This is the full glued install. If you would rather skip most of it, our glueless range ships with the lace already cut and an elastic band sewn in — steps 2 and 4 below disappear entirely and the whole thing takes five minutes.
What you need: wig cap, lace adhesive or glue-free gel, rubbing alcohol or an oil-free cleanser, small sharp scissors, an elastic band, a hair dryer on cool, edge control, a rat-tail comb.
Step 1 — Prepare your own hair
Braid it flat against the scalp, or slick it back with gel if it is short. Then put on a wig cap in a shade near your skin tone and pull it to your natural hairline.
Do not skip flattening. Any bump under the cap pushes the front edge of the lace up and away from your forehead, and a lifted edge is visible from across a room.
Step 2 — Cut the lace
Put the wig on first. Line the front edge up against your natural hairline, then tighten the adjustable straps at the nape.
Now cut — 1mm past the hairline, following its natural shape, not in a straight line. Real hairlines curve down at the temples. Cut in small snips, following the curve, and cut zig-zag rather than straight so the edge does not form a visible line.
Cut conservatively. You can always take more off. You cannot put lace back, and a unit cut too far back can never be worn again. Leave more than you think you need on your first attempt.
Step 3 — Prep your skin
Take the wig off. Wipe your hairline with rubbing alcohol or an oil-free cleanser and let it dry completely. Adhesive does not bond to oil, moisturiser, sunscreen or makeup — this is the reason most installs lift at the temples by evening.
Step 4 — Apply the adhesive
Thin layers. Three thin layers beat one thick one every time; a thick layer stays wet underneath, never fully bonds, and leaves a white residue at the edge.
Apply a thin coat along your hairline, let it go tacky — clear-ish and sticky, roughly 30 to 60 seconds — then add the next. Two to three coats for a normal day.
Step 5 — Lay the lace
Place the wig from front to back. Press the lace down onto the adhesive with your fingertips, then go over it with a damp cloth or the back of a rat-tail comb, working from the centre outward.
Wrap an elastic band around your head sitting right on the lace edge, and leave it for 15 minutes. Cool air from a dryer speeds up the set. This wait is where the "melt" happens — skipping it is why lace lifts.
Step 6 — Baby hair and part
Remove the band. Pull a small amount of hair forward from the hairline with a rat-tail comb — a little, and randomly spaced, because real baby hair is not evenly distributed. Apply edge control and lay it in soft S-curves with the comb's tail or a spoolie. Set with a scarf for five minutes.
Then part the unit and style.
The four mistakes that give a wig away
Placing it too far forward. The most common error by a distance. The front edge should sit right at, or a couple of millimetres behind, where your hair actually starts — not on your forehead. Find your real hairline by raising your eyebrows; the crease is roughly where it lives.
A straight cut line. Nobody has a straight hairline. Cut following your own curve, and zig-zag.
Too much baby hair, too perfectly placed. Symmetrical, dense, glossy baby hair reads as artificial faster than a visible lace edge. Less, and less even.
Untinted lace against deep skin. HD lace disappears on most skin tones, but on deeper tones a light dusting of foundation or a lace tint spray on the underside of the lace makes the difference between good and invisible. Tint before you install, and let it dry.
Taking it off
Never pull. Use a proper adhesive remover along the hairline, wait for it to break the bond, and lift the lace slowly from the edge inward. Ripping a unit off takes your own edges with it — this is how traction alopecia starts at the temples.
Ready to skip most of this? Shop glueless wigs. Want full parting freedom? Shop 13x4 HD lace fronts.