How long does my hair have to be to wear a hair toy?

[MagicalCurls]

Sorry that I'm only posting questions on here. I'm a newbie so advising others is a big no-no way in case I say the wrong thing. :couch:
I've saved up since January for a pair of hair sticks. I have a tiny doughnut ring bun in and my hair is about 10 inches.
I was thinking of tying my hair into a bun and sliding the sticks in but a girl in my class with hip length 1a hair said that hair sticks are meant to be used alone to tie up the hair in a bun, not used simply as decoration.
I'm not sure if she's right?

[lapushka]

It all depends on your hair's thickness, TBH. I could wear a peacock twist at APL, but had to wear it until waist/hip when it "just" became possible to wear a LWB for me. I don't use sticks as decoration but to put the hair up. This might be different. If you are shorter and use say a sock bun, then you can use them as decoration.

[Arien]

Hair sticks are intended to be used to hold your hair up on their own but if you want to use them purely for decorative purposes then who is to say you can't. It is your hair after all and they will still look pretty. They might not stay in so well though so be careful you don't loose them.

My hair is just past collar bone length and I can put mine up in a mini cinnabun with one stick now. In fact I had nothing to tie my hair up with earlier and I was getting so annoyed with it I used a pencil. I can't usually use two sticks until my hair is APL or longer.

[lilin]

Sorry that I'm only posting questions on here. I'm a newbie so advising others is a big no-no way in case I say the wrong thing. :couch:
I've saved up since January for a pair of hair sticks. I have a tiny doughnut ring bun in and my hair is about 10 inches.
I was thinking of tying my hair into a bun and sliding the sticks in but a girl in my class with hip length 1a hair said that hair sticks are meant to be used alone to tie up the hair in a bun, not used simply as decoration.
I'm not sure if she's right?

Hair sticks are made to hold up hair by themselves, in the sense that is how a maker should expect people will use them and they should be made strong enough to do so.

But there's absolutely no reason they can't be decorative. I've used them that way when my hair was too short to use a hair stick by itself. At the end of the day, you can use them however you want. :)

[MagicalCurls]

Thank you all for the replies ;-)
I'll wait until I get to at least full shoulder length/12 inches.

[cat11]

She's right! I would wait until about APL personally, my hair had to be that long before I could start to bun. But it doesnt hurt to buy them earlier because you can do half ups before you can do regular buns and if you get them early, you can keep on trying to make it work until it does, so you'll have them working sooner than if you estimated and waited to a safe point.

[Lianna]

Hairsticks are functional and decoration, if not decoration they would all be just a plain stick! You probably can do a cheater hairstick bun. I could do it at shoulder length. That's a style that is functional aswell, but uses an elastic too. My favorite toy is still an extra small flexi for half ups though.

[cathair]

When I was at school, people didn't know you could put your hair up with them and nothing else. We used them as decoration in other types of bun, it was trendy then. If you want to wear them, just wear them :) You've saved along time for them, enjoy them! Your hair will grow into them soon enough :)

[restless]

Sorry that I'm only posting questions on here. I'm a newbie so advising others is a big no-no way in case I say the wrong thing. :couch:

Dont be shy :) I bet very few people on here are professionals, Id rather say we´re just a bunch of happy amateurs with a big interest of hair. Of course, if one has absolutely no idea what theyre talking about due to zero experience (like me, with henna), its probably not that good if they start throwing advices all around. Howerver, Im sure there are plenty of areas where you DO have a lot of experience and knowledge and thus, its valuable here. In most cases, the personal experiences is what we search for when asking a question, right? :) Post it!

Regarding the hair sticks; buy ´em, have fun and fake them buns if you have to intially. With time your hair will become long enough to be held up by the hair sticks alone, but for now, do what works for you.

[Saproxylic]

I have around shoulder length hair, that is super slippery and I can do a twist that holds with sticks alone, I only have to pin a few of the shortest strands of the nape hair (or should I say pencils, I haven't gotten any nice sticks for myself yet), even though my hair is to short to do any kind of a bun, so sticks should probably work for you in one way or another. And there sure isn't any rule that forbids sticking sticks in a differently held bun just for decoration!

[browneyedsusan]

Sorry that I'm only posting questions on here. I'm a newbie so advising others is a big no-no way in case I say the wrong thing. :couch:
I've saved up since January for a pair of hair sticks. I have a tiny doughnut ring bun in and my hair is about 10 inches.
I was thinking of tying my hair into a bun and sliding the sticks in but a girl in my class with hip length 1a hair said that hair sticks are meant to be used alone to tie up the hair in a bun, not used simply as decoration.
I'm not sure if she's right?

