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meteor
April 27th, 2015, 06:46 PM
Hi guys! :)
I'm having trouble figuring out which styles are good to try, because there are so many of them, and the process of expanding the repertoire seems to be somewhat hairtype-dependent.
I hope this thread can help some of us figure out which updos to try at which lengths and with which hair accessories. I know there is a certain progression to buns, but different hairtypes seem to work differently...

Please share which hairstyles you've tried successfully or not, at different lengths.

I'll begin:

1. Hairtype: 1c/2a - M/C - iii

2. Length: Classic - 45''

3. Slippery or grippy: Pretty slippery

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Blunt

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Braided Lazy Wrap Bun, Braided L-Infinity

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: Braided Spidermom's Bun (Double Loop LWB), Braided Nautilus, Ellingwoman Bun, braided double coronets (they tend to slide sometimes)

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): any styles based on French/Dutch braids (tangling issues), Nautilus (hair too short), LWB (wrap too loose/falls apart), Infinity/Figure-8 Bun (twist doesn't stay taut enough), Knot Bun (tangling issues and possibly hair too thick), Coronet braid (hair too short), Milkmaid braids (hair too long), French Twist (hair too long/thick), Gibson Tuck (hair too long/thick), Rosebun (tangling issues and rope braid unravelling)

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): Cinnabun, Braided Cinnabun (both stopped working around TBL length); Peacock Twist and Pinless Pun (Tucked Cinnabun) (both stopped working at BSL)

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: sticks, forks, fakkare & claw-clips (in sectioned styles)

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: none

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): elastics used as ponytail holders (stopped working at mid-back length, due to hair weight pulling)

12. Any additional information/notes: I rely a lot on simple 3-strand braids and do sectioned styles (e.g. from half-up bun, Regency updo, double buns...), because they seem to help with hold for slippery hair.

Thank you very much! :flowers:

FallingDarkness
April 27th, 2015, 06:57 PM
I'd recommend a Disc Bun but IDK my hair is only 30.5ish inches atm. :/ Your length puts mine to shame. Anyways, Disc Buns work great with hair sticks/pencils and are suuuuuuuuuuuuupppppper sturdy. Try it out?

cat11
April 28th, 2015, 06:48 AM
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=82713

This may be a good place to start compiling a new list :)

I second the disk bun. I'm wearing one right now, I'm 2 inches from waist.

My hair type is under my name, and these are the buns I can do:
flipped cinnabun- stable
cinnabun- not too stable
lwb- stable
split into two strands braided bun (only after hair has been bunned for a couple days and gets easier to work with, or the braids are too big and make a weird bump)
knot bun (very stable)
disc bun (very stable)

With iii hair it only bgan to be practical to braid in one braid at BSL. at APL it was very difficult and I could only make a few knots. Hope this info helps.

Hair accessories than work: sticks, forks to lesser extent, flexis, ribbons for ponytails

Hair accessories that don't work anymore: african butterfly clips (because peacock twists dont work anymore and dont know what else to do with it) and pony tail elastics for ponytails hurt my head from the weight after passing APL.

lapushka
April 28th, 2015, 07:14 AM
Great idea!

1. Hairtype: 2b/cFiii

2. Length: TBL+, 2/3 inches off from classic (only measure relative to milestones)

3. Slippery or grippy: Pretty grippy but it is silky smooth, just not slippery.

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Layers (compact cut method for shortest layers)

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: LWB, and only that one!

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: Cinnabun is sometimes still too loose (due to there not being enough coils yet, due to thickness & length)

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): Nautilus is my next go-to, I think but I'm not quite there yet due to my hair not being long enough yet for my thickness.

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): Peacock twist (stopped working at waist/hip because I needed to coil it up too much and it would no longer fit into the biggest claw clip I had), at that length buns became possible for the first time (I had tried at shorter lengths), so that was a nice coincidence.

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: 2-prong forks (mostly), sticks, Ficcare's & Flexi8's, claw clips (smaller ones for half-ups)

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: none

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): claw clips (the big ones) (at waist/hip, the hair would no longer fit)

12. Any additional information/notes: I'm a one horse pony, really only sticking to my LWB

meteor
April 28th, 2015, 12:21 PM
^ Thank you so very much, ladies! :flowers:

Lapushka, I'm like you: I use smaller claw-clips when I'm working from half-ups, but those super-huge ones don't actually hold my hair. I think claw-clips need to go around perimeters or hold only sections of thick hair to work their magic best. They don't necessarily work so well when used alone.

FallingDarkness, cat11, thank you for mentioning the disc bun! :thumbsup: I think it's the perfect solution for hair that's too thick/short for the full Lazy Wrap Bun, as it splits hair thickness in two. Also, if we do only the first half of the disc bun and leave the remaining hair loose, it creates Saralabyrinth's beautiful Lazy Wrap Ponytail (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=129368). :)

cat11, what is "split into two strands braided bun"? Is it a bun made out of 2 braids? Kind of like a braided Chinese bun? Or is it something else?

lapushka
April 28th, 2015, 12:41 PM
You're welcome, meteor!


