New Removal Method! (Thanx Sweetyangel)

Last night, I removed my IR Loose Curly with Motions Oil Sheen and Conditioning spray. It easily melted off my head. No more acetone! I also sprayed the unit's lace perimeter with the oil sheen and all the adhesive goo came off. Adding to the list on the right. Tomorrow: the application of the virgin malaysian loose curly. I just gave it the faux scalp.

Preparing for the Rex Virgin Malaysian Loose Curly

Whenever I see fierce apps (like the ones in Celie's Hairline Throwdown on the BHM forum), I get obsessed with the bandage wrap/nylon knee-hi wigcap. I start scouring all the how to You Tube videos. I pull up my bookmarked threads. I just don't get how the talented ladies do it. Maybe I just have a really weird hairline. I can never find nylons that match my skin tone. Then I figure, I use the faux knot bleaching method more for how it makes the lace cap look like a scalp, since my knots are already bleached. I'm going to visit my family in STL next week, and it's hotter than hell there, and I don't want anything extra to contribute to the pending hot flashes that are already on deck. I've just convinced myself to spray the inside of my cap. All I needed was to talk (type) it out. Another crisis averted.

MJJ, Rest In Peace

Michael Joseph Jackson, God bless you, rest in peace. Thank you for the soundtrack of most of my life. You are not alone.

Crisis Averted!!!

What a day! I went to Sally's and collected my tools. I found a great highlighting wand kit - looks like an oversized mascara wand. I also got some oil sheen spray, Tressemme hair spray, and more JR Natural Blonde (from Walgreens). I removed my Rex malaysian wavy, de-adhesived my hairline, washed my hair, slathered on some Megasilk Deep conditioner, soaked the just removed unit in an acetone/goo gone bath, and began to meticulously color the roots from Hades!

I mixed up my color (L'Oreal Excellence Creme #3 Natural Black/Darkest Brown) with 2.5 oz of Salon Care Volume 10 developer. I sprayed the inside of my unit with oil sheen (to insure that the new dye didn't get on the freshly bleached roots). I dipped and swabbed until I saw no more blonde patches. I rinsed it well and conditioned it, and let it air dry. I will seal the knots tomorrow. Crisis averted... FAB! The virgin malaysian loose curly album has been updated with the updated AFTER pictures. So the lesson learned is, if you bleach your knots, and the bleach bleeds onto the roots, it can be fixed. Don't be afraid to bleach them knots!

While I'm waiting to put the new custom on, I put the IR Loose Curly back on. Peep the Swiss Miss Heidi braids in the general album above.

Bleaching knots, part II, part II

Okay, this is day one of a two day process. I didn't have to do the Rit Dye Remover dip. I completely forgot about doing it, so I guess I'm lucky. Rex didn't use clothing dye on my unit. Also, it wasn't the bleach that made the mess I made today, it was my heavy hand. I like using the B2W powder with the Clairoxide Vol 40 developer. It's not a kit, it's a tub of powder and a bottle, so you get more uses out of it. Today, I used the measuring cup that came with the tub - 1 cup of the powder, and 1 cup of the developer. I used about 7 drops of the UnRed. KEY POINT: I let the mixture sit for awhile, and it puffed up, like a mousse. I think this is key to not using so much, and it letting it become thick enough to not bleed through the lace. I tried to do the tapping method, but it wasn't working for me. I used a new blush brush and LIGHTLY brushed over the cap. I should have stopped at just the front, but it's something addictive about brushing that creme over the lace. I did the perimeter of the unit, back, sides, and front. I left it on for at least 45 minutes. I lifted up the front and by the ear to watch it turn. It was scary to leave it on that long, but the MHRW site advised to leave it on until it turns from orange to light yellow. I guess I have an extremely heavy hand because the bleach bled through, especially the back. I'm mad, but I know it's going to be fixed tomorrow. I'm going to get a dark brown/off black toner, some vol 10 developer (according to my expert stylist aka my daughter, who's graduating from Paul Mitchell this month), mix it up, and brush it on with either a mascara wand or that application brush that came with the bleach kit. Oh well, as the lacefront turns... until tomorrow. Stay tuned. Grab a bowl of popcorn, this is going to get interesting.

I found a haircoloring info site that's really informative. If you don't want green roots, please read.

Bleaching knots, part II

After really inspecting my new unit, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to bleach the knots. In the words of Dave Matthews, I see "ants marching" all over the front. I am not looking forward to this procedure at all. I'm studying another method found on the BHM forum - tapping the knots with a soft brush. I still have some bleach powder, 40 Vol developer and UnRed. I think I may have to also do the Rit Dye Remover dip (because most CVs use clothing dye on 1B/1 colors). The thing is, you can't see the knots changing, and this is where we mess up. You leave it on too little, the knots are orange. You leave it on too long, you get bald spots. MHRW says to leave the bleach on until the roots turn from orange to light yellow. Hmmm. I don't want to lose that dark color on the unit, and if I do a dip, I'll have to dip the cap in, and it's going to be a #2 top and #1B bottom. I don't want that. I could be wrong, and it's not dyed with clothing dye. I'll have to do a test at the nape area. AGHHH! I wish the CVs wouldn't advertise that they bleach knots, when they're clearly not. Rant off. So I better lust and drool over those curls now, because I believe once the water hits them, it's going to turn into a wavy. At least it's a malaysian, which equals no tangling.

