Bleached Knots: What should I expect?

We now bleach knots at the front of your lace unit by default unless asked not to.

Bleaching of knots does not result in white or clear knots, but it does help to give the illusion of growing hair by camouflaging the knots. But what should you expect when you order bleached knots?

If your hair color is Black, 1B or 2, then knots that hold the hair onto the base will be changed from black to light brown and will be much less visible. Single knots such as those used at the front edge will be be very hard to spot.

If your hair color is between 3 and 6, the knots will be even harder to spot.

If your hair color is 7 or lighter, the bleaching will make hardly any difference, but we still do it if the completed unit has knots that can be seen against the skin during the manufacturing inspection stage.

For all-lace units where the density is such that there isn’t enough room on the lace for all single knots, you will inevitably be able to spot some knotting upon close inspection of the top lace. A 3# monofilament base will look more natural than lace in this area because 3# hides double knots and split knots and lace reveals them.

For extra light and light density units, the all lace base is less detectable than the 3# base because there is enough room on the lace to use all single knots and still arrive at a density of 65% or less.

The knots cannot be bleached in an area of the unit that is poly coated. The knots cannot be bleached in poly-skin base areas. Our hair is dyed with special chemicals made in Korea. They are designed to prevent sun-fading, but they also make it harder to bleach the knots.

Bleached knots, Lace Fronts, Single Knots.

Veteran hair wearers are always on a quest to get the most natural looking unit with the latest techniques and specifications. Sometimes the theory does not match the results.

For densities below 65% A Swiss lace or French lace base looks amazing, but if your hair density is higher, there is not enough room on the lace for all those single knots and so the knots get bigger as all that hair is tied in, resulting in a knotty, lumpy feel and look. Stick to 3# monofilament bases for higher densities and choose a lace front with a maximum of 65% density. We try to bleach knots as much as possible, but sometimes even this can't hide all of the knotted hair that you ask us to make your unit with.

To sum up:

Bleaching the knots is the best known method of making the hair appear as if it is growing from the scalp, but don't expect them to be invisible from an inch away. (Polyskin now rivals lace for undetectability)

Unless you wear an all lace base, only the front section needs to have bleached knots.

Depending upon your density, the best base material for your bleached knots is either French lace or 3# monofilament. You should not bleach the knots with a 3# base as they are concealed anyway.

Depending on your hair color, the bleached knots will be light brown or blonde.

Results:

It's hard to tell anything from a little picture on your computer monitor, but the pictures at the top of every page on this site show bleached knots on lace fronts.

Bleaching your own knots

If your unit is older and you have re-colored it to reverse sun-fading, you may have inadvertently dyed the knots dark again. Below is a tried and trusted method used by a busy Los Angeles hair replacement salon with whom we are very friendly!

Bleaching your own knots is not too difficult, but it is attempted at your own risk. Don't forget to wear gloves and glasses and open a window. You can choose your favorite brand, but we get excellent results with Wella.

Basically you buy some Wella Wellite Creme Lightener and any 40% creme developer. Inside the Wellite box are packets of powder and a bottle of liquid. In a plastic bowl and with a nylon brush, mix 1/4 of the contents of the Wellite bottle with one sachet of the Wellite powder, then double the quantity with the 40% creme developer. The bowl now contains a thick blue gel-like paste. It's enough for four or five units, but this is very inexpensive so don't worry about having leftover mixture.

Keeping the hair out of the way, brush this thick paste on the underside of the lace. It's so thick it shouldn't seep through. Wait about half an hour (this time can vary according to how dark the hair is and what batch it's from etc). Then rise out the paste and shampoo the unit two or three times until it smells like it's free of all bleach.

Some experimenters have advised us that preparing the knots for bleaching using RIT fabric dye remover makes the process much easier. With Wellite this seems completely unneccessary. Some danger-seeking professionals instead risk a 10 second exposure with straight household bleach. Get this wrong and the precious hair will drop out in clumps! Stick to the safer Wellite method above instead.

Alternatives to bleached knots

You can order the hair at the front in very light blonde or human gray and then color the hair to match the rest of the unit once you have received the unit. This is not a popular option because it's a job that can be avoided by ordering bleached knots. The new polyskins offer less maintenance than bleached knots on lace and now riival lace for undetectability.