Lapushka, I'm like you: I use smaller claw-clips when I'm working from half-ups, but those super-huge ones don't actually hold my hair. I think claw-clips need to go around perimeters or hold only sections of thick hair to work their magic best. They don't necessarily work so well when used alone.

Yes, I still *love* my small claw-clips, esp. the ones with the non-slip grips inside (that siliconey padlike thing), but the biggest ones I have no longer want to fit over my hair. The cut-off point was waist/hip for me, and that's when I transitioned into bunning. At first it was a bit of a struggle to get used to doing the hair differently, but once I found out it was bunnable... yes... yay! Finally. :D

Panth
April 28th, 2015, 01:59 PM
I'm very lazy with my hair, so this is not very representative. However...

1. Hairtype: 1b - F - currently low ii (prob. <2.5")

2. Length: Upper calf - very rough guesstimate of 57"

3. Slippery or grippy: Slippy, very slippy

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Fairytaled

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Braided cinnabun (spinpins), coronet braid (bobby pins), rosebun (spinpins).

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: Braided cinnabun (fork or sticks), non-braided cinnabun (spinpins), nautilus (sticks), centre-held braided cinnabun (fork or sticks), orchid bun (spinpins), equilibrium bun (spinpins). With a nautilus sometimes the skinny last foot or so of hair gets very tangled. With the cinnabuns and nautilus, I have stability issues most times. I do orchid and equilibrium rarely as they only look tidy if I erase my parting and do them higher than nape, which tends to cause headaches.

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): French twist (hair too long and too thin --> tucked length escapes), anything involving French/Dutch braids (hair too long --> tangles when sectioning), beebutt bun (hair too long/thin --> long, narrow, saggy, heavy, painful bun), sockbuns (tend to look like antennae, due to the size of the wrapped section at the base... maybe I wrap too tight, also thinness means it's hard to cover the sock).

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): Milkmaid/heidi braids (hair too long/thin - stopped working just past TBL), Frieda Kahlo braids (haven't tried them recently but I suspect my hair is now too long/thin - they worked at ~FTL).

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: Spinpins. I have one pair of sticks (cheap wooden ~6" ones) and one two-prong horn fork (4" functional length) that work passably most of the time and great occasionally.

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: None.

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): None. EDIT: Flexi-8s, due to nickel allergy --> itchy welts on scalp. I have the same issue when the polish rubs off my spinpins. :(

12. Any additional information/notes: I'm super-lazy, never learnt to French/Dutch/lace/whatever braid my own hair and routinely live in a braided cinnabun with spinpins. I like my buns very secure with an all-day hold and no re-doing. Due to that, plus a lack of desire to buy expensive hair toys that might not work, I don't experiment much. Also, the combination of extreme length and extreme thinness (plus taper) means many styles are off-limits. The end of my single English braid is <1/4" across, thus I risk tangling issues with wrapped buns and with anything that involves working with sectioned hair.

Calypso
April 28th, 2015, 02:05 PM
This is a good idea. :) I struggle with updos at my length and thickness, would be nice to get some other ideas!

1. Hairtype: 1a/M/iii

2. Length: Between BSL and waist.

3. Slippery or grippy: Slippery

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Blunt

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Lazy wrap bun, braided lazy wrap bun, double braided bun, disc bun, most braids (if we're counting braids as updos).

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: Ellingwoman bun (very messily), tucked braid, braided chinese bun. None of these feel particularly sturdy.

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): Milkmaid braids, it's really annoying, my hair's too long for it to work with two ordinary braids, and two short for it to work with two braids crossed behind my head. :( Nautilus, cinnabun, although I'm not sure if these are due to length or just the fact that I can't seem to do any sort of updo without braids. When my hair isn't braided the ends just don't tuck at all, and it unravels in seconds.

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): None that I can think of, yet.

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: I've only tried sticks, two pronged forks and flexis and they all work.

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: None that I've tried.

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): None.

12. Any additional information/notes: My hair is very stubborn, even the updos which work and feel stable tend to look messy with ends poking out. I think it's because it's still a bit too short for the thickness.

swords & roses
April 28th, 2015, 02:16 PM
Following! Will contribute when I get home from work! :)

AspenSong
April 28th, 2015, 02:27 PM
1. Hairtype: 1a/F/i

2. Length: A bit above Knee - 50"

3. Slippery or grippy: Slippery!

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Blunt - well, as "blunt" as my thinned out, already fine hair can be.

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Lazy Wrap bun, Cinnabun, Braided Cinnabun. Chinese bun, Vortex bun.

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: Double wrap Nautilus, my random Loopy bun I make...need to do a video on it. Jamie Leigh bun. Disc bun - if I can get it done right, which is like, one time in 7. haha.

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): I can't get an Infinity, figure-8 or Treble clef bun to work (they just pull out...hair too thin and fine I think and my hair hates having too much scalp leverage in buns), Helix bun (Too fine/thin hair - looks wonky with the length and the thinness....the coils aren't big enough to define it), Flipped cinnabun (the smaller coils always go wonky). Double buns, but that's partly because my hair is so fine and thin, my scalp cleavage is horrible.

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): Peacock twist (worked until about BSL), regular Nautilus (worked until about hip), Seashell bun (looked good and worked until about waist/hip), Psyche Knot (stopped working just before I reached Classic), Celtic knot bun (stopped working about Classic)

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: Sticks, 3-4 tined forks, Flexis

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: None really

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): Some of my smaller hair slides don't work great (stopped at about hip), Those Bendini clips (stopped working well after waist), A lot of 2-tined forks are iffy (always have been, unless they're spaced perfectly, which seems to be some measurement that barely exists). Those tiny ouchless elastics won't work for anything but to tie off a braid (stopped around waist/hip).

Robot Ninja
April 28th, 2015, 02:43 PM
Ooo, good idea for a thread. I'll contribute.

1. Hairtype: 1c/2a, M, high end of ii (3 5/8" ponytail.)

2. Length: Classic

3. Slippery or grippy: Depends on how clean it is.

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Long layers, taper, V hemline.

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Cinnabun with two sticks or DPKNs, Gibraltar bun, LWB with two loops, braided nautilus, disc bun.

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: LWB with a single loop, cinnabun with a single stick or fork, nautilus (it usually holds just fine, but often looks very explodey), Chinese bun.

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): French twist (too much hair, I think), infinity/figure 8 (too much taper, and it looks really uneven), Helix bun (hair too short/ends too thin), pha bun (I suck).

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): LWB stopped working reliably at classic.

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: sticks, forks, fakkares in sectioned styles. DPKN pins.

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: none.

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): none.

12. Any additional information/notes: I am not the greatest at making buns. I am also kinda lazy. It is entirely possible I might be able to get more styles to work if I put more effort into it, instead of saying "screw it" and throwing my hair into a cinnabun.

cathair
April 28th, 2015, 02:54 PM
1. Hairtype: 2b/2c/M/iii

2. Length: 38'' last time I measured five months ago. Not measuring till next month :P TBL+.

3. Slippery or grippy: Grippy, but lessening a little with continued use of cones.

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Very fairytaled.

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Lazy wrap bun, L-infinity, english braid, my own weird lace braid

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: french braid/dutch braid, cinnabun, flipped cinnabun, things that are rope braided.

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons):

- French twist, can't work out where to put the ends.
- Gibson tuck, just ends up being a bird's next.
- Lazy wrap ponytail. Section that is wrapped has to be so small for there to be any ponytail left. This means it has to be wrapped around about thirty times, this results is being very hard to unwrap and horrific tangling. I can see why Gossamer says lazy wraps don't work at her length and cause tangling. I would imagine it would be similar with the enormous amount of wrapping. Although with much, much, much more hair!
- Any type of braided bun. It just looked bad when it twists and I can never seem to start the braid in the right direction.
- disk buns, my hair just rejects those. They hurt, they tangle, just no.

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): Cinnabun with spin pins and spin pins in general. They just seem to droop down and fall out these days. Not sure why they suddenly stopped working. Doesn't seem to matter how much scalp hair I pick up. Cinnabun's sort of turn into weird bee butt buns which end up dropping too. I think because I have to wrap my hair too many times. I'd need bobby pins or something to be able to wrap it less and I don't like them.

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: Almost always wear moons, they are more practical to be than sticks and forks. But they work too. And hair ties :P ribbons, although don't need to tie braids. Only do it when I want to look 'tidier'.

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: One of those barrette things with the stick that goes through it. Too small to hold all my hair in a bun, too big for a half up. Too small for a peacock twist too. Doesn't work for ponytails either. Wish it did!

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): spin pins. I am hoping these will work again someday, as I have tons of them now. Not sure if it's length causing the issues, don't see why it would. But could use these find at waist - hip. Little claw clips, they just fall out. Again not sure if that's a length or technique issue. Haven't tried the big ones, don't like them.

12. Any additional information/notes: I could probably do with learning some more buns!

Nique1202
April 28th, 2015, 02:56 PM
1. Hairtype: 2C - M (with a distribution of very fine and extremely coarse hairs) - iii (solid 4")

2. Length: Hip 29"

3. Slippery or grippy: Slippery

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Layered up to shoulder

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Disc bun, cinnabun (only because the layers thin it out, and I need 3 spin pins to hold it together), Heidi braids, dutch braids, ponytails but I only wear them maybe once a month because of damage

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: Lazy wrap bun (held once for a few hours but I had to make it VERY tight and around only one finger), french braids (if I make my additions too big the front and top layers fall out within an hour, I have to make very tight and small additions), braided cinnabun (sometimes falls apart if I don't use enough pins or I place them poorly)

