Updos & Headaches...

[jimsaj]

Hey ya'll!
Quick question...I guess I'm just tender headed?? Every time I try to wear my hair up or half up I end up with terrible headaches. Its going to be getting pretty warm and humid here in the south very soon, and I'm not going to be able tolerate having to wear BSL hair down every day. (I don't know names of styles...but...) I do a half twist and let the rest just fall back over the clip. By mid day, my head is hurting...I make "style" as loose as possible, but it still hurts... Any suggestions?? TIA!

[Masara]

It's going to depend on what kind of headaches you have. The kind of updo you describe is the kind that is most likely to give me headaches I find that I'm more likely to get headaches from looser updos than from "firm" ones. And hair partly falling out of an updo (deliberate or accidental) gives me a headache too. I think it's because if my updo is looser, I hold my head more carefully. I won't notice a firm, high updo that is well secured at all.

But my headaches are more in the back of the head, probably caused by my tightening my neck muscles.

[lemonmelon]

You could try a loose french braid to keep the hair lifted a little bit off your neck but avoid the "up-do" headache? Or maybe a low side pony tail?

[misstwist]

Try different positions on your head for your updos. I can wear something that is anchored at my nape or at my crown or above, but not the typical back of the head position.

[Squeak toy]

I find that slghtly looser hairstyles are better for me. I tried a woven bun then did it again this time using 2 ponytail holders to make the pony more secure, it gave mea headache. I did it again with just 1 tie and it was plenty secure and no headache. All the advice above is great. I recomend the french braid single or pigtails or maybe a crown braid. Just keep trying.

[ravenreed]

I get headaches when the updo is in the wrong place. I have a swirly right where a high bun would go, and if I put a bun there it tends to cause a headache. I find double buns help, or low buns. I also like to french or dutch braid and the bun the tail. This distributes the weight so well that I never get a headache from it. I don't know that you could do it with BSL hair though. You might just have to play with placement and which ones you do. I know some things pull more for me than others.

[Animae]

Pigtail braids are a great solution, and you can wrap them up on your head as well and that will help distribute the weight of your hair.

[Kiraela]

I also wonder what type of headache it is. It it more a back of the head/neck pain, or an upper head/forehead type pain? Is it more a surface, scalp ache, or a deep headache?

A back of the neck pain is most likely caused by holding your head awkwardly to keep an unsecure bun from flopping around. More pins or a tighter bun, and you might not feel as awkward, and can hold your head more naturally.

A scalp ache is more likely to be a too tight bun. In that case... loosen the bun some.

A deep pain, or upper head pain, is probably caused by your head/neck muscles not being used to the weight of your hair *concentrated* in such a small area, especially if you wore it down most of the time, and only recently started bunning. For that one, i'd reccomend a bun that distributes the weight more evenly, like a crown braid, or even a loose cinabun held by claw clips to keep it securely fastened, and not floppy - when I have a migraine, hair down aggravates me, but hair up tends to make my neck hurt, unless I do the cinabun with claws option.

Another option, that isn't bunned at all, would be a french braid, or even a Dianyla braid - which is basically a standard english braid, that is started at the back of the head instead of the nape.

I definitely know what it's like to be in a hot, humid climate and have headaches, and hair that won't co-ooperate,:( - I hope something I've said helps some.

[Underlig]

You could try hair taping. My hair isn't long enough to do it yet, but from what I've read the weight is distributed more evenly making it a very comfortable style.

[Gumball]

For me whenever I put my hair up in a braided bun (one of my two default styles) I make sure it's evenly weighted before I feel like it's done. That either means some flexi work or some bobby pins to make sure that it's not going to result in bothering me later. If it sags too much or isn't weighted evenly it will hurt and likely cause a headache.

My other default style is a Nautilus bun. That will give me a headache if I happen to do it too tightly, so I make sure it's loose, yet secure, and I probably won't be bothered by it. I jogged with it today, and wasn't any worse for wear.

[Milui Elenath]

For me I have to make sure the bun is evenly weighted as well, that's why I think others have trouble with loose buns and also the twist you mention with hair falling over. When its loose and uneven it pulls so aim for firm but not tight.

I also can not wear buns at the nape of my neck for any length of time without getting a headache. You might try a cheaters fig 8 or if your hair is long enough the fig 8. I find them a good style for distributing hair evenly.

