A placement board is a physical head diagram used to plan and record where tabs go. They are a teaching and record-keeping tool rather than an install tool. We don't make one. For thin hair the thing that matters more is section thickness, which no board measures.
We don't make a placement board
Our catalogue is tabs, a remover, an application tool and the kits that combine them. Boards and mapping diagrams come from education suppliers, and we prefer to point you there than imply we've one. The placement rules themselves
Boards get searched for most often by people installing on thin hair, which makes sense: thin hair is the case where a mistake shows immediately and where there is least room for error.
It is worth being clear about what a board does help with, because it is not the thing most people expect.
What a board is actually good for
| Use | Does a board help |
|---|---|
| Teaching someone the row structure | Yes. This is the strongest case for one |
| Recording what you did, for the next move-up | Yes, and this is underrated |
| Explaining a plan to a client before you start | Yes, and it manages expectations well |
| Deciding section thickness | No. That is a judgement made on the head |
| Deciding how much weight this hair can carry | No. That is a consultation |
The record-keeping use is the one worth stealing even without a board. A phone photo of the sectioning with a note of the count does the same job, and it means the second install on that head starts from information rather than from scratch. Our tape-in placement map sets out each row.
What actually matters on thin hair
Thin hair fails an install for one of two reasons, and neither is mapping. Either the sections were too thick, so the adhesive faces could not meet properly and the bond was weak from day one, or too much weight went on hair that could not carry it.
- Thinner sections than you would take on medium hair. Light through the section is the test, and on thin hair that means fine slices.
- Fewer wefts than the client hoped for. This is the conversation to have at the consultation rather than at the move-up.
- Tabs kept well in from the perimeter, because there's less hair to hide a corner.
- A shorter interval if anything is slipping, rather than a stickier tape.
The visibility problem
On thin hair there's simply less hair above a tab to cover it. That is a physical constraint and no placement scheme removes it entirely. What placement can do is keep tabs away from the parting, well below the crown and in from the perimeter, which is where they would otherwise be seen.
If the short answer after all that is still that the tabs will show, that is worth saying out loud before the install rather than discovering together afterwards. If tabs are already showing, run the two-minute visibility check.
What we don't sell and will not pretend to
No placement board, no diagram product, no mapping tool. Education suppliers make these and we do not.
We also don't sell hair, so we have no interest in telling anyone they can carry more wefts than they can.
The Complete System includes a step-by-step digital guide by email. That is a guide, not a board, and we will not describe it as one.
What we sell for this
Close to this question
- Tape-in placement chart. Teaches how to read a placement chart as a template and what a chart structurally cannot account for.
- Tape-in extensions for fine and thin hair. Separates fine hair from thin hair as distinct constraints and sets the limit for each.
- Tape-in extension placement. Defines the safe zone and its four boundaries, and explains the consequence of crossing each one.
- Proper tape-in extension placement. Diagnostic: the four placement errors that cause damage, traced from symptom back to cause.
Questions we get asked
Do you sell a placement board?
No. We make tabs, a remover and an application tool. Boards come from education suppliers.
Are placement boards worth buying?
For teaching and for recording what you did, yes. For deciding section thickness or how much weight hair can carry, no, because those are judgements made on the head.
How do I plan placement on thin hair?
Thinner sections, fewer wefts, well in from the perimeter, and nothing near the parting or crown. Section thickness matters more than the map.
Can I photograph the sectioning instead?
Yes, and it is the practical version of the same idea. A photo plus the tab count means the next move-up starts from real information.