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): Nautilus (the tail end is too slippery and short to grip around the base), coronet and twin coronet braid (not enough length, coronet goes about halfway and gets extremely thin by the end and twin coronet each go about 5/8 of the way), infinity/figure-8 bun (not enough length, I can barely get one coil let alone another to flip over)

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): Gibson tuck stopped between apl and bsl

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: Spin pins, hair sticks, elastics (though I don't use them often because they damage my hair something fierce)

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: none

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): none

12. Any additional information/notes: I haven't tried fastening styles with multiple small claw clips at all but I assume they would work if I had any, I also haven't tried forks or ficcares or I think any other styling tools except elastics, and I haven't tried many other updos that aren't listed above. I basically look for the shortest tutorial videos (usually a good sign it's easy and fast to do with a bit of practice) and the cheapest and longest-lasting tools available to me in a very small rural city with very few stores. :laugh:

meteor
April 28th, 2015, 03:03 PM
Wow! Thank you very much, everyone! :flowers: Those are all extremely helpful replies, especially with the reasoning added for why or when something works/doesn't work! :applause

Panth, what's a "centre-held braided cinnabun"? Is it like a braided LWB or a braided nautilus, by any chance?

Calypso, we seem to have very similar bunning concerns, probably due to pretty similar hair types! :hifive: I also need my hair to be braided before I can bun in. I posted a list of braided updos here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=124183&p=2756756&viewfull=1#post2756756) a while ago, with links to tutorials (it might be of help to those who need to braid before bunning). Also, what's a "double braided bun"? Is it a sectioned bun from half-up braid bunned and then the bottom hair braided and bunned around that half-up? :)

AspenSong, if you can't get Infinity/Figure-8 to work (I can't either), have you checked out this alternative: the so-called L-Infinity (Lazy Infinity) bun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fzn4gNWIVQ)? I do this thing braided and it's so incredibly easy and balanced! At your length, you can probably do the Double Wrapped Alternate Infinity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrEha6RhvxA), too. :)

I'll totally need to check out all of the styles you guys mentioned that I haven't seen tutorials for! So many excellent ideas, thank you! :flowers:

cathair
April 28th, 2015, 03:06 PM
3. Slippery or grippy: Depends on how clean it is.


Love that answer :D

Calypso
April 28th, 2015, 03:28 PM
Calypso, we seem to have very similar bunning concerns, probably due to pretty similar hair types! :hifive: I also need my hair to be braided before I can bun in. I posted a list of braided updos here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=124183&p=2756756&viewfull=1#post2756756) a while ago, with links to tutorials (it might be of help to those who need to braid before bunning). Also, what's a "double braided bun"? Is it a sectioned bun from half-up braid bunned and then the bottom hair braided and bunned around that half-up? :)

Thanks very much for the link! That's really helpful! Luckily I prefer the look of braided buns to non braided, so it's all good. :) And that's exactly what I meant by a double braided bun! I do it with either normal braids or rope braids, and it's really comfy because of the sectioning. Not sure if there's a proper name for it, though.

cat11
April 28th, 2015, 03:28 PM
cat11, what is "split into two strands braided bun"? Is it a bun made out of 2 braids? Kind of like a braided Chinese bun? Or is it something else?

Yeah, I tie a ponytail with a ribbon, split it in two and braid both sides, untie the ribbon, and then wrap into a cinnamon bun. :) Im sure there's a better way to name it.

Panth
April 28th, 2015, 03:42 PM
Panth, what's a "centre-held braided cinnabun"? Is it like a braided LWB or a braided nautilus, by any chance?

I may be using the wrong name. Basically,
- braided cinnabun = do English braid, make into spiral shape (holding flat against head w/ one hand), insert stick/fork/spinpins (I tend to do my pair of sticks as an = rather than X configuration)
- "centre-held braided cinnabun" = insert stick/fork horizontally at base of English braid, wrap cinnabun flat-spiral shape behind the two protruding sides of the stick/fork, add second stick if desired and maybe a jumbo bobby pin to keep the tassle from untucking and the whole thing from unravelling (tbh, this for me is a "lazy at home" style and I usually just use my fork/two sticks, leave the band on the bottom of the braid to prevent unravelling and re-do the bun periodically as the braid slithers free)

AspenSong - I notice we have a similar hairtype and length. Would you recommend 3-4 prong forks? What functional length do you tend to use? I only have a 2-prong horn quecraft fork and it doesn't work great for me. Partly because the horn is slippery and partly because it tends to not stay flat, but flips so it's edge-on. I can totally relate to the "needs perfect placement, which is nigh impossible" issue with 2-prong forks.

Robot Ninja - I'm glad I'm not the only longhair who has little patience for learning new styles and just defaults to a cinnabun.

Cathair - to prevent cinnabuns from turning into beebutt buns at longer lengths, have you tried using multiple spinpins but inserting several with the pin-insert point on the outermost loop but at least one with the pin-insert point on the edge of a middle loop (does that make sense?) - this is how I get cinnabuns to work and not convert to bee butt buns - the initial spinpins hold the outermost and middle loops to my scalp, the last pin holds the middle of the bun to the middle loop (which is already secure due to the other pins) but doesn't actually contact the scalp or the outermost loop

meteor
April 28th, 2015, 06:38 PM
Thank you so very much for your answers, ladies! :flowers:


3. Slippery or grippy: Depends on how clean it is.

Love that answer :D
Ha-ha! Me too! :lol:
Also, I find I only dare to try new updos on unfresh, oily hair - it's just safer that way! Better grip and less hair snapping too! ;)

Robot Ninja, what's DPKNs? :oops: Sorry if it's a stupid question, Google is not helping me there much.

Cathair, I know what you mean about excessive # of wraps on disc bun or lazy wrap pony being potentially tangle-inducing. :) The ends will be buried so heavily under multiple wraps, no wonder there would be tangles if the hair is super long. Disc bun is awesome in that it cut required length by half for this LWB alternative. I find if I start doing a bit too many wraps for my liking, I just prefer to do add second loop instead: for example, braided L-finity or spidermom's bun (double-loop LWB) instead of LWB. I think it's a viable option for hair that gets tangled when it's compacted too much.

Calypso, cat11, Panth, thank you so very much for explaining those hair-friendly styles in detail! :flower:

Panth, that "cenre-held braided cinnabun" sure sounds hair-friendly! :thumbsup: It sounds like it's similar to the Jamie Leigh/pinless braided bun, only with an English braid as the base instead of French. I need to try this. :D And maybe it will have a tight hold with a Faux French Technique (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kOyGD_KOoA) or starting with a Luana braid (https://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/luana-braids/) as the base to keep the bun from slithering free?... :hmm:

Robot Ninja
April 28th, 2015, 06:58 PM
Ha-ha! Me too! :lol:
Also, I find I only dare to try new updos on unfresh, oily hair - it's just safer that way! Better grip and less hair snapping too! ;)

My clean hair just does not want to be up. It wants to flow wild and free like nature intended. All my updos start sliding down and pulling at my scalp within an hour or so.


Robot Ninja, what's DPKNs? :oops: Sorry if it's a stupid question, Google is not helping me there much.

Double pointed knitting needles. You bend them in half around a doorknob or a shelf or similarly sized thing, they're like mini-forks or really big hairpins.

meteor
April 28th, 2015, 07:10 PM
^ Thanks a lot, Robot Ninja! :D

AZDesertRose
April 28th, 2015, 08:06 PM
1. Hairtype: 1c - F/M - iii

2. Length: APL (not sure how long in inches or cm)

3. Slippery or grippy: Slippery unless dry shampooed.

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Blunt

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Gibson tuck, French braid, two infinity buns (one above the other; my hair is too thick to do a single infinity bun at this length), looped ponytail (basically I wear that only when I'm being super lazy, LOL), topsy tail, ETA: sock bun.

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: Cinnabun, French twist.

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): Lazy wrap bun (can't get it to stay, not sure why), Figure-8 bun (even splitting my hair in half and doing two of them side by side, my hair is just too thick for them to hold at this length).

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): None.

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: Sticks, Good Hair Days pins, ponytail holders (ouchless), bobby pins, scrunchies (usually wear it in a scrunchie-held style to bed), ETA: the Ravenslair hair fork DOES work, LOL, silly me for assuming it wouldn't until my hair gets longer again. :D

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: None, really.

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): None.

12. Any additional information/notes: I do an English braid a lot because it's easy and it keeps my hair off my face and neck. (I live in Florida, so the climate is quite warm, so "off the face and neck" is generally a good thing for me. :D )

Panth
April 29th, 2015, 01:09 AM
Panth, that "cenre-held braided cinnabun" sure sounds hair-friendly! :thumbsup: It sounds like it's similar to the Jamie Leigh/pinless braided bun, only with an English braid as the base instead of French. I need to try this. :D And maybe it will have a tight hold with a Faux French Technique (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kOyGD_KOoA) or starting with a Luana braid (https://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/luana-braids/) as the base to keep the bun from slithering free?... :hmm:

Ah, that's where I got it from. Yeah, that makes sense - I can't French braid, hence why when my brain went "I have a vague recollection of a bun, let's try it!" it came up with that. I do have issues with the base of the braid sagging throughout the day, which makes the whole bun increasingly unable to be stable (hence: at-home style). A French braid would work far better, I think. With English braids, I can get a tighter braid base if I braid over the top of my head rather than bringing the braid over one shoulder - if I do the latter, I always get a looser/saggier side on the side opposite to the side I braided on.

YvetteVarie
April 29th, 2015, 01:33 AM
1. Hairtype: 4a/4b, M/C, iii

2. Length: SL/APL

3. Slippery or grippy: Grippy

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Layers

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: French braid, Dutch braid, sock bun (with sock, sometimes without), looped ponytail, Gibson tuck

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: N/A

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): french twist (hair too thick for this at this length), crown braid (ditto on thickness)

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): None.

