fast hairstyles for heavy hair?

[Emila]

Hi all, Im new here. Im growing my hair but I have chronic neck/shoulder issues and the weight of my hair is resulting in a lot of pain in my neck and lately Ive been getting headaches a lot. To make matters worse I can't seem to raise my arms to my hair for very long without getting a lot of pain in my shoulders- a french braid is my limit and I dont do it often. The pain is worse if Im reaching to the back of my head.
Most days I put my hair in a simple bun, but I get sick of the same hairstyle and lately have been getting headacbes with the buns. (I just put my hair in a pony tail, twist the hair, spiral it into a bun and secure with bobby pins and another hair elastic.) Pony tail seems to drag on my head creating neck pain. French braid is good for my neck and head but as mentioned above hurts to create.
Id love some suggestions of some other hairstyles or different types of buns that I could try. I have googled hairstyles for heavy hair without much results. Im not very talented with hairstyles and Dont have much time so the simpler the better :-)
want to see if I can avoid getting my hair cut!
Thanks so much for your help

[Arctic]

It would be helpful to know your hairtype, and length, because these affect the possible styles a lot. :flower:

[missmelaniem]

Dont know what your hair goals are or your hair length or type, but layers can relive some weight from your hair... even thinning shears (done underneath the top layer) would remove some of the bulk/weight.

[LongCurlyTress]

Hey! Welcome to LHC Emila! You mention that you make a ponytail before bunning.... I have very thick almost tailbone length curly hair and the weight can be heavy and pull on my scalp like you have been experiencing. Something that helps me is instead of using a ponytail elastic, is to just simply do a cinamon or lazy wrap nape length bun and use only a hairstick if your hair is long enough. So far, the weight of my hair doesn't bother me with a bun at nape length, but any higher and it does seem to pull on my scalp hairs and feel heavier for some reason. Youtube is great for tutorials for the lazywrap bun and cinnabun if your hair is long enough. Good luck!!

Haartraum tutorials are some of my favorites and easy to follow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzt9i4PLgFU&list=PLPalhxRSHCtKcQurNkjVwN1moesvVwGP7

[Nique1202]

In addition to not using a ponytail as the base for your bun (which pulls the hair too tightly, causing more pain issues) if you have trouble with sticks then spin pins are good at distributing the tension of securing a bun, just as secure but so much less fuss. Just don't put them in so they interlock in the middle, they can cross over but it's best if they overlap as little as possible and you catch some scalp hair with both.

If your hair is at midback or longer, also have a look at Torrin Paige's video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcSaBWbBYug) on four buns you can do in less than 3 minutes each, and most of them don't even come close to that. Much faster than even my laziest french braids.

[lapushka]

It would be helpful to know your hairtype, and length, because these affect the possible styles a lot. :flower:

I agree! We need to know this to offer the best possible solutions!

[meteor]

Have you considered double buns (side-by-side or one stacked on top of another vertically)? :)
If your hair is too short for a Lazy Wrap Bun, then a Disc Bun might work (since it splits the thickness in two).
Also, sectioned buns normally help relieve the weight of heavy hair, like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZvXrEOfJ4w

[LadyLongLocks]

Have you tried claw clips? I use 2 large ones most of the time and they really hold my hair well.
Here are my buns using 2 clips. I don't know the length of your hair, but the clips hold the hair so well, they work with many lengths. My hair is pretty heavy and to the floor and I don't get neck pain.
;)VIDEOS (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVP_T0tFMBwTuUdo2P0_q-E0J4FiPHEFI)

[Emila]

Hi all,
thank you so much for the replies! I'm sorry I have been slow in replying - I haven't had a chance to get near a computer much lately! To answer you questions - my hair is roughly 77cm long - from front of scalp, over my head, to longest bit at back. I'm unsure how to describe the type - I have caucasian hair that is very thick, but the hairs are fine-average coarseness. It has a slight wave but I wouldn't call it wavy. I hope this helps :-)

[Emila]

Now I should add that I usually use hair elastics because bobby pins don't seem to work. they always fall out and I end up wrecking the pins and my hairstyle falls out within an hour or so!
Claw clips don't seem to be big enough, or don't hold my hair. Maybe I am using them wrong! I will have a look at you vids!!
I have never used hair sticks but after wtching some vids I would like to try!
Maybe I should also be getting my hands on some different kinds of pins. Maybe some bigger bobby pins and some of these spin pins you speak of? and claw clips?

[Nique1202]

Now I should add that I usually use hair elastics because bobby pins don't seem to work. they always fall out and I end up wrecking the pins and my hairstyle falls out within an hour or so!
Claw clips don't seem to be big enough, or don't hold my hair. Maybe I am using them wrong! I will have a look at you vids!!
I have never used hair sticks but after wtching some vids I would like to try!
Maybe I should also be getting my hands on some different kinds of pins. Maybe some bigger bobby pins and some of these spin pins you speak of? and claw clips?

I'd forget about bobby pins for buns. They're more trouble and more damage than they're worth for fastening buns alone. Buns are best fastened by something you don't need a dozen of, you know? That's why sticks and a couple of claw clips and spin pins are so much more popular around here. Bobby pins are best used to pin small pieces of hair in place, not to hold buns.

[Anje]

Definitely look at hairsticks. In a pinch, pencils (I think colored pencils are especially cute) can work but they can be rough where the lead meets the wood. Paintbrushes are nice, if you have them lying around. Lots of things to test it out with and get experienced with them, before you actually go out and buy any sticks. I find they're more comfortable when they're horizontal or diagonal, rather than vertical, and if I use two I generally prefer not to cross them. But you may find something else works better for you.

Spin pins are decent for most people. I've not had good luck with them for some reason. :shrug: I also have issues with claw clips, but my hair isn't terribly thick, which might be part of my issue for both of those.

Rather than bobby pins, I like stiff U-shaped pins. They hold a lot more hair, but the trick is that you don't try to pinch hair between the prongs. Instead, you stick them down through the bun and then slide them in horizontal. Just like she's demonstrating here, except with several smaller pins. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dILiR0k7ocE) Actually, hair forks like the one she shows are another great way to comfortably secure hair.