[adiapalic]

The most comfortable and "weightless" feeling hairstyles I've experienced are ones placed very close to the head and held up by nothing more than amish hairpins.

[Curlsgirl]

I find that anything done with a hair elastic pretty much is a sure fire way for me to get a headache other than braids (to tie off the end). Sometimes I can get a figure 8 to do pretty well if I position it just right and use a flexi-8 or amish pins. Ficarres almost always give me a headache not matter what I do with them. Looser hairstyles usually do better for me. Not TOO loose but a little. Hope you find some help, I know how it is! East Tennessee can be miserable in the summers!

[jackiesjottings]

I don't get hair headaches but I do get hair neckaches, so all the tips here have been really useful- thank you. It seems that having my bun in the middle of the back of my head causes the neckache. Today I just braided and clipped the braid up the back of my head with a claw clip and bingo... no neckache.

[embee]

I used to get terrible scalp aches when I wore a high bun, but ever since I began using a top-of-the-head bun at night those scalp aches are a thing of the past. It felt like it had to do with my hair follicles and the hair being "bent" in the wrong direction.

Looser back of the head buns will pull more on me than a firm bun.

[jackiesjottings]

Yesterday with the weight of my hair distributed up the back of my head rather than in just one place... no neck ache. Loose today... no neck ache. Thank you for this thread people, I have now tracked down the cause of my neck (and slight head) ache, so will be trying some different lower down or evenly distributed updos.

[Maddy25]

Hello :)

I had the same problem, I only I had an awfully sore scalp and headaches from any kind of updo.

I recieved a really great pm about it from heidi w. It is very imformative so I hope it's ok to post. Here is part of it:

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The top of the scalp has an incredible network of capillaries just barely under the surface of the scalp skin.

When hair gains length, it also gains a bit of weight. When hair is ponytailed, this means that all hair is drawn in a direction other than it grows in from the hair root/follicle and through the surface of the skin.

The combination of localizing the weight to a singular ponytail and hair being drawn in a direction opposite the pattern of growth (when hair hangs it kind of slightly lifts and then falls in a particular direction on either side of the head) means that one is constantly agitating that network of capillaries.

The only solution is to not wear a ponytail, or to at least mix up the types of updos.

Distributing the weight can be helpful, such that hair is more piled on top of the head.

The other possibility is to allow hair to scoop back such that it hangs in its natural direction yet sweeps back into the ponytail.

The issue isn't tightness, although this could be a factor as well.

Remember, too, the weight often means that hair in a ponytail or updo can subtly, over hours or the day, shift to a lower locus than its original position and this can in turn pull on individual hairs which can also aggravate and pull in 'hot spots' from the top of the head. These can become, over the time, tight.

Try positioning the ponytail lower and not high on the back or top of the head. Consider learning some updos with sticks, or braiding options.

If you are ponytailing every day, then over time, you can actually also incur a line of demarcation no matter how pleasant the bind for the ponytail. It's vitally important to change your hair's organization from day-to-day and to allow the hair to relax in its natural format, loose, some portion of the day to allow those capillaries that are swollen from agitation to calm down.

I hope this helps you out a little. I'm sure others in that thread will make suggestions, but I wonder that anyone will point out what happens to those capillaries under such conditions. Most don't even realize those capillaries are even there.

[jackiesjottings]

Maddy25- thank you :) I noticed when I had my usual braid wound round a clip hairdo yesteday that by the end of the day some of it was pulling and my head was quite sore. Now I come to think about it, I have also had the odd headache recently- and that might have been the cause. I am going to try some different updos, hopefully which won't pull my hair so much or feel so heavy on the back of my head. My hair is fine but even so it does amaze me how heavy it can feel.

[Jessica Trapp]

After my hair reached waist length, I had trouble with certain updos that I could wear without a problem before. My "solution" was to do a two-strand crown braid--I start at the front and braid it around my head and tuck in the ends--so the weight is easily distributed. French braids work okay for me too.

Hope you find something that works for you. :flower:

[ccaswick]

About the only thing that gives me a headache (so far) is wearing a headband. Maybe it is because I also wear glasses. I think the glasses and the headband sort of fight with each other for that bone behind the ear. After a couple hours I feel like my head is in a vice. I love the look, but I just can't do it.