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: ponytail holders, bobby pins, scrunchies, claw clips,

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: None, I haven't invested in many accessories yet

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): None.

12. Any additional information/notes: I need to put more effort into learning how to do more buns/braids. And also invest in a hair stick or two. My hair is also extremely thick and curly, so I need more length to do some updos

Marika
April 29th, 2015, 06:34 AM
1. Hairtype: 1c - F - ii

2. Length: Hip

3. Slippery or grippy: Very slippery

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Blunt(ish) - I microtrim every 3 months

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Spidermom's Bun is pretty much the only really reliable one, disc bun comes close second, nautilus bun (especially w/Flexi8 ), flipped cinnabun (only w/Ficcare)

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: LWB, cinnabun, Figure 8/Infinity, chinese bun, pretzel bun etc. Slipperiness is my main problem.

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): French twist (I guess my hair is too long), braided buns (I guess my hair is too short and thin = buns look really small when braided)

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): a basic ponytail because now my hair gets really tangled if I wear one. Ponytail was fine until APL.

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: claw clips, Ficcares, forks, Flexi 8s, sticks (I don't wear sticks often because they fall out in 30 seconds)

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: none. But I hate all kinds of pins (except Amish) but that's nothing to do with length. I can't get them out of my hair without ripping it.

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): none

12. Any additional information/notes: I wish my hair wasn't so darn slippery and I could actually braid my hair :face:

meteor
April 29th, 2015, 05:24 PM
^ Thank you very much for all the awesome contributions, guys! :flowers:
And looking forward to more! :cheer:



7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): Lazy wrap bun (can't get it to stay, not sure why).

For the LWB, I highly recommend checking out Haartraum's tips for different ways of getting this bun to work. (I have to stick out a thumb, for example, but others may prefer thumb-less versions....)
She shows all the variants very clearly in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltIpMdKZu9g and she created short summary notes in English here: http://haartraumfrisuren.de/2014/09/29/lazy-wrap-bun-neuauflage/ (need to scroll down a bit).


5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: French braid, Dutch braid, sock bun (with sock, sometimes without), looped ponytail, Gibson tuck.

Oh, you can do a sock-less sock bun? :D How do you do that? I'd love to learn how to do that, because socks are way too heavy and messy for me to use. :)


10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: none. But I hate all kinds of pins (except Amish) but that's nothing to do with length. I can't get them out of my hair without ripping it.

I'm like that too: pins rip out hair, so inconvenient to use... Also, they get lost in my hair way too often, until I find out the hard way - by ripping them out together with tangled hair as I'm detangling. :lol: I wish I could find Amish pins locally, though...


Also, I totally forgot to mention a few more styles that I remembered I fail to do on my hair:

- orchid bun (possibly need less thickness or more taper to twist it properly and get this one to stay);
- flipped cinnabun (the flip doesn't happen properly, but results in massive tangles and I don't have anything big/strong enough to pin the resulting flipped mess down);
- seashell bun (hair too long).

AZDesertRose
April 29th, 2015, 05:53 PM
Thank you, meteor! :) I'll give that a look here in a minute.

AZDesertRose
April 29th, 2015, 09:36 PM
Holy freaking cow! Those tips worked! I got a lazy wrap to go up and freaking stay put!! :magic:

I also realized in playing with my hair that I should use my pretty Ravenslair hair fork more often, because it held the lazy wrap better than a hair stick, and it actually held a figure-8 bun (which stayed but was not pretty because my hair is really still too short at my thickness to do a pretty figure-8 ).

AspenSong
April 29th, 2015, 10:18 PM
AspenSong, if you can't get Infinity/Figure-8 to work (I can't either), have you checked out this alternative: the so-called Double Wrapped Alternate Infinity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fzInfinity (Lazy Infinity) bun[/URL]? I do this thing braided and it's so incredibly easy and balanced! At your length, you can probably do the [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrEha6RhvxA), too. :)

I haven't tried those! I'll give them a shot in the morning. :)




AspenSong - I notice we have a similar hairtype and length. Would you recommend 3-4 prong forks? What functional length do you tend to use? I only have a 2-prong horn quecraft fork and it doesn't work great for me. Partly because the horn is slippery and partly because it tends to not stay flat, but flips so it's edge-on. I can totally relate to the "needs perfect placement, which is nigh impossible" issue with 2-prong forks.

I personally would definitely recommend checking out 3 or 4 prong forks. I stay under 5" if possible, my best working ones are like 4" fpl usually. I really didn't think I even liked forks since I'd only had 2 pronged ones and they just rarely worked for me....but more prongs made so much difference. I got a 3 prong 60th st fork and it spreads your hair out kind of and holds soooo much better. At least for me. Also head curve helps me with them too...

