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Well after ordering hair using the HD24 base (full lace) and the HD03 lace (full lace with skin perimeter), I have to vote for the HD03 hands down, and here are my reasons why:
Durability - this is the biggie. I think that since all the knots are bleached on the 24 and not just the front hairline, this weakens the knots in all areas of the system. My last 24 lost a massive amount of hair in the top crown area during routine cleaning and attachment. And this is an area that I don't even attach directly to my scalp with tape or glue (it just "floats" there, if you will), so adhesives or tapes aren't to blame. Upon close inspection of the gobs of hair that suddenly fell out, the knots had simply broken. This after about 2 months wear time.
Durability of the different lace materials didn't seem to be much of a factor for me (didn't have much tearing in either one), just the hair loss causing the HD24 to become unusable sooner than later.
To go along with the first thought above (bleached knots on the whole thing), who is really looking that close at the top or sides of your head anyhow? Trade a non-issue for durability (hold the bleach, please).....
Front hairline detectability: I can't tell much of a difference between the HD24 and HD03 on this point, even though the lace on the HD24 is a bit finer. I suppose there might be a slight difference in them, but once it's in the glue I'd say you can't see either one.
Goo in the perimeter of the HD24 from tape: I primarily used the Proflex no-shine tape tabs with the HD24 to secure the perimeter. Man let me tell 'ya, that stuff seeps up thru the lace during the week and gets into the hair, way more than glue ever would. So now you've got to clean that whole perimeter really good between attachments or you have matted hair. The HD03 solves this with it's skin perimeter. One draw here though is, yes, that edge will be slightly more detectable to the touch.
Just my 2 cents on these two base styles; Both have there advantages/dis-advantages and you just have to weigh them out considering your lifestyle and what you can afford if you want to replace them every month.
HD: The ultimate Lost & Found
Hey Brian,
The photo of the top of my head in the photo section is an HD03 base. Like you I like the durability of the materials. But, I had , and I say had, been experiencing the same shedding issues as your HD24. I posted a while back about trying a new acrylic knot sealer that I was going to give a try. Well, I've been wearing my current unit for three months now, same age as the unit I posted a pic of, and I don't have near the shedding I had when I was using the TDI knot sealer. I'll post a pic tomorrow, my camera battery is charging now. I can't say enough good things about this product.
Clint
Hi Brian
You are right bleching the knots do weaken the hair but it does give it a better appearance. The HD-24 is a finer lace so when the knots are bleached it not only weakens the hair but it also weakens the lace. The HD-24 were not made for durability the we made for appearance. I do agree with you the HD-03 is a little more durable because it is not the fine lace and even though the knots are bleached(which is an option on the lace units not a requirement) it does hold up a little better. It all comes down to what you want appearance or durability and isn't it great to have the choice.
HD Hair Tech
Hey Brian, thank you for taking the time to post this. I found it really useful, since I am now using base HD03, been very happy with it but I was also thinking about giving HD24 a try. I guess not.
Brian and Clint, I have a question for you guys. You say that bleach makes the hair break easily, which makes perfect sense, since it is damaged from the bleach. But how can a knot sealer prevent the hair from breaking and, consequently, shedding? I mean,what the knot sealer does is create a thin crust on the hair knots so they don't get lose, but how does it prevent the hair from breaking?
And Clint, which brand are you using?
Thank you!!
For the first time in my life, I'm not alone in this...
Sorry B&B, I don't check this part of the forum often. As for the knot sealer I use, I use an acrylic knot sealer from splitends.com. I have to say, I recieved a new unit a week ago, I'm on the every 4 mo. plan, and it's still in the box.
This is the first time I haven't peeled off my hair right away because my current unit has shedded so much. I also am using a shampoo and leave in that is to die for! It's from Matrix Biologe line, Hydratherapie. My hair has never been so soft!
Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brian D,
I know that this is an old posting but I have a question for you about this. I'm currently using the HD24 and seriously considering switching to the HD03. I notice here that you like the HD03 better than the HD24 but also see in some of your pics that you are using the HD24 http://www.hairdirect.com/community/photos/brian_d/picture11308.aspx
Did you decide to switch from the HD24 to the HD03? If so, can you share why? Did you have problems with it or were you trying to go for a more natural look? Did you have issues with the HD03?
