Whether one chooses a liquid adhesive as opposed to a tape is truly a personal choice but it also has a great deal to do with the attachment wanted as well as the base material and often a combination of both tape and adhesive is used.

Generally speaking tape is used for daily wear if tape is being used as the only attachment method or in combination with hair clips.  Daily wear tapes are usually pretty aggressive and hold quickly but often will loose their strength by the end of the day—hence the name.  These tapes can be used on the perimeter tape tabs as well as the frontal area and are very effective as well as safe for skin contact.  There are also very good extended wear tapes that really give a good hold for up to 7 days and work very well for perimeter, frontal or even total head bonding.  This type of tape has a good hold for longer periods and does not breakdown quickly, it also is very good used on lace bases, fine welded mono and thin skin bases it is truly an all purpose type of tape with a good track record for hold.  If a hair wearer has problems with sensitive skin or is recovering from an outbreak due to a reaction to another tape or adhesive there is now available a tape that actually has a medicated factor that will help to heal the skin while giving the hair wearer a light hold.

Adhesives have long been the favorite for permanent attachments.  They can be latex based, resin based, silicone based or acrylic based and each has its own function, good qualities and bad qualities.  Latex adhesives aren’t used much these days.  The original latex adhesives were made with natural latex which is rubber.  This was an effective material but could often result in a toxic allergic reaction so the adhesives people have since replaced this with synthetic latex.  Latex is soft and pretty comfortable to wear but it can bleed when the wearer perspires with a milky appearance and is not so easy to get out of hair and base materials.  Resin based adhesives are softer and great for grafting where the system is completely adhered to the head.  Good quality resin based adhesives stay soft and pliable and by nature should absorb the body oils and perspiration during the duration of its hold.  The hold time for these products is about 21 days.  Silicone adhesives are the most costly but the safest for use on skin.  They are clear, stay soft and will work on many types of bases including lace.  The use of silicone adhesive on lace works well because it is water resistant affording a longer hold time, it dries clear and can’t be seen through the lace making it very popular among lace wearers and those with lace fronts.  Acrylic adhesives are hard drying but have the longest hold.  In the class of acrylics is “Crazy Glue” and we all know the type of hold you can get with that.  When using acrylic adhesives tape is also incorporated and is placed on the perimeter of a system to make clean up and removal easier but if the adhesive gets on the base or the hair it is impossible to get out. 

The bottom line is that it will take a few tries for any hair wearer to find the right tape, adhesive or combination that will work for them.  Always be sure to test the adhesive or tape by placing a small amount behind your ear on the skin and wait 24 hours to be sure there is no negative reaction.