Men's Toupee Hair System - making, cutting & styling

Recently I had to make a hair system (toupee) that was to be in a 1960s pompadour style. Effectively it should look like the top of this but without the gel:

From: http://www.elvis.com/news/detail.aspx?id=6399

The Base - I used durable wig net and a lace perimeter that enables bonding and a natural hairline. This is the first time I have used wig net is for this type of work. The pros are that it is cheap, it is a reasonable colour if working with brown hair and it is very durable. The cons are that the holes are very large and because the hair on the top of the head is more likely to separate than hair hanging down, you can rely less on heavily dense large knots to hide the holes than if this material was being used at the back or sides of a wig. As a result I had to do so many more knots, which was time consuming.

The Hair - I used Indian hair in a number 4 with some blonde to to create a variation of colour/highlight. This type of hair is softer and more malleable than say Chinese, and the natural movement/kink/wave of the hair helps when creating the hairstyle. The hair was a lot longer than I needed for this style, but it didn't matter as I was going to cut it anyway. It is worth thinking about the style you wish to achieve when selecting hair, as your end result can be heavily influenced by this aspect. Some hair types do not lend themselves well to certain styles.

Cutting & Styling - I cut the hair into a pompadour style, then combed it back and ran some wax through the dry hair. I then styled it by combing the under layers back towards the crown, and then combing the front upper layers in a diagonal fashion towards one side, and using my hand to 'bump' the front to give it that pompadour look. I fixed the style with hairspray.

Overall I am pleased with how this turned out.