Exploring Hair Systems With Influencer Rachel Rivera

Rachel Rivera [00:00:00]:

As you start getting a little bit more gray and as we start noticing and we start talking about it, it’s like, okay, Kevin, let’s add 10% more gray into your hair. I think it’s going to look really nice. I think it’s going to look natural. It is always me observing and us having this conversation so that future forward we can always change and customize orders to how you want it and how you would look your.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:00:31]:

Welcome to hairpod, the podcast where you get to hear real people talk about their hair journeys. I’m your host, Kevin Raulston, and each week I get to interview people from different walks of life whose lives have been touched by hair loss in some form or fashion. Many of our guests have experienced hair loss themselves and found a way to get their confidence and their hair back. This week on HairPod, I’m excited to be talking with hair club stylist Rachel Rivera. She has an incredible depth of knowledge about hair loss and hair restoration solutions with years of experience applying hair systems to countless clients, including me. This week we’re going to be uncovering the mysteries behind a topic that few people fully understand. Hair systems. If you don’t have one, it can be surprisingly hard to find detailed, reliable information on what they are and and how they work.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:01:24]:

Part of the challenge is that modern hair systems are designed to be undetectable. You could have a friend, coworker, or even a family member using one, and you would never know it. Many people choose them because they’re being discreet, so they’re not real quick to open up about it. And that’s exactly why conversations like this are so important. If you ever wondered what a hair system is exactly, listen in. Especially if you hear the words hair system and think toupee. If that’s you, you’re definitely not alone. I think a lot of us who have hair systems now, we’re in the same boat that you were not too long ago.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:02:01]:

And Rachel’s here to be our guide into how far the technology on hair systems has come and the amazing things that stylists like her can accomplish with a hair system.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:02:16]:

I hate the word ‘toupee’. It reminds me of, like, your grandfather or your great, great grandfather that had one of those. The difference is when it comes to a hair system, typically with the hair, you are able to get them in different one. You’re able to get them in different textures, different colors, you’re able to get them in different densities, which really create that difference in really, really natural and, you know, your heavier, thicker versions there’s two different kinds.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:02:48]:

Now, the one thing that to me, and tell me if I’m right on this, what is amazing about a hair system and what is different? I never wore a toupee, but from what I had seen when I was a kid, if I’d ever seen one, it seemed like what they were putting the hair in was something that was thicker, it wasn’t breathable, and the way that they would use the adhesive or the way that they would tack it onto the scalp, to me, that’s maybe where the biggest changes might come in. Not being an expert on it, but I’m just asking, am I right on that, that what they’re using to put the hair in and the measures that they use to keep the hair on are radically different between a hair system and a toupee?

 

Rachel Rivera [00:03:29]:

Oh, absolutely. When you think about a toupee or any kind of heavier density type of system, typically back in, you know, in the days you have people that wore them on tape, it was easy for them to kind of just apply the tape, put the hair on. When they go home, they take it off. Something that they simply use when they were going out or if they were going to work. The difference is with these systems now is that they’re made so that you can wear them for a long amount of time, which is amazing. You are wearing the hair, you’re washing the hair, you’re styling the hair as if it were your own. So with that we are using medical grade adhesives and we do use some strips as well. And then what we do is it creates that longer lasting version of hair where it literally is mimicking hair like your own.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:04:19]:

And when you talked about the hair that they had in a toupee, was that real human hair or was it something synthetic?

 

Rachel Rivera [00:04:26]:

A lot of them were synthetic. You did have a few that were human hair. Those obviously, I think assuming back in the time costed a lot more money. But now those heads of hair typically were synthetic. They were very, very heavy usually often because they weren’t matched to a client’s hair or their own growing hair. A lot of the times they were often color. So that’s the big difference with what we have now and old school toupees.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:04:52]:

And with the toupee, it wasn’t something like, for people that don’t know, with a hair system now, when I sit in your chair, you put on the hair system when it’s fresh and it’s brand new, and then you start cutting it to fit the style that I want and what looks good. And if I had to assume the toupee itself probably came pre cut, and how you got it is just what you had, and that’s just what you’re going to wear. As far as your style.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:05:17]:

Oh, yeah. What you had was what you had. If you wanted the curly, it was whatever you wanted the texture to be. It just wasn’t cut and customized to your own, your own hair.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:05:28]:

Now, the one thing I would say with a hair system is you talk about what they put the hair in. The hair system now it’s some kind of mesh where it’s very breathable. And to me, I think that’s what’s radically different to the point where you don’t feel it when it’s on. You sweat through it, water goes through it. And I imagine the old school toupees, it wasn’t like that.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:05:50]:

No, you were talking about heavier densities back in the day, usually something very, very thick, almost to the point where it was suffocating the scalp. The hair systems that we have now are extremely breathable. The majority of them come in a lace style, which is great because it allows for the breathability, not only just for that factor, but also in washing your own hair and just kind of feeling that water run through the hair. Hair will get knotted into the lace systems, and it creates that natural look and breathability with what you’re getting.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:06:26]:

Hearing Rachel break down how hair systems differ from toupees really shows you just how far the technology has come. But it’s not just the advanced materials or the comfort they provide that sets them apart. It’s the level of personalization. High quality hair systems like the one I wear are completely customized to each individual. Every detail, from hair color and texture to style, is tailored to create a natural, seamless look that’s as unique as the person who’s wearing it.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:07:00]:

From the beginning. If you remember when you initially started with us, we sit you down, we have these one on one consultations. We meet with you, we look over your hair, the color of your hair, the texture of your hair, the great percentage in your hair. With that, we customize a head of hair that is literally just for you, just for all of our clients. So when we are seeing our clients for the first time and we’re cutting in their hair, not only does that hair blend and match what we’ve created for for them, but we are also cutting it according to style. So it is meeting with me and saying, hey, Rachel, I really like this style. I want to do this. And then me Customizing the look that you want.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:07:44]:

So that makes the biggest difference in the world. You’re blending it in, it looks natural. You can’t even tell where the hair that we’ve applied on where it starts and where your own hair begins. And that’s what we want.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:07:58]:

Now, a lot of people that come to Hair Club, they have some level of gray, likely in their natural hair. So how do you do that so that that matches up because the toupees didn’t used to do that. So at Hair Club, how are you doing it so that you match in grays or just the subtle textures too? And even in the summer, some people’s hair gets lighter and things change like that. So what are you doing there to make sure that you it’s seamless from the real natural hair that the person still has into what is the hair from their hair system?

 

Rachel Rivera [00:08:28]:

It’s nice because Hair Club created these customized swatches where we are able to kind of blend in anywhere between the 10% gray to the 90% gray. So it gives us those variations. So when we’re comparing your hair to any of the great percentage swatches that we have, we’re able to customize your hair as we go. Now granted, as again, like how you mentioned with the summertime, we do a lot of in house customization as well. So everything is very unique to you. So that’s always a good thing with gray percentage as well as you start getting a little bit more gray and as we start noticing and we start talking about, it’s like, okay, Kevin, let’s add 10% more gray into your hair. I think it’s going to look really nice. I think it’s going to look natural.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:09:15]:

It is always me observing and us having this conversation so that future forward we can always change and customize orders to how you want it and how you would look your best.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:09:25]:

Now somebody were coming in, they said, well, you know, I’m particular to the hairstyle that I have or the hair that I want. You know, what are the parameters when it comes to styles that people can get? Do you have? Well, we can do these kind of four hairstyles, but we can’t do something like that. Where are your limitations when it comes to putting the exact style that the customer wants?

 

Rachel Rivera [00:09:44]:

Our styles, hands down, are always. I feel like I can always give somebody exactly what they’re looking for and what they want. There are no limitations to what we can do. There’s not just four, like cookie cutter haircuts. We have tons of haircuts. I Am a super visual person. So if you give me something that you like, I’m going to follow that. There’s no limitations to hair.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:10:10]:

One of the biggest challenges for any stylist working with hair systems is helping each person feel like themselves again. It’s not just about creating something that looks good. It’s about creating a system that blends so naturally into someone’s lifestyle that it truly just becomes their hair. Achieving that level of personalization takes skill, patience, and incredible attention to detail, especially when matching color, texture, and style to reflect somebody’s unique personality. It’s a far cry from hair solutions of the past. Most toupees were made from synthetic materials, which is why they didn’t really look or feel natural. This is another thing that sets a high quality hair system apart from, from a toupee or even a lower quality system. The materials make all the difference.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:11:01]:

