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Nothing about buying hair online is hard except the vocabulary. 13x4. 180 percent. 4x4 closure. Nobody explains any of it and you are expected to already know. Four numbers decide whether a unit works on you. Here they are.
Two measurements and one percentage, and you will never order wrong again.
Around the hairline, behind the ears and around the nape. Most average caps run about 22 to 22.5 inches, with small and large either side. Measure with your own hair braided flat, the way it will sit under the unit. Measuring over loose hair is the usual reason a cap that should fit does not.
Over the top of the head, and across the crown. These matter more on a full lace unit than on a lace front.
How much hair is on the cap. 150 to 180 percent looks most natural on most people. Below that reads sparse at the crown on camera. Above 200 is a lot of hair and reads as a wig unless you are used to styling it down. Curly and wavy textures need less density than straight to look full.
Bundles are wefts of hair. They cover the back and sides. They cannot cover a parting, which is what the closure or frontal is for.
A closure is a small lace piece, usually 4x4 or 5x5 inches, that covers the crown and gives you one parting. A frontal is wider, 13x4 or 13x6, and runs ear to ear, which gives you a full hairline and the freedom to part anywhere or pull it back.
Three bundles cover most full sew-ins to about 18 inches. Past 20 you want four, since longer hair is cut from the same weight and thins through the length. With a closure, two bundles are often enough at shorter lengths, and a frontal covers more of the head itself so the count comes down again.
Two more words on the listing that decide how it looks.
Lace grade is how invisible the base is. HD is finest and melts closest to the skin. Transparent sits a step back and suits a wider range of tones. Swiss is softer and more durable but slightly more visible. HD looks best and tears most easily, which is the trade nobody mentions.
Texture is the wave pattern. Body wave is the loose S most people start with, deep wave is tighter and fuller, and kinky curly and kinky straight match natural texture rather than contrasting with it.
Pick the texture that matches your own hair at the edges, not the one that photographs best.
Wig caps, adhesive, remover, edge control and a wide tooth comb cover most installs. Buy the remover with the adhesive, because taking a unit off badly is where the damage happens.
Traction alopecia comes from sustained pull at the roots, and research puts it at roughly a third of women of African descent. Tight installs, heavy units and no rest between them are the causes. Caught early it reverses. Left for years it can become a scarring hair loss that does not.
No accessory fixes that. Loosen anything that stings when you raise your eyebrows, and take rest weeks between installs.
You can, and it shortens the life of the unit. Friction against cotton is what causes the tangling at the nape people blame on quality. Braid or wrap it first and use satin or silk.
Worn daily and cared for, several months to about a year. Worn occasionally and stored properly, longer. The lace usually goes before the hair does, particularly at the front where it gets handled.
Six to eight weeks is the usual guidance. Longer than that and the new growth at the root starts working against the braid pattern, which is where tension builds.
Human hair takes color, though it has already been processed once and will not behave like hair on your head. Going darker is straightforward. Lifting is where units get ruined. Synthetic cannot be colored at all.
Honest answer, the testing is not reassuring and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Consumer Reports tested ten synthetic braiding hair products and reported lead in nine of them, along with methylene chloride and benzene in some samples. At least one manufacturer disputed the methodology. We do not make safety claims about synthetic fiber because nobody can substantiate them. If that matters to you, human hair is the answer.
Review the product description and images for texture, length, and styling details. Contact customer support if you need help comparing options.
Circumference, density, then length. The rest is preference
