The Synth Chronicles: After 2 Weeks, 1 Day, and 7 Washes

So here's my Dome/PH mix after 15 days and 7 washes. I set the hair in Caruso rollers last night and slept with it in a bun. As you can see, the curl doesn't hold too well, although: A) I'm not very good with rollers yet, B) I don't really have the right size ones (I should be using all small, but most of mine are medium and jumbo), and C) the bun loosens the roller curl a bit anyway. I'm also going to try some standard velvet-covered rollers soon to see if those work better than the steam.

As you might be able to tell, I've cut (or rather my boyfriend cut) about 2 inches off the original length, mostly because I fried the ends of one section a bit with the hairdryer and the butt-length hair is a bit much to contend with every day. It's still hella long, though. Obviously, it would look better if it had been razor-cut by a professional.

What else? Hmm...I'm definitely having some pieceness issues, as you can see, especially from the photo from the front. I believe (as Boogiemama suggested) smaller, more abundant connections would help. Although the synth tends to "bunch" more than human, in these photos it is combed out of the bunches (the "bunching" happens mostly right after washing, imo), so I don't think that's the issue, really. On the flipside, I think the synth actually tangles less than human: It bunches more but tangles less (if that makes any sense).

As you can see, the close-up of the hair shows that the hair is still in good condition, with the exception of the few parts I fried. That hair is generally pretty silky, although it is stiffer than human somehow; when the hair is wet or "bunchy", though, it's strawlike (that's just an unavoidable synth thing I think).

:)











And to answer your questions Metalgirl, let's see...
What I like most about synth:
1) Color--I can actually get the color I want (as well as any other color, practically), and that color stays the same as when it was installed.
2) Length--available in virtually any length you'd possibly need.
3) Price--self-explanatory.
4) Consistency--no issues with getting a good or bad batch; hair is seemingly always the same. Furthermore, it seems to be very consistent between brands (my Dome and PH are holding up the same as far as I can tell).
5) Thickness--the hair is thicker than most of the human I've been able to get, and I like a thicker look.
6) Lack of tangling--I don't think this hair tangles as much as most human (although it does "bunch up" more, especially after washing).

What I like least about synth:
1. Cannot use a curling iron, and need to be careful with the blow-dryer.
2. Would prefer to wash my hair in hot water. (Although you can do this, it's really not best.)
3. Bunching--this is sort of a pain after you wash, because you really need to brush vigorously to remove the bunching, or smooth it out with a blow-dryer. As I said, this may be less of an issue with smaller connections. The synth hair is a bit stiffer, though, so I think it makes the natural pieceyness of strand-by-strand methods somewhat more noticeable.
4. Hair does not hold a curl terribly well from steam rollers (although I still need to try some other methods).
5. Would prefer to wash my hair more often, although I don't think it's best with this hair.

All in all, I'm planning to stick with the synth, but if I had it all to do over again, I would: 1) Wait longer to wash it the first time, stick with 2 washes a week, max; and find other ways to just wash my real hair; and 2) Be more careful with the blowdryer, and wait longer until I blow-dry (or steam, presumably) the hair for the first time.

Hopefully, that answers your questions, but just let me know if you have any more. (It's a bit hard to get a handle on what this hair is like until you wear it.)

:)

Good luck, Cheryl. I can't wait to see your pics! :)

Wow- Looks fab Jenny...I think that the longer you wear it the more realistic it looks- it starts to take on the same look as your natural hair!

xx

Thanks, girls. I'm still figuring it out, but the good thing is, this hair is so cheap that I don't mind experimenting with it. I'm looking at this first batch as a test-run anyway--something I would never do with human. Even if I trash it within a month of application, it'd still work out cheaper than human for me, and over the long term (as I learn to care for it better and get the whole styling thing down), I'm certain it'll be more cost-effective. :)

Bridget: I definitely think it'll last for another month. I'll probably need to trim the ends a little within that time, but it should be fine. After that, it would probably be usable for another month or so (if I took great care of it), but I'm sure I'll have it switched out sooner than that. Generally, I don't like to go more than two months without redoing them anyway (because of growth from the root), and I need to go back anyway so my stylist and I can figure out a way to smooth out the pieceyness.

I should also mention that I think the longer the hair is, the harder it will be to maintain. This is fairly true of human hair, too. :)

Rae did you curl it wet or dry?

Ooooh, I bet that's it- ceramic. From what I understand, ceramic irons get hotter than metal ones, so I can imagine that ceramic would go straight to Fry, do not pass Curl, do not collect $200. Mine is a ten-dollar drugstore-brand 3/4" barrel one. In this case, I think the cheapieness (except for the dual temp-control) is a good thing.

And Sherrie, I curled it dry- didn't think to try it wet. Hmm. Come on batteries, charge!

-Rae

looks nice jenny. what length is it?

Hey Amy,

I'm not really sure what length it is because I've been trimming it sort of randomly, but at this point I'd say about 26". That's my best guess, anyway.

And yeah, I'm using lots of special products--Dome Care Spray, Braid Spray, Silicone Spray, Wig Spray, Fabric Softener, and Baby-Oil Gel on the ends--just trying to figure out what works best. This is the first time I've ever had synth, so it's all quite new to me.

:)

Hi Jenny -
my cast is off, so now I can type with 9 fingers! who needs a pinkie anyway. I never adjusted to the WaWa hair. I put in real hair. It kept shedding really badly. - once again most likely user error in the way I am making my pre-tips. Cannot deal with all that hair that gets floating around when I am doing bulk hair. if it came in wefts I would be alot happier.
the other thing is that I do not do well with straight hair ( usually have a deep wave in) and curling it was ALOT of time!
maybe I will try it again with different glue. maybe I will try the gorilla glue.
Octavia

vivadiva, if you read the initial post by Jenny, what she was trying to show us is how the hair looked after curling with stream rollers and sleeping with it all night long in a bun. She was trying to show us that the curl did not hold well. Ill let Jenny comment on the rest cause she knows how many pinchbraids are in there and how high up to the crown etc.....