How to avoid headaches?

[Magalo]

No matter what, I always seems to feel headache-y at the end of the day when I wear a bun, and I cannot wait to be home to undo my hair. Braids or loose doesn't do this, only buns. I assume it's from the weight being all at the same place. And it's not like I have a ton of hair, my hair is brushing waist and is layered. :/

I usually wear it in the middle of the back of my head. Higher gives me headaches faster.

I secure my do with a single stick or a fork. Is there something I can do to distribute the weight better?

Can you recommend updos that are less prone to headaches? I know braided bun are usually much better than nautilus or lazy wrap for me, but I don't know why. :shrug:

[WaitingSoLong]

Placement of the stick is everything.

I recently discovered bent knitting needles. HERE (http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85369&p=1936224&viewfull=1)is one thread about them and they basically look like THIS (http://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/5250931/il_fullxfull.237421877.jpg).

I selected a color that would blend decently with my hair and bent them myself. I use two to secure my buns, namely the gibralter bun and the L infinity bun, also a cinnabun but I hardly wear those since the gibralter holds so much better. I also do Lazy Wrap Buns with them and they are great for braided buns. They distribute the weight much better and don't pull in any one area. It did take a bit of practice to discover the best way to insert them so they would not slip out and would hold really well. Right now, they are all I am using as I grew tired of my stick buns not holding well anymore (I think I have too much hair now).

I found this forum looking for a way to keep my hair up without the headaches. Before TLHC, I used bobby pins. I did not know there was any other way!

Ficcares gave me headaches. Stick buns do, too, SOMEtimes. It just depends on the bun. There are definitely some more time consuming buns that do much better at weight distribution, like the Jamie Leigh Bun and the oval bun. Both involve braids. Heidi braids or crown braids are also good.

Spin pins are also helpful in distributing the anchoring points.

[Anje]

First off, are you ponytailing your hair (with a band) when you bun? For me, that would definitely contribute to a sore scalp, but I think there are people who find that the weight distribution is better if they do. Try it the other way and see how things go.

Second, bun placement can be important. I get some very upset follicles if I wear a bun at or above my crown, though I seem to be OK up to that point. Follicles can adapt to new positions, but it takes time, and I can't say I've been willing to push through it either, partly because high buns don't look that great on me. Still, try something below your ears if ear-level buns are giving you grief.

Third, what's the orientation of your hairstick(s)? For me, horizontal gives the least pain and vertical the most.

Fourth, see if you notice any other conditions that affect when your scalp gets sore. Do you do better or worse if you put your hair up a bit damp? (My scalp's not fond of the moist bun sitting against it, but I don't think I tend to have scalp pain if I damp bun, no matter where I do it.) Are snug or loose buns better? (For me, a loose bun is more likely to slip and pull; I don't advocate facelift buns, but if a tighter, smaller bun keeps the pressure more evenly distributed, it's not all bad.)

Finally, don't be afraid to take your hair down during the day, scrub your scalp a little with your fingers, and put it up again. I'm a firm believer in giving the scalp a break from time to time. Let your hair down in the evening, maybe contain it in a simple braid or two. I like to sleep with mine loose inside a sleep cap, and I think my scalp is happier because I let my hair down.

[Magalo]

Placement of the stick is everything.

I recently discovered bent knitting needles. HERE (http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85369&p=1936224&viewfull=1)is one thread about them and they basically look like THIS (http://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/5250931/il_fullxfull.237421877.jpg).

I selected a color that would blend decently with my hair and bent them myself. I use two to secure my buns, namely the gibralter bun and the L infinity bun, also a cinnabun but I hardly wear those since the gibralter holds so much better. I also do Lazy Wrap Buns with them and they are great for braided buns. They distribute the weight much better and don't pull in any one area. It did take a bit of practice to discover the best way to insert them so they would not slip out and would hold really well. Right now, they are all I am using as I grew tired of my stick buns not holding well anymore (I think I have too much hair now).

I found this forum looking for a way to keep my hair up without the headaches. Before TLHC, I used bobby pins. I did not know there was any other way!

Ficcares gave me headaches. Stick buns do, too, SOMEtimes. It just depends on the bun. There are definitely some more time consuming buns that do much better at weight distribution, like the Jamie Leigh Bun and the oval bun. Both involve braids. Heidi braids or crown braids are also good.

Spin pins are also helpful in distributing the anchoring points.

I'm not sure about the bent knitting needles. I bought so much pretty sticks and forks and I want to wear them! :(

Do spin pins really help? You just screw them randomly and it helps or is there something to know? :p

Thank you for the suggestions! I forgot about the oval bun. It's pretty. I dislike the Jamie Leigh and I can't do a crown braid for the life of me though.



First off, are you ponytailing your hair (with a band) when you bun? For me, that would definitely contribute to a sore scalp, but I think there are people who find that the weight distribution is better if they do. Try it the other way and see how things go.

Second, bun placement can be important. I get some very upset follicles if I wear a bun at or above my crown, though I seem to be OK up to that point. Follicles can adapt to new positions, but it takes time, and I can't say I've been willing to push through it either, partly because high buns don't look that great on me. Still, try something below your ears if ear-level buns are giving you grief.

Third, what's the orientation of your hairstick(s)? For me, horizontal gives the least pain and vertical the most.