Says who?! If you know something, share it! If you hoard valuable hair information, we'll all come over and give you 50 lashes with a wet noodle! if you have hair, you're qualified! --this from the lady who joined after wearing pixies for many years. :)

Try a disc bun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h37ORDkKm0E)? My hair is super-slippy, too. If your updo slides out, wait 4 or 6 weeks and try again!
(Tutorial by TLHCer LauraLongLocks. Disc bun at 3:14ish in the video. You might need to just wrap hair around one or two fingers, instead of 3. Try it a couple of ways and see if you can make it work! )

ETA: The girl in your class sounds like a cow. She should have said something like: "Nice hairstick! Soon you'll be able to hold your hair up with just a hairstick, but you've found a neat work-around. Aren't you clever!"

[chen bao jun]

I could use some at shorter than shoulder. It depends on your hair and the s I've and kind of stick. My hair is very curly, puf f y and thick.so while I still can't do a lot of buns properly at mid back, I could do a twist that was almost a bun and hold it with certain sticks back then. The first kinds I could use were sticks wit a twist like ketylo, skinny ones.
Flexi 8s work early, ficcare works (most women who buy ficcare from Nordstrom don't have long hair and they can do those french twists and peacock twists) and there are always the beautiful France luxe claws in about 1 dozen different s tyles.

[Nique1202]

There are instructions on youtube for french twists held with just a hair stick that worked for me from shoulder on as long as I didn't mind a bit of a tail sticking up out of it. Then there's the classic "put the stick halfway down the length of the hair and twist it into the hair until it won't twist anymore, then shove the end of the stick underneath your twisty thing into the scalp hair". Or, do a bun fastened with a ponytail holder or scrunchie or spin pins (spin pins are a huge help for hair that's too short or thick to bun on its own) and use the sticks decoratively.

It's nobody's business but yours if your sticks are used for support or for decoration. There's no right or wrong way to use them unless you count making a bun so tight it breaks the stick. Do what you can and what makes you happy.

[Agnes Hannah]

Hi MagicalCurls, I have just learnt to use a stick, my hair is very fine and thin, I am at hip. I bought a couple of sticks because I like them, and was disappointed when they fell out. That was a year ago, now they do work, but only in the last couple of weeks. If I wanted to use them before, I faked it with spinpins etc. They give me pleasure and if others don't like that they can go away or not look. Enjoy your hairtoys!

[Majorane]

I recently got asked by someone why I had to be all fake Chinese-y and wear chopsticks in my hair every darn day. One, that's a very dubious comment to make, and two, 90% of the non-LHC part of the population has no clue that a stick in your hair is for FUNCTIONAL purposes. So screw them all and stick as many sticks in that bun of yours, and rock it like a boss. Oh, one piece of advise, when in doubt choose for the 5 inch sticks instead of the 7 inch ones, because of the size of your bun.

Of course when the 7 inch stick is much nicer, go for that one. Propellorhead for the win!

[mssummerrose]

I can't use just a stick, but I've got done cute ones! So I use the stick, then toss in a couple of spin pins. Just have fun!

[DweamGoiL]

Totally agree...rock it if you want to!!!

Another work around is to hold your hair in a ponytail at about ear height and then wrap your hair around your ponytail like you would for a cinnabun. So first, ponytail with not too thick of a hair friendly elastic, and then twist your hair into a sausage around the base of the ponytail. Hold the bun as flat as possible against your head and then insert the stick behind the ponytail and close to your scalp. You can still weave it through the top, grab some scalp hair and then have it come out of the bottom of the bun. You might have some loose wispies, which you can tuck in with some pins. No shame in it, I hold my stragglers up in the same way.

Also, the girl in your class seems to feel she has one up on you because your hair is not as long. These types of snide comments can only hurt you if you let them. It really is none of her business what you use the stick for. I say wear it and enjoy it!!!

[Doreen]

I think a better way to say it is that they are able to be used alone and should be able to support the weight of the hair, but I'm not of the thought that there is one way that you are supposed to wear them to be considered wrong or right; ie just because they have that ability doesn't mean you necessarily need to make use of it. If you find a way to arrange them in your hair that makes you happy -- as a support alone, half-supporting, or merely decoration -- I think you should go for it. And post some action shots too if you feel like it!

[Majorane]

I can't use just a stick, but I've got done cute ones! So I use the stick, then toss in a couple of spin pins. Just have fun!

And don't bump the spinpins into your hairstick :eek: or your hairstick will get a nick in it's body. Ask me how I found that one out. Also, same applies for your lovely antique ultra rare megaloved black sparkly glittered superturbo haircomb. If you stick something in a bun that's held together by pins, for the love of cheese BE CAREFUL.

[vpatt]

There is a list of updos first APL and shorter hair. Sorry I don't think I can do links.