My Dermatch arrived !! A few questions

[NewHare]

First time using Dermatch, want to get it right.  I wear my hair dry and fluffed up, not wet and slicked back.

So I believe my application would/might be somewhat different from what I saw Melvin doing.  Also I have

black hair and light skin.

1. Some vids are saying apply to the hair, while others are saying just apply to the scalp.  Which is it ?

2. Do I need to add anything further to make this work ?  IE, hairspray. 

3. Will it really be smudge/water proof on it's own ? (see #2)

4. I found a demo video (below) in which the 'after' photos looked very fake to me. What did they do wrong to cause this result ? 

And what should I do to avoid this ?

Thanks.....

[ciaus]

1. Some vids are saying apply to the hair, while others are saying just apply to the scalp.  Which is it ?

Depends on how much you loss you have, but generally speaking if you are buying this stuff you have enough loss to apply it to BOTH for optimal effect. You just have to be careful that you don't apply too much. Because too much will make those hairs appear 'dull', maybe even a bit of a different color depending on how well the dermmatch matches your original color.

 

2. Do I need to add anything further to make this work ?  IE, hairspray. 

Depends how long do you want to maintain your hair length. If its long enough that moving around, or air moving through your hair, will mess up your hair style, then its probably better to apply hair spray to hold it in place. Its better to not touch your hair at all while you have concealer on it, in case you end up in an awkward situation where some of it comes off on your hand, etc., while you are around others. This is especially true if you also use hair fibers with the dermmatch, which is generally a good idea, they work well together.

 

3. Will it really be smudge/water proof on it's own ? (see #2)

Smudging depends on how much you apply, the thicker you put it on and the more physically active you are the chance increases. There will be some degree of waterproof. I'm not the pool/swimming type, so the only time I'm getting my head wet with this stuff is to wash it off. And for what its worth I don't see it come off on my hands until I put shampoo in my hair.

 

4. I found a demo video (below) in which the 'after' photos looked very fake to me. What did they do wrong to cause this result ? 

And what should I do to avoid this ?

Get a good color match, don't overapply it, and practice applying it to see how it looks in different lighting situations that you are going to be in. Indoor darker room conditions are the easiest for it to look good, to get away with mistakes. But if you will be changing locations to brighter indoor areas or outdoors during the day those mistakes will become more noticeable. You don't want people staring at your head or even commenting. 

[ciaus]

I'm copying these posts I've made previously in some other topics about dermmatch. 

 

I've used this stuff with toppik, its pretty good. Maybe this is covered in the video, here's my 2cents.

 

I started applying it when my hair was wet because more of the scalp is exposed when your hair is wet and clumped together, but its actually better to apply it when your hair/scalp are dry. Don''t even wet the applicator, everything being dry is best.

 

Do some experimentation/evaluation before going out into the world with it. One thing to be very aware of is the effect of LIGHTING -indoor/outdoor/sunlight on how it looks  -don't just apply it in your bathroom and assume because it looks great in the mirror that its going to look great in the other lighting conditions you are going to be in. Brighter indoor lighting and outdoor/sunlight require more finesse. Take some pictures, a mirror with you outside, etc the other lighting situations you are normally in, and then compare them with how you looked in the bathroom mirror. That will help you find the best application method.

 

Shorter hair makes it easier to comb through so that it applies more evenly across your hair shafts to give a more consistent look, but then there's how close of a match your natural hair is with the dermatch. I consider my hair color to be light brown, but medium brown was the best match. Even the dark brown looks alright on the top but then I would have to apply it to the sides of my hair too for a consistent look. Anyway, the darker your hair the more consistent your results will look in my opinion, seems to be in terms of how light reflects off everything -darker colors absorb light while lighter colors reflect it, more color variations in reflections.

 

I would apply it mostly for the scalp coverage and to thicken up the hairs, then have a little dry towel to rub over the top of my hair to clear off the excess that can also give your hair a dull look if you apply too much. And then I would sprinkle on the toppik fibers - a slightly better match for my hair color as well, and then comb that through, then style and hairspray.

 

It can be a great way to strategically plan and delay HTs, but the more you continue to loose the more difficult it gets to effectively apply.

 

[ciaus]

Dermmatch coats the whole hair shaft if you apply it properly. The hair fibers cling to the hair shafts. You run the risk of a messier, more muddled look sprinkling the hair fibers first and then coating the hairs with the dermmatch. 

Best method:

1)Let the hair dry first, and apply the dermmatch dry too. Seems intuitive to wet the applicator, but it actually applies better without any water.  

2)Comb the dermmatch into your hair, and before you apply the hair fibers, rub a little hand towel or tissue over your hair to remove any excess dermmatch that may make your hair appear to be dull. 

3) Apply the hair fibers and comb them in. If you use alot of hair fibers too, or think you may have sprinkled on too much, bend over and shake your head to get off any lose fibers. You don't want to embarrass yourself by moving around during the day and some of the fibers falling down on your shirt or some furniture.

4) Apply spray -hair styling spray that is, to hold everything in place until you are done for the day and wash it out. Its better not to risk using your hands or a comb during the day if you are out and about.

[NewHare]

Thanks Ciaus that was very helpful.  I gave it a test drive - in my house of couse - and find that less is more.  At least in my case.

A light coat, just to the scalp made a nice improvement.  So far I'm very impressed.