Protective/hair stick styles for short hair?

[BuddhaBelle]

Hi all!

I’ve been looking into both protective styles and hair stick styles but i’m struggling to find ones that will work on my APL hair (apart from french braids, obv!) any ideas?

thank you! 💛

[0xalis]

A cinnabun or a "twist up and clip" held with a big claw clip is my go-to APL protective style.

[Aerya]

You can try a disc bun.

[LittleHealthy]

Yes, as an above commenter mentioned, a 'peacock twist' with a claw clip would work best I think! It's what I did until my hair was long enough for use of a hairstick.
At armpit length hopefully that means more protective styles will open up for you soon, I think the first ones that worked for me were the Lazy Wrap Bun and Nautilus Bun.

[cjk]

I'm near armpit length now, and let me just point out that only on LHC would armpit length be considered short.

I've been doing Chinese buns lately. With great success.

[hennalonghair]

You didn’t mention you hair thickness or texture which DOES make a huge difference. Most styles I couldn’t do until I was down past BSL since my hair is thick so I’m voting for the peacock twist or another styles with a claw clip.

[BuddhaBelle]

I will definitely have to try and find my big claw clip for this style as it looks so pretty! Here i’ve tried a variety of the cinnabun as I couldn’t wrap two around each other and make it stay haha!

https://ibb.co/PwjG93p I need to find some nice hair sticks now

[BuddhaBelle]

I had a look at this but I think my hair is a bit too short :(

[BuddhaBelle]

I used to be able to do those two buns and I miss them so much! Please tell me why I cut all my hair off last year...

[BuddhaBelle]

oh my gosh I know! APL is amazing compared to my chin length hair! I will definitely try a chinese bun thank you :D

[BuddhaBelle]

Oh i totally forgot! I would say my hair is medium, it’s definitely not thin because there is A LOT of it but does not sound as thick as yours!

[embee]

Good luck, I couldn't do anything at all with hairsticks until at least waist, but maybe it's because I'm rather unskilled?

[CopperButterfly]

I couldn't manage hair sticks at APL. I could manage a cinnabun held with spin pins or several small claw clips. A bit past APL I could do a disc bun held by a flexi. I could get it to hold with a stick closer to BSL. Being able to any other bun with a stick didn't happen until around waist.

Anyway, hope that helps. I do feel like APL is a bit of an awkward stage for updoes. Good news is, it will grow.

[AshtangiPNW]

Have you tried spin pins or Amish pins? I'm a big fan of both...

[MusicalSpoons]

For thickness, you can find out by gathering all of your hair into a ponytail (doesn't matter where on your head, just so you're holding all of your hair) and measure the circumference. Then people can advise better with a more accurate idea of what you're working with :)

[BuddhaBelle]

Haha i think it depends on the slippery-ness, this is what i managed today https://ibb.co/PwjG93p

[BuddhaBelle]

My sister has used spin pins but i’m so scared i’m gonna rip my hair out with them haha! I’ve never used amish pins in my life but i’m intrigued to try them now they look interesting:)

[BuddhaBelle]

Amazing! I just tried this and I think i’m an ii?

[SleepyTangles]

Have you tried french braiding, then flipping the braid inside? takes a bit of practice to hide the bulk, especially with thick hair, but its super handy!
The Gibson tuck is also pretty handy at APL.
And... mmm, I have zero skill with crown braids, but crown twists and braids are also an option.

[cjk]

I don't care how carefully we describe our hair, types, thicknesses and so forth, there is just no substitute for photographs.

Here is my own hair, and the Chinese bun that I did this morning.

https://i.imgur.com/AuUFnCN.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/k5iuhIE.jpg

[Duchess Fuzzy Buns]

I couldn't really get anything to hold with a stick at APL, but I found a three prong fork would hold even a loose cinnabun really well at this length. I have a metal one with a curve to it that works really really well. :)

[Lucy McLucyFace]

I will definitely have to try and find my big claw clip for this style as it looks so pretty! Here i’ve tried a variety of the cinnabun as I couldn’t wrap two around each other and make it stay haha!

https://ibb.co/PwjG93p I need to find some nice hair sticks now

I'm guilty of using pencils since I haven't gotten around to getting a hair stick and I definitely don't recommend pencils. The slightest flaw in the tip will rip a strand right out of my head when I'm trying to push it into my hair. That and the finish around the pencil was not made to hold hair so it'll always be a little off

[BuddhaBelle]

I’m thinking of ordering these as i have heard a few snaps and my heart skipped a beat!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H3S9CYQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_o7YNEbSJ5AZEZ

What do you think?

