I feel like at almost three years in I’ve pretty much got most of the kinks worked out of this whole thing so I figured I would share a few pieces of advice for newbies and people who may be trying to refine their process. For reference I wear a thin skin poly unit that’s taped around the perimeter and bonded at the hairline

1. Weak / Short term Adhesion Your bond / tape is probably not holding up because you didn’t do a good enough job cleaning your head and/or system. This is something I started doing recently and has made a HUGE difference: after cleaning my system I put some Dawn dish soap on the poly side and let it sit for a few mins before I wash it off. C22 is oil based and I find that water and shampoo has a tough time completely cleaning it off the base and obviously you won’t get good adherence if you have adhesive remover still on your base when you apply your adhesive. Dawn is made to break down oils and so it does a great job taking any remnants of C22 off the base - just try to keep it away from the actual hair because it will dry it out. Also if you’re sweating at ALL when you are doing your install you might as well give up and try again later. That is the number one ruined of a good bond. Lastly it may be your bond. Try different bonds! For me Ghostbond Platinum works best. I’ve tried “stronger” clear bonds that end up breaking down on me in a few days and a mess. Everyone’s skin is different so figure out what works for you which may take some trial and error.

2. Don’t stretch your system! I found that a lot of times I’d be stretching my system to make it cover the entire top of my head. Either because it was an older system I’d trimmed a little in the front or maybe I slightly over shaved the top of my head. Don’t do it. Stretching the system is going to make the hair stand up and it won’t lay correctly or flat. Let the system sit as naturally as you can. You may have to VERY slightly stretch based on your head shape just to avoid wrinkles but for the most part let it sit more naturally on top of your head. I’ve got shaving my head down-pat now but if you overshave, just use some keratin hair powder with the puffer attachment and lightly apply it into any areas you can see the overshave (just do your best not to get any of that powder onto the base or on any tape / bond. It will clump up and look terrible)

3. Accept the fact that at some point in your life someone may notice you’re wearing a system. At some point you’re going to be having a bad hairline day and some astute person is going to notice you’re wearing a system no matter how good it looks. Or you’re going to have to tell a partner you share a bed with. ACCEPT IT. When I first started wearing a system I would literally have nightmares about it falling off in public or someone figuring it out. It was almost not worth wearing a system because of the anxiety. Let go of that fear. In three years I’ve had two people notice I was wearing a system and call me out (both were within the first few months of wearing). I kind of just shrugged my shoulders and said “ok and?…” and that was treacle it. I’m not “out” as a system wearer but I’ve let a few select people close to me know and three women that I’ve dated. I got the same exact reaction from all of them “wow. I never would have known if you hadn’t told me” and nothing more was said. That was the beginning and end of the discussion. I promise it’s better to let your partner know instead of the anxiety of hiding it coupled with the inevitable morning when they roll over in bed and see you sleeping with your system flipped up halfway because your tape failed overnight. If they care about you, it won’t be an issue. Plus knowing that person accepts it will be a huge relief. As far as someone in public knowing and rudely saying something, prepare yourself that it might happen and have your answer ready. Usually if you shrug it off, so will they. Being prepared is better than living your life in fear.