Need suggestions! 3b/iii, APL but WL stretched....

[CurlyCap]

I need updo suggestions!

My hair is getting too heavy to wear in a typical scrunchie bun. But, since it is curly, it is also too short for most of the updos recommended for WL hair.

I've tried a french twist and it makes my head look like a football. Not flattering on me.

I need to put my hair up quickly, but can't get a full cinnamon bun out of it yet. It's not yet long enough for hair stick styles (I don't think).

I can/do use spin pins, which hold like a rock, but it takes longer to put things up in a weight-balanced way Most days I don't have time to mess with it.

I can style it if I put it up wet, but then it never dries. And I prefer to sleep with my hair down.

Ideas for quick, solid, updos for APL, 3b, iii hair that will hold for several hours if not all day?

[Rio040113]

Would some kind of Flexi secured bun be possible? Or another kind of clip?

[Not Lynn Merely]

When my mother's curly hair (not so curly as yours; I don't know the classifier) was shoulder length, an easy thing to do was French braid it, secure the end, and tuck the tail up under the braid. If you can't do that (her hair is rather thin), you could just make a cinnamon or scrunchie bun of the tail. I would think it would help you distribute the weight better.

I also think it would look cute if you did a partial French twist, but let your curls hang from the top instead of tucking them in. Maybe that would mitigate the "football head" effect and leave you with a short, decorative pony of curls.

A Gibson tuck could look nice, but there might be head-shape issues again (I know I can't wear one!).

I assume you already know all the typical hair stick buns.

[picklepie]

I'm only 3a, but at that length a lazy wrap bun with a stick started working for me. I'm just past waist now. There's not much tail to wrap around the "stem" of the bun, but there's enough to hold it down. I have to do it at the top of my head to keep it from pulling on the scalp hairs. Isn't it frustrating to have such long hair (comparatively) and not be able to do basic stuff like cinnabuns yet? My new goal is hip, just so I can have more than one bun to do! Not complaining, iii hair is a blessing as well as a frustration.

Oh, and sectioned buns, or double buns, work well at this length too. But the lazy wrap is faster. I do it similar to this, without all the wrapping at the end (my ends don't even go around once, but the curl factor seems to help it stay) http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9PPb8gCsI

[CurlyCap]

bump!

*****

[Hootenanny]

The Disc bun has been working well for me, CurlyCap. I'm just below APL when curly, and a couple of inches from waist when stretched. I can do a disc bun with just one stick, or a fork, or a ficcare. That and the Lazy Wrap are the only buns I can really do at this point, unless my hair is straightened or I do a braid-out, at which point I can also do a Seashell bun. Have you tried the Disc bun?

[Firefox7275]

There is a book called 'Strictly Curls' which is all up dos, also Waterlily716 on YouTube has various easy tutorials, she is in the 3s and has had various lengths. My hair is only APL when wavy but I can do loose looking messy buns if I sort of stretch the hair, Gibson tuck and French twists with a curly tail using Spin Pins. Could you do two stacked or side-by-side buns instead of one?

Invisibobbles also hold quite securely and could probably be used creatively, perhaps combined with a scrunchie or U pins? There are various branded versions of the same thing - Mixed Chicks, Goody - as well as cheap Chinese knock offs on eBay. http://invisibobble.com/

[CurlyCap]

Is this the Disc bun you are talking about? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y5sSEBy7HQ

I can only get almost one wrap around! But, on experiment, my hair seems to be staying put. Must be the curly/tangly magic. And the weight is bit better distributed. Hunh!

Rio, flexi's are terrible for me. The weight is all in one straight line.

Not Lynn, I love Gibson tucks, but they don't hold up at work. I destroy them! Braiding on a daily basis would be a nightmare for me. It takes a Looooong time. Not fast at all.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm off to try a lazy wrap and seashell bun. Cinnabuns don't work at all yet!

[CurlyCap]

But the lazy wrap is faster. I do it similar to this, without all the wrapping at the end (my ends don't even go around once, but the curl factor seems to help it stay) http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9PPb8gCsI

Nope. Not even if I throw my hair over fingers instead of hand widths. Grrr.

[CurlyCap]

Sigh. Ex-ne on the seashell as well. Almost made it once around my hand and that was it.

Onward!

Thank you for all the ideas folks!

[Rio040113]

Ah, that's a shame about the flexis CurlyCap. How about a claw clip held peacock twist? Or maybe splitting your hair into 2 sections and doing pigtail buns? I wonder if that might help with the thickness..?

[BlazingHeart]

What about a braided Gibson tuck? I know you said you destroy regular Gibson tucks at work, but I suspect the braided version would hold together better, especially if you stuck a spin pin through it.

[torrilin]

Stupid question here... are you trying to preserve curl structure? The curlies I know get very different results if they're going for curl preservation vs just get the damn hair up.

As far as French Twists go... I think it's a kind of tricky style in general. It really depends on your head shape, face shape and the kinds of shapes you can get your hair to make. I do not know a lot of African American ladies who like the style and wear their hair natural. And all the African American ladies I know who really rock that style wear their hair straightened. It seems most popular with straight or slightly wavy haired women who prefer a kind of pompadour or tall look to the top of their head.

