The Synth Chronicles: 3 Weeks, 1 Day, and 10 Washes

A few years ago I mixed synthetic and human .

But it was all straight hair.

Gave a cool texture.

Lets play.

Ready set gooooooo..

Trying it tomorrow on a friend.

Just a few .

Cant wait.

Isaac

Http://www.cyberparlor.com

Hehe...I was thinking about your French Refined, too, AMM. Have you blended the hair (the French refined and some monofiber) within the same strands yet? I'm seeing a whole new round of experiments on the horizon.... :)

Synth and human mixed....hmmm.....the plot thickens, again!

Fina: It just dawned on me: Did you get the WaWa to curl? I remember you said you were having some difficulties with the WaWa, but I assume you managed to curl it, since you installed some strands? I'll be interested to hear how the therm and the momfiber perform side by side.

Also, how are the heat-seals working out? I believe you said a few had slipped or come out. Are you still having a problem with that?

:)

Edited to say: I'm also curious about your brushing regimen. I know Sara recommends not brushing the wavy textures at all (just finger-combing them), although I'm not sure how realistic that would be, for me at least.... :)

Simply awesome. Thanks for documenting all this for us. Really gives me some hope for the whole synth changeover.

Jenny - the wave really translates good on camera. Your straight is the reason I don't wear any kind of straight hair - too much separation issues. It's just part of extensions, I know, but a little curl sure does fix that problem right up.

Fina - your color and blending is fabulous. I think wearing it shorter probably helps the curl tremendously. Do you think? I wonder if that great curl would last as well if the length was kept at about 22-24" or so.

Splendid girls!

FinaFina wrote: also thoroughly spray my hair with that Pro-Hair stuff that Bettie gave me. I really like it because it's not oily at all. It contains (OK get ready for Chem Lab:) Water, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Propylene Glycol, Panthenol, DEA-Methoxycinnamate (which is a sunscreen), Benzophenone-4 (another sunscreen), Steartrimonium Hydrolyzed Protein, and a few other things. It says it "leave ProHair tangle and static free, smooth, glossy, and manageable." I must say I like it. It also smells good, which, if it didn't, I don't care *how* good it is, I wouldn't use it. -Fina

Jenny, does that sound similar to the wig spray you love?

Jenny -

I got the 28 mm based on everybody's comments (including yours) that the 50mm really seems to drop a lot.

Having said that, bear in mind that the 28mm is "BIG HAIR" - it will be HUGE for about the first 4 washes. In fact I was wondering after I had it put in if I should have gone with the 50mm. But now I'm really glad I got it and am going to do so again, but I'm going to wait a while (until it relaxes a bit) to cut it.

No, I haven't had to do *anything* to it blow-dryer wise to make it silky. I love the shine and am really glad it has stayed. My goal is to NOT have to do much.

I keep a bottle of slightly diluted fabric softener in the shower, and "condition" with it then rinse it, every time I wash my hair.

I also thoroughly spray my hair with that Pro-Hair stuff that Bettie gave me. I really like it because it's not oily at all. It contains (OK get ready for Chem Lab:)

Water, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Propylene Glycol, Panthenol, DEA-Methoxycinnamate (which is a sunscreen), Benzophenone-4 (another sunscreen), Steartrimonium Hydrolyzed Protein, and a few other things.

It says it "leave ProHair tangle and static free, smooth, glossy, and manageable." I must say I like it. It also smells good, which, if it didn't, I don't care *how* good it is, I wouldn't use it.


-Fina

Fina: Your hair looks awesome. Frankly, I'm shocked that the curl has stayed in so well. I know you said you curled it with the iron, but it looks like the hair hasn't completely lost its wave. Also, have you blown it out to make it smooth? Because it looks pretty silky to me!

I just love it, which is making me wonder if there would be any benefit to getting the 28mm, rather than the 50mm, since the 28mm seems to relax to the 50mm, which is the wave I like anyway.... This is really not indicative of the way my hair has progressed, and I love the way yours looks, so I'll need to solve the puzzle, lol.

Bridget: Well, you could obviously still flatiron your real hair on top and even go through your head to flatiron the real parts. Overall, I do think it would be best to stick with blow-drying for the extensions, but I don't think a flaitron is out of the question, either. Maybe the best thing to do would be to install some test strands. Sometimes, it's just a matter of figuring out how to make it work for you.

:)

Thanks Jenny. . .I guess I could try the rehab (hmmm sounds familiar LOL). That's actually surprising. . .I mean it looks so *weird*, I hadn't thought it could be revived. It is not melted, just kinda frazzled with strange bends in it. I'll let you know.

Here are my pics, 9 days and about 6 washes later. (I like to wash my hair). I've done VERY little with this hair -- small amounts of blow drying, and one day I curled it with a small barrel iron. You can still see some of those peristent little things!) It has definitely "fallen" from the "rolled" Rita Hayworth look, but all in all I'm still THRILLED with it.

I've added some "SatinBlond" highlights to the front with shrinkies, and still need more shrinkies on my crown in the back. You can see where my "swirl" is kinda flat and could use some help. I'll get to that this week.

I *love* the SatinBlond as an additional highlight color. Also, I've put a few WaWa strands in the front (the #27) around my face.

here ya go! (And the silly look on my face is because my husband said something really stupid at the moment he snapped the photo)

-Fina

SHEESH - I am trying to get these pictures NON POSTER size. . .having trouble. . .sorry to be so IN YA FACE!!

Bridget: I think Rae may have test-flatironed it (I haven't), but I imagine it's the same deal as with a curling iron (use metal, not ceramic, make sure the hair is wet, and most important--do a few test strands first). But seriously, you will NEVER need to flatiron synth hair (at least monofiber, like Dome/PH). In its natural state (after the first blow-drying or steaming, and after the wave drops out) it's about as pin-straight as hair can possibly be--straighter than any human I've ever seen, certainly. I don't think a flatiron would be necessary under any circumstances I can think of. And the blow-drying and steaming have the added benefit of "smoothing" out any bunchiness, which I don't think would work with a flatiron. If you ordered straight hair from the get-go, the biggest challenge would be adding wave to it--keeping it straight would be a breeze.

Fina: I can't wait to see your pics--and I'm dying to know how you curled the ends under with the dryer (it hasn't worked real well for me...).

:)

YES I've been experimenting.

As I posted earlier, I FRIED a long strand with the curling iron. Gosh I get nervous when I hear that sizzling sound (OK, am I a complete idiot?) but how could you *not* get the sizzle sound when you have *WET* hair on a hot surface? I guess I need to just make sure the iron is WARM.

OK - I discovered last night also that with a warm blow dryer, I can "curl" the ends under. It worked really well!

I will post some pics later today. My hubby says he can take pics with the camera even though the dog broke it the other day. . .

Fina