Forget about paying for a 'Custom Fitting Kit' - aside from the extra cost, it's more complicated than it needs to be. Making a template is easy; it's all the factories need as a guide to make your base. It can be even easier with the help of a friend or loved one. Here's what you need:
What You Need:
- Marker Pencil (Make up pencil is ideal)
- Sticky Tape
- Saran Wrap or Cling Film
- Permanent Marker
- Scissors
- Mirror
- Measuring Tape (optional)
Making The Template:
1) Drawing Your Front Hairline.
Use the soft marker pencil to draw a dotted line on your head that will represent where your front hairline will be. There are a couple of ways you can do this. We recommend a combination of both of them! Firstly, use the width of your 4 fingers together, placed at the top of your eyebrow line (over your forehead). That will give you a ballpark distance to start with. It's very important that you do not get over excited about getting you hair back and try to have your hairline as low as possible. Don't do it. It will look fake. In fact, it is better to have a natural and even slightly receded hairline for the best result.
Second, stand in front of the mirror, tip your head forward slightly, raise your eyebrows and wrinkle your forehead. You should be able to see a line where the skin no longer wrinkles and your actual scalp skin (which is much thinner and flatter) meet together. This is actually your real hairline.
So, between the two methods above, you should be able to pretty accurately draw a dotted line from one side to the other on your skin (temple to temple, or where the hairline will meet the side hair which is pretty much the same thing). Of course, you have your common sense too. You are simply trying to draw a hairline that will look natural and realistic, so use the make up pencil and rub it out if you make a mistake. Remember: A receded hairline looks best; don't just draw a flat line across your forehead!
2) Place the Saran Wrap (Cling Film) Over Your Head
Just like the picture above. Dampen your hair underneath so that it is easier to see a clear definition of where your real hair (sides and back) meets your balding patch. It also makes the film cling to your head better. Pull it down all around and make sure that it is snug (so that it is exactly following the contour of your bald patch). Twist the excess wrap on either side until you have a fairly tight fit.
3) Apply the Sticky Tape!
Just like the picture shows, you need to apply strip after strip of sticky tape from side to side and then front to back. The point of doing this is so that the sticky tape takes the mould shape of your bald patch and hardens it to eventually form your template. Once you have covered the full area once each way, it's then a good idea to get your permanent marker and trace over the first dotted line you made for your hairline (which you should still be able to see underneath the tape).
4) Trace The Remaining Hairline (Sides and Back)
After you have traced your hairline over the tape, now its time to trace the remaining hairline round the sides and back of your head. This is why you dampened your hair, so that the line where your real side hair meets your bald scalp will be easier to see. Get your permanent marker and trace a line exactly around this meeting point. This will obviously be the actual shape of your hair system, and will cover your entire balding area exactly. If you have a friend or loved one to help you do this it is easier, otherwise use a hand mirror and be careful.
5) One more Layer of Tape
To firm things up nicely, apply another layer of tape of the area in the same way that you did before. This will also seal the permanent markings in. Remember: the template doesn't have to be rock hard! In fact, when you post it to us it can even be folded up, no problem.
6) Finishing Touches
You're done! Your template is now made, you just need to apply the finishing touches. Take the moulded template off your head - you can see now how it has hardened into a shape. Cut the excess tape/wrap away up to the hairlines you drew for your template, so that you are left with your exact shape of your soon to be made hair system. Now get your permanent marker and draw a 'F' (for Front) at the front of the template and a 'B' (for Back) at the rear of your template. Then write your name on the template somewhere so that it is easily identified.
7) Measure Your Balding Area (optional)
You may sometimes hear people on some forums complaining that a hair system base they got from their supplier doesn't always fit them exactly. This can often be because the template they made actually shrinks during transit and is actually slightly smaller than their balding area (after all it is made from sellotape). You can even test this by placing your freshly made template back on your head to see if it fits. You'll probably find that it is suddenly a bit small, even though you just made it!
Not to worry...This is not usually a problem because it doesn't matter to have a template that is very slightly smaller than your balding patch, because the base can be pulled to fit snug when it arrives (it won't be as stiff as your template). However, if you want to make sure, Easypiece has a handy feature on our order form that allows you to place your correct measurements of your balding area.
Just get your measuring tape and measure from side to side (temple to temple) where the real hair meets the scalp, and then again (front to back) from your front hairline to your back hairline. In other words, the accurate measurements of the length and width of the area you want your hair system to cover. Enter these measurements into our order form, eg: "24.2 cm long, 13.5 cm wide" and our workers will use these measurements exactly, and use your template as the guide for everything else!
That's it. See, it wasn't that difficult was it?
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