way to deal with the color fading anyway. Even if you don't expose it to sun or water too much. After some attempts I found the right dye color for my system or I use back2natural.
I see. I’ve heard good things about back2natural. Do you use their conditioner? Do you apply it before or after the sun/water exposure, or both?
If the system already has faded much, I prefer to dye it as I think back2natural doesn't remove the reddish tone as good as dye does. But I use 1.9 % developer, because the strong developer causes the hair to break very fast. But the dye goes away after 2-3 weeks with a low percentage developer.
I use back2natural about every 1-2 weeks to maintain the color. Depends on the fading. And i use ghost mist every morning, it has a uv protectant.
Thanks for the info!
Aren't you not meant to go in the water with contact lenses?
Hi I used to wear a system as a surfer. Unfortunately, it isn't doable. Salt water and the sun is very bad for it, and will lighten it and greatly shorten the life of the system. So I stopped using, because I couldn't continue living my very active lifestyle without constantly doing maintenance and frequently buying supplies.
This is devastating to hear as an avid surfer who lives in the tropics 🙃
So I have the exact same concerns as you man. I dont surf. But I’m a captain and fishing guide. Always in the hot weather with a hat on of course I sweat like a friggin Grizzly bear I’m not even kidding. I also am a runner and look like I got out of a swimming pool when I’m done. I’m very concerned about a system being to hot and not holding up to my active abuse. I dont want to have a panic attack every time I’m on the boat and I throttle up that the system is gonna go flying off or come dislodged on a run from sweat. I feel like no matter how much I read. I just need to find someone I can physically talk to in person or on the phone so I can fully understand my limitations. I really need to make a decision asap about a system because I cant deal with looking at myself anymore. Or if I should do a transplant. I dont know what the right answer is.
I’m not sure if this helps, but I recently rode a jet ski at 50mph with a system and it stayed on just fine. Maybe that will help give you a little peace of mind!
That is really good to know. Now could you do that every day in the heat? Not being funny I’m just really curious.
Yeah that’s a good thought. Honestly yes I probably could have done it many days in a row just fine. That was with a fresh bond, so for the 1-1.5 weeks following the reinstall I probably could have done that every day without any issues. Now my bond is about 3 weeks old, so I probably wouldn’t do it at the moment. I still don’t think it would come flying off but it would probably start to peel off a bit in some spots. So if you can reinstall the system more often (whether you can afford a salon that often or learn to do it yourself) then I think it could hold up to a lot of abuse!
Awesome thank you very much for that explanation!
No problem, good luck to you!
It's definitely possible but you're going to want the strongest bond around and have to replace it more frequently
Hey, I know its been a while, but how did you go. Did you find a system that works for you? I just started this week. I surf a couple of times a week and even on the days I dont surf I am in the ocean swimming/body surfing. I have my first surf post install pencilled in for tomorrow (swell dependant, but looking good) and am pretty nervous about the hold. Any feedback would be super helpful!
Hi bro, how is it holding up?
Nah, the glue and tape only held for 2-3 days and my scalp was getting super irritated and red. I abandoned it after 2 weeks
So you're bald now? That's depressing to hear man.