I think Peacock Twists are a good style, and it's somewhat more flexible in terms of hair type. But if you're after curl preservation, it may be too straight leaning to work well for you.

Twists or rope braids, either worn alone or finessed into an undo might be a good option. Trying for a single bun or single rope braid probably will not work well. But if you can work out a sectioning style that works with your curls and doesn't make you crazy for time... maybe... It's not an option that us straight haired ladies tend to lean on, but a lot of that is structural. My hair looks *ridiculous* in a twist, and it spits it out like *that*. Fwoomp! So if this works for you, I'll be green with envy :).

[arcane]

You may have already tried this but for me, I found I could do buns earlier if I changed how many fingers I was wrapping around. For example when I learned the lazy wrap bun all the videos I watched had people looping their hair over 3 or more fingers and I couldn't do it, but when I looped over one finger I had enough to securely wrap the bun. I'm not overly curly (I need to retype properly but I'm about a 2c/3a right now and iii) and I got a lot of buns to start working around APL-BSL this way.

[lunalocks]

Why not a huge claw clip? That's what I use when I curl my hair.

[Kaelee]

I need updo suggestions!

My hair is getting too heavy to wear in a typical scrunchie bun. But, since it is curly, it is also too short for most of the updos recommended for WL hair.

I've tried a french twist and it makes my head look like a football. Not flattering on me.

I need to put my hair up quickly, but can't get a full cinnamon bun out of it yet. It's not yet long enough for hair stick styles (I don't think).

I can/do use spin pins, which hold like a rock, but it takes longer to put things up in a weight-balanced way Most days I don't have time to mess with it.

I can style it if I put it up wet, but then it never dries. And I prefer to sleep with my hair down.

Ideas for quick, solid, updos for APL, 3b, iii hair that will hold for several hours if not all day?

Football! :lol:

Can you manage a bun that splits the hair in two? I have similar issues (minus the curls!) and the only bun I can manage yet is disc bun, which does hold very well and is usually comfortable. Can do it with sticks or ficcares.

[CurlyCap]

Update!

Today I wore a single loop disc bun ALL DAY with a flat hair stick and it held like a rock. It started to get a little heavy after ~6hrs, but I didn't have time to readjust it. I'm sure it would have been fine if I'd found time to move it up or down a few inches.

Yay! One new find!

Off to read the other (new!) suggestions.


Thanks so much for your help peeps!

[CurlyCap]

Stupid question here... are you trying to preserve curl structure? The curlies I know get very different results if they're going for curl preservation vs just get the damn hair up.

Nope. Updos pretty much destroy curl pattern.

However, I don't want to fight against the fact that my hair curls. Ie, it's no use trying to make a bun that works with with WL hair if that means trying to uncoil/stretch my hair to achieve it. Likewise, while I CAN braid my hair, it's usually a fight because I have to break up clumps to get 3 even sections (my hair doesn't care about sections!) and the braids usually aren't too presentable unless they are done on wet hair. And I'm not wetting my hair every morning just to achieve a work-appropriate updo.

Does that answer your question? :D

[Kaelee]

Update!

Today I wore a single loop disc bun ALL DAY with a flat hair stick and it held like a rock. It started to get a little heavy after ~6hrs, but I didn't have time to readjust it. I'm sure it would have been fine if I'd found time to move it up or down a few inches.

Yay! One new find!

Off to read the other (new!) suggestions.


Thanks so much for your help peeps!

Yay!!! :D

What do you mean by single loop disc bun? I thought they all had two loops, am I misunderstanding something, or is there a magical bun I don't know about yet? ;) (if so, I want to know!!!!)

[Kaelee]

Update!

Today I wore a single loop disc bun ALL DAY with a flat hair stick and it held like a rock. It started to get a little heavy after ~6hrs, but I didn't have time to readjust it. I'm sure it would have been fine if I'd found time to move it up or down a few inches.

Yay! One new find!

Off to read the other (new!) suggestions.


Thanks so much for your help peeps!

Yay!!! :D

What do you mean by single loop disc bun? I thought they all had two loops, am I misunderstanding something, or is there a magical bun I don't know about yet? ;) (if so, I want to know!!!!)

[Hootenanny]

Update!

Today I wore a single loop disc bun ALL DAY with a flat hair stick and it held like a rock. It started to get a little heavy after ~6hrs, but I didn't have time to readjust it. I'm sure it would have been fine if I'd found time to move it up or down a few inches.

Yay! One new find!

Off to read the other (new!) suggestions.


Thanks so much for your help peeps!

Yay! So glad the disc bun worked! :D

[CurlyCap]

Yay!!! :D

What do you mean by single loop disc bun? I thought they all had two loops, am I misunderstanding something, or is there a magical bun I don't know about yet? ;) (if so, I want to know!!!!)

Nah. Nothing magical.

"Single loop" meaning I could only wrap once in each direction. It shouldn't have held, but it did!

[BlazingHeart]

Hmm. What about a vortex bun? That requires dividing into 4 as I recall, so that should work for you. If the disk bun holds, there's a chance the Chinese bun will as well.