Styling issues at btwn SL and CBL-- help!

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

Hi everyone! I seem to be having some issues putting my hair up into protective styles right now. I have hair that is somewhere between SL and CBL with lots of shorter layers and thinning issues. The only updo I seem to be able to do is one of those folded over ponytail buns with a scrunchie wrapped around it to hold it. Hairsticks won't stay in my hair and if they do, they bun is very loose. I've tried watching hair tutorials and doing what they do but I don't know if I have enough hair to get it to stay. Hair forks also don't seem to work. They just pull very tightly and hurt, but then the bun comes right out. I can barely wrap my hair around to do a cinnamon roll type bun. Does anyone know anything I can try to make a nicer looking protective updo? Or am I just doomed to my awful looking folded over pony bun with the scrunchie until my hair grows a lot longer? My hair grows so slow so I'm not sure what to do.
Thanks for the help! :)

[lilliemer]

You could try a peacock twist or a French twist held with claw clips or a flexi 8.

[arr]

How about a french braid with the end of the braid tucked in or pinned up?

[Quasiquixotic]

So we are in the same boat. My hair is collarbone length. I've had a lot better success with updos if I make a braided peacock twist, but not really twist. It keeps my nape hairs locked up best. Braid hair, pull braid up, secure with clip, ficcare, fork, etc. I've found that the more prongs the better - like 5 or 4. A ficcare is my favorite though, it really holds.

Additionally you could try crown braids or folded French/Dutch braids. Hth!

Eta: here it is with a ficcare

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o246/Quasiquixotic/imagejpg1_zps572cf8b3.jpg

And here it is with a 5 prong 4" jeterfork

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o246/Quasiquixotic/320C66F6-BDE7-4899-93DE-A03BBD19CD4C_zpssh2qfy9m.jpg

In both I did not secure the braid with an elastic. For the fork just held the ends to use as resistance against it. I bet if you used an elastic it would be even more secure.

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

Thank you both for the replies. :)
I could probably do a peacock twist, the ends will hang down a wee bit. I've been able to use flexis to hold my barely buns, I forgot to mention that. That's about as fancy as I have been able to get. Lol I will for sure try the French twist with it now!
I tried a French braid the other day and soo wish I didn't have layers so it could stay in. :( it kept coming loose unfortunately. I can't wait until my layers will be long enough to do one. It would look cute with the ends pinned up.

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

We're two peas in a pod, Quasiquixotic! Do you have a picture of your braided peacock twist? That sounds nice. So you really like the ficcarre huh? What size do you use? I think my fork has 3 or 4 prongs, for some reason I can't think right now. Lol hmmm crown braids and folded French/Dutch braids.....time to do some googling! :) thank you for the reply!

[Quasiquixotic]

That is a medium opal in the picture. It's new for me to fit that size, and I can only use it day 3 or later after a wash. On days 1 and 2, I have to use a small. I have a little bit more hair than you (3.5" pony), so I think you should start with a small.

I bought a small and medium off the swap board as my first ficcare taste. Having the medium feel so secure at not even 20 inches, made me feel safe buying a few more larges from ficcare directly. Plus it's much easier to swap large for mediums here than the other way around, if they turn out to be too big. But quite a few type 1, f/M, i to ii, ladies here use small ficcares at BSL or longer. And if you out grown it, it's still useful for half ups or center held buns.

If you get one and it's too big you can take some cotton batting and poster/sticky gum and stick some on the inside top of the ficcare to make it smaller. When you don't need it any more it's easy to remove.

You could also use a flexi instead of a ficcare, since you have them and they work for you ;)

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

That ficcare is super pretty! I just love opal. :) that is a good idea with the cotton padding and sticky gum. Do you need to use goo be gone to remove it or does it just come off? You look like you have very lovely thick hair! I wish mine were as thick but now I might only be down in the i range from losing so much hair. :( lost a good portion of it right on top in the front it seems. So you're probably right with the small. It seems as though everyone is looking for larges on the swap board so that is a really good idea to buy them and swap for medium.
I'll probably tryyyyy to stick with flexis for a bit longer until my hair grows a bit more but those ficcares look so nice and very tempting! :) *stalks swap board* lol

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

Gahhh double post

[Quasiquixotic]

Nope no goo gone, I'm talking about the gum you use to put up posters on the wall. It just peals/rolls off.

