What are some tips for using John Blake facial hair pieces?

Cutting the lace

Before applying your piece, the lace needs to be cut. Be careful not to cut too much lace off, as it will fray over time and cause the piece to loose hair.
You will want to leave at lease 2 rows of complete lace holes intact before the holes where the hairs are tied, which is about 1⁄4 inch.

Application

  1. Hold the piece up to your face so you have a good idea on where to put it.
  2. Apply a matte adhesive to the skin where the piece will be, paying special attention to make sure you have putthe adhesive all the way to where the edges of the piece will lay.
    § Only use as much glue as you need. The less glue you use, the less reside you will have left on your piece.
  3. WAIT until the adhesive feels tacky to touch (about 20 sec)
  4. Lay the lace into the glue. Work from the center of your face out to ensure correct positioning.
  5. Lightly tap it into place to make sure that the lace touches the entirety of the adhesive§ Do NOT press too firmly, as this can cause the hair to stick into the glue
  6. Once the piece is in place you can check the edges for any lifting and add small dots of additional glue ifnecessary.

Removal

  1. When removing the piece from your face, saturate a flat brush in 99% alcohol.
  2. Gently slide the brush under one of the edges of the piece.§ The goal at this moment is to simply separate the piece from the skin, don’t focus on getting all the glue off in this step.
  3. Continue sliding the alcohol-soaked brush underneath the lace. Gently lift the piece away from the face continuing to saturate with 99% alcohol.
  4. Once the piece is off, clean up any remaining adhesive left on the face.
    § After your face is clean and dry, be sure to moisturize! Alcohol will dry out our skin.

Cleaning

  1. Set up a small plate with an edge, pie tin, or Tupperware and cover the bottom with about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of99% alcohol.
  2. Place the piece LACE SIDE DOWN into the alcohol inside the container.
  3. Allow to soak for 1-2 minutes. This will dissolve or loosen any remaining glue residue on the piece.
  4. Remove the piece from the soaking container and place it LACE SIDE DOWN on a soft towel or t-shirt. Don’tuse a towel with too much texture.
  5. Gently press a cotton ball, q-tip, or wool dauber into the lace piece from the hair so you are pressing the laceinto the towel. This should dislodge any glue remaining on the lace.
  6. If you have any thick glue areas or stubborn flecks, saturate the cotton ball/q-tip/wool dauber with morealcohol and continue to press the lace into the towel. DO NOT RUB.
  7. After the piece is COMPLETLEY dry, store the cleaned piece in a flat container without any folds in the lace, or pinned to a beard block. If the piece dries folded, you will end up with obvious wrinkles in your lace the next time you want to apply the piece.