Arete
April 29th, 2015, 11:31 PM
1. Hairtype: 2C M/C iii

2. Length: BCL - 39''

3. Slippery or grippy: Pretty grippy, but my hair is quite determined to stay in it's natural form and doesn't like staying in buns

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: fairy tale

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: infinity bun, hypno bun, disc bun

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length: lazy wrap bun, figure 8, cinnabun

7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons): a Nautilus (hair just won't stay), Spidermom's bun (hair falls out)

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): Nautilus (stopped at BCL), ponytails (waist)

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: sticks (hoping to try forks soon, I feel they'll work better with my hair type)

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: none

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths):

12. Any additional information/notes: I largely wear braided styles in all forms. Still learning updos

YvetteVarie
April 30th, 2015, 06:25 AM
^
Oh, you can do a sock-less sock bun? :D How do you do that? I'd love to learn how to do that, because socks are way too heavy and messy for me to use. :)


I guess I can do it since my hair is shorter, and extremely curly. But what I do is simply do a ponytail like I'm doing a sock bun. Then instead of tucking my hair under the sock, I simply fold my hair underneath itself (I find it hard to explain). But having curly hair gives more volume and makes it appear to be a fuller bun even when you are still SL/APL

meteor
April 30th, 2015, 03:15 PM
YvetteVarie, Thanks a lot! :D So great that you can do that cool shape without any sock underneath! :thumbsup: Very cool! :D

Oh Arete, it's such a bummer that the nautilus stopped working for you... :( Maybe it will start working again when the hair can create a bigger loop? :pray: I'm looking forward to being able to do this some day... and I'm beginning to wonder if it's just too tight of a style or something... It looks like it would be rock-solid and maybe even pinless (depending on the grippiness of hair). :)


Holy freaking cow! Those tips worked! I got a lazy wrap to go up and freaking stay put!! :magic:

Yay! :happydance: That's awesome! So happy for you, AZDesertRose! :applause Yes, Haartraum/Vanessa really covered all nooks and crannies of the LWB, so her video is super-helpful to get the LWB technique down (and if the hair is too rebellious for it, we can always do it braided or twisted - the Gibraltar Bun). ;)

jupiterinleo
April 30th, 2015, 03:58 PM
Oh this is a fantastic thread idea! So helpful.

Hairtype:
BCL 2a/F/iii, ~4.20" circumference, slippery, ends somewhere between blunt and fairytale

Reliable updos:
Lazy wrap bun
Disc bun
Cinnamon bun - fork only; spin pin + scrunchie only; no sticks for some reason
Braided cinnamon bun

Sometimes updos:
Figure-8 bun (if using long thin hair stick)
Braided lazy wrap

Unsuccessful updos:
Nautilus bun
Knot Bun
Any bun requiring the twisting of a loop. Loops at my thickness and length do not have a large enough opening to be stable without unraveling the whole bun.

Updos that are no longer functioning:
Ponytail with elastic - though I can go for a few hours with a high ponytail if using a scrunchie
Bee butt bun with scrunchie - too long and heavy
Any kind of bun that involves elastics only.

Working hair accessories:
Forks (two-prong, though I've only ever owned/used a two-prong)
Sticks
Spin pins (in conjunction with a scrunchie)
Claw clips - for half ups; 2 on each side of a figure-8 bun holds very nicely

Non-working hair accessories:
A single elastic for bunning (it's fine for braids)
A single claw clip

Hair accessories that are no longer functioning:
A single elastic for cinnamon buns/bee butt buns
Medium-sized claw clips. I need huge clips now, even when using multiple.

AZDesertRose
April 30th, 2015, 04:44 PM
With regard to my long-delayed LWB success, it might help that I dry-shampooed my hair last night before I started trying to play with it. (I have to dry-shampoo for now because I had very minor dermatological surgery on my left shoulder and I'm not supposed to get the incision site wet.) The dry shampoo tends to make it much less slippy.

But it went up into a LWB last night and it's in one now, been that way all day. :D

Arete
April 30th, 2015, 05:52 PM
YvetteVarie,
Oh Arete, it's such a bummer that the nautilus stopped working for you... :( Maybe it will start working again when the hair can create a bigger loop? :pray: I'm looking forward to being able to do this some day... and I'm beginning to wonder if it's just too tight of a style or something... It looks like it would be rock-solid and maybe even pinless (depending on the grippiness of hair). :)

It's like I have too much hair now and it wants to explode out of the nautilus. I've tried varying the loop size and it doesn't make a difference. I'm wondering if it'll stay better whan there are more ends to wrap around?

meteor
April 30th, 2015, 07:29 PM
^ jupiterinleo, thanks a lot for those interesting answers! :D


Unsuccessful updos:
Nautilus bun
Knot Bun
Any bun requiring the twisting of a loop. Loops at my thickness and length do not have a large enough opening to be stable without unraveling the whole bun.

Oh that's a perfect way of putting it! :D I couldn't figure out what exactly is difficult with the knot but or nautilus and other similar buns for me, but it's exactly that I can't make a good big loop to push hair through, or if I do, the ends are falling out/exploding (not enough length).


