Updo ideas for Classic/Mid-Thigh hair

[farmlass]

Hi everyone,

Haven't been on here in aaaages, love the new main page :) Anyway, while I've been gone I've passed classic and could *almost* be at mid-thigh. I have a 4 month old little boy so hair is kinda low on my list of priorities. Anyway, I've been putting my hair in a nautilus bun most days for about 2 years, and as a result I think I have a bit of damage from the hair stick and shortish bits that won't stay in an over-the-shoulder braid. I'm also shedding due to the pregnancy. I would love some quick and easy updo ideas that will move the pressure away from my usual nautilus. TIA :o

[ashke50]

My hair is about the same length as yours, and I do Gibraltar buns (stick), cinnabuns (stick, fork or ficcare), figure 8s (fork) and log rolls (ficcare) fairly frequently, and they're very easy and quick.

And for something that's not a bun, you could try a coronet braid (just a simple English plait pinned round the head in a circle). I find that's very comfortable and looks much harder than it is!

[farmlass]

Thanks for the bun ideas ashke50, I used to love doing a crown braid but it's far too long to manage now, and unfortunately my hair spits pins out so the coronet braid doesn't last so long :( Your hair is gorgeous, and looks a lot thicker than mine!

[Nique1202]

Try the coronet braid held with spin pins instead of regular pins. The spin pins can dig deep and grab multiple sections of scalp hair, so I find them much more secure than bobby pins, and they'll stay where you put them for days. I use them all the time for heidi braids, since my hair's not long enough yet for the coronet.

[lapushka]

I keep doing a LWB on my classic length (layered) hair. A nautilus is impossible due to the layering, but I'm comfy with my LWB and to me... it's a keeper. It doesn't matter to me much if I keep wearing the same bun. :lol: It means I can keep it low manipulation as well. Experimenting with styles a lot often means a higher degree of manipulation - not ready for that!

[farmlass]

Nique1202, I only have 2 spin pins! Perhaps it's time to get some more!
lapushka, I know exactly what you mean, but the underside of my hair is breaking off at the point where the stick goes through. Maybe I need to oil/maintain my hair better but I just haven't got the time and I can't bring myself to cut it, even to hip!

[Nique1202]

Nique1202, I only have 2 spin pins! Perhaps it's time to get some more!
lapushka, I know exactly what you mean, but the underside of my hair is breaking off at the point where the stick goes through. Maybe I need to oil/maintain my hair better but I just haven't got the time and I can't bring myself to cut it, even to hip!

2 spin pins might be enough! One to fasten the end down wherever it sits, and the second to hold down the braid on the opposite side of your head from the tail. If you don't mind the rest of the braid possibly shifting a little if you tip your head back, I see no reason you'd need more than that. I use just one spin pin on each side to hold down the tails for my heidi braids and the top barely moves as long as I pull them snug before screwing in the pins, so I would guess it would work the same for the coronet.

[ashke50]

If I'm not having a particularly energetic day then 1 small spin pin where the tail meets the base is enough to hold a coronet braid. If it needs to be sturdy then that, plus a few other pins, holds well. If it needs to hold really well, then I start it with a side Dutch or French plait, and then go into a normal plait, and anchor the plait against the first section. I use a spin pin at the base and a few other pins around the rest, and that holds through anything.

[lapushka]

lapushka, I know exactly what you mean, but the underside of my hair is breaking off at the point where the stick goes through. Maybe I need to oil/maintain my hair better but I just haven't got the time and I can't bring myself to cut it, even to hip!

Do you still have previous damage in your hair, perhaps? My LWB is always in the same place, fork goes through at about the same place. Sure, my nape hairs are a tad shorter, but that's about it.

[meteor]

I find LWB very low-manipulation and really hair-friendly. :) I've been putting my hair in a braided LWB for a couple years, probably. Nowadays, I feel a bit more comfortable with a braided L-Infinity bun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fzn4gNWIVQ) and braided Spidermom's (double-loop) bun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCvC_MU0To8), because they create 2 loops (on the left and the right side), which allows to distribute the weight better. All these styles involve no twisting at all.

But ouch, daily Nautilus caused you damage? I wonder why? Could it be the daily twist motion at the base when the loop is created for the nautilus? I wonder if there is some old damage hiding there or maybe some other cause behind this? :hmm: How do you sleep: hair down or braided or bunned? silky pillowcases/bonnets?...


And about Coronets sliding or not holding too well... If you start with Dutch braids or with a smaller English braid (Luana braids (https://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/luana-braids/)), then it can hold much better (see Woven Crown Braid (https://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/luana-braids-woven-crown-variation/)), because there is more grip at the base where the hair is braided. Or check practical hair taping (by torrinpaige: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlwnlfDYzk8) for sewing the coronet(s) to scalp hair. It holds really well, though it does take time.

