diff --git a/bgfilter/trimap.py b/bgfilter/trimap.py
index 2e2813f..78648da 100644
--- a/bgfilter/trimap.py
+++ b/bgfilter/trimap.py
@@ -123,16 +123,14 @@ def fuse_trimap_directional(
              strongly displaced toward it (e.g. blue between hair strands) is left
              unknown for ViTMatte / chroma-suppress. Lower-seg unknowns stay unknown.
 
-    A thin unknown band at the segmentation silhouette is preserved so ViTMatte can
-    anti-alias the boundary (it is deliberately small so interior holes survive).
+    No silhouette band is forced back to unknown: structures thinner than the band
+    ring (flying hair strands) got wholly confiscated by dilate-minus-erode and then
+    dropped by ViTMatte, which on crisp-edged (anime) images outputs near-binary
+    alpha in the band instead of anti-aliasing (measured: 96% hard values, and 74%
+    of lost strand pixels were rule-FG demoted by the band). The rules' own unknown
+    pixels (background-hued blends, low-seg transitions) remain ViTMatte's domain.
     """
-    cv2 = require_cv2()
     shape = seg_mask.shape
-    fg_safe_radius = radius_from_ratio(
-        shape, settings.fg_safe_radius_ratio, settings.min_fg_safe_radius
-    )
-    band_radius = max(settings.min_fg_safe_radius, fg_safe_radius // 2)
-
     chroma_bg = bg_confidence >= settings.sure_bg_threshold
     chroma_fg = bg_confidence <= settings.sure_fg_threshold
     chroma_unknown = ~chroma_bg & ~chroma_fg
@@ -161,16 +159,10 @@ def fuse_trimap_directional(
     trimap[bg] = 0
     trimap[fg | rule3_fg | force_fg] = 255
 
-    loose = (seg_mask >= settings.seg_loose_threshold).astype(np.uint8)
-    kernel = elliptical_kernel(band_radius)
-    band = cv2.dilate(loose, kernel).astype(bool) & ~cv2.erode(loose, kernel).astype(bool)
-    trimap[band & ~chroma_bg] = 128
-
     stats = {
         "sure_bg_pixels": int((trimap == 0).sum()),
         "unknown_pixels": int((trimap == 128).sum()),
         "sure_fg_pixels": int((trimap == 255).sum()),
-        "band_radius": int(band_radius),
         "rule3_fg_pixels": int(rule3_fg.sum()),
         "force_fg_pixels": int((force_fg & ~fg & ~rule3_fg).sum()),
         "bg_hued_pixels": int((bg_hued & chroma_unknown & core).sum()),