What do you do with all of the wispies, damage & layers that fall out of your updo?

[esmeralda80]

Hello ladies,

I am new here and trying to be good by wearing my hair up or in a braid more often - but I’m having so much trouble keeping all of the little pieces from falling out over time. Especially with COVID, taking the mask on and off doesn’t help!

what are the best non damaging tips and tricks for keeping all of the little stragglers in check until my hair is healthy and one length?

thanks!

[Jo Ann]

Some use a gel, like aloe vera or flaxseed, to keep wispies in place; others split their hair-do into two parts (like making up two smaller buns, instead of one big bun) until their hair grows long enough to do one bun; some use bobby pins and/or mini-clips to keep their hair in place.

It's very flexible how you want to do your hair and what works for you :flower:

[mermaid lullaby]

I remember using fabric headbands until my hair was long enough to be able to braid. Then I did two french braids but...that was all I could do.

[SleepyTangles]

I used tiny claw clips, I find them more effective than bobby pins. Also, I spontaneously love headbands, so that helps too...

[Bat]

I suffer in silence..

[lapushka]

You can always just let them... be free, hence this thread:
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=131555

Come and join us!

[baanoo]

I roll with it. When my hair was short and I was struggling to get it all up, I would mist with a little hairspray to smooth it generally up. My hair is v v professional at casually escaping, however, and wispies fly around constantly at all lengths so it’s part of my look :chill:

[hennalonghair]

Ditto. I embrace my hairs natural texture and roll with it.
When I tie my hair back I usually wear the smallest flexi’s as barrettes to contain the side fly always and wet my hands before braiding with a drop or two of oil to help keep my braid smooth. That’s it. I’m not going to overly fuss over something I have no control over.

[Iyashikei]

I just let it happen until I get tired of it. After that I just redo my ponytail.

[sipnsun]

It is what it is, lol! I usually try to slick them back with a little argan oil or aloe gel but they won't stay in place. Since I hate hairspray and commercial gel I don't worry about it.

[Strands]

I back up the fabric head band method. But please, if you intend to do this, put some kind of moisturizer on your edges to help prevent too much friction related breakage. I suggest any kind of beard balm meant for men's beards lol, or maybe an oil you like? I have been using a combo of Shea and Coconut oil to keep my edges clear from friction. I have a harder time myself with my face framing edges getting damage. :/ But they are doing much better these last few months!

Another suggestion you might try is the purchase of a 100% boar bristle brush to "run over" your head after you bun. Be sure to break it in with a good few drops of hair oil before first use, and I like to drizzle essential oil on mine to give my hair a boost and nice scent. Clove Oil is my favorite throughout the year. :) Boar for me is amazing. It is like it catches all those fly away hairs and pushes them INTO the rest of the hair or something. They just DISAPPEAR lol.

An option I utilized a lot over this summer though was a humble baseball hat. And honestly, if you are getting a lot of weather exposure, I would encourage you to cover your head because weather damage I find exacerbates my fly away woes through additional damage and drying.

I hope you figure out something that works for you. Fly aways can be a pain when you want to look sleek and clean. :)

[Feral_]

I use a DIY aloe vera conditioning gel before plaiting. Sometimes I spritz rose water on my head after bunