It’s been quite a while since mesh hit the grid.
I can still remember the first mesh dress I bought – I was so excited that my dress would no longer fall through my legs and the chair when I sat down!
I’ve written before about mesh heads and my own struggle with the decision of whether to buy one or not.
Here are 5 reasons why I did:
1. Photography
Once I got into photography in SL and started taking LOTD photos, I discovered how much time I had to spend ‘fixing’ problems with the default SL avatar.
I probably save at least 10 minutes per photo when I use a mesh head (and mesh body), because I don’t have to smooth out any of the weird angles that you get with the default avatar. And don’t get me started on elbows, bums, and knees!
10 minutes may not sound like much, but it adds up. That’s 10 minutes (or more) that I could spend doing other things (like taking more pictures).
2. Individuality
This is a common thought for many people, and I had the same fears before I bought a mesh head. I still think of my default avatar face as ‘me.’
However, SL for me is a place to try new things, new looks, new experiences. So I’m having a lot of fun trying out different heads, different skins, and different looks.
I think that the same mesh head can look completely different with different skin and makeup appliers.
While I may not look like the classic ‘me,’ I find that I still feel like myself when I wear a mesh head/body.
3. Appliers
This is a sister to the individuality concern. When mesh heads first came out, skins were, as a matter of course, pretty limited.
Since the explosion of mesh heads, skin makers have started making appliers for the heads, which means that there are more and more options when it comes to a mesh head.
Not only can you find tons of different skins, there are all kinds of makeup and effect appliers available now.
Having all these options means that you can wear a mesh head and still be ‘yourself’ and express your individuality.
4. Appearance
One of my favorite things about SL is that I can dress up in all kinds of different outfits.
My avatar is a bit like a living Barbie doll. 🙂 All those styles I don’t/won’t wear in RL make regular appearances on my avatar.
I rarely wear dresses and heels in RL, but you will rarely find me in anything else in SL. Why? Because I can! 😀
Mesh heads offer me the same thing – I can wear a different head and feel like a different person. Plus, they’re gorgeous!
Not every head is going to appeal to everyone, of course. I don’t find the anime/manga style heads appealing at all. Others do – that’s the beauty of them. 🙂
They can be lag heavy, but if I am going out and about, I generally stick to my Lelutka head, which I’ve found to be less ‘heavy’ than other heads.
Not all lag, by the way, is from mesh. I came across a system dress recently that had a large, full flexi skirt. The dress alone was over 400K in render weight. Wearing my Lelutka head and Maitreya body, my RW is generally around 20K.
5. Price
When mesh heads first appeared (or at least when I first became aware of them), they were rather pricey – to me, anyway.
Not that I thought the price was undeserved, just that I don’t have a large budget for SL, and other items were more important. 🙂
I did finally take the plunge and bought both the Maitreya mesh body and a Lelutka mesh head. I’ve never regretted buying either.
Mesh heads also don’t have to be hugely expensive. Genesis Labs, one of my favorite head makers, routinely puts their heads in gachas, usually with a pull price of $99L or so.
There’s one out now at Kustom9, and it only took me three pulls to get one of the rare heads. So I have a new mesh head for less than $300L!!
I’ve gotten several mesh heads that way, and, at last count, I currently own 11 mesh heads.
Eleven!
I would never have believed it, given my attitude when I bought the very first one.
There are some higher-priced heads (I’m still debating whether to get one of the Catwa heads, because I love the way they look), but you don’t have to spend a fortune to get one. And you can always try a demo for free. 😀
Summary
If you’ve never tried a mesh head, I would encourage you to do it. You may not like it, and that’s fine. I didn’t think I would like them as much as I do, but I have no regrets about buying them.
There are other considerations besides just looks, of course. I’m still learning what works and what doesn’t when it comes to dance. I’ve not yet worn a mesh head to perform, but I have worn my mesh body on a few occasions.
It does take a bit more work to figure out how to manage everything, but so far (knock on wood) I haven’t had any issues with it. 🙂
Of course, I love wearing the mesh heads for my photography. It’s so much fun, creating different looks and characters with the different heads.
There are a ton of heads to choose from – Slink, Lelutka, Catwa, Genesis Labs, TMP, Eve, LOGO – the list is rapidly becoming endless.
Guys, don’t think you’re off the hook – there are mesh heads and bodies for you too – give one a try!
Whether you already own a mesh head/body or not, I’d love to hear your feedback – what you like and what you don’t.
Share this post with your friends (the buttons are right down there ↓) – I’m genuinely curious to see what people think!!
A Kat and A Mouse 
I personally have grown to like mesh heads as well! I have a logo, catwa, lelutka and a few genesis ones as well and I’m the same as you, I find that trying different skins and using different heads for different looks is a lot of fun!
I have likes and dislikes for all of them though, there’s positives and negatives for each brand but I find I go back to catwa the most, I just like the look of it more I think 🙂
Thanks for the post! It’s always interesting to see people’s opinions on things like this!
I love them for photography and having choices also lets me try out looks I probably wouldn’t normally. 🙂
It’s great for photography. I would have to edit out the lines around mesh mouths etc before now I don’t have to, saves so much time!
Attantion! English is not my native language!) But I want to say 2 words about this too 🙂
I Like mesh head so much, i have too approximately 11, I use it always (Genesis). I bought LOGO Alex and it’s only 1 head that I regret buying it 😦 I bought it early, before you wrote post about comparison Lelutka and Logo, at that time I did not know what is ARC. I don’t use Alex only cuz ARC SO MUCH(( I have mid performance computer. About Genesis i use it becouse it’s really beautiful, skins the best, BUT for me it dead head. It’s not blink, not open mouth. I don’t use emotions usually, but understanding that this head can not do this, a little made me sad) Yesterday i detach my mesh head and see my real (default) sl head. Ugly))) After mesh head it’s seems really ugly) I played with it about an hour, with settings and now (to my surprise) I love it more then mesh head. I feel that it’s now ME, and it seems alive) Soon Linden labs introduce BENTO Project, I so HOPE then default head will be little more beautiful and interesting. But now… Now i will use sl head(until get bored), and save money for CATWA head xDD I too have limited money in sl)
Ps: But if really i think soon will be more beautiful more functionality and cheap head.. I don’t know, i just hope, i see now big competition.
Thank you for read this i hope you understand what i wanted to say)
I have the LOGO Alex too, and I rarely wear it except for photos. I love the Genesis heads because they are relatively inexpensive, so you can get a lot of different looks for not very much money. But I agree, without the ability to do expressions, it is a bit ‘dead’ as you say.
I’ve seen many people who have absolutely gorgeous system (default) avatar heads, and if that’s what you are comfortable with, great! The hope is that when Bento goes live, there will be more ability to put expressions into all the mesh heads, but we shall see. In the meantime, I’ll keep playing around with all my heads, lol! Thanks for commenting!!