[lapis_lazuli]

I keep doing a LWB on my classic length (layered) hair. A nautilus is impossible due to the layering, but I'm comfy with my LWB and to me... it's a keeper. It doesn't matter to me much if I keep wearing the same bun. :lol: It means I can keep it low manipulation as well. Experimenting with styles a lot often means a higher degree of manipulation - not ready for that!

I do the same. Would strongly recommend a LWB :) Simple and easy to learn :)

[Anje]

My go-to has been a LWB for ages now. Celtic knots hold well too. Today's bun is a braided LWB with two sticks -- Since I hit classic, I'm finding that I really like braided buns more than before, because they keep my hair wrangled even if I let them down, but the braid doesn't get fuzzy the way it does if I leave it hanging.

[SteelRose]

I lived in a LWB at that point! (Still do honestly, but I'm getting better!) ;)

[meteor]

My go-to has been a LWB for ages now. Celtic knots hold well too. Today's bun is a braided LWB with two sticks -- Since I hit classic, I'm finding that I really like braided buns more than before, because they keep my hair wrangled even if I let them down, but the braid doesn't get fuzzy the way it does if I leave it hanging.

Me too, I live in braided buns :hifive:, I really worry that, without restraining hair in a braid first, the hair might get tangled up from all that wrapping around the stem of the bun. I also remember gossamer mentioned that she gets tangling from LWB now, but not if it's braided and not if the style is non-center-held (cinnabun, for example), and I can see that, with lots of wrapping at the base with center-held structures at great lengths...

Anje, I have a question about Celtic Knots, if it's OK to ask here: do you run into issues when you pull the hair through the first loop? Is there any snagging at all? If so, what do you do to help it? :)
I don't know if it's just my limited bunning skills or if it's hairtype related or length or something, but I'm having tightening, tanglings, snagging problems when pulling length through Knot buns and Celtic knot buns and other similar structures (JJJ's Pretzel bun, for example). I really like those styles though... :)

[LongCurlyTress]

Me too, I live in braided buns :hifive:, I really worry that, without restraining hair in a braid first, the hair might get tangled up from all that wrapping around the stem of the bun. I also remember gossamer mentioned that she gets tangling from LWB now, but not if it's braided and not if the style is non-center-held (cinnabun, for example), and I can see that, with lots of wrapping at the base with center-held structures at great lengths...

Anje, I have a question about Celtic Knots, if it's OK to ask here: do you run into issues when you pull the hair through the first loop? Is there any snagging at all? If so, what do you do to help it? :)
I don't know if it's just my limited bunning skills or if it's hairtype related or length or something, but I'm having tightening, tangling, snagging problems when pulling length through Knot buns and Celtic knot buns and other similar structures (JJJ's Pretzel bun, for example). I really like those styles though... :)

I am so glad that you posted this re braiding before bunning to avoid tangling. Excellent idea!! Thank you so much for sharing. I am just starting to have this problem and find a nautilus bun much easier with less tangling these days So happy to know I am not alone. ;) :agape:

ETA I am just approaching TBL!! What will the tangling be like at classic?? :rolleyes: I can't wait to find out!! ;)

[Anje]

Anje, I have a question about Celtic Knots, if it's OK to ask here: do you run into issues when you pull the hair through the first loop? Is there any snagging at all? If so, what do you do to help it? :)
I don't know if it's just my limited bunning skills or if it's hairtype related or length or something, but I'm having tightening, tanglings, snagging problems when pulling length through Knot buns and Celtic knot buns and other similar structures (JJJ's Pretzel bun, for example). I really like those styles though... :)

I don't tend to have much of an issue with pulling the hair through that first loop. Now I should mention that my celtic knots look like CinnamonHair's -- I only pull a bit of a loop through then wrap the length around the base, rather than pulling the full length through. I do wrap the first loop around a couple fingers (at least two), so that grabbing the next bight is easy and doesn't require me to find the whole with any more fingers. If I didn't do that, I imagine I'd have more troubles with snagging. My hair's fairly slippery, though, which might also make a difference. (I have WAY less thickness than Cinnamon Hair or Haartraum, though, so mine are generally proportioned smaller.)

[meteor]

^ Thanks a lot, Anje! :flowers: That really helps! :D I'm going to look around for CinnamonHair's Celtic Knot and play with different ways of making and holding the loops... :)


ETA: LongCurlyTress, so happy if it was of help! I think braiding pre-bunning really helps immobilize hair more to prevent tangling, though it does take more time. :thumbsup: