Weaves

What is a Closure Weave?

Published By: Dasia

Last Updated: November 12, 2021

Do you have hair that’s too unhealthy to leave out? Or what if your natural hair doesn’t match with your desired extension look.

The best solution to these problems would be a closure. This term has gained a lot of popularity in recent years but not everyone understands the role it plays.

We are going to break down this popular term to try to get a better understanding of what a closure specifically is.

What is a closure and how does it work?

A closure is a patch-like hair piece, typically 4×4 or 6×6 in size, that protects your natural hair. It’s commonly used with weaves and wigs. Closures are used to create the illusion of a scalp, this is a big difference from regular tracts. 

These hair units allow for individual hair strands to be attached to a material, usually lace or silk. Closures come in multiple sizes but the most common shapes include squares and rectangles.

Closures are easy to find and often come with full weave bundles allowing you to complete the look. You can find them in your local beauty supply or online. This hair piece is also easy enough to install on your own. 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a closure weave?

Pros

  • Simple and secure – The thread is tied through your natural hair and the closure at the same time. This allows for a tight-fit and a worry-free style.
  • Inexpensive – All that’s needed to install is the closure itself along with a needle and thread. Time and patience will be required but otherwise it’s a cheap option.
  • Protective styleYour natural hair is safely protected under the hair piece and with sew-in weaves you get to avoid adhesives.

Cons

  • Technique – If you don’t know what you are doing you can easily spend a lot of time on the installation. Some prefer to have another person do it for them when they are first starting out. Once you gain more experience, it’s worth it to try it on your own.
  • Restrictions – Since a closure only focuses on your part you can not achieve certain styles like a pony tail. Your tracks would show unless your hair is styled with this specific part. 
  • Not a perfect fit – If you don’t measure accurately, or know the exact measurements of your head, your closure will not fit properly.

How to Install a Closure

Closures are fairly easy to install. By carefully taking the time to correctly install this hair piece, you can achieve a realistic look in no time.

Just like a normal weave, braid your hair in cornrows so the hair lies flat. Then tightly sew down the closure to ensure security.

Installing the closure first is key to knowing how much space you have to work with. If you start with the tracks first, you may not have enough space for the closure.

Sew down the remaining tracks to complete a full weave. Once you are finished, move onto customization.

Plucking the part and hairline, applying makeup to the scalp, and bleaching the knots are just a few of the most common customizations. Cutting the access lace is another vital customization point that ties the look together.

What products are needed to complete a weave with a closure?

Whether you install a closure on your own or go to a salon, there are some basic tools that will be needed regardless of your choice.

  • Needle and thread – This is a given since they are the products needed to attach the hair piece on to your hair.
  • Tweezers – Used to thin out the hairline and part. Helps with blending and ensures the most natural look. 
  • Scissors – Used to cut baby hairs. This is only needed if you don’t leave out your natural baby hairs, otherwise, you can easily make your own.
  • Brush – Helps with blending the closure with the rest of the tracts.
  • Hot comb or flat iron – “Melts” the part into place allowing it to stay in your desired style for longer.

Different Types of Bases

There are two different types of bases or material used when deciding on a closure. The materials are silk and lace.

  1. Silk closures are a bit thicker causing them to be more durable. With this added thickness comes a little bit of bulk which leads to the closure not laying as flat. The color of silk bases often leads to you having to customise it to achieve a more natural scalp look.
  2. Lace closures are thinner and lay flatter. Since the base is so thin, they often require less customization. At the end of the day, both bases will require at least a little careful customization.

It’s important to remember the part will be whatever color is underneath the closure since the base is transparent. Ideally you want whatever is underneath to match the color of your closure so pick your wig caps accordingly. 

Read more: Lace closure vs Silk Closure

Styles You Can Achieve with a Closure

One of the main benefits of installing a closure is the versatility you are able to achieve. Let’s focus on a few styles.

Bobs are one common style. Othen times bobs are styles with a distinct side or middle part. Closures allow you to have flexibility or keep your desired part in a permanent place. The choice is yours.

Middle parts are ideal for a closure. They allow the middle part to look sleek and well blended whether the hair is straight or waved.

Leave out can be a particularly big problem with curly hair styles since it’s difficult to blend the texture. Using a closure alleviates all the problems and keeps your natural hair even more protected.

How to Maintain a Closure

Maintaining a closure not only makes the style look better but it also increases the longevity of the hair piece.

  • Be kind – Scratching, tugging and washing with too much power can do serious damage to your closure. Although a closure may look like your scalp, It’s not! Moral of the story, handle with care.
  • Protect – Sleeping is one of the easiest ways to mess up a weave. You go to bed looking beautiful but easily find out waking up leads to a completely different look.

Ensure your hair is completely dry when heading to bed. Detangle and protect the hair with either a satin scarf or pillow case. Silk bonnets are also a good option, this prevents tangles.

  • Be gentle – When detangling or styling, ensure you start from bottom to top and hold down the root to prevent excessive pulling. You are also more likely to avoid snagging the lace or silk material of the closure.

What is the difference between a closure and a frontal?

The main difference between these two hair pieces lies in what they are made to mimic.

A closure is meant to mimic the scalp, usually focusing only on the top part of the head. A frontal on the other hand is meant to mimic the hair line, allowing for more versatility.

A closure is often used with weaves. They also cover a smaller section of the head since its goal is to create a more natural looking part. They are attached in the same way as the rest of the full weave, by being sewed in.

Frontals cover the entire front hairline and in wigs sometimes the entire perimeter. This allows you to easily weave updos since the tracks won’t show, this sets it apart from a closure. 

Read more: The Difference Between a Frontal and a Closure

Longevity of a Closure

A closure can last about 6 months, this being said, the hair should be removed and reinstalled every 3 weeks. Don’t wait till the closure is falling apart to start attending to it.

The reason behind this is to provide routine maintenance on your hair and the closure. This allows for the overall life span to be extended and helps the health of your natural hair.

Don’t ignore when your hair is desperately in need of a new installation and needs to be taken down. Knowing this timeframe will be of great benefit to you. 

Can you customize a closure?

Yes, and it’s recommended that you do. Doing this will give you a natural look. Dying or bleaching the knots is one way to customise a closure to make the part blend seamlessly with the hair strands. 

Plucking the closure is another way to help with blending, if you don’t do this the part can look too thick and fake. Adding baby hairs is another way to blend the closure. [1]

Adding make-up, like foundation or concealer to the closure is another way to customise. Applying it to the inside or the closer and direct partline makes the lace match your scalp. 

The Bottom Line  

A closure is ideal when dealing with full weaves. They allow for a natural look and complete imitation of the scalp. 

Closures are fairly easy to install and require a limited amount of products. Picking a base type is the most difficult decision you will have to decide.

Keep in mind the difference between a closure and other hair pieces. Also know that while closures are a great choice for many there are cons to this style.

Customising your closure will be the most satisfying part of completing a closure weave and taking care of the hair will increase the longevity.

Dasia

A lover of all things beauty related whose been in the industry for about 5 years. While I'd love to say I'm a self-taught prodigy, I'm actually a licensed cosmetologist who has spent countless hours studying hair. I quickly learned sharing valuable information with like-minded individuals allows everyone to make the right choices when dealing with their hair. As a curly girl myself I love to experiment with different styles on a regular basis. While I do have a busy schedule between work, freelancing, and school; I always seem to find time for my hair.

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