It's like I have too much hair now and it wants to explode out of the nautilus. I've tried varying the loop size and it doesn't make a difference. I'm wondering if it'll stay better whan there are more ends to wrap around?

Ditto for me. :agree: I hope once more wrapping can be achieved (with length), it might actually stabilize the bun. It does seem to work as a half-up/third-up for me, though. :)

Arete
April 30th, 2015, 07:33 PM
Ditto for me. :agree: I hope once more wrapping can be achieved (with length), it might actually stabilize the bun. It does seem to work as a half-up/third-up for me, though. :)
Something I tried tonight: Make a nautilus, but split the center ala a hypno bun. I actually like how it feels better than the hypno bun which can pull sometimes, where this seems just as stable but pulls less

meteor
April 30th, 2015, 07:38 PM
Something I tried tonight: Make a nautilus, but split the center ala a hypno bun. I actually like how it feels better than the hypno bun which can pull sometimes, where this seems just as stable but pulls less

Oh sweet! :D Congrats! :applause I should try this! I'm not sure how exactly this is done, but I'll try splitting the middle (wrapped) section in two...

Arete
April 30th, 2015, 07:43 PM
Oh sweet! :D Congrats! :applause I should try this! I'm not sure how exactly this is done, but I'll try splitting the middle (wrapped) section in two...
you know the part you put your stick through, the little "loop" that is formed? split it in two, spread these two loops out flat across the bun, then run the stick through both like you would for hypno or a disc bun

meteor
April 30th, 2015, 07:58 PM
^ A-ha! Awesome! Thanks a bunch, Arete! :flowers: I'll try it when my hair is less poofy - it's freshly washed and rebellious at the moment, so kind of hard to put up, he-he. :oops:

AZDesertRose
May 4th, 2015, 08:59 PM
meteor, I'm glad I'm not the only one whose freshly-washed hair really gets an attitude, LOL. :)

Oh, and thank you again for the tips about doing a LWB. I'm so happy I can do that now; it's so easy now that I got the hang of it that I'm tempted to use it TOO much. (I like to change up my styles and not wear my hair the same way all the time, but the LWB is so freaking convenient!)

TrapperCreekD
May 6th, 2015, 11:15 AM
1. Hairtype: 2c/3a - M - ii/iii

2. Length: ~TBL – 38''ish last time I measured.

3. Slippery or grippy: Grippy.

4. Layers/fairytale ends or blunt: Fairytale ends in a V-ish shape.

5. Updos that reliably work for you at this length: Pretty much every bun/updo I know. TBL really seems to be the sweet spot for me to do most styles.
♥ LWB (braided & regular, french/dutch base)
♥ Nautilus (braided & regular, french/dutch base)
♥ Cinna bun (braided & regular)
♥ Rose bun
♥ Disk bun
♥ Vortex bun
♥ French/Dutch pinless (jamie leigh)
♥ Helix
♥ Figure 8
♥ Orchid bun
♥ Chameleon bun
♥ Pha bun
♥ Link bun
♥ Celtic Knot
♥ Ellingwoman bun
♥ Gibraltar
♥ Woven bun
♥ Chinese bun (braided & unbraided)
♥ Gibson tuck
♥ Serpentine updo
♥ Crown braid
♥ Sock bun
♥ folded braid(s)
♥ bow bun

6. Updos that sometimes work for you at this length:
♠ Flipped Cinnabun. I've only tried this a couple times, so I'm chalking this up to needing more practice.
♠ tucked French/Dutch braids. My braid's getting a little too long to effortlessly fit completely under the scalp hair without creating a huge bulge.
♠ Knot bun. I'm still figuring this one out... if my hair was much thicker, I wouldn't be able to do this one at all.
♠ Puffed Not-tilus. I can just barely do this with some major fiddling, need more length to be easy.
♠ French twist slide.


7. Updos that you have tried but don't work for you at this length (please specify reasons):
♣ Coronet braids. Too short/thick for French or Dutch; an English braid just reaches but it looks a little ridiculous with my taper
♣ Comet version of the Knot bun. Too short, I only have about a 4” tail.
♣ Peacock twist, for obvious reasons. It's great for shortening your length to a shoulder/APL ponytail. ♣ Coronet braid (hair too short/thick)
♣ French Twist (hair too long/thick).

8. Updos that worked in the past but stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths):
♦ French Twist. Stopped working somewhere between Hip+ and TBL.

9. Hair accessories that work for you at this length: sticks, forks, flexis, fakkare & claw-clips

10. Hair accessories that you have tried but don't work for you yet at this length: None.

11. Hair accessories that stopped working for you (please specify at which lengths): None, really. I've nearly outgrown the functional length of a couple toys but I can still use them, just need to put a little extra thought into my hairstyle when I want to wear them.

12. Any additional information/notes: I'm probably should categorize myself as iii since most days my hair is 4”- 4.25”, but taper, fairytale ends, and occasional measurements under 4” make ii/iii seem like a better fit.