Our hair is human. So the good thing about it is that your hair is gonna feel just like your own hair. Granted, you’re always gonna have, you know, different variances in textures here and there, but being the fact that the hair is human, the hair is always gonna feel like your own. So as you’re running your hands through your hair, you’re gonna feel that natural feeling of hair. And at some point, I believe people just, you know, it’s. It’s all one. They forget that they have hair, and then all of a sudden they’re running their hands through their hair. And that’s a great feeling.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:11:30]:

And the thing that I would say too, with the hair system is that layer, what they put the hair in with the hair system, that mesh layer, it’s so thin. To me, it’s like a layer of skin. And so as you’re going from what would be your natural hair into what is the hair in the hair system, it’s not like you hit a line or you feel a bump, or you could then trace your hand all the way around, be like, okay, wait a minute. Clearly that part is not the real hair. That’s the experience that I have had with it.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:11:58]:

Oh, yeah. It’s almost a zero transition from the hair that we are putting on to your own hair. And that’s really what you want, that most natural feel in the hair. Just that ability to run through the hand and not feel those seams that most people would think would be there.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:12:15]:

Tell me a bit about the adhesive that you use, because I’m sure there are some concerns out there that I’m an active person, I’m on the boat. I Like going swimming. I’m in Taekwondo, whatever it might be. How good is the adhesive? And is there only one way that you put on a hair system, or does it vary from person to person as to how you make sure that it’s going to stay on? And just how sturdy is a hair system to stay on?

 

Rachel Rivera [00:12:41]:

Oh, no. We have several types of adhesives, and really it’s all based on one. Your skin, your active, whether your lifestyle is active or not. So we kind of, as we’re going along and I’m getting to know you, we utilize a certain type of adhesive, and then we work from there, going back and forth. We have several different kinds, from our nice and sturdy to our clients that are a little bit more sensitive. And we have those hypoallergenic types of adhesive. So we have adhesives for all, which is really good. As we start getting to know our clients a little bit more and what their needs are, that is also one thing that we customize as well.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:13:22]:

Yeah, and I will tell you, it’s very sturdy. And one thing I did when I first got my hair system was try all these different things, like riding in a Jeep with my head sticking out of the window and going into a hurricane simulator with category three winds. And so it’s, you know, withstood all of those. So anybody who is going to be skiing, being on a boat, anything that might be fast, even if you’re riding a motorcycle and you decide to unfortunately not use element, which you should, it’s going to be something. It’s going to stay on with the adhesives that they have. So the security there is. It’s always 100%. It’s never anything that I think of losing as I’m doing something active.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:13:59]:

So to let people know that, the one thing that I will talk about which I think is unique, is that sometimes you do have to understand that the way your skin is, because sometimes you have oily scalps, and sometimes you have very dry scalps. And so, you know, just having dealt with me when we were going through different adhesives and whatever, my skin, all of it’s so sensitive. I have eczema on my face, and I’m always using creams and things like that. And then sometimes, yeah, my scalp would be dried out, and it’s almost like we had to tweak it a little bit, try to figure out how to make that happen. Can you explain with the different skin types? And yeah, some people do have oily, and some people do have dry so how does that vary? Being a hairdresser at Hair club? What do you have to consider when you’re using a hair system?

 

Rachel Rivera [00:14:43]:

Well, what we do is, again, when we are initially meeting you for the first time, as we get to know you a little bit more and more, what we do is it’s just like with you, when you came to me initially, we started you out on one type of adhesive. And then as your skin changes, we also customize that as well. Same things go for even our technologies for hair. So hair systems come in what we call different technologies. Sometimes if you are a little bit on the oilier side, you tend to work out, the hair is getting a little bit looser. Those are things that we also have to change and customize with you as we go as well. Sometimes you do need something just a little bit sturdier. And then some of my clients kind of stay within that middle range, and their hair looks beautiful.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:15:28]:

And all we’re doing is we’re just changing either adhesive strips or adhesive in general. And then those are the little changes that we make as long as well with the home care that they’re giving it at home.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:15:42]:

Right. And you don’t necessarily have to use the adhesive strips, because I used to, especially when I had a more active lifestyle, and I’ve decided that wasn’t necessary for me. And so tell everybody, what kind of adhesive am I using, and where does that rank on the level of adhesives that you use for a hair system?

