Base Materials
Information about the base, or foundation of your hairpiece or wig. This is the fabric or membrane to which the hairs are attached.
- In the CoolPiece.com shopping cart, some pre-selected recommended base designs are described in full.
- Of course any available hairpiece making material is available, our factory has everything, including all the options that we would never recommend you stick on your head. But long-time wearers who want to stay with their old trusty design can reorder here.
- Your fully custom hairpiece can include a highly individual choice of combinations of materials, but we will advise and/or warn you if we feel you are designing something that will negatively impact your results and satisfaction. For example, for density below Light-to-medium, do not choose a combination of different materials in your base. What you can see on the bottom, can be seen from the top if you are wet, or have added texture products, and if your density choice is realistically and naturally lower. So we recommend all one piece of material. Very unusual base design requests will receive standardization suggestions designed to make you more satisfied with the result.
We can make almost any design you want, however, all lace is still the best choice for your base.
French lace
is the most popular material for hairpieces and wigs. It is quite invisible, but is also strong and long-lasting. Use tapes and glue directly on the lace, no polyurethane tabs are needed. Heat and moisture go right through this fine polyester fabric.
NG
(Available for sizes up to 10" X 8" only) So realistic! An extremely thin polyurethane membrane with hair attached by loops. A processed human hair goes in and out and exits one tiny perforation in the membrane, giving the appearance of single growing hairs. There are no dark black dots that some polyskins suffer from. The underside has micro-wrinkes that help to keep you cool and dry as compared to other membranes.Easily razor-trimmed to size and shape. No waiting! Also available custom-made. Depending on your density the thickness varies between 1.5 MIL for extra-light and 3 MIL for medium. Maximum recommended hair density is medium-light. This type of unit may shed so if longevity is a concern consider a different choice. It is also possible to tear or rip this membrane unless it is handled with care. Attach with a thin coat of white gue as removal of tapes can tear it. Similar products are known by names such as New Generation and Next Generation. Examined at very close range, nothing beats a nicely applied NG hairline, not even the finest lace. Some clients can get a year of use from an NG but they were designed to last a month and so if they shed or tear they cannot be replaced free of charge. Also NG cannot have hair added after it is made.
Swiss lace
is the finest material for hairpieces and wigs with density of light and higher. It's maximum density is just over light-to-medium.It is quite invisible, and needs to be handled carefully or it can be torn or ripped. Use tapes and glue directly on the lace, no polyurethane tabs are needed. Heat and moisture go right through this extra- fine polyester fabric. For a full wig, we would recommend French lace as being much less likely to be accidentally damaged by the user upon application. The hairline of Swiss lace, if carefully applied with a thin coat of our white glue, looks extremely realistic at close range. Perhaps not as natural as an NG hairline if you stare at it from six inches away, but generally better than it needs to be to look real.
Super-Fine Swiss lace.
For orders with density up to just under light, there is an option for a lighter type of Swiss lace. It has a maximum density of just under light. It does fray and wear out faster than normal Swiss lace but if you don't want to break records for longevity this might be for you.
Swiss Lace colors. Swiss lace is available in six colors. We provide "flesh" color by default and it is fine for most clients. If you request another color we can offer the following:
- Light Yellow (for unusually pale skin tone),
- Flesh (default),
- Light Pink (darker and more ruddy than flesh),
- Light Brown (for dark skin),
- Brown (for extremely dark skin or for use over dark hair),
- Black (for wearing the lace on top of black hair as opposed to over bare skin).
Mirage
Formerly known as RAGE. The Easy way to wear hair. Mirage is a smooth and thin polyurethane membrane with hair attached by very tiny micro-knots. There are no dark black dots that other knotted polyskins suffer from. The front 1/8" of hairline is V-injected for a more natural uneven ralistic look. This "poly-paper" is thinnest with lower densites but averages about 3MIL (three-thousands of an inch) thick. The appearance is very natural and due to the thinness, it can look superior to injected polyskin. The lack of thickness means that the hairline can be exposed with a back hairstyle, but in our testing we prefer not to select a Mirage base for back hairstyles, simply because NG and lace will have better transparency at the edge. Unlike with injected skins, this material has no limits for density or direction and it is restylable, not fixed, and the hair does not look flat and lifeless, which can be a problem with injected polyskins. If you find that the feel of lace and knots is irritating, then the cool and smooth bottom of a Mirage base will feel nice on your sensitive scalp. As with any membrane base, you are recommended to remove it very frequently to clean underneath, but it is fast and easy to do this. This is the longest-lasting, easiest-to-manage hairpiece design of all! Sunshine or Stick It tape attachment is recommended. So easy!
Bella
Formerly known as Bellacombo. Some users like to have the hairline and top and crown made out of this cool French lace, but prefer the properties of thin polyskin around the back and side edge. There are many many different ways to achieve this, but the Bella gets it right. From the temples back the perimeter is a very thin skin, 2" wide at the back and around 1.25" wide at the sides. The seam is wavy making it less noticeable if you get wet or have very light density. Note, the ready-made Bella in this photo has not been trimmed to size yet. You will not have the empty lace and plastic edge at the front unless you buy a ready-made one.
French Lace with a Swiss Lace Front
In a Combination Lace unit, the main section is French lace and then a Swiss lace front is attached to it with a seam. This makes the back section stronger and the front section as fine as possible. There are downsides to this design. The seam can be visible if you have light density or lower, but it will remain invisible with light-to-medium density and above. We generally recommend all one piece of either French lace or Swiss lace as a superior choice. Note: the unit in this photo has not been trimmed yet so there is still empty lace and a plastic edge beyond the hair.
Lace with PWG
Some users like to have the hairline and top and crown made out of lace, but prefer the properties of poly-with-gauze around the back and side edge.
Fully Custom Designs
We currently offer and strongly recommend the featured standard options for base design. But everything and anything else is also available. As an experienced wearer of hair you may have developed your own favorites from your extensive experience. We have all materials ever made from the olden days to the present, available currently for your custom design. If our featured designs are not your ideal pick, or you are reluctant to change what you have become accustomed to, just describe, measure, send a duplication sample or a picture of the scalp side and we will make it your way to an extent, but when your design requests are determined to be detrimental to your satisfaction, we will suggest improvements via some standardization.
Please note, Injected skin, super injected skin, and "injection lace" are available but require a surcharge of $100 for a small unit up to 10" X 8" or $150 for a larger unit. We do not recommend these materials.