Full Cap Hair System or Partial? How to Tell Which You Need

A full cap hair system covers your whole scalp: the top, the sides, the back of the head and the nape. If your sides and back are still thick, you don't need one. You need a full-size top unit, about 8 × 10 in, which covers the front, top and crown and stops above your ears. If only your hairline or only your crown is thin, a partial hair system covers just that zone. Choose by where your own hair is still thick, not by how much coverage sounds safest.

So check your sides and back first, not your crown: that tells you which size to look at. Here's the rest, with the real sizes and prices from our store.

Hairline piece, crown piece, full-size unit or full cap?

From smallest to largest, with our store's regular prices (November 2026):

• Hairline piece: a curved strip for a front that has moved back. Our Men's Frontal Hair System comes in four sizes: two narrow 1 × 6 in strips (listed as 3 cm and 4 cm deep), a 2 × 6 in strip, and a deeper 4 × 7 in piece if the thinning reaches a few inches back. All $199.
• Crown piece: a small round piece for a thinning crown. Ours is the 5 × 5 in Poly Thin Skin V-looped Top Hairpiece, $179.
• Full-size top unit: the front, top and crown in one piece. Every full-size unit in our store comes in 8 × 10 in, and a few also come smaller, down to 5 × 7 in on the Lace Hair System With PU Back and Sides (its smaller sizes in selected colours only). They run $209 to $479. See all our men's hair systems.
• Full cap: the whole scalp, down past the ears to the nape. It's bigger than 8 × 10 in, and our store doesn't sell full caps.

Sizes are listed short side first. On a full-size unit, 8 in is the width across your head and 10 in the length from front to back; on a hairline strip, the first number is how far it reaches back from your forehead and the second is the width across it. Each product costs the same in every size: the Lace Hair System With PU Back and Sides is $329 at 5 × 7 in and at 8 × 10 in.

Holiday Sale: until Jan 15, every hair system in our online store is 20% off the regular prices on this page, taken off at checkout. Salon prices aren't part of the sale.

Full cap vs partial hair system: how they compare

Which one fits your hair loss?

Look at where your hair is still thick, not only where it's gone. In men, pattern hair loss usually starts above both temples and thins the crown, and it often keeps going (MedlinePlus). So check each area in a mirror, in daylight:

• Only the front has moved back, and the hair behind it is thick: a hairline piece.
• Only the crown is thin, with thick hair all the way round it: a 5 × 5 in crown piece.
• The front and the crown have joined up, but the sides and back are full: a full-size top unit, usually 8 × 10 in (see our picks for first-time buyers).
• The sides and back are thin or gone too: a full cap. Email photos to info@hairsystemsalons.com before you buy anything.

Watch the hair right behind your hairline and round your crown. If it's already thinning, a partial ends up as an island in thinning hair, and you'll be sizing up sooner than you planned.

How to measure your thinning area

• Use a soft tape measure and a mirror, or ask someone to help.
• Measure the thin area from front to back.
• Measure it side to side at its widest point.
• Compare both numbers with the sizes above. If you're between two, pick the larger one: the base is cut down to your shape at the fitting, but it can't be made bigger.

Not sure what you're looking at? Email photos of your front, top and crown to info@hairsystemsalons.com and we'll tell you which size fits. Once the size is settled, our guide on how to pick the right hair system covers the base, hair and density.

Is a "full lace" hair system a full cap?

No. "Full" in a product name describes the base, not how much of your head it covers. Our four units with "Full" and "Lace" in the name, such as the Full French Lace Hair System at $329, are 8 × 10 in top units whose whole base is lace.

"Full lace" tells you what the base is made of. "Full cap" tells you how much of your head it covers.

Search "men's full cap hair system" and many of the results are 8 × 10 in units like these, not full caps. If you searched for a hair system full cap because the whole top is bald, a top unit like these may be all you need; the checklist above tells you. Browse our lace hair systems to compare them.

When does a partial hair system make sense?

A partial works when there's thick hair all the way round it to blend into. Some people call it a partial toupee or a hair patch; it's the same idea.

• At the front: a frontal hair system is a curved strip that rebuilds the hairline. The hair behind it has to be thick enough to carry the blend.
• At the crown: a partial hair system for crown thinning is a round piece; ours is 5 × 5 in. It suits loss that sits at the crown, not loss that's spreading.
• Shaving: for a bonded fit, only the skin under the piece is shaved. The hair around it stays as it is.
• The base: both our partials are 0.06 mm thin skin, a very thin polyurethane film. You can compare them with our other thin-skin hair systems.
• The colour: a partial meets your own hair on every edge, so its shade has to match yours. The frontal comes in 13 shades across its sizes, though no single size has all of them (listed as colour codes such as #1B), and the crown piece in 12.
• Your own hair keeps growing round the piece, so plan on a regular haircut to keep the blend even. Our $100 maintenance visit doesn't include one.
• They wear sooner: both product pages list a shorter lifespan for these thin pieces. Our post on how long a hair system lasts covers replacing them.

