Thougths about updos

[paulownia]

So..I've been doing a lot of thinking about wearing the hair up lately.
This is one of the first things one learns when arriving here. Wearing the hair up while growing it out. As often as possible.
I started to take care of my hair in 2009 when I joined a polish forum. Over the time I managed to grow my hair to APL, became a product junkie;) learned everything possible about oils, henna and the rest of the haircare basics. But updos were nonexisting for me.
Our polish site - in my experience - promotes wearing the hair down as often as possible. Because you are growing it out to show it off, right? I kinda got ''conditionned'' into thinking that you put yout hair up only when something went wrong... when you didn't succeed with your routine and your hair looks like crap. And you have to hide it.
I only started recently be more active here on LHC. And I started to change my thinking. I want to wear my hair up often..I want to learn to like it! Not wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and sight.. well it's a mess I have to put it up. I failed again...
Any tips? How do I change my thinking? Or is it enough to just hang around on LHC and admire your beautiful pictures of buns, braids, flexis and hair sticks:D
Of course... I'm wearing my hair up today. In a pretty messy peacock twist. And hoping that I can un-learn wearing my hair down all the time.

[Milady_DeWinter]

I think hanging a lot here in the forum helps, it did for me! I had never before wore a bun in public, I felt too self conscious. I still prefer my hair in a half up or down, but I've limited it to just 1 or 2 a week ;) I'm wearing it mostly bunned, sometimes with braids.

Learning new hairstyles and having cute hairtoys help too! :)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I think hanging around here helps, and particularly lurking in the "show us your buns" thread.... :)

[JennGalt]

Maybe find a particular updo or bun you really like that requires more length. I really like both the orchid bun and the helix bun, but so far my orchid buns look ridiculous and I need more length to even attempt a helix bun. When I have enough length to do both to my satisfaction I might celebrate :)

Or challenge yourself to wear your hair up for a certain amount of time (maybe a couple weeks or 30 days?) and perhaps by the end of that time wearing your hair up won’t seem so weird anymore.

[paulownia]

Maybe find a particular updo or bun you really like that requires more length. I really like both the orchid bun and the helix bun, but so far my orchid buns look ridiculous and I need more length to even attempt a helix bun. When I have enough length to do both to my satisfaction I might celebrate :)

Or challenge yourself to wear your hair up for a certain amount of time (maybe a couple weeks or 30 days?) and perhaps by the end of that time wearing your hair up won’t seem so weird anymore.
I looked up those two. I'd definitely need much more length for those. My hair is barely past shoulders at the moment.
I am pretty happy with peacock twists, it's the only updo I can manage now...
Joining a 'wear your hair up' challenge sounds like a good idea!;)

[TreesOfEternity]

It took me a while to get used to wear buns on a daily, as for me as well it was an style I used when I wasn't really put together.
Using a nice hairtoy and wearing more fancy earrings has helped me a lot :) Now I cringe a little when I wear my hair down for too long and I can feel it tangling and rubbing against the fabric of my clothes. Once in a while is ok but I'm not compromising my comfort and the state of my hair to wear it down while let's say grocery shopping haha.

[JennGalt]

The helix and orchid buns are still goals for me too, but they give me something to look forward to, and keep my hair protected in the meantime. I attempt the orchid bun from time to time, and it’s getting slightly less ridiculous looking as I get more length and practice with updos. But for now it’s still a goal.

I think wearing hair up also might feel more natural with time as TreesOfEternity pointed out. At shorter lengths down was easier for me and felt more natural. But I started having to put it up more and more as my hair grew. At HL it gets in the way, snags on things, rubs on things, gets into my food, tries to help clean the toilet (yuck!), the dog wants to lick my braid, etc. etc., so with time and length putting it up just seemed easier and more convenient. I’d imagine even people with longer lengths on the Polish site want it out of the way at least sometimes! (I’d ask them if there isn’t already a thread like that on there.)

And here’s a link (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=102) to the challenge for wearing your hair up if you haven’t found it already :)

[paulownia]

Thanks!;)
I think I will give it a try.
Now that I think about it, wearing the hair up could help me to stop touching my hair all the time. When it's loose I have constantly this ''hands in the hair'' syndrome, just trying all the time to make my waves behave, twisting and scrunching... It could be also the reason for having to wash my hair pretty often (every other way). I wonder if wearing my hair up could result in having some success with stretching washes:D

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Thanks!;)
I think I will give it a try.
Now that I think about it, wearing the hair up could help me to stop touching my hair all the time. When it's loose I have constantly this ''hands in the hair'' syndrome, just trying all the time to make my waves behave, twisting and scrunching... It could be also the reason for having to wash my hair pretty often (every other way). I wonder if wearing my hair up could result in having some success with stretching washes:D

It might well make a difference to how often you need to wash your hair. Remember, too, that when your hair is up and contained in a bun or other protective style such as a peacock twist (excellent for hair your length) it is so much more protected from being damaged and tangled, and when it is protected like that it is so much easier to have fewer trims and grow it muuuuch longer than you otherwise could :D

[Makyle]

Hi Paulownia , Im here with you. I always use to wear my hair down - i don't even know how to do any real updos. i use to pull my hair back into a pony tail when it look bad or a pony bun ( i dont know what this is actually called just basically making a pony tail and not pulling it all the way through the last time so it loops in) .

and i was conditioned to think wearing your hair up is damaging (I now know its not true) my hair doesnt get very tangled when its down , I have just made BSL and really want some simple updos that are quick (I have 2 children the youngest is 26 mnths).

Really need to strat wearing it up at the moment its in two pony tails just to keep it out of my face as i have a honey mask on my face (and honey dries my hair- Im a coconut oil girl).