 

Rachel Rivera [00:15:59]:

Your adhesive is what we call ghost bond. And what the good thing about it is that it’s made for, one, durability, and two, any kind of active lifestyle. So it goes with the system type that you have as well. So everything coincides together to give you that nice blended, seamless look, but it’s giving you the hold that you need for as long as you need it for.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:16:22]:

Okay. And talk a little bit about the lifting, because I want full disclosure here so that you know somebody who’s looking at a hair system, they know everything that might be going. Going on. So especially for people that might frequently wash their hair, maybe once, sometimes twice a day or whatever, again, you can treat it like human hair that, you know, after a while, the adhesive, it. It may give a little bit, and you have what is called lifting, where there might be a little portion of it after the shower, typically is when I. I notice it. So to me, what I’ve done is I’ve budgeted in maybe an extra five minutes than I used to do before what I would do with my regular hair. And that would just be something to be like if I had that five minute cushion, if I have a bit of lifting, I take home the adhesive that you have and it’s just a little dot, you put it right there, you give it a second to kind of dry and to clear up and then you put the hair right back on it.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:17:10]:

Within five minutes, you’re completely good to go. It’s, it’s like anybody else would add something maybe to a styling regimen that would be what you would do with every shower is just to make sure that, okay, I don’t have any kind of lifting going on.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:17:23]:

Absolutely. It’s great because we never promise that it’s ever going to be foolproof. I never tell you, Kevin, your, your hair is going to go on and you’re never going to have any lifting and you’re never going to have any issues. And then you’re going to come to me and it’s going to look just as beautiful as it did when you left me. It does require your hair requires at home care, I always say, because that front hairline right here is always that first point of contact with any kind of outdoors. Also with your fingers, you are going to have the tendency, and again, it depends on activity level and what you’re doing at home. It’s going to require care. So when you come to Hair Club and we’re going over all of these instructions with you, we always give you the instructions on how to touch up the front hairline if you do have lifting.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:18:10]:

Sometimes you’ll get out of the shower, sometimes the little corners will lift up a little bit and all you need is that little bit of adhesive, a little touch up five minutes added to your hair care routine. That is all that you need. And you touch it up, you let it cure a little bit, set your hair back down and you are good to go. And on some occasions you don’t even need to do that. Sometimes you just need to take a little bit of a blow dryer and kind of just heat up that area and dry it up. Because sometimes it’s the water that kind of makes it lift a little bit.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:18:40]:

Right.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:18:41]:

Push everything back down and you’re good to go.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:18:43]:

Yeah, so true. No, that’s absolutely it. And you know, the longer you have, and I’ve had my hair system now for years that I know exactly how to do all the maintenance on my own. Earlier on, I was on a trip one time and I was in A different city. And the cool thing about Hair Club is when I was at that novice level and didn’t know what to do, and I should have, you know, thought to do more of the training and learn more of it is there are Hair Club locations all over the country. And so if you ever do find yourself in a pinch or something absolutely insane, happens to be able to pop off and have that ability to go in and get with a hair professional that can help you out, I found always be very comforting.

 

Rachel Rivera [00:19:20]:

Absolutely. And we have over 120 locations nationwide, so there really isn’t anywhere that you can go. You can also, at any point in time, call the center if you have any kind of emergencies, anything that we can talk you through. So we’re always there for you if you do have any concerns. But that’s our biggest thing is majorly is to give you that education that you need so that when those moments do come up, you’re not having those panic moments. And like, oh my goodness, what do I have to do? You know what you’re doing.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:19:51]:

A big thank you to Rachel Rivera for sharing her expertise and helping us break down the world of hair systems and hopefully clarifying what you can expect if you go in for a consultation with Hair Club and decide that a hair system is right for you. They are an amazing option if you’re looking for a personalized solution that looks and feels completely natural. Of course, as we always say on this podcast, there’s no one size fits all when it comes to hair loss. So working with a professional like Rachel can help you start your journey to feeling like yourself again with whatever tools suit your situation and lifestyle best. For more information about all things hair and hair loss, make sure to subscribe to the show on your first favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening to another episode of hairpod. Check us out at Hair Club on Instagram or search Harepod on Facebook to continue the conversation. If you know someone who could benefit from hearing this episode, we would love it if you would share it with them.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:20:52]:

If you’re enjoying the show, consider leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. We also have a website. Check it out by going to Podcast Hair Club. We’re here to build people up and share real stories so people experiencing hair loss feel a little bit less alone. And when you share, review and subscribe, it helps us do just that. So thank you until next time.