So just to enable, you could buy two from ficcare for free shipping I think. Personally I'd suggest these two: honey marble and gold or silver matte. You'd be able to swap smalls too, it just might take longer. As an i, I'd definitely go with a small.

Do you know why you are losing hair?

[lapushka]

A peacock twist might actually be your best bet. And there's nothing, whatsoever, wrong with the style. I wore it all the way to hip+ before I could switch to a cinnabun and/or a LWB (due to the thickness of my hair). I could have complained but I didn't. A peacock twist was all I could wear for a long time, so I just did. ;)

[browneyedsusan]

I made lots of accent braids at that length. You can also gather your layers on the top of your head with a little jawclip or bobbypins, and then put up the rest?
It sounds like your hair is a skosh too short to hold a bun. Leave it alone for another month or two, they try again.

A Gibson Tuck might be manageable, and looks super classy. Here's a tutorial (http://www.saralynnpaige.com/style/simple-gibson-tuck/).
Have a look here (https://www.youtube.com/user/K8bryan/videos). (This lady does not follow TLHC hair-handling protocols; she heat styles, teases, and hairsprays with wild abandon; but some of the ideas might help you along?)

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

Quasixotic-
Oooooh that stuff! Very cool! :)
You temptress! ;) lol I so wish I could afford that right now. Definitely need to find a job first, those ficcares are pretty pricey. But soooo pretty.... :drools:
My dermatologist did a scalp biopsy on me and said it showed telogen effluvium and some mianiaturization was present. So the TE might have unmasked androgenic alopecia or female pattern baldness. I'm really hoping it's just the TE. The doctor said to keep an eye on it, and if it doesn't get any better in a year, then I need to start rogaine. :( if that's the case, it'll ruin my chances of growing waist long hair.

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

A peacock twist might actually be your best bet. And there's nothing, whatsoever, wrong with the style. I wore it all the way to hip+ before I could switch to a cinnabun and/or a LWB (due to the thickness of my hair). I could have complained but I didn't. A peacock twist was all I could wear for a long time, so I just did. ;)
You're right, there's nothing wrong with a peacock twist! In fact, I will wear one today with one of my flexis. :) I bet the twist looked very nice on you! Must feel good to make a bun though, right?

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

I made lots of accent braids at that length. You can also gather your layers on the top of your head with a little jawclip or bobbypins, and then put up the rest?
It sounds like your hair is a skosh too short to hold a bun. Leave it alone for another month or two, they try again.

A Gibson Tuck might be manageable, and looks super classy. Here's a tutorial (http://www.saralynnpaige.com/style/simple-gibson-tuck/).
Have a look here (https://www.youtube.com/user/K8bryan/videos). (This lady does not follow TLHC hair-handling protocols; she heat styles, teases, and hairsprays with wild abandon; but some of the ideas might help you along?)
Accent braids sound nice but I may have to avoid those in the front of my hair due to bad thinning. I can try putting the layers up like you said though! :) maybe do some kind of twisty thing. You're right about needing more time for the bun. It just doesn't seem to work great right now so maybe another inch of length can help.
I just love the look of a Gibson tuck! I used to try to do those with the big roll insert but it never worked. I'll check out the tutorials and see if they help! And not follow her other non TLHC practices! ;)

[Quasiquixotic]

Quasixotic-
Oooooh that stuff! Very cool! :)
You temptress! ;) lol I so wish I could afford that right now. Definitely need to find a job first, those ficcares are pretty pricey. But soooo pretty.... :drools:
My dermatologist did a scalp biopsy on me and said it showed telogen effluvium and some mianiaturization was present. So the TE might have unmasked androgenic alopecia or female pattern baldness. I'm really hoping it's just the TE. The doctor said to keep an eye on it, and if it doesn't get any better in a year, then I need to start rogaine. :( if that's the case, it'll ruin my chances of growing waist long hair.