[BuddhaBelle]

I couldn't really get anything to hold with a stick at APL, but I found a three prong fork would hold even a loose cinnabun really well at this length. I have a metal one with a curve to it that works really really well. :)

Ooo where do you buy your sticks from? I’m struggling to find multiple prongs!

[BuddhaBelle]

Have you tried french braiding, then flipping the braid inside? takes a bit of practice to hide the bulk, especially with thick hair, but its super handy!
The Gibson tuck is also pretty handy at APL.
And... mmm, I have zero skill with crown braids, but crown twists and braids are also an option.

i struggle to french braid my hair because of the length but maybe with a bun that would work!

[BuddhaBelle]

Omg i love your hair! so thick!! I wish i could do that bun but it just falls out when i try :(

What are the clips in your hair for?

[cjk]

I’m thinking of ordering these as i have heard a few snaps and my heart skipped a beat!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H3S9CYQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_o7YNEbSJ5AZEZ

What do you think?

Very pretty!

Do shop around, Amazon is not always the best price automatically. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I know I've seen similar designs on eBay for pennies though I freely admit I've not looked in a while.

[Miss Thyme]

You could try using a hair stick Japanese style. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CEAhcfkE0M)

My hair is too long for this, but APL is probably about right.

A French twist could probably do the job as well, and has many options (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F00c_e16_is) for how to secure it. (More than just the ones shown in that video)

[BuddhaBelle]

Very pretty!

Do shop around, Amazon is not always the best price automatically. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I know I've seen similar designs on eBay for pennies though I freely admit I've not looked in a while.

Thank you for letting me know i just ordered some cheaper ones of ebay hahha

[BuddhaBelle]

You could try using a hair stick Japanese style. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CEAhcfkE0M)

My hair is too long for this, but APL is probably about right.

A French twist could probably do the job as well, and has many options (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F00c_e16_is) for how to secure it. (More than just the ones shown in that video)

omg these are amazing i can’t wait to try them thank you so much!

[CopperButterfly]

Etsy is really the best place to get hair toys in my opinion. You'll find a lot of variety there, and plenty of hair forks with 2 to 4 prongs.

[Duchess Fuzzy Buns]

Ooo where do you buy your sticks from? I’m struggling to find multiple prongs!

The one I was referring to came from Over the Hawaiian Moon on Etsy. :blossom:
https://etsy.me/2Y0lzpO

[lapushka]

I've stayed out of this thread for a while, because I didn't want to state what I always do, that you need length according to thickness for sticks to be able to work. For sticks to work, you need to be able to make a bun, and that requires length. If you are iii, for me personally, I could only bun at around hip (comfortably).

Meanwhile, claw clips are a life-saver. I wore a peacock twist, later log roll, for the whole time between APL to hip. And I loved it!

[MusicalSpoons]

Amazing! I just tried this and I think i’m an ii?

Easily missed but thickness was mentioned Lapushka back on page 2 :)

[Lucy McLucyFace]

You can try a disc bun.

I really ought to thank you :o I saw this some days ago and tried it and now I've been using it every day, huge game changer since my hair is rubbing waist length and isn't long enough for other stick buns. Thank you so much!

[bparnell75]

I'm guilty of using pencils since I haven't gotten around to getting a hair stick and I definitely don't recommend pencils. The slightest flaw in the tip will rip a strand right out of my head when I'm trying to push it into my hair. That and the finish around the pencil was not made to hold hair so it'll always be a little off

Make up and paint brushes work too

[bparnell75]

I’m thinking of ordering these as i have heard a few snaps and my heart skipped a beat!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H3S9CYQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_o7YNEbSJ5AZEZ

What do you think?

Wooden ones are good. f your hair is slippy like mine metal ones will be hard to stay put