[embee]

I also found that at a certain length my hair down and loose, though pretty, was in my way. It was better in a half-up. Then as it grew even that became annoying unless I was just letting it be loose to show it off, not trying to clean or cook or work in the garden or *do* anything. Also, my job - long hair was a pain, and even sometimes a danger. It took me a while to get used to my appearance with an updo. Now I prefer it! :) And it is *so* convenient: less washing, less fuss, hardly any tangles, no salon visits, almost always neat - what's not to like? Also an updo gave me two new hobbies: hair toys and earrings! :)

[lakhesis]

Before I joined LHC, I never wore my hair up outside. Never. Not even ponytails.
I had a feeling my hair is not really growing and I was already oiling, deep conditioning before I joined, so the only thing left for me to try was to start wearing hair up. First I was only wearing braids and as I ordered some sticks I slowly transitioned to wearing buns. I was sold when I saw my hair was growing again and also that I don't have to spend such a long time detangling every day.
I still think I look much better with my hair down, but buns also look more professional, more put together and that you put some effort in your looks in the morning :) Oh, and I also look forward to my bun getting bigger, I love seeing huge buns around here, but it will be a while for me and my ii hair :)

[Lady Stardust]

Paulownia I’m glad you started this thread because I’ve been meaning to start wearing my hair up more often and this has given me the kick to get on with it!

I wore my hair up for 4 weeks in June and it felt like it was holding on to more moisture, particularly the canopy. The bonus was that my hair felt longer when I wore it down again :)

[nycelle]

Ok, I'm gonna be the voice of dissidence here..

I think it really depends on what you're trying to achieve and the health of your hair.

For instance, I'm also not a fan of up-dos on me. Hanging around this forum from the start of the year hasn't changed that fact.

It's fine though because my hair is healthy, and I only want to get it to waist with a thick hemline. So wearing it down to achieve my goal is absolutely doable.

If your goal is reasonable- meaning waist or hip, and you have healthy hair, I don't think wearing it in protective style will make a big difference. So you might as well wear it down and enjoy it since that's what you prefer.
But if your hair is damaged, or breaks easily, or there's always a ton of manipulation happening, then yes, wear it up.

[paulownia]

Paulownia I’m glad you started this thread because I’ve been meaning to start wearing my hair up more often and this has given me the kick to get on with it!

I wore my hair up for 4 weeks in June and it felt like it was holding on to more moisture, particularly the canopy. The bonus was that my hair felt longer when I wore it down again :)
Well, I had a good feeling about it;)
I guess that it's practice that makes the master. Wearing the hair up will also help me to get through the awkward stage that my hair is at right now. My waves are not behaving the way I would like them to:D they are too short to fully show the pattern and I'm also growing out some layers.
I wish I could just forget about my hair for half a year;)

[paulownia]

Ok, I'm gonna be the voice of dissidence here..

I think it really depends on what you're trying to achieve and the health of your hair.

For instance, I'm also not a fan of up-dos on me. Hanging around this forum from the start of the year hasn't changed that fact.

It's fine though because my hair is healthy, and I only want to get it to waist with a thick hemline. So wearing it down to achieve my goal is absolutely doable.

If your goal is reasonable- meaning waist or hip, and you have healthy hair, I don't think wearing it in protective style will make a big difference. So you might as well wear it down and enjoy it since that's what you prefer.
But if your hair is damaged, or breaks easily, or there's always a ton of manipulation happening, then yes, wear it up.
That sounds good:D
I certainly have a reasonable goal - mid back. My hair is very healthy - not dry, not damaged, doesn't require much babying.
I guess I can have the cake and eat it too:happydance:

[lapushka]

paulownia, I think I only started to wear it up at about shoulder/APL, yeah, right about there (peacock twist with a claw clip). That was harmless enough. It just got in my way. And most certainly at BSL. I just can't "handle" loose hair that's long, which is why updos are perfect for me, but that "feeling" is different for everyone.

You don't need to wear it up if you don't want to, and you don't have to change your thinking. Maybe wear it up a couple days a week, and down when it's nice and freshly washed. Then when it goes a bit "bad hair dayish", wear it up. You can vary and play with this all you want! :flower:

[Doreen]

Until MBL I wore my hair down every day. From MBL to classic I wore it down as often as was practical (became increasingly less practical as it got closer to classic). I love updos but sometimes it just feels good to let it flow free! There was some minor damage but if I could go back in time and do it again, I would still wear my hair down just as much.

For me, braids are where I can strike a balance of still showing off the length while keeping it out of the way. You could try some french braided half-ups or if your hair is long enough, I think a looser french braid can look very elegant. But don't worry too much about your hair getting damaged when you wear it down; if you enjoy it that way, I think it's worth it. The damage is nowhere near as bad as if you're bleaching or using heat on the regular, and as long as you brush it out and don't let the tangles accumulate, it should be fine.

[Wendyclaire]

Ok, I'm gonna be the voice of dissidence here..

I think it really depends on what you're trying to achieve and the health of your hair.

For instance, I'm also not a fan of up-dos on me. Hanging around this forum from the start of the year hasn't changed that fact.

It's fine though because my hair is healthy, and I only want to get it to waist with a thick hemline. So wearing it down to achieve my goal is absolutely doable.

If your goal is reasonable- meaning waist or hip, and you have healthy hair, I don't think wearing it in protective style will make a big difference. So you might as well wear it down and enjoy it since that's what you prefer.
But if your hair is damaged, or breaks easily, or there's always a ton of manipulation happening, then yes, wear it up.

I'm not a fan either of up dos or buns I just don't look good and I don't like the added pressure on my scalp. My hair is BSL and I do have to wear it in a loose pony tail at night or it gets in my way when I'm trying to sleep. It's really what you want to do and what makes you feel good with your hair.