Silk Base Lace Front Wigs
(aka Hidden Knots, Silk Top or Injected Lace)
Silk base lace front wigs are appealing because knots (that tie the strands of hair to the lace wig) are completely hidden which gives a realistic appearance of hair growing from a scalp.
Full lace cap wig with silk baseYou might see this lace wig cap construction referred to as silk top lace wigs, lace wigs with hidden knots or silk injected lace wigs; but they all mean the same thing.
The cap is made from lace, with piece of silk, usually located in the front centre of the cap (see image below) that is either a four inch square or a five inch square and referred to as 4x4 or 5x5 respectively (silk top wigs also come in 6x6 as well as a number of other variations for side partings).
As the area of the silk can vary, be sure to check the details on the retailing website.
The broad method for a silk top lace wig is that individual strands of knotted hair are injected through a piece of silk which hides the knots below (hence the term lace injected).
The slightly more detailed description is that the strands of hair are knotted onto the lace cap (below the silk square) and then ventilated through the piece of silk which is on top of the of the lace so that the knots are completely hidden below.
Silk base lace front wigs also come in a full lace cap wig versions; in addition there can also be stretch at the ears, crown or ear-to-ear.
The silk base usually comes in light brown, medium brown and dark brown.
If you choose a full lace wig where the wig cap is made entirely of lace (except for the silk top), make sure the measurements are accurate.
If you can wear the universal medium size of a full lace wig, then hooray, but if not, a custom-made full lace wig may be the better option or alternatively a silk base lace front wig with adjustable straps.
If you're new to full lace wigs it may be a better option to choose a silk base lace front wig with combs at the sides and adjustable straps at the back; but if you're keen for a full lace wig then one with ear-to-ear stretch is a good place to start.
The line between where the silk base ends and the lace starts tends to be slightly visible and although this is unavoidable, the contrast can be reduced by matching the colour of the lace to the silk (remember scalps are typically lighter than complexion of the face).
It's also important to remember that the silk base-to-lace join line is only visible depending on how you style your hair.
Most standard silk base lace front wigs come in a medium colour lace and silk - you can blend the contrast between the silk and lace with a fabric marker such as FabricMate or use a concealer or foundation.
You can darken the silk top using the tried and tested home remedy of dyeing it with tea (yes, you did read that correctly, it wasn't a typo; good ol' fashioned tea) which won't damage the hair, lace or silk.
Silk Base Lace Front Wigs: The Benefits, Drawbacks and Variations...
Benefits
- Knots on the crown are completely hidden - no bleaching required
- Allows hair to be worn in an up-do (full lace wigs)
- Allows hair to be parted through the middles or anywhere else
Drawbacks
- Silk base lace front wigs (and full lace wigs with silk bases) are more expensive than the equivalent counterparts due to the labour intensive technique of ventilating through the lace and silk.
- There line between where the silk base ends and the lace starts is visible - fabric markers or tea can be used to remedy this.
- Read-to-ship silk top lace wigs generally come with medium-light brown lace and light coloured silk
Variations
As with lace cap wigs there are variations to the design of silk base lace front wigs and full lace wigs which include:
- Thin skin around the perimeter
- Thin skin at other points on the cap
- Stretch at the crown
- Attaching combs
- Adjustable strap a the back
It's easy to be get confused by all of the options for your lace wig cap construction, especially if you're unsure whether you need (or even want) the fanciest-schmanciest version.
The TCPG Top Tip for finding your way through the thicket of full lace wig cap designs is to decide: what it is you need, what it is you want and then choose your full lace wig cap construction; after all, it's going to be the hair that you wear.
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