I appreciate your help.
Angie
I'd also love to hear more feedback from those who have experience wearing both. I am holding off on ordering a back up until my first unit arrives in a week or so and am trying to research the good, the bad, and the ugly about these two specific bases.
Heather and TorontoDave,
Apparently there was some mistake and my units have been ordered with the HD03 base and not the HD24 base that I originally thought I was getting. I contacted Melissa and she really provided me with a lot of information about both the HD03 and HD24 bases.
I was advised that although the factory can make the HD24 at 110% density, they usually don't recommend a density higher than 90% on the fine hollywood lace portion of the HD24. The HD24 also frays in the front.
I had wondered why so many people said that their HD24 was fraying in the front and mine wasn't. It's because I have the HD03 which appears to be more durable. I use 110% density and it's probably better for me to use the HD03 for durability. The lace still looks really good and I can't really imagine that any lace much thinner than the HD03 in the front would last too long for me.
Although I'm tempted to try the HD24 with my density, I'm afraid to. I think that I'll just monitor how Sue is doing with her comparison of the HD24 vs the HD03 since she did get the 110% in the top and front. I am still curious to do my own comparison so I may try one of each.
Thanks for sharing Angie. I am going to have 90% all over and a short cut... I am super excited and I hope that the HD03 will meet my expectations (even though I secretly hope it will surpass them).
Dave
Dave,
I'm happy to help. At least I hope that I'm helping and not making things more confusing. I think that you'll be happy with the HD03. I personally have just been doing my own comparison between the HD03 and the HD24. I do like that the HD03 appears to be more durable while still looking natural. I posted a picture of my HD03 below so you can see how natural it looks. This picture was with my first HD03 unit when I still had my own front hairline. I shaved it off recently, not because it didn't blend with the unit but because it was just getting on my nerves.
I can't imagine it gets any better than that, Angie! Hair looks absolutely perfect.
I hear ya about shaving off the remaining hair as it does get in the way and it is just cleaner going smooooth.
Thanks all for the posts. Confirmed my decision to go with HD03 next time around. I wish I was rich as this could get kind of addicting! Better keep playing lotto.
Hi Heather--
I wore the HD24 for 2 months--I usually wear my units for 3 months. I LOVED this particular unit and it is the curly one that you see in my pics. Anyway, I went from the HD26 (NY lace) to the HD24 (Hollywood lace with ultrafine lace in the front) so the difference was dramatic, in a good way. It's totally undetectable when initially attached. Obviously then the lace will lift at varying rates, depending on your body chemistry, etc.
The front lace edge is already a little frayed when you receive the new unit, because it is so fine. It did not get very bad at all, but it did continue to fray.
On that particular unit I also had my first high def hairline, which I will not do again. Originally it blended perfectly with my own growing hairline but then as the front of the unit began to shed it got very thin very fast. By six weeks I had to start parting my hair on the other side to cover the balding area. On that unit, the front area was spec'd at 100%. I also used "fine" texture hair for the first time in that unit which I love and matches my own hair texture much better than the regular Indian hair. I was never told that there was a maximum density for the HD24, in fact I inquired about that prior to ordering and my tech said it was fine. She believes the heavy loss I had in the front of the unit was from breakage with the fine hair. Really there's no way to know. If Melissa said the max density for the front was only 90 then I was not given that information. I ordered another HD24 with 110% density and was not told that this is not advisable so I'm not really sure what to make of that.
I started wearing the HD03 this week and will comment on it when I have more experience. I would say at this point that the look is comparable and that I will probably not reorder the HD24 just so I don't have to deal with the fraying and apparently I order my density too heavy for it anyway.
I also switched back to the poly edge on these units to see if it helps with cleanup time. We'll see...
Also, please keep in mind that I do use my own front hairline and so if you shave your front hairline we are not making an apples to apples comparison here anyway. I wore the HD26 for 8 months and thought it was great but in comparison, the HD24 and the HD03 are much less detectable in the part area to me. I tried the HD24 out of curiosity and then the HD03 to compare. The only real way to know is to try all of the ones you are interested in.
Sue
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