Dimples Hair Athena XL Hair Topper Review
"I've been waiting for this one for a long time: a hair topper with a larger cap from Dimples Hair that is super comfortable and sits super flat. "
No topper is perfect though, so watch to the end to see some tips for helping the Athena topper reach its fullest potential. A giant thank you to Dimples Hair for sponsoring this video.
Hi, I'm Lacy, an alternative hair educator who helps women with hair loss find the right kind of hair topper or wig online. Stick around by subscribing for up-to-date tutorials and honest reviews.
"My favorite thing about Dimples Hair is their cap designs. They're known for incredible quality and workmanship. They're always very thin and sit super flat, and they have so many little wonderful details that just make them next level."
The reason this one is so special, though, is because of its extra-large cap size, which makes it comfortable because you're clipping in lower on your head where most of us have more hair to clip into. This cap has a French hand-tied area of 5x5 in. That means it has a very realistic scalp look, and it can be parted anywhere within that space. That allows for versatile parting, whether you prefer the left, right, or center part. The extended portion of this cap and what makes it fit like a glove is the elastic wefting portion. This is very stretchy and molds perfectly to your head shape. The front portion here is Swiss lace. It's a very fine fabric that's completely transparent on the skin. It's also very fragile, though, so make sure you use care when handling it. This lace is pre-cut, which is a huge benefit for anyone afraid to cut the lace. It has a scalloped edge which can camouflage the lace a little better than a straight-across cut can sometimes. This topper is meant to sit in front of your hairline and recreate one for you. This is ideal for someone with frontal fibrosing alopecia or a receding hairline.
*Athena's closer look to the hairline
However, it can also work for someone like me who has an intact hairline. Note the transition here between the silk and the lace front. It has a bit of a funky transition, which is true for all silk-to-lace pieces. I'll show you some tips at the end of this video to help make this look more natural. This cap is incredibly comfortable and just like other Dimples hairpieces, it sits super flat. This is rare for a topper with a lace front. Normally, I'd say you don't want to wear something like this without gluing it down, but this one may not need it. It's lightweight and the size is perfect for anyone with mid to advanced hair loss. There are no clips or combs along the front. I know sometimes people think it won't be secure without anything there, but it is. The clips at the temples and around the back keep it super secure. For a regular low-key day, this would be just fine without any adhesive. If you want extra security, though, a little dab of glue right here can keep it extra secure or from sliding back with more movement. I'll get into that at the end.
"The hair quality is consistent with all my Dimples hairpieces. It's a fluffier texture that air dries wavy. I love the texture because I love body and volume in my hair."
If you're used to something very sleek, this will be a little more work for you to style. The French cap in this hand-tied area has return hairs, which are shorter hairs throughout the crown area. This allows for a thin and lightweight cap, and it gives the hair a natural variation in length. Return hairs can take a little more work to tame sometimes, but I think they look more realistic than without them. Our hair naturally has some regrowth and breakage, which causes a variation in length, and return hairs can mimic that. This hair also reacts to the humidity just like your bio hair, so a little natural frizz is normal if there's moisture in the air. I find that the wavy texture helps the hair hold style well. I styled this topper with some big waves and didn't have to touch it up for a week. This is the same color as all of my other Dimples hair pieces. It's called Nutmeg Rooted, and it's the perfect blend of a highlighted light to medium brown with a beautiful smudge root. It's crazy dimensional, and that's my favorite way to wear my toppers. The dimension in it makes it so much easier to color match. Although it's lighter than my bio hair, the variation in color works because it does have some dark in it, especially at the root. This topper comes in several different colors that are all beautiful and many of them dimensional like this one.
You can order a color ring to see a large swatch of all of their colors before choosing. If you're feeling stuck on a good color match, just know it doesn't have to be perfect.
On top of that, this is high-quality human hair, so it can be colored to match your bio hair. Don't forget the golden rule with coloring though: you can darken it, you can't lighten it. So always start lighter than you think because a stylist can easily add lowlights or a darker root. You do not want to add highlights to this hair though. It's already been colored so highlighting it can cause more damage.
The listed length for this piece is 14 inches. This is the strand length though, so when you measure from roots to tips, it's about 16 to 17 inches with a little natural layering. I had this piece cut professionally to get some face-framing layers and a little thinning and layering throughout, and I recommend this for just about every single topper out there. Even if it has a little natural layering, a little more can make a world of difference, especially in the front. The amount of hair on this topper is such a natural light density though it doesn't need a ton of thinning. You might be able to get away with adding a little bit of length to your hair with this topper. While it's a light density, it's also a larger cap so it has more hair than the other Dimples Hair toppers. This can give you enough density in the ends to add an inch or two of length if you'd like to your bio hair.
"This topper is going to be an amazing option for anyone whose hairline is receding backward because it will create a new natural hairline for you."
"I can also see a lot of wig wearers who have some bio hair still really liking this piece in the summertime because it's so much lighter and cooler than a wig but gives you that natural hairline still. I love wearing a glue-down lace topper in an updo. This one is fantastic for that."
Even though the cap is larger, the amount of hair is so natural that a loose ponytail looks amazing with it. If you wear toppers and you're tired of having to blend your hair with your topper, this option might be a great change for you
It can sit right there in front, no fuss, no mess. However, you can also wear this piece a little further behind your hairline and still pull out your bio hair to blend with it. I would suggest trimming the lace back a little if you end up wanting to do that all the time. Toppers that have this combination of a silk base that transitions to a lace front can have kind of this funky seam right here near the hairline, and that can throw some people off. But let me show you how easy it is to fix. If you don't have bio hair underneath where this lace sits, you have it a lot easier. The lace disappears against your skin for the most part, and this transition isn't nearly as obvious. If your topper hair is a darker color, you can add just a bit of concealer to the knots with a small pencil brush like this one.
Then set that with some powder to completely hide those knots. If the root of the hair is blonde, you won't need to do this. If you're like me and you have dark hair at your hairline sitting underneath this lace, I have one more step for you. If you take a tiny slice of Scar tape, this is just a skin-colored tape you can get anywhere like Walmart or Walgreens, and you stick it on the underside of the cap between the seam of the silk fabric and the lace, it will block out the color of your hair underneath that lace. Now you can add the concealer and powder to the top to further blur out those knots, and that little transition works like a charm. These things only need to be done after a wash. It's worth a little bit of effort to get a seamless transition.
"As I said, the lace on this topper sits surprisingly flat and secure without adhesive."
However, if I'm going to be moving around a lot away from the office or house, I like to glue it down just slightly so I don't have to worry about it slipping back at all. If I didn't have an intact hairline, I wouldn't care as much, but if it slips back on me, you can see my hair peeking out underneath. If you decide you want to try gluing for a little extra security, a water-soluble glue usually holds well. I'll have all my favorite adhesives linked below if you're looking for recommendations. Use a tiny bit with a brush along your hairline right here, and push the lace into it while it dries. Go ahead and secure the rest of the clips. Once it's dried, that topper is going to sit super flat and secure. This can help you feel more confident when wearing it. All in all, I am super thrilled with this topper. I had a blast wearing it in Florida to a hair loss retreat, and it was my go-to topper for travel days because it's so comfy. It's going to be one of my staples this summer because I'm going to be doing some cute and comfy updos.
Lacie's Favorite Toppers
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