How in the heck do you style really long hair and not have your arms drop off?!

[OhSuzi]

My hair is now teetering on APL.

I can pull it all to one side and do a very basic plait or I can have it 'in bunches' and basic plait either side.

Even just separating my hair into 3 sections for a plait is a struggle, it tangles quite easily and the sections want to join up with each other.

Any thing more complicated than a pony tail / very messy bun where you just scrunch it all up any old how and shove a (soft) elastic round it is beyond me!

Tried doing a standard french plait down the centre of my hair - my gosh my arms were killing after about a minute and it felt like it took forever to do, kept having to rest my arms which did not help with all the sections wanting to merge with one another - it was a very messy frizzy unclear affair.

You can't see the effect on the top or the back - unless you use a mirror - and then my hands start going in crazy directions.

How do you do styles on your own long hair without passing out from the arm struggle / going cross eyed in a mirror / trying to keep all the sections separate?? I've never had hair this long - my goal is to keep growing to super long - but I can't cope with anything other than the very simplest of styles.
I love it down but it seems a shame to have all this long hair potential and not be able to do anything else with it.

[neko_kawaii]

Keep at it, you will build muscle and stamina.

I fully comb my hair befor any sectioning otherwise I’ll run into tangles. For French/Dutch braids I have to do a little bit of finger combing part way through to remove the new tangles. It takes patience, but it is possible.

[Zesty]

It might have to do with your hair type being in the wavier zone, that seems to exacerbate tangles for folks, BUT it may just be a simple matter of practice. In my experience, once you have the muscle memory for braids it's far quicker, and therefore you have less arm fatigue.

Of course, when I decide to do a Dutch five strand braid the arm fatigue is virtually inevitable. :p

Anyway, take my advice with a grain of salt, even at my length my hair is quite cooperative vis a vis sectioning/separating. It's partly my routine and products, but partly texture. Maybe someone with a similar hair type can chime in. :)

[lapushka]

Another reason why hair needs to grow slowly, you need to get used to it and have the time! That's important.

I started wearing a bun as of hip (around there) and it takes my LWB and Nautilus under a minute to do. Buns are easier, but it will take some time until you get there. APL is still quite short.

I wouldn't dream of braiding my hair! No way! LOL!

Maybe just a low pony to the side? That's cute!

[TatsuOni]

Keep at it, you will build muscle and stamina.

I fully comb my hair befor any sectioning otherwise I’ll run into tangles. For French/Dutch braids I have to do a little bit of finger combing part way through to remove the new tangles. It takes patience, but it is possible.

I do this too.

And it got easier for me to braid once I gave up mirrors. It might be a bit hard at first, but just practice to get the braiding into your muscle memory and then it's easy to do without mirrors :)

And I have no arm fatigue at FTL unless I make a fishtail braid :) You get used to it and exercising or being active also helps with this :)

[blackgothicdoll]

A trait of longhairs we never knew: killer biceps. :o

[Zesty]

A trait of longhairs we never knew: killer biceps. :o

LOL! Though not I, I am unfortunately a weakling. It just motivates me to master certain hairstyles so I can get it over with. :p

[TatsuOni]

A trait of longhairs we never knew: killer biceps. :o

Instead of tennis elbow, do we get hair elbows? :cool:

[spitfire511]

So good claw clips were my best friends at this length. I could manage a little cinnabun type thing and used 4 of the very small clips to keep it up (my hair always wound up being too heavy for a single larger claw - and as it got longer I'd use the larger octo-style clips). At around BSL I was able to start working better with sticks etc (though I'll say, for me a well made stick is all the difference - a chopstick never did the job when a ketylo would.) None of that is too hard on the arms as it only takes moments to do. At BSL I was able to do a small cinnabun style (as it's not really long enough to get the depth that others do - just looks like a ballerina bun) and a LWB done only on one or two fingers held with a stick.

As far as braiding - I just don't do it much - other than when I'm exercising or on the motorcycle. When I do - it's as the others described sectioning out - and getting all the tangles out - then stopping and separating again part way through to keep it from braiding itself on the bottom on its own! I'm more prone to throw an accent braid into a bun for something cute than trying to use the braid itself as a protective style.

Like neko_kawaii said - keep at it - it will get easier and you will build muscle for it!

[spitfire511]

Instead of tennis elbow, do we get hair elbows? :cool:


:D This! You wonder if any surgeons see rotator cuff injuries from styling!

[Alexandrina]

Hah, this is funny. I guess yeah it's just practice.

And I think braiding can feel a lot more awkward and hard on your hands at first, just because you aren't used to the movements.

It took me a lot of days of practicing a french braid with a mirror and teaching my fingers the positions and how to turn/twist etc, and at first it was very uncomfortable and always tangled and looked a mess....but now I can do it without using a mirror at all, and it looks great. So just keep at it!

[lapushka]

:D This! You wonder if any surgeons see rotator cuff injuries from styling!

Maybe that's more for hairdressers/stylists, who are heavy duty with the stuff.

[JennGalt]

Maybe that's more for hairdressers/stylists, who are heavy duty with the stuff.

When I worked as a massage therapist I actually did see quite a few hair dressers come in looking to alleviate or prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. And they always had massive knots in certain places around the shoulder blade of their dominant arms. Usually a few different types of knots.

I agree with everyone who says to just keep at it, OP. And be glad you don’t have curly hair :grin: Now that’s an arm workout.

[lithostoic]

I do a lot of lifting at work so this isn't a problem for me :P Keep practicing and you will build muscle!

[bparnell75]

I know what you mean. I keep trying to find a bun that does not take 10 wraps to make. But it is easier than it used to be,

[lapushka]

I know what you mean. I keep trying to find a bun that does not take 10 wraps to make. But it is easier than it used to be,

I used to do a LWB (lazy wrap bun), and that took a lot of wraps. Now I do a Nautilus and I go around once after creating the loop, and that's it! Maybe try a Nautilus?

[browneyedsusan]

Oh my word! So true!
I started growing my hair from a pixie at 45. At 47, started lifting weights. At 52, with decently strong arms and shoulders, I still get tired sometimes!

You'll get better with practice. :) Just keep trying the ones you want to learn. Try to break them down into steps. For example, if you want to get better at braiding, start with little accent braids up by your face so you can see what you're doing. Maybe make an accent braid behind your ear or at the nape of your neck when you get a little better? French braid just your bangsfront section back across the top of your head, and stop at your crown for a little half-up? I enjoy being creative with my hair, though. Some people don't and that's fine! You do what makes you happy. :)

[Ligeia Noire]

Just what Lapushka said... as your hair grows you grow with it. You build muscle, experience and patience... nothing more, nothing less.

[spidermom]

Agreed; if you keep at it, you will build muscle strength and stamina. You might want to take up upper body strength training; it will serve you well.

[Spikey]

I agree with everyone who says to just keep at it, OP. And be glad you don’t have curly hair :grin: Now that’s an arm workout.

I agree, the only thing that keeps me going once I've started a dutch braid is how shredded my arms will be when I finally finish detangling:p

[pailin]

For me, french braids took a lot of practice before I could manage one. If you're hair is really tangle prone like mine - I found that with every single section, I had to stop and run my fingers through and detangle to the ends (this is why I gave up on fish tail braids early on). Also I made sure I had lots of time - I could not hurry it.
I stopped french braids around tailbone because the sections tangling was too bad.

[leayellena]

my hair is almost class and it's becoming a chore to braid especially french or dutch braids. or it has some split ends and it tangles more (?)
here's how a lady with scoliosis is doing this ;)
- start with a ponytail, then braid the ponytail.
- or lean on a chair when you do your hair.
- don't even think of handling frizzy hair.
- accept that once reaching a certain length, the hairstyles you are used to are becoming impossible. saige doesn't do braided buns that much anymore, while ligeia noire has already said braiding her hair is becoming a chore when it was still at knee length.
- your hair is becoming heavy. now I understand why hairdressers say you have heavy hair: because you can't flip-flip it into a braid :P take each section and smoothe it with your finders as long as it's needed.
- I don't braid my hair when I feel tired, no matter how sport-y, trendy etc. it is

[AmaryllisRed]

There's a lot of good advice in this thread. I agree that practice is key. Build up stamina and get really good at it so you can do it pretty quickly.
I can do a French braid in about three minutes. There are days when my ends just want to stick together too much so those days I give up and bun it or I'll do an accent braid if I really want the look of a braid.
On normal days, though, I usually do three braid stitches and then separate the ends, three more then separate, etc.

[Cg]

I run my fingers down after every braid cross. Flimsy flyaway ends.

