Headaches from wearing hair up?

[ebillan]

Hi guys!
I've had a problem since I started growing my hair out, that I start to get headaches after having it up for more than an hour or so, sometimes less. I never had this problem when my hair was around shoulder-length, so I've always thought it was due to the weight of the hair pulling on my scalp all day?
Does anyone else have this problem? I've seen so many nice up-dos here, and having long hair opens up a lot of fancy opportunities, but it's not worth the (literal) headache!

[Brittny]

I've also experienced headaches from wearing my hair up in a bun or ponytail, it increasingly has become more painful as my hair grows since it is almost tailbone length. It could be the way I put it into a bun, so I've ordered a couple of hair sticks from Etsy to maybe alleviate the headaches. If anyone else has tips I'd also like to know!

[lapushka]

Hi guys!
I've had a problem since I started growing my hair out, that I start to get headaches after having it up for more than an hour or so, sometimes less. I never had this problem when my hair was around shoulder-length, so I've always thought it was due to the weight of the hair pulling on my scalp all day?
Does anyone else have this problem? I've seen so many nice up-dos here, and having long hair opens up a lot of fancy opportunities, but it's not worth the (literal) headache!

Never had this issue. I did however wear a peacock twist / logroll + claw clip all the way to waist/hip, as that is the length at which I could start wearing a bun, comfortably. I do have a short torso.

What length are you currently at. Might it be that the bun is "pulling" on your scalp because you don't have enough length yet? I'm unsure as to what your length is, but it can be very important.

[nycelle]

I find the higher up the bun, and the more support it has, the less it pulls so no headache. The lower it sits, and if there's not much support, the quicker my head starts to hurt.

I don't do intricate styles like on here, I usually just do a high messy bun when I need to wear it up.

[Groovy Granny]

I have a very sensitive scalp and cut back my hair twice from Hip+ to WL because of this.
Thankfully now it is mostly silver, which is fine and wispy and I am tolerating BCL well :)

Some of the things that have helped me reduce headaches were:
- ponytail base (occasionally)
- donut buns
- securing looser buns with small decorative claw clips
- securing looser buns with spin pins... then adding hair sticks/forks
- wearing buns mid head or lower @ nape (NAPE is my sweet spot for buns)
- rotating bun placement as needed during the day
- braided bun that can be worn down if needed to give my scalp a break
- forks tend to distribute more weight...as does 2 sticks...and ficcares (for me)
- no high buns (as much as I love the look on others)
- no bedtime buns (I wear braids; mid/side single english or twins)

Mostly it is trial and error for placement, types, hairtoys, pins etc.
What works for others may not work for you and vice versa....just play around with it all.

Good luck :cheer:

[lapushka]

* no high buns (as much as I love the look on others)
* no bedtime buns (I wear braids; mid/side single english or twins)

Mostly it is trial and error for placement, types, hairtoys, pins etc.
What works for others may not work for you and vice versa....just play around with it all.

It *is* trial & error and what works for one doesn't work for the other. I have to have a higher bun, because halfway up my head or low will give me issues. It just shows above the crown a bit, in my case, that is my sweet spot for a bun. I always wear it there and it holds perfectly. I have been wearing it there ever since hitting waist/hip, a long long time ago. Day in, day out.

But it takes a fair bit of experimenting. And I would do it with a simple go-to bun like a pencil bun or LWB (lazy wrap bun).

[Groovy Granny]

By no high buns I was referring to what has helped ME...and NOT saying what she should avoid

[Groovy Granny]

double posted when editing

[enting]

I find that anything that holds on to a wider area helps me. The more spread out, the better. Claw clips are sometimes better than hairpins for me, but what works can differ depending on length and one's hair texture.

[carlimeow]

I have the same problem. For this reason, my only up-dos are braid crowns at this time. Managing the distribution of your hair can definitely be helpful if you're prone to headaches. That said, I also agree with what has been said in earlier posts about securing a somewhat looser bun with claw clips (also, a higher placement was usually my go-to when I wore buns a lot, however I could often get headaches no matter where they were on my head). I have done that combination a few times in the past and it helped a bit. I think I might eventually try sticks and the like as well to see if different ways of holding up-dos up can be more comfortable.

