Lace Closure VS. Silk Base Closure
When it comes to wearing weaves and hair extensions, the goal should always be to obtain a natural-like appearance. No one deliberately wants their weave to be easily detected, which is why many installations require leaving hair out in the front to cover tracks. But with this weaving method comes the hassle of blending your own hair texture with the hair texture of the extensions—talk about annoying.
Many times in order to be successful at the blending process, constant heat is being applied and the risk of heat damage is high. But thanks to closures–a small hair unit used to cover the front of the hair where you would normally leave hair out to give your install a natural hairline appearance–wearing a believable weave without causing any damage to your hair doesn’t have to be unbelievable. (Or should I say unbeweavable?)
Closures come in two different bases–lace and silk–and can be glued, taped, or sewn down. Although they are both applied the same and used to achieve the same overall result, they are quite different. Not sure which closure would work best for you? Here are a few pros and cons to help guide you in your lace or silk-based closure journey.
LACE CLOSURES are made with a lace-like foundation with hair strands embedded into the tiny holes.
Pros: It gives a scalp-like appearance when placed against your skin or natural scalp. It also allows for a very flat and easy application that will make your install look very real.
Cons: You’ll need to do some tweaking to lace closures to achieve the best results. Because the hair strands are directly embedded into the sheer lace, tiny black knots where the hair and lace meet are visible when placed against your skin, which means you’ll have to bleach the knots to get rid of the grid-like effect the dots create. And if not bleached correctly, you risk ruining your closure and the hair attached—and wasting your money. Alternatively, you may add concealer or foundation to the lace for an easy route to achieve a natural appearance.
SILK BASE CLOSURES are made with hair strands embedded into a nude, skin-like silk material that is reinforced with lace.
Pros: Silk base closures tend to last longer and generally don’t require any bleaching like lace closures. Because of the silk material backing on the closure, the knots are not visible and mimic the scalp without much alteration.
Cons: While the silk material helps to conceal the knots to create the appearance of a real scalp, every scalp isn’t created equal so if you are of darker complexion and have a much darker scalp, you will need to alter and tint your silk base. Also, this type of closure tends to be a little thicker, which can pose as a challenge with getting a super flat install.
