ISO Gentle Updos for Fine / Thin / SL Hair

[snolol]

Hi! I’m new here and have been searching for a specific thread like this all night to no avail.

I have very fine, very thin (2”), type 1b/1c hair, currently SL. I recently tried to start growing it out, as it’s never been longer than APL while still being healthy. However, I work in the service industry and have to wear my hair up every day for work. I usually put it in a loose bun at my nape.
I used to use regular hair ties but understand that they can cause damage so I now try to alternate between an invisibobble or a claw clip. Both seem to be a little more gentle. My hair is too short for sticks.

I two main issues:
-My hair still seems to be super thin / scraggly at the ends, despite brushing very gently, and doing my best to research the products I’m using for my hair type. Here’s a photo (https://drive.google.com/open?id=13heeIAUH1aD7rxavUMDRbWukLFCmATPv) (right after a trim and a quick blow dry from the hairdresser)
-Also the claw clips don’t really work right after washing (currently using a cone free / sulfate free shampoo & sulfate free/ silicone conditioner) because my hair is too slippy. I’m struggling to find clips with the teeth close enough together to work.

My main question is, based on the picture linked above, what do you think is causing the thinning at my ends?
Are the tools I’m using gentle enough for F 1b/1c i/ii hair? Am I wearing it up too much? Is there a better hairstyle I should try that would work better with my hair type?
I’m looking for a better way to put up my hair while minimizing breakage. I'm struggling to find tutorials for fine hair that is also shorter.

Any advice is appreciated!

[MusicalSpoons]

Hmm. Not an interrogation but some Qs to help us help you:
What kind of brush do you use? Do you brush wet or dry? How do you wear it to sleep, and on what material? Do you usually blow dry - if so, on what temperature, and could your method be causing any mechanical damage?
How do you wash your hair, what actions? Do you pile it on top of your head?

Hairstyles ... You need something that truly protects your ends; a bun may well be fine if your hair is okay with invisibobbles. Is your claw clip completely smooth? I'm wondering if you could use a couple of smaller clips if the single one isn't doing the job, but of course they would have to be hair-friendly, i.e. completely smooth.
You could try a peacock twist maybe, with one of those long, slender clips (this kind of shape https://www.ellisons.co.uk/denman-no-slip-banana-jaw-clip-100mm.html?incVatPrice=1&?referer=PLA&gclid=CjwKCAiAi4fwBRBxEiwAEO8_Hr1ToN0aQvta-FwWm3Rzaw6GFT5tBIfdyoTesid3kfGGp0W0KdnvrBoCfzgQAvD _BwE I don't know what they're actually called) - you could even tuck in the ends to be more protective. Or braids, with the ends secured with something other than a hair elastic and pinned up out of the way; bobby pins shouldn't be damaging as long as you are careful with putting them in and taking them out.

I don't have experience of hair your length so that's about everything I can think of right now and all theoretical. I'm sure others will have more ideas :)

[shelomit]

Making the bun at the same location (nape) all the time could be contributing to breakage. If your scalp doesn't mind it, you might try "hinging" it higher up a couple of days a week.

Hairpins may not be a bad choice at this length.

[Reyn127]

Hmm, my main thoughts are that you might be getting mechanical damage from something, and/or, I wonder if your hair’s moisture/protein balance might be contributing to it.

As for the mechanical damage, if your hair strands are REALLY SUPER fine, unfortunately they can be pretty easy to break. I used to get mechanical damage at the back of my head from just brushing the hair from the back of my head twice, basically once over each shoulder with each side of my head. I would imagine that the weight from a regular hair tie holding up a bun could also cause breakage.

Claw clips definitely work well, but I think they’re better for breakage if you use MORE clips. More anchor points = less weight on each one. And you also have to make sure that there are NO rough OR raggedy edges on anything that goes in your hair.