[ebillan]

I've heard before that higher-up buns can help, but sometimes it seems to help, and other times not! I do have hair sticks which I've never tried before, and I only use bobby pins right now, so I'll need to figure out how to use other clips!
I guess it will just be a lot of trial and error! I can try other buns as well, I only know how to do a couple basic ones.

Thanks for all the advice so far! :)

[ebillan]

Oops I forgot to add, my hair is hip length right now!

[MusicalSpoons]

I've heard before that higher-up buns can help, but sometimes it seems to help, and other times not! I do have hair sticks which I've never tried before, and I only use bobby pins right now, so I'll need to figure out how to use other clips!
I guess it will just be a lot of trial and error! I can try other buns as well, I only know how to do a couple basic ones.

Thanks for all the advice so far! :)

Yup, experimenting will be the only way to find what works for you :) I don't have a problem with buns, but occasionally I'll get the tension or placement wrong, or hold it with the wrong type of toy and end up paying for it with a headache. (The likelihood of that happening also depends on how well I'm feeling - if I'm having a particularly fatigued day then a bun mistake is much more likely to trigger a headache.)

What worked for me in learning to do comfortable, secure buns was using forks, finding the sweet spot for each type of bun, and experimenting with holding each type of bun with different types of toys. To illustrate:
> double-wrapped LWB or nautilus hold best higher up, with a fork or wavy stick.
> single-wrapped LWB or nautilus hold best with a 4-pronged Jeter fork, medium-high (too high and it hurts).
> a knot-type bun usually holds best with a stick or slim-tined fork, medium-high or low.
> wrapped L-infinity works best with a wavy stick, low. [This was the one that most often gave me headaches; I don't have any fork long enough for the usual tension I use so kept trying with different thickness sticks, but it gave me a headache every time where the stick pressed against my scalp. It's so different from my usual buns though that I *would not* give up, and I'm so happy I tried with my recent wavy stick! Oh it was a bliss!]
> Spock bun I'm still experimenting with - I love the bun but can't yet make it reliably secure without being too tight.
Different orientations can also affect the tension and comfort of buns (and thus which toy works best, in some cases!) [/nerd]

Moral of that very long ramble? Find what works for you, and have fun experimenting! :flower: If you're in a position to try different types of hairtoy, your options will greatly increase. There are also sectioned buns, double buns, and frame buns if you don't have enough length for certain types of bun (depends on thickness and how your hair behaves, including how much it compresses). Trial and error should work, and there's always the option of approaching it a bit more methodically if you're that way inclined :D

[ebillan]

I'll have to get forks, but I've tried the nautilus and infinity bun! They both feel pretty good for the short time I've had them in. I'll have to give them the day-long test! I've always used hair ties and bobby pins for buns in the past, but I've been using a stick for the buns people have mentioned here and it feels much better, and holds better than pins

[lithostoic]

I have this problem with ponytails. Within MINUTES I can feel the ache. If I Dutch braid the top half of my hair I can wear a ponytail all day :) Sectioning is the key. Instead of one big section for a bun, split it into two or three and bun one normally, wrapping the other section(s) around the base afterward. You also get a bigger bun this way!

[nikittyy]

I almost have BSL hair, and I've never encountered headaches from wearing my hair up. It might be too tight.

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I’ve had way better luck with hair ties, claw clips and forks
Less luck with spin pins and hair sticks
The lower the hair style the less likely I’ll get a headache
I’ve given up on perfecting it though, it’s a roll of the dice for me

[Arciela]

I've had headaches from having my hair up..but I finally figured out the issue! Mine was, I had it too tight. What changed everything for me was scrunchies for the shorter lengths (until I hit waist) and then I switched to using a hair stick and did a lazy wrap bun. The hair stick changed everything for me..it felt like it wasn't even there :)

At first I had to part my hair down the center..and then gentle make the bun at the nape of my neck. Wearing it like that helped me get used to it..now I can wear the bun high on top of my head with no issues :flower:

[MemeAimee]

I often get headaches when my hair is up, but I think mine is from having the bun a bit too tight, if I switch spots of the bun during the day, it seems to be fine.