All About LACE FRONTALS & Why I Think They Are Overrated…

Are you thinking about getting a lace frontal? Have you gotten caught up in the hype and haven’t done your research? Well, this is what you need to know…

I will cover what I have learned from the many lace classes I have taken (including Tokyo’s), my experience with lace over the years and my recent experiences with frontals.

This is not to sway anyone from getting a frontal. It is just to tell you everything you need to know before you get to spending your money!

For those who don’t know, a frontal is basically a large closure. It covers the front of your hair from ear to ear. They range in size from 13×4-13×8.

Here is one before installation:

The purpose of the frontal is to protect your hair from damage while providing maximum versatility. It sounds AMAZING right? I mean, who wouldn’t want their hair to look like this:

YES, this is a frontal. NO, there is no leave out. YES, he handmade this wig. YES IT LOOKS LIKE THIS IS COMING STRAIGHT OUT OF HIS SCALP!!!

Pictured above is the LEGENDARY @TokyoStylez (touchedbytokyo.com). If you have never seen his work, you are missing out. He is da bomb! Annnnd I was blessed enough to take his one of his “Handz On” classes in ATL!

Now once you look at the top frontal stylists in the game right now, you will see that the installs/wigs they do are mostly “GLUELESS.” Which is true, but where most of you are getting confused is where you begin to associate “glueless” with “fully sewn.”Sometimes it may be fully sewn, but that is usually not the case.

Here are the common misconceptions made about frontals: Frontals last long; Frontals are easy maintenance; Frontals will save me money…NOPE!

People fail to realize that LACE IS VERY TEMPORARY and EXPENSIVE! It is a give and take process.

• If you want a lace closure (size 5×5, 4×4, 3×4, etc.), well you’re going to have to accept that a closure is the price of a bundle of hair, and it will NOT stay in place for the entire duration of your install (your hair GROWS and the closure grows with it; you will need retouches every 2-4 weeks).
• If you want a lace frontal (size 13×4-13×8), you’re going to have to accept that it will usually cost you much MORE than bundle of hair, it will require LOTS of tweaking to look the slightest bit natural (bleaching, tweezing, tinting, trimming, etc.), and it will require WEEKLY maintenance/upkeep.

There is absolutely NO WAY in hell to get your frontal to look the one pictured with just needle and thread! A closure will lay down without some sort of adhesive only from around the end of your eyebrow to the other end of your eyebrow, depending on your head shape. To get those side burns and have that lace frontal mesh to your scalp like that you’re 99.9% going to have to use an adhesive (which does not have to be lace glue).

There are many ways to install a frontal (sewin and wig). Here are the methods and the pros and cons of each:

• “Glueless” but with special product;
  • Pros: Easy at home fix, rinses off with water, does not irritate skin or break the hair, Lace lays mesh with the skin; product is used sparingly;
    • Most natural looking, give illusion that hair is coming from scalp
  • Cons: Lasts about 4-5 days at a time;  May break edges if your forehead isn’t big enough to place properly and if not removed properly.
• Glued
  • Pros: Lasts the longest (tops 2 weeks), Lace lays mesh with the skin
  • Cons: Glue is messy, must come back for a retouch unless you can do it at home; Glue is known for irritating the skin and severely breaking off the edges.
• Tape
  • Pros: Easy to redo at home, strong hold
  • Cons: Tape may irritate the skin; does not lay as flat as the others, may shine through the lace
• NO Products
  • Pros: Does not use any product at all or elastic band, no breakage or irritation;
  • Cons: MUST come back for a retouch every 4-5 days; Entire frontal must be removed and reinstalled; WILL cause thinning of hair by the ear (the anchor braids) because of how much tension used to pull it flat; Will not get the full versatility of the frontal because the lace near the ear won’t lay as flat
• Elastic Band
  • Pros: Does not use any product, lasts a little longer than the no product
  • Cons: Band can be uncomfortable (but can be adjusted), Client will not be able to achieve the side burns look (it will look unnatural around the ear area unless the client can maintain the baby hairs that are there to cover it.

I’m sure that sooner than later, some great stylists in the game are going to come up with better, longer lasting ways to install these. 

Now, in no way am I bad mouthing frontal stylists and specialists… I commend each and everyone of them for having the patience/talent to do these! And they end up looking GREAT! But, me personally…I think they are VERY overrated and complete hype.

FRONTALS ARE NOT FOR EVERYBODY!!! Not even myself! It is OKAY to settle for a closure. Those are just as good looking! (I have a slight bias because I specialize in closures myself).

Do NOT get a frontal if:

• You don’t want to pay for maintenance or upkeep. You’re gonna be hurt when you have to keep returning to your stylist. IT IS NOT YOUR STYLIST’s FAULT! Again, lace is very TEMPORARY!
• You don’t want to spend money on the hair, the frontal, the customization of the frontal, and the install.
• You have a small forehead. If your hairline sits closer to your eyebrows then it will either look like a wig or you will have to sit the frontal on your hairline which isn’t too pretty either.
• You don’t want your stylist to use products or adhesive and you think you’ll get 100% versatility, completely protected hair, and a flawless lace install that looks like your real hair for longer than a few days.
• Most darker skinned women (like myself) can’t seem to get lace to match our skin tone well enough to make it look as flawless as lighter skinned females. (@allureandmore sells pre-tinted lace so it will be closer to your skin tone.)

Frontal wig (no leave out) I made in Tokyo’s class:

Looks like it is mine right? Perfect lighting. But in the wrong lighting, it could look something like this:

NOT CUTE! I WON’T RISK IT! LOL! 

Good places to get lace frontals and wigs: pinkcouturehair.com (the frontals Tokyo uses and the one for my wig), whitelabelhair.com, missyhairboutique.com,  glamlacewig.fr

I hope you have been well informed of the current frontal trend…if you have any questions I’d love to answer them! Leave them and other comments below. Thankssss 🙂 -Yas