We can all admit that closures are a great innovation that allows us to have those natural looking installs that we all strive for. They allow us to give our leave-outs a break when they have been over manipulated with heat and other styling tools. Closures also ultimately eliminate the need for blending. But while the benefits of closures are great we also know that our closure application can either make or break our installs. So we have listed four tips that will help you achieve that flawless closure application.
Bleach your knots
Swiss lace closures almost always come with those unattractive knots or grids that look like black dots throughout. These grids have to be concealed if you want a natural scalp appearance for your closure. There are several ways that this can be achieved such as bleaching and faux bleaching but the most effective is knot bleaching. Bleaching knots requires the process of applying bleach to the lace on the bottom of the closure and then applying heat. This practice when done correctly will give you a natural scalp appearance.
Tweeze Your Parting Area
Whether your closure is a freestyle closure or a pre-parted closure it very likely that your parting area will have to have some of the hairs tweezed from it. When you think of a part made in your hair and look at a part made on a closure you will see a noticeable difference. The part on the closure is very likely to be a lot thinner than your own natural part. This is why we recommend tweezing because again you want your install to look as natural as possible.
Apply flesh colored stocking to your Closure
Using this tip in addition to bleaching knots will ensure that your closure app is flawless! It is self explanatory all you need is a piece of flesh colored stocking. The stocking can be applied by either sewing it or gluing it to the underside of the closure. This will further conceal any noticeable grids or knots.
Tint The Lace If Needed
Most stock lace closures are sold with light brown lace. There is a very practical reason for this. Light brown lace can always be made darker so this is why this color is usually the default color so to speak. So what do you do when your scalp is darker than light brown? You tint the lace with fabric dye! The most popular brand of fabric used to do this is Rit Dye. Rit Dye is sold in both powder and liquid form but the liquid form is preferred for tinting lace. All that is needed for the process is the dye color that closely matches your scalp color and a bowl of hot water. Simply dip the lace (be careful not to get the hair wet) in the bowl of water for about 30 seconds and the lace color will change.
It may seem as if closures are a lot of work but the end results are definitely worth it. There are many YouTube tutorials on each of these steps. You will find that these steps only take minutes and the tradeoff for the closure prep is priceless!