Fourth, see if you notice any other conditions that affect when your scalp gets sore. Do you do better or worse if you put your hair up a bit damp? (My scalp's not fond of the moist bun sitting against it, but I don't think I tend to have scalp pain if I damp bun, no matter where I do it.) Are snug or loose buns better? (For me, a loose bun is more likely to slip and pull; I don't advocate facelift buns, but if a tighter, smaller bun keeps the pressure more evenly distributed, it's not all bad.)

Finally, don't be afraid to take your hair down during the day, scrub your scalp a little with your fingers, and put it up again. I'm a firm believer in giving the scalp a break from time to time. Let your hair down in the evening, maybe contain it in a simple braid or two. I like to sleep with mine loose inside a sleep cap, and I think my scalp is happier because I let my hair down.

I'm not ponytailling! I should try but I prefer non ponytail bun as they're less damaging. :/

I like lower bun but sometimes my sticks can poke my nape, I wear them diagonal usually. I'll try wearing them horizontaly but I think diagonal look better.

And my scalp is not sore! :p It's my brain that hurts! haha. And tight or loose buns doesn't seem to give different results.

Thank you :)

[Anje]

Ah, I think I misunderstood partially. Some people get true headaches, other people get angry scalps, and not everyone differentiates between the two. Still, give it a try (especially with horizontal sticks -- big help for me).

Only other thing I can think of is to try to let your hair down before things really start hurting. It's quite possible that your head just needs a break, or that all those little muscles all over the surface of your head are fighting the weight of the bun and leading to tension headaches.

[eternallyverdan]

This is something that took me a while to realize: "pretty" hair toys and "practical" hair toys can be used in conjuction! I'll often hold up the main structure of a bun with Amish pins, u-pins, or spin pins, and then carefully weave in a stick or fork more for decoration than stability. I don't do this every day, but I find that it really helps when I have a headache or am just feeling under the weather. I think cinnamon buns held with pins are really great for distributing weight, as are French twists.

[torrilin]

Headache triggers are pretty variable from person to person. For my partner, it tends to be air pressure changes, especially going from high pressure to low pressure. For me, it's certain kinds of cheeses and fragrances. For someone else I know, it's peppers. Sweet peppers, hot peppers, red peppers, green peppers... anything in that family of vegetables. Hairstyle can definitely be a contributing factor, but LHC has a lot of posters with migraines and very long hair. There are usually tactics that work.

As far as styles go, I find that ones based upon twin braids tend to be pretty sturdy, comfortable to sleep in, look good, and be well suited to a wide range of hair types. It can be tricky to put up 1/f hair or iii thickness hair, and twin braid styles seem to help with common problems for both types. (type 4 also has updo issues, and twin braids can help there as well, but I'm not a 4 myself and I don't really do hair for 4s ever so I can't talk about it terribly well... and iirc there are other strategies to try first if you're a super curly) 1/f hair tends to slither out of updos and just generally resist staying up. It is *very* tempting to do updos super tight to try and combat this. Super tight will keep slithery straight hair up, but it also will give almost anyone a headache. For iii thickness, the problem is that they need more length to do a lot of straight buns, and again, it gets tempting to go super tight to try and make a bun possible with shorter hair. Since twin braid styles use at least 2 sections, it takes much less length for the style to be attainable.

My other go-to for avoiding super tight is knot bun variants. Since you can feel your hair rubbing against the natural grain when you tie it in a knot, it's easy to tell when a knot bun is too tight... and at least for me, too tight happens long before I would have thought. Long, long, long before. Knot buns also stay up well with a really wide range of hair toys, including hair forks, sticks, spin pins, u pins, flex-8 barrettes etc. Plain knots do not hold amazingly well on me, but Celtic knots (aka slip knots) are just as easy and hold like a champ for me. Sectioning can work here too so a "square knot" or Aphrodite knot can wind up very pretty.

[jacqueline101]

I'd try to do weight distributing. Try different methods for buns.

[Angelica]

I'm sure hair doesn't enjoy being up all the time and some people around have very tight updos, I'm sure it causes stress to the hair and roots themselves. I find that buns also give me headaches, and I do ponytail mine because mine is so fine and thin and I need a base to wrap it around. But I will be trying other methods of putting it up. The posters gave really good advice here though and I will also be taking note of them :)

[ravenreed]

If I have a headache, I can't even stand my hair in a braid. Too much weight in one spot on my head adds to the pain. All I can suggest is wear your lightest hair toys. Heavy toys are almost guaranteed to make my head hurt.

[QMacrocarpa]

It's not too pretty, but securing a bun with a claw clip on each side can distribute the weight very well. An example. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElSCHnzYtM8) I get similar results securing an orchid bun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln8mTmsKNwU) with two spin pins, inserted horizontally, one from each side of the bun (mine is more infinity-shaped than 8-shaped). I agree with eternallyverdan that adding weight-bearing but invisible tools like spin pins can improve the comfort and stability of hairstick buns. I do a pinless braided bun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QV0ExAi5hY) that actually has a spin-pin or two helping out. I find a Chinese braided bun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n98D0j8Ypfg) with no ponytail start to distribute weight very nicely.

If you don't like the way horizontal hairsticks look, you might try shorter ones. They're less likely to stick out past your ears and make you feel like you have antennae.