My Rex Malaysian Wavy is shedding more than usual. I don't know why. I sealed the knots with the Patricia Nimocks sealant.

She's Here!!!

I've already added the photo album! Usually, the UPS man gets here between 12pm and 2pm... he had me pacing. He finally dropped her off at 5:30pm. I love her so far. I have to remember that she's not indian remy, that she's virgin malaysian. I know the curls are going to definitely relax and she's going to end up looking like my malaysian wavy. I'm prepared for that. I'm not going to wash her before I put her on either. I did that to my IR loose curly and the curls just drooped out of her. I'm not going to fool with her until the 30th. Since I've seen her, I'm debating on if I'm going to faux bleach her knots. I love new unit day. I already know it's going to be a long while before I get the other units that are on my wish list. I'm good for now. Next up on deck: virgin indian straight, virgin malaysian straight. I don't want the malaysian curly anymore. Just those 2 and I'll be done. Happy happy joy joy!!!

The Rex Malaysian Wavy Is On.

The Rex custom Virgin Malaysian Loose Curly will be here tomorrow! I'm so excited. I put the Malaysian Wavy on tonight. Seems like it's a good app. I only used WNST and 2 layers of Vapon. Hopefully she'll hold on through the weekend. She needs layers in the front, but I'm not going to cut her at all. I like the Pocahontas look on her. This is just nervous energy from really working out today and it feels like Christmas.

I got a tracking # today!!!

Oh rapture, joy! Rex emailed me a tracking number today, which means she should be here on Friday. I'm still putting on my malaysian wavy tomorrow. The Pretty Girl CVR is lifting in the front. I'm not going to line the unit with tape as I have before. Just tape on the skin, and Vapon on top of the tape. I'm so excited. I hope he didn't jack up my unit.

The Pretty Girl CVR is back on.

Still waiting for the custom. No word. I hate waiting. I put my Pretty Girl unit back on. I did the stretchy ear thingy surgery awhile back (under My Hot Links). It's wearing well. I keep clipping the bangs. It's a wonder that the unit isn't 14". I used the tape on lace method, and it happened again, where I was trying to apply the right front side and my fingers got caught in the tape and that whole side came off. I had to put new tape on the edges (with the rest of the unit stuck on my head), and a new layer of adhesive. I'm back on my Vapon kick. Vapon is better than the Davlyns. After I use this batch of Davlyns up, I'm going back to Vapon full time. Dammit, I can't wait for that custom unit. Rex is torturing me.

The Rex Malaysian "Make Wavy" is on deck, about to be faux knot bleached and applied this Thursday!

Impatiently Waiting For My New Unit

I hate custom orders. I'm so used to ordering the unit and 2 days later, it's on my head. I have to get customs on the ones I really want because I HATE PU STRIPS (polyurethane strips). I'm making my new wishlist: virgin indian natural straight, a virgin malaysian natural straight, and a regular virgin malaysian curly from Rex. The curly would definitely be 14"-16". They swell up something terrible. I remember when I had my kinky curly on and my boyfriend and I were walking through IKEA and I felt like the love child of Chaka Khan and Bozo the clown! That one would definitely be a custom, because it would have to be light density. I'm still wearing the old Rex IR Loose Curly. The new LMH631 app method works really well. No lifting at all, except when it's time to take her off. I cut some Pretty Girl bangs in it, but it's curly, so I haven't thought to straighten it - too much work.

I'm going to do a new photo tutorial on my new tape/adhesive method for the next app.

Faux Knot Bleaching a Success!

I'm happy with the end result of the faux bleaching. The color may still be too light, but it looks good. I'm wearing the old Rex IR Loose Curly. I dyed it down with the Feria Espresso. It's still light in some areas. I wonder how it's going to behave. It's a 16"; I miss my extra 2 inches. I'm using a modified LMH631 tape/adhesive method. On my skin, I layered WNST, Vapon, and Davlyn, extending that over the edge of the tape. On the unit, I put WNST all around except for the ears and the very front (learned that lesson last app - no more tape in front where parts will be). I liked how the tape on the unit adhered to the tape/adhesive on my skin from that crazy method before. I put the nape on first and it's beautiful (I have to add a pic to the album). So far so good... waiting patiently on the new custom Rex Malaysian Loose Curly. Looking towards the future when I can replace my Virgin Indian Natural with one from Rex. Maybe a custom so I can get a PU-less cap.

The Old Blog Has Moved!

I've moved from http://mylaceunits.shutterfly.com/. I'm trying to figure out how to move all those pictures... all those pictures from there to here. This is a good time to "spring clean" all those pictures. Maybe 4 shots per application. Oh, my introduction. My name is Dana (Lrigyttiw on the web) and I am a lace wig addict. I don't sell them, I just love them. I've been in the game for about a year (as of June 2008). My hair has grown about 8 inches since I started, but I cut all my hair off in April 2009, to start over and grow in my natural texture. I think I'm pretty good with the applications. My favorite lace front forum is Black Hair Media, in the lace front section. I'm also a member of the LaceWigConnection site. Hopefully now, since I spend so much time blogging and taking pictures of my applications, I can make it work for me. I've made some really good "virtual" friends in the lace front world. I've even educated my very loving boyfriend about the ways of the 'magic hair', or 'the secret arts', as it's referred to in our house.