Living with head rests

[SparrowWings]

Throughout my life, I remember head rests being annoying, especially ones for bucket seats in cars. Some have definitely been worse than others, but I only remember one time where I felt like they actually designed it correctly. Most of them aren't as bad if the back of your head is completely flat, but that means perpetual French/Dutch braid(s), which I don't often do. And no matter what style is used, leaning against the rest still rubs all the hair out and makes it look quite sloppy!

I can't be the only one who often finds them problematic. How do you deal with them?

[Anje]

Oh yes. This is why now, with an hour commute, I am wearing braids a lot.

What do you drive? A Honda by any chance? My 2008 Civic has possibly got the worst-designed headrest for buns, ever. Lately I've been driving an '06 Chevy Malibu, which has much flatter and more comfortable headrests.

Civic headrests push forward, right at bun-level. (http://static.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/images/Auto/izmo/293505/2008_honda_civic_sdn_frontseat.jpg)
Malibu headrests are just a smidge flatter. (http://c8.alamy.com/comp/ARE95R/2006-chevrolet-malibu-ss-in-blue-front-seats-ARE95R.jpg)

I did cover the headrest in the Civic with a particularly ugly silk scarf that sunbleaching can only help. It doesn't make it more comfortable, but I fantasize that it might make a difference in how fuzzy it makes the back of my head.

[Qz]

I will lean the seat back enough to keep my head off the infernal headrest when driving, I hate those things. It helped a little bit in my old pickup to turn them around backward to get rid of the forward lean, not sure if it was safe but I was happier...

[meteor]

You are not alone. :) I can't sit in a car with my bun comfortably either. The only solutions I know are:

- side braids and pigtail braids (they can be looped to shorten them);
- milkmaid/heidi/Frida Kahlo braids;
- very high buns and side buns (double buns);
- covering headrest with a silky scarf/material.

I tend to wear my hair in a braided bun, but so I simply take the bun down and leave the braid (and then re-bun it later). ;)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I tilt the seat back so that the resulting forward tilt of my head means that my bun does not contact the head rest. It's annoying to have to do this, though. Maybe they could invent head rests which are normally not there, which just suddenly spring into position when needed, like an airbag kind of thing.

[Anje]

I want donut-shaped headrests. I know I've seen them!

[CoveredByLove]

Oh yes...the head rest dilemma. I know this one all too well. :p I 90% of the time I wear a side bun, and this helps ALOT. I started doing this because #1 I liked how it looked on me better and #2 after I had my baby, sitting in a rocking chair for an hour with a bun on the back of my head was super uncomfortable. My go to hairstyle is side bun, top knot, or side braid. This pretty much eliminates the head rest problem for me. If only they came out with chairs that had an adjustable hole in the back for buns! :lol:

[gregh]

Hahaha. Glad I am not the only one with this problem. I have been trying to figure out how to deal with this for that last couple months since I started wearing a bun. I figured I must just not have figured out how to deal with it and that you other longhaired folk had some trick.

[Chromis]

I flip them around on our car. It may or may not impact the safety rating, but I figure my bun is taking up that space anyhow since it is not a big change. I do not like having the seat leaned way back and I can't drive that way. Too short!

[Cg]

I angle the seat backward and use a lumbar pillow. The pillow helps distribute torso weight, and the only time the bun contacts the head rest is over a bump.

This trick is not a panacea; headrests are still annoying, and backache will still result if the drive is long.

[mermaid lullaby]

Those headrests are annoying, I tend to favor braids and buns that are easy to do after my car trip

[SparrowWings]

I'm both glad and disappointed that this is such a common problem. I was hoping maybe someone had come up with some miracle solution that I just hadn't considered!


What do you drive? A Honda by any chance? My 2008 Civic has possibly got the worst-designed headrest for buns, ever. Lately I've been driving an '06 Chevy Malibu, which has much flatter and more comfortable headrests.
I have a Suzuki, and I'd say it's pretty average as far as headrests go. My parents' van used to drive me bonkers, though. If it was just me and a parent, it was great. I could sit in the front seat, and those two had almost-vertical headrests. More people, though, and I got stuck in the middle row, and for whatever stupid reason, those miserable headrests were designed to sit at almost a 90 degree angle to the back of the seat. It was uncomfortable even on the days I had French braids. I will never understand who decided forward-angled headrests were a good idea. The spine isn't curved like that (unless you have a hunch, anyhow...), so why on earth should the seat be?


