I think the hair came out the way it did because of how it was rendered. What do you mean by 100% PdN? You mean don't use brushes?
Yeah, that's what I meant. For example, put the render against a black BG, then compare to it on a white BG. The black would look better. And by 100% PDN I mean don't use C4D's/brushes/stocks etc. (Besides the render)
Whats wrong with those