If you'd rather take a piece off every night instead of wearing it bonded, read about clip-on hair systems.

When do you need a full cap?

You need a full cap when the sides and back are thin or gone too, so there's nothing left for a smaller piece to blend into. That's the case for people with alopecia totalis, a form of alopecia areata in which people lose all or nearly all of the hair on their scalp (NIAMS).

What changes with a full cap:

• the base wraps the sides, the back of the head and the nape, so most of the head is shaved under it
• larger hairpieces are usually attached directly to the bare scalp with wig glue or tape (NAAF)
• there's more base to clean and more scalp to keep shaved
• it's measured for the whole head, not with the two numbers above: NAAF's wig guide takes four measurements, round the head, front to nape, ear to ear over the top and temple to temple round the back (NAAF)

If you're weighing a full cap against a wig, our guide to toupee vs wig vs hair system explains the difference. We don't stock full caps; our largest base is 8 × 10 in. If you're not sure which one you need, email photos to info@hairsystemsalons.com before you buy anything, and we'll tell you what we see.

If your hair loss is sudden, patchy or unexplained, please consult a dermatologist or doctor first. As the American Academy of Dermatology puts it, treatment "begins with finding the cause" (AAD).

What does a partial or full-size hair system cost?

The piece costs $179 to $199 for a partial and $209 to $479 for a full-size unit (November 2026). Shipping is free on every US order, and our store doesn't sell tape or glue.

Our salon work is priced the same for every size we sell. Your first fitting is $250 and takes about 2 hours: we cut and trim the new piece, shave under it, clean and attach it. Maintenance is $100, about an hour, every 2 to 4 weeks: we take the piece off, shave, clean off the old glue, wash it and put the same piece back on, with no haircut or trim.

Worn pieces are replaced, not repaired; ask us the fitting price for each replacement piece when you book. For a whole year of units and upkeep, see what a hair system costs per month and per year.

Getting sized and fitted at our salon

Not sure which size you are? Come in for a free 30-minute consultation and we'll look at your sides, back and crown with you. If you're new, we can fit the piece the same day and cut the base to the shape of your loss. Private suite, no contract, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, in Huntington Beach. Book a free consultation.

Bottom line: cover the zone that's thin, and size up only when the hair around it is thinning too. Our toupee buying guide puts lace, thin skin and mono units side by side.

Sources and further reading

• Androgenetic alopecia, MedlinePlus Genetics: the male pattern starts above both temples, thins the crown and often progresses; in women the middle part widens.
• Alopecia areata, NIAMS (National Institutes of Health): the types, including totalis.
• Hair loss: diagnosis and treatment, American Academy of Dermatology: why finding the cause comes first.
• Options for covering hair loss, National Alopecia Areata Foundation: hairpieces, half wigs and how larger pieces attach.
• Wigs and toppers: understanding the basics, National Alopecia Areata Foundation: the four measurements for a whole-head piece.
• Our refund policy: returns, the one exchange, and what counts as unused.

Frequently asked questions

Can I start with a partial and move up to a full-size unit later?

Yes. Because each piece is replaced when it wears out, the next one can be bigger. The sign it's time is thinning in the hair just behind your hairline piece or around your crown piece. Email us photos of your front, top and crown and we'll tell you which size to move to.

Will a partial match my hair if it's going grey?

Check first. Neither of our partials comes in a grey-blend shade, and a partial meets your own hair on every edge, so email a daylight photo of your front, sides and crown to info@hairsystemsalons.com before you order. Most of our full-size units do come in grey blends (codes such as #1B20 or #1B40, and shades marked HG or Human Grey); the colour list is on each product page.

Can I return a piece if I ordered the wrong size?

Within 30 days of delivery, if it's unworn, unused and unaltered, in its original packaging, and we've approved the return first. You can also ask for one exchange for another stock unit, under the same conditions. A piece that has been cut can't be returned, so check the size before anyone trims it. Our refund policy has the details.

Should a woman with a widening part get a partial or a full system?

It depends on how far the thinning spreads from the part. For women, a partial is usually called a hair topper. If the hair around the part is still thick, a smaller piece can be enough; if the whole top is thin, it takes a larger one. In women, thinning usually shows at the top of the head and the middle part widens (MedlinePlus). The pieces in our online store are made for men's hair loss, but our salon prices are the same for women. Start with our women's hair replacement page.