I will lean the seat back enough to keep my head off the infernal headrest when driving, I hate those things. It helped a little bit in my old pickup to turn them around backward to get rid of the forward lean, not sure if it was safe but I was happier...
It never occurred to me to flip it around! Probably because I just assumed it wouldn't fit that way. Or assumed the angle would be equally ridiculously extreme in the opposite direction that it didn't seem like a good idea. But with the odd shapes the give the things, maybe I'll have to try that next time I'm out there and see how it looks/feels.
I did think about leaning the seat farther back to give my head/pony/bun room, but that would just result in me leaning so far back I would either be blind, or fall asleep, and still have a crick in my neck.


- covering headrest with a silky scarf/material.
I've been debating if I should create some sort of elasticized bun cover that can rub against the seat instead, and take it off when I get where I'm going... But that doesn't help any with the angle, and that's the part that bothers me more.


I figured I must just not have figured out how to deal with it and that you other longhaired folk had some trick.
Lots of neck stretches when you get out to unkink from the seat. And lots of scowling. And starting a thread for commiseration! :p

[Ailurophile]

I don't drive, I'm a passenger, but in my car the head rests can tilt back and fourth and move up and down! I usually move it up and put my bun in the little gap it makes :agree: Depends on your car, but it sounds surprising that some cars have downward tilting head rests which can't move at all!!

[Hairkay]

You are not alone. :) I can't sit in a car with my bun comfortably either. The only solutions I know are:

- side braids and pigtail braids (they can be looped to shorten them);
- milkmaid/heidi/Frida Kahlo braids;
- very high buns and side buns (double buns);
- covering headrest with a silky scarf/material.

I tend to wear my hair in a braided bun, but so I simply take the bun down and leave the braid (and then re-bun it later). ;)
You run into another problem with high buns in a car. They'll be scraping the car ceiling causing just as much discomfort.

[Cg]

You run into another problem with hight buns in a car. They'll be scraping the car ceiling causing just as much discomfort.

Right. I've lost count of the number of buns I've smashed into oblivion on the top of the door opening getting into or out of the car. I always avoid those high ones if I'll be driving.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Yes. My head is only an inch away from the ceiling as it is :rolleyes: I really cannot wear a bun on top of my head in the car.

[Deborah]

I hate headrests too. I usually recline the seat a little extra, but keep my head a little forward.

[butterflybutton]

Hehe, I'm looking for a pair of spare head rests for my car that I can modify into a 'U' shape, might even cover them with silk.

[Knifegill]

I turn mine around backwards

[winship2]

I can't believe I've never seen a thread on this before! Hate hate hate this. Bad for my hair, and bad for my back! I use a lumbar pillow (very good for my back) and either bun up high or lay my hair over my shoulder and bun upon reaching my destination.

Re: Turning headrests around-- I know everyone who does this has made a grown-up decision, so not to be critical or condescending, but in case you're thinking about making this change to your car-- my best friend is quadriplegic after breaking her neck in a car accident. Headrests are annoying as heck, but they're there for a good reason.

[Frankenstein]

Sitting in a car in general with long hair is a pain to me. If it's down, it gets stuck behind me which I hate when I'm driving. Pulling it around in front of me doesn't help because then it's just in the way. Buns are a little better but I find it harder to turn my head. My seats are leather but they still manage to make my hair tangle somehow. And don't get me started about wispies and having the window down.

[Wusel]

BMW has very bun friendly head rests. :) No problem.

[SparrowWings]

It never occurred to me to flip it around! Probably because I just assumed it wouldn't fit that way. Or assumed the angle would be equally ridiculously extreme in the opposite direction that it didn't seem like a good idea. But with the odd shapes they give the things, maybe I'll have to try that next time I'm out there and see how it looks/feels.
There wasn't enough clearance to get the rest out entirely, not without changing the angle of the seat, which I didn't feel like doing. But it prompted me to try with it raised to the highest notch, rather than the lowest like it had been. I hadn't even considered that previously, because changing the height has never helped, in any vehicle, in the past. But this time, oh my gosh does it make a difference! It's so much better! To the point where I'm not sure if I might even want to sit the seat up one notch straighter now, as well. It's still not perfect, but it's far more tolerable.


Re: Turning headrests around-- I know everyone who does this has made a grown-up decision, so not to be critical or condescending, but in case you're thinking about making this change to your car-- my best friend is quadriplegic after breaking her neck in a car accident. Headrests are annoying as heck, but they're there for a good reason.
That's horrible, and I sincerely hope she's finding a way to cope! Was this a result of her having her headrest turned around? I agree that they serve a purpose, and am unsure (as seen in my own quoted bit just above) about turning them myself, so I'm curious if a change that seemingly minor really can become that dangerous.

[lapushka]

My mom has a Ford Mondeo, and those headrests are fine for me when I happen to (rare) ride with her as a passenger. My LWB is high enough on my head also, that it's not bothered by the head rest when it comes into contact with it. My mom has a peacock twist in and is not bothered by the head rest either, she says.

[cathair]

I do a side Engish braid (too lazy for French or Dutch most of the time) which hands over the front of my shoulder, or I make a side bun with spin pins, low down right behind my ear. I agree, it's a real problem. Not just even in cars. Trains, my gaming chair, the dentist... ergh. Sometimes I even leave my hair down and put a jumper or coat over it and and don't untuck it. Seems to stay safe and tangle free for shorter periods of time.

The flipping the headset thing... if they are not aligned and adjusted properly with the right part of your head they don't offer protection any more. I wouldn't be doing that. If I recall correctly the widest part should be roughly in line with the top of your ear and your eyes. But don't quote me on that, it's probably slightly different for each car and worth looking up.

[Phanaferous]

Car head rest angles are usually all wrong for me. (I also have issue with certain executive office chairs.) In various rental cars I've ridden in, I will turn it around, remove it altogether, or since many headrests don't come out now, I have to resort to an extreme recline in the seat to not arrive with a horrible neck ache. This is even with my hair down.

Happily, in my own car, a 1992 Toyota Camry, the headrests are great. They tilt and are more compact, so I can tuck it under a medium or high bun, or raise it so it hits toward the upper half of my skull and a low bun or braid can fit under it.

[JadedByEntropy]

this is the exact reason i don't do updos that cannot be flung into place when i arrive. Ponytails or braids that can rest across my shoulders or in front is the only way it works. Suzukis have terrible headrests. In a crash, i think they would probably do more damage than not having one :(

[XiaoBaiTu]

Am I the only one here who is so short my head isn't actually high enough to reach the headrest? I've also never had to deal with them because I basically never sit all the way back in the seat, if I did my feet wouldn't be able to touch the floor of the car!

[Anje]

Re: Turning headrests around-- I know everyone who does this has made a grown-up decision, so not to be critical or condescending, but in case you're thinking about making this change to your car-- my best friend is quadriplegic after breaking her neck in a car accident. Headrests are annoying as heck, but they're there for a good reason.

I hear you. My father-in-law has spinal cord damage from a car accident too. Technically he's quad, but it was the result of bruising and swelling rather than an outright break, so he still has some limited movement and sensation.

[Simsy]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I just lean the seat back a couple of notches. I usually sit up quite straight when driving short distances, but even for long distances, I have found the headrest doesn't interfere with my hair while I can relax into the seat. When relaxed, the bun acts as a sort of cushion against the headrest.

That said, I drive a Holden and the headrests are really well designed with nice curving angles up from the seat so YMMV.

[Jadestorm]

Oh yes, those things can be annoying! When wearing a bun or something, afwul. I hardly drive at the moment so right now my car seat looks 'normal', but when I used to have to drive daily I just took the head rest off completely. I'm not sure if you can do that with every car though, although I would imagine so. :)

[RebekahE]

My Chevy Cavalier has a very nice rest, I never bump my bun on it. The Toyota Corolla is another story . . .

[coneyisland]

I can't believe I've never seen a thread on this before!

Here is another. :)

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=95934

[Complexity]

We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I put the headrest as low as it will go and wear my bun high. If we're traveling long distance and I want to be a little more comfortable, I just wear a side English braid.

[nekosan]

Sometimes i recline my seat back enough to give my bun room; more often i just pull out the pins/sticks, drive with my hair down, and twirl it back up when i arrive.