Closures....What are they???

Hey Guys,

I want to put you onto a trend that's been going on in the hair weave world....CLOSURES. What is a closure? According to Halley's Curls, closures are placed in the “horseshoe” area at the top of a weave to close off the style. It allows the wearer to wear a full weave, with none of their natural hair left out, yet provides the illusion of a scalp. Closures can be completely sewn into place, or they can be partially sewn or clipped into place and the lace front attached with adhesives Silk closures are made to looks like natural skin without the need for any after-purchase adjustments. The silk can be easily tinted to match the wearer’s skin tone. Swiss lace closures are comparable to the base of a lace wigs. During installation of a Swiss lace closure, the addition of a piece flesh colored fabric, such as that cut from a wig cap, will aid in creating the illusion of a scalp.

Example of a silk base closure:

Click here for more examples of Silk Closures

Example of a lace closure:

Since i'm new to this trend i found that it would be more helpful if i quoted what i found on BlackHairMedia.com



Closure and Lace Frontal - What is the difference between the two??



Note: The big difference in a lace frontal and a closure is the construction, the materials used, and how they are applied. In GENERAL a closure piece is usually used for sew in installs/applications. If placed properly just behind the hairline, it can allow the wearer to wear a full weave with no hair left out while giving the appearance of a natural scalp area.



Closures do not run temple to temple. Instead they are placed in the “horseshoe” area at the top of a weave to close off the style. (Hence the name closure)



The most popular breathable closures are constructed from silk mesh with a poly strip or thin skin around the outer perimeter of the mesh which strengthens the mesh (for a sewn-in application) or to make bonding the closure easier. These closures allow for freestyle parting along the cap area. The addition of a flesh colored stocking under will help to add the look of a natural scalp to this style of closures. This type of closure may require the sealing of the knots (as in a lace frontal) to help keep the hair secured firmly in the base.



Some vendors also construct closures from lace similar to or slightly heavier than a lace frontal. Lace based closures are installed like other closures, but may not look as natural when parted as they will tent to have a “grid” like appearance in contrast to the braided foundation they are installed on top of.



A few vendors use a combination of stretch lace and flesh colored French silk to create a breathable closure which looks like natural skin. The “skin” can be dyed to match the wearer’s own natural skin.



While not nearly as popular these days, some vendors continue to manufacture and sell non breathable closures. These closures are usually a silk mesh top with a full flesh colored poly coating or full flesh colored vinyl skin top (which was once popular in older style wigs)



How is it installed??

Closures can be installed by bonding, as well as by attaching with the use of clips. The most popular method for installing closures is by sewing the closure then installing the rest of the weave around the closure. The closure is placed close to the edge of the braided foundation near the hair line.. The stylist then sews around the perimeter of the closure taking acre to stitch so that the stitches are concealed.



Depending on the desired finished style, some of the wearer’s own natural hair may or may not be left out near the perimeter of the front edge of the closure to help conceal the front edge.



Like a closure, lace frontals can be sewn in place or applied using clips. However a natural hairline will not be achieved if sewn or clipped in the front. Most stylists install a lacefrontal using clips or by sewing down the back of the frontal and use a bonding agent to glue the front hairline down.



Unlike a closure, none of the wearers own hair will be left out in a bonded lacefrontal installation as the piece is meant to create a natural hairline



What are my styling options

Unlike the closures of old you are not limited to simply the “China Doll” bangs look with a closure. Closures (in particular the freestyle parting variety) will allow plenty of styling freedom. Freestyle caps allow you to part anywhere along the cap to create the style you want. Swoop bangs, etc are possible. With a good installation technique and skilled haircut, you can achieve many styling options with a closure.

The one restriction is with styles which pull the hair completely off the face. These kinds of styles are generally not possible with closures (even with a GREAT install and cut). As these pieces are not designed to specifically mimic a natural hairline off the face styles will make it difficult to discretely conceal the front edge of the closure.. Some manipulation of the installations techniques (for example bonding the closure close to the hairline) may allow some of this kind of styling versatility.





How long does it last??

The lifespan of a closure depends on the quality of the hair and the cap construction. Well constructed closures can last as long as 3-5 years. Others have a lifespan of 3-12 months. Again the lifespan depends on many factors that contribute to the wear factor. (care, quality, etc..)



How to add fabic to lace closure



Here's my "scalp" materials:

1.Light tan silk chiffon - I chose light tan because between dying the fabric a darker tan color and the fact that the sheer fabric was going to be laid on top of a dark surface (my hair), I knew I could get the right color and not make the scalp too dark.

2.Ziplock bag - I used a Ziploc bag because I needed a clear sturdy material to make a pattern/template from.

3.FrayBlock - To ensure that the fabric does not ravel after it's cut to size.

4.#5 Ballpoint needle - Ballpoint needles will be less likely to cut the hair when sewing the scalp piece onto the closure. Sharpies could scratch and cut the hair shaft.

5..004 guage clear nylon thread - You'll need GOOD lighting to feed this thread through a #5 needle!

Here's the steps I took:

◦After I cut back the lace, I bleached the knots on the closure. I bleached to a dark blonde.. (a tip I got on another website I found in a Google search) The knots disappeared and about 1/32 of an inch of the hair coming out of the lace was lightened, really making the hair much more natural looking - as if growing directly out of your head. It made a HUGE difference in how natural the closure looked.. (IMPORTANT!!! If the knots on your closure are not bleached, the knots will show up CLEARLY against the fabric "skin" and look VERY un-natural!!! The unbleached knots will have a GRIDLIKE appearance against the fabric "skin". Sometimes even closures that say the knots are bleached will need to be bleached again to give it a more realistic appearance)





◦I then sealed the outer edge of my closure to seal up the cut edge of the lace and prevent shedding and raveling. I used my Extensions Plus sealant. However, there is a very similar sealant that can be found through Hair Extensions 101 (http://hairextensions101.com)





◦I made a template of the closure area by laying the ziploc bag over the closure and tracing the outline of the parting area with a Sharpie. I cut out the pattern and set it aside for after the next step.





◦I dyed my fabric with a little watered down semi permanent color. Then I laid my freshly dyed scalp fabric out on a styrofoam board. I laid my template on top and used T-Pins to hold every thing flat and in place. Then I lightly traced the outline of the scalp piece in pencil.





◦Once I have my putline drawn on the fabric, I then took FrayBlock and applied it around the pencil outline. I made sure that I allowed it to flow just inside and outside of my pencil line. Once the FrayBlock dried, I cut along the pencil line to get my scalp piece. (You could apply a little more FrayBlock along the cut edge just for good measure if you like.)





◦I then attached the scalp to the underside of the closure using the clear nylon thread and a #5 ballpoint needle. I used an over cast stitch, and made sure to keep my stitches small and tight, but was I careful not to pull so tight in order to ensure that the closure and the scalp piece stayed nice and flat.

When I was done I ended up with a closure that looked like a real scalp if I do say so myself.



Best price and site so far...



silkbaseclosures.com



http://myhaircouture.com/category_20/Closures.htm



http://femihaironline.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=40&products_id=100





COLOR=red">Laniks hair... Start at $140.00[/COLOR">



http://lanikshair.com/lanikscorner/2009/03/[





http://contagioushair.com/Store/WsDefault.asp?Cat=LaceClosuresFrontals





Old post vendors:



Closures & Frontal Vendors:

Nature Girl

{lace frontals & closures}

http://www.naturegirl.net



Extensions-Plus

{lace frontals (custom) & closures (stock & custom)}

http://extensions-plus.com



Indique hair

www.indiquehair.com



His and Hers

{closures}

http://hisandher.com



Remy Hair Today

{lace frontals & closures}

http://remyhairtoday.com



Joya Style Hair

{lace frontals & closures}

http://www.joyastylehair.com/



My Mane Attractions

{lace frontals & closures}

http://www.mymaneattractions.com



All About My Hair

{lace frontals (custom & stock)}

http://allaboutmyhair.com/



Stylist that do closures

**If you know anyone eles please add to the list***



Amandita ( Atl, DMV, Orlando)

1. <--atlanta weavologist---call for appt 678-768-1981 public.fotki.com/amandita-bhm2



2.Shawnda Dee( Atl, Chicago, DMV)

http://public.fotki.com/shawndadeedotcom/full-weave--closure/



3.Unique Monique ( Atl, Chicago)

The Original Weaveniste! www.myspace.com/mooreuniquehair



Source: http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=230740



Great YouTube!