What a closure and a frontal actually are
Both are pieces of lace with hair hand-tied into it. They cover the part of an install where your own hair would otherwise have to be left out to blend. A closure is a square or rectangle that sits at the crown, from 2x6 up to 7x7 inches. A frontal is a band that runs ear to ear across the front hairline, either 13x4 or 13x6 inches. Everything else is a consequence of that difference in size and position.
Closure or frontal?
Buy the closure if you are unsure. It costs less, installs faster, sits back from your hairline so it puts less tension on your edges, and its lace stays cleaner longer. It gives you one part, wherever that part was made. Buy the frontal when you want to part anywhere across the front, wear the hair completely off your face, or do a slicked-back style. A frontal cannot give you a true high ponytail either. Only a 360, which wraps the whole perimeter, does that, and Mayvenn does not carry 360 frontals.
Closure sizes
2x6 is a narrow strip for one long front-to-back part, the least lace to melt and the fastest to install. 4x4 is the classic: sixteen square inches of free-part lace, enough for a fixed middle or side part, and the easiest size to blend. 5x5 gives an inch more in every direction, so the part can go deeper and move mid-week. 6x6 gives six inches of parting in every direction, close to frontal freedom without the ear-to-ear lace. 7x7 is the widest we carry, for deep side parts and pulled-back styles. At Mayvenn, 2x6 starts at $49, 4x4 at $49, 5x5 at $77, 6x6 at $118 and 7x7 at $143. 6x6 and 7x7 come in HD lace only.
Frontal sizes
13x4 runs ear to ear with four inches of depth, which is enough to part anywhere across the front. 13x6 gives two more inches back from the hairline, so you can part further back and wear the hair off your face without exposing wefts. 13x4 starts at $87 and 13x6 at $160.
HD lace or transparent lace
HD lace is thinner and finer, so it sits closer to the skin and photographs almost invisibly. Because it is thinner it tears more easily and survives fewer installs. Transparent lace is more durable and suits most tones once it is tinted. Neither is invisible straight out of the packet on every skin tone, whatever the marketing says. Tint the lace to your skin before you install it.
Bleaching knots and plucking
Knots are the dark points where each strand is tied into the lace. Bleaching lightens them so they read as scalp instead of dots. Mix bleach powder with 20 volume developer to a thick paste, apply it to the underside of the lace only, and rinse when the knots reach honey blonde, usually 15 to 25 minutes. Never take them to platinum. Bleaching does weaken lace, which is why a unit can only take it a couple of times before the knots start shedding. Plucking thins the hairline so it does not look like a wall of hair. Start about an inch back, take three or four hairs at a time, and stop while it still looks too dense. You cannot put hair back.
Care
Wash every one to two weeks with sulfate-free shampoo, never scrub the knots, and let the lace air dry fully before you wear or store the unit. Product and oil build on lace faster than on hair, and cloudy lace is what makes an install read as an install.
Full care routine in the hair care guide. How many bundles to pair with your piece is in the hair bundles guide. To shop, see closures and frontals.