[MusicalSpoons]

To answer the question: with great difficulty! :laugh: but I have a chronic condition with muscle weakness and fatiguing ridiculously quickly, so I usually stick to buns. Wrapped are easier than twisted, and I can do it in under 30secs. But if you're healthy, practice really is all you need! :D

(Oh, and on the rare occasion I do something more than a bun, as long as I can manage until I get down to my shoulders I can bring my arms down with the braid or twist over my shoulder, and pause to rest however many times I need. It is rarely worth the energy though - if it's for a special occasion then I need my energy for the event, not spending it all on making my hair look nice. If I ever get married I'll probably end up with it just in a half-up, and then bun it after the ceremony asap :laugh:)

[lunalocks]

I lift weights. Seriously. I have 2 and 3 and 5 pound weights and once or twice a day pick them up and do a few curls. Strength AND toned muscles.

[Groovy Granny]

It comes with practice; muscle memory helps; I just do what I can, rest as needed, and accept what must be passed over depending on length and hair texture.

Sectioned braids for me at TBL = instant tangles that hand passes will not cut through :tmi: plus I have arthritis/nerve damage and can feel the pain/fatigue more some days.
On those days I just work a single English braid into bun, or style it simply... even if it means just a low ponytail with a scrunchy :shrug:

[spidermom]

When I was learning to french and dutch braid, I completely ignored described finger positions. I just kept in mind what had to happen next and let my fingers respond to the thought as was most natural for me. If anybody else is having trouble following directions like "reach out with your pinkie finger and ..." just think of what you're going to be doing, like "cross the right-side strand under the middle strand" and let your fingers feel their way along.

[Zesty]

When I was learning to french and dutch braid, I completely ignored described finger positions. I just kept in mind what had to happen next and let my fingers respond to the thought as was most natural for me. If anybody else is having trouble following directions like "reach out with your pinkie finger and ..." just think of what you're going to be doing, like "cross the right-side strand under the middle strand" and let your fingers feel their way along.

I definitely agree with this. I couldn't tell you my finger holds as I braid, but I think "over, under" etc and it works just fine.

[Groovy Granny]

I definitely agree with this. I couldn't tell you my finger holds as I braid, but I think "over, under" etc and it works just fine.
Same here :thumbsup:

[MusicalSpoons]

When I was learning to french and dutch braid, I completely ignored described finger positions. I just kept in mind what had to happen next and let my fingers respond to the thought as was most natural for me. If anybody else is having trouble following directions like "reach out with your pinkie finger and ..." just think of what you're going to be doing, like "cross the right-side strand under the middle strand" and let your fingers feel their way along.


I definitely agree with this. I couldn't tell you my finger holds as I braid, but I think "over, under" etc and it works just fine.

I have never heard of thinking about finger positions when braiding (though I've never done one with more than 4 strands :silly:) and wow, that just sounds complicated :confused: "over under etc" it definitely my style too!

[AmaryllisRed]

I actually did study finger positions for Dutch braiding because I knew what my hair needed to be doing but I struggled to get my fingers to do it.
Otherwise, no, and I agree it helps NOT to have a mirror, but that's probably a very individual thing.

[lapushka]

To answer the question: with great difficulty! :laugh: but I have a chronic condition with muscle weakness and fatiguing ridiculously quickly, so I usually stick to buns. Wrapped are easier than twisted, and I can do it in under 30secs. But if you're healthy, practice really is all you need! :D

(Oh, and on the rare occasion I do something more than a bun, as long as I can manage until I get down to my shoulders I can bring my arms down with the braid or twist over my shoulder, and pause to rest however many times I need. It is rarely worth the energy though - if it's for a special occasion then I need my energy for the event, not spending it all on making my hair look nice. If I ever get married I'll probably end up with it just in a half-up, and then bun it after the ceremony asap :laugh:)

Same here, I have less strength in my arms (shoulders to tips of fingers) and a LWB or Nautilus can be easily done in about 15 sec., from a seated position - it works for me.

[HeavenlyTresses]

Practice is definitely key but it's so hard when you get frustrated and your arm muscles are burning! My hair is wavy and gets tangled but if I put a light oil in it before hand it makes a huge difference. If it's a good day and I can keep the tangles tamed I can get in done in about 15 minutes which sometimes includes leaning against a doorway or wall to rest for a minute. But, I've also had many, many years of practice. Start simple and work your way up and as the others said, an accent braid can look awesome with a bun :)