To make it all easier, you do want to make sure you’re conditioning your hair somewhat properly. If your hair is too dry and needs a moisturizing conditioner, aka feels kind of rough, split-endy, is flaking/falling apart to the touch, it can make all of the breakage much worse and happen quicker. Same with a protein imbalance - not enough of it, and your hair will feel mushy, gummy, stretchy. Too much protein and it can be brittle, sticky feeling, kind of stiff.

If you want to, you can write out/ find and copy+paste the ingredients in any hair products you use, and if you hair feels like it has any of the problems going on a just mentioned ^. Lots of us here could probably give you a few pointers with products to try too.

As for styles, it’s hard to say what will work as far as comfort and preference for another person. Braids are good as long as you tie them off loosely with something slippery, and also always keep them attached to your head. Loose (down) braids can cause terrible damage (at least for me). I agree that a peacock twist might e good one to try. Also maybe a cinnamon bun. I would say just try different things - as long as it’s secure (doesn’t move around freely and cause tangles), isn’t rubbing on too much, and isn’t too fiddly to do, then it’s already way better than just being down.

Let us know if you need more help with this!

[Kalamazoo]

Well, I've got thin, fine hair, hip-length, & I'm almost at the point where I can use a very small hairfork (3" long) to hold up a bun. (Oops. I lost one yesterday.) So I do better using single-hump bobby pins. I can use just one bobby pin in place of a hairfork & keep my bun up all day, but I usually use 3 or 4 total for security. (I like the single-bump style bobby pins because they grab the hair less firmly than the 3-bumpers, so I feel that they're less damaging.) (Any longer hairforks just immediately fall out of my hair.)

Oh, and for elastics? Nothing works in my hair. They're all WAY TOO BIG!!!!! And the so-called "damage-free"ones? No, for me, they're not damage-free. They bend my hair.

So, if I braid my hair, I don't use a rubber band nor a hair tie; I bobby-pin the ends in place.

You might be able to figure out a Milkmaid Braid variation, especially if you put the bases of your braids high, over your ears. It comes out looking like a braided crown.

I think you've got pretty hair. You just need to work with it & learn how to style it. And, as you look around the LHC website & try out various ideas for handling hair better, you may very well find that it's growing thicker.

Patience!

[tulirepo]

i'm pro-braid! when i had damaged hair at SL i had it braided all the time, two dutch braids, every day. i used small clear elastics to tie my ends when they were thin and had minimal breakage. you could also tie them to a bun in the neck, which keeps the ends in place so they don't move around

[dansyl]

Spin pins work well for me. I imagine to some they aren't the most comfortable to sleep in, but I don't really feel them.

[chrissy-b]

I can't speak to what's causing the damage, but one thing that really helped me was adding oils to my routine. I do both a heavy oiling before I wash, and a drop or two on the ends after a wash. I used to love coconut oil, but it doesn't work for me anymore for some reason. I now use avocado oil for heavy oilings, and argan after a wash.

To protect the ends at that length, I would make two cinnabuns on each side of my head (behind the ears) and secure them with Scunci No-Slip mini octopus clips . My hair is really slippery too and these things hold really well. Hope that helps!

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/A7kAAOSwO-pcI8QA/s-l300.jpg

[leayellena]

A tucked French braid with or without a small hair elastic and a lot of u pins work for me. No matter which tipe of pins you like, pin them crisscrossed. It is more stable than a single pin

[Sarahlabyrinth]

At that length I would probably either go for a pony tail held with something gentle like a scrunchie, or do a peacock twist with a barrette or claw clip.

[xoxogossipgreen]

Hey! I'm shoulder length too with thin hair. My ends were really similar to yours just 2 months ago. The main things I found that helped were regular trims, air drying my hair without brushing it while its damp, using oil on the ends, and sleeping either on satin pillow cases or with a satin cap or bonnet. In terms of styles, my go to tends to be the double comb beaded hair clips. I get mine from pop up markets here in Aus, but you can order them online pretty much anywhere. With them I've been able to do anything from twists to braids to buns to pony tails while damaging my hair less and also hurting my head less. You'd also be surprised with the amount of things you can do with bobby pins, so they're always good to have.