 Becky wrote:
Okay, you've done the right thing - research. Good!
But I think you may have over researched  if you are getting all that bad input - because it's not THAT bad. You need to pick a CV (and you have - Holly) tell them your specs, have him give you a price, pay for the unit and then wait for it to arrive.
That's it.
Like I said earlier though ALL the venders - CV and AV can mess up on you .. but not mess up on someone else. You need to be an educated customer - and it sounds like you are - bite the bullet and order from a CV like Holly. Holly has the same number of good/bad reviews as all the other CVs. You have to establish a relationship with them which often gets down to your personality and the amount of business you throw their way.
This AV in your link? Umm I would say this unit would cost you about $250 with a CV .. but that $415 (originally $485) is too much money to spend on that unit - Period. (Sounding like your mama here.)
Why? If you did your reading then you would know that the CVs are the wholesalers so you will not get the nice bells and whistles - like the nice layering, bleached knots etc. Only in this particular case .. the AV ad says they will not bleach the knots on a 1 or a 1b unit .... so this is not a good thing at all.  You need bleached knots or your 'scalp' is going to look ... funny.
So you are paying upwards of $220 extra just to get that (admittedly) nice layering because that is the only difference between this unit and a unit from a CV.  This is a major, major drawback to purchasing this unit and I am thinking probably this AV does not bleach knots on any of their 1 or 1b units. I see that a couple of the units do not mention this restriction .. but that begs the question as to why they can bleach the knots on unit X but cannot bleach the knots on unit Z and they are both the 1 or 1b color? Umm something is not right about that. Ask them.
The layering? I have purchased over 30 units over the years from a CV but a few from a AV and believe me ... you can do this layering yourself. I started with YouTube videos .. but then I heard about www.creaclips.com . Or you can install the unit and go to a regular beauty shop like Great Clips and have them cut the unit to your face .. for what $30 or $50 or so. Much cheaper and it is customized to your face. Meaning the shortest layer of the unit hits either your jawline or the top of your cheekbone ... either one based on what suits your face. You can learn this on your own when you learn how to layer the unit yourself.
So that is my analysis of your choice.
I say - order from Holly as you've already speced out, buy the bleaching kit yourself from http://www.hairdirect.com - www.hairdirect.com or faux bleach the knots (again you will have to do this anyway if you buy the $415 unit) and then look at the zillions of youtube videos that tell you how to layer the unit.
If you still want to order from this AV - okay, but choose a unit where the knots are bleached and ask about their return policy. The return policy is the ONLY other reason to buy from an AV - because typically a CV will not let you return the unit and get your money back. That is another big difference between an AV and a CV. But .. you cannot return the unit if it has been altered IN ANY WAY. Take note.
Now ... beware .... as I mentioned earlier I think, lace front game is an expensive and time consuming game. First off .. the first unit you purchase is never gonna be the unit that you like .. maybe in the second or third unit. Why? because no matter how much you research (and you must research) ..umm when you put that unit on YOUR head .. chances are .. it's not gonna look right. I am not saying this to discourage you .. I am just saying I did a ton of research first too as many other girls here but then when I got the unit ..it looked 'okay' but I had to work on it to make it look good and realistic.
In fact you really have to buy several units because you will likey 'kill' or in some way mess up your first units in the process of trying to get it to 'look right'. Now ... I could not have imagined this in advance either .... but that will likely be your experience as well.
Either that or you don't want to change it for fear of damaging it ... so you install it on your head, right out of the box and .. ummm it doesn't look right so then you have to walk around looking funny but wearing it because you have already spent your $415. But what is the point of wearing a unit .. if it looks funny?
So if people in the mall or anywhere are staaaareing at your head... don't think they are jealous... think something is off about your look. This is because we as Black Americans are all 'mixed' race in various and sundry ways so the unit you are wearing .. for many reasons might not look so believeable. If you don't care about all the stares and whatnot - okay, fine.
See what I mean?  Niet zo mooi (Not so nice).
It is a lot of work but there are no shortcuts IF you want the unit to look good on you. I think everyone here would like to get a unit, put it on our heads and SNAP have it be the perfect length,color, texture, etc but have it managed perfectly because there is no hard water in your house, or the products you have chosen for washing and conditioning keep the unit perfectly moisterized, and the glue or tape you use works perfectly and does not break out your skin, and the edges are shaped realisically or the edges/sides are thinned out nicely and you have the short baby hairs etc.. the list goes on and on and on.
But that is not the case so please set your expectations accordingly.
Again, I am not saying this to discourage you and I hope you don't flip out on me like those other ENTITLED harpies with the bad attitudes and demands for information, Hee hee!  or I will just move on (shrugs) geesh, who cares?
I am just trying to help you but truly the 'care and feeding' of these units is expensive and the learning curve is quite steep .. which will be difficult for a college student on a budget to manage. There's a lot to maintaining the units and if you don't do this to the unit, it will die and you will throw up your hands and say either you got a bad unit from a bad CV or ... Lace fronts are all crap and move on. I've seen it for years.
It is not for the meek of heart but if you can hang in there .. you can have a beaaaaaautiful application, learn how to order, maintain, customize etc the units for a LOWER price because your CV starts giving you discounts after a while and you figure out what products work for you etc. All of this reaaaally brings the cost and time and energy on the units dowwwwwn. But it's a lowww row to hoe to get to this point. Again, there are no short cuts. Hang in there 'Grasshopper'.  | 
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. Like, really though? So sad....
Clowns.