Hugs honey! Can I ask why? Maybe a better first expenditure, once you have a job and all, are some nice quality clip in extensions. That could make you feel better about your hair with is priceless. :blossom:

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

Thank you :( :hugs: well my hair actually first started coming out really easily in clumps when I tried extensions in sept shortly after my awful big chop last year. I was allergic to the metal clamps and the stylist kept doing them way too tight to my head so I lost a lot of hair from that. Started a very stressful new job right after that. Then my mother had a big cancer scare, had to quit said job after working there a month. (Now I've technically been jobless for 2 years, because the one month of working doesn't count) had surgery with anesthesia in the beginning of February. Been having to deal with severe depression and anxiety that claws at me constantly so I can never relax. Found explicit pictures on my bfs computer of one of his "friends" and fought about it. Still with him but have constant fear of him cheating. Also I had to move back in to my mothers house, had a crazy alcoholic landlord that frightened me so I needed to get out ASAP. So with the combination of all those stressors, it caused a massive shedding where I noticed my scalp gradually becoming very visible in the front. My bangs used to be so thick that I needed to thin them out a ton and now they're barely anything and take up half of my head.
Sorry for the big rant. :( this long sob story probably doesn't belong here.

[Quasiquixotic]

It belongs. :grouphug: I hope you have a much less stressful year this year.


Thank you :( :hugs: well my hair actually first started coming out really easily in clumps when I tried extensions in sept shortly after my awful big chop last year. I was allergic to the metal clamps and the stylist kept doing them way too tight to my head so I lost a lot of hair from that. Started a very stressful new job right after that. Then my mother had a big cancer scare, had to quit said job after working there a month. (Now I've technically been jobless for 2 years, because the one month of working doesn't count) had surgery with anesthesia in the beginning of February. Been having to deal with severe depression and anxiety that claws at me constantly so I can never relax. Found explicit pictures on my bfs computer of one of his "friends" and fought about it. Still with him but have constant fear of him cheating. Also I had to move back in to my mothers house, had a crazy alcoholic landlord that frightened me so I needed to get out ASAP. So with the combination of all those stressors, it caused a massive shedding where I noticed my scalp gradually becoming very visible in the front. My bangs used to be so thick that I needed to thin them out a ton and now they're barely anything and take up half of my head.
Sorry for the big rant. :( this long sob story probably doesn't belong here.

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

Thank you so much. I really hope so too. :hug:

[Decemberrose]

Thank you both for the replies. :)
I could probably do a peacock twist, the ends will hang down a wee bit. I've been able to use flexis to hold my barely buns, I forgot to mention that. That's about as fancy as I have been able to get. Lol I will for sure try the French twist with it now!
I tried a French braid the other day and soo wish I didn't have layers so it could stay in. :( it kept coming loose unfortunately. I can't wait until my layers will be long enough to do one. It would look cute with the ends pinned up.

I do a french braid and I'm at collarbone. I also have layers sticking out, but I pin them back in :) they almost doesnt show and it holds well I think.
You could also try a Gibson Tuck.
Hope it works out for you...

[Kaelee]

I lived in an "octopus clip" before I could do other buns...

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

I do a french braid and I'm at collarbone. I also have layers sticking out, but I pin them back in :) they almost doesnt show and it holds well I think.
You could also try a Gibson Tuck.
Hope it works out for you...
I just tried the French braid again and it is very loose, but mostly in tact. :) mostly my sides are way too short and came out completely because they are shorter than chin length but I can pin them like you do for your layers. Thank you :)

[KaleidoscopeEyz]

I lived in an "octopus clip" before I could do other buns...

Octopus clip....must find one! Thank you :)

[lapushka]

You're right, there's nothing wrong with a peacock twist! In fact, I will wear one today with one of my flexis. :) I bet the twist looked very nice on you! Must feel good to make a bun though, right?

A bun *is* really nice to wear, even though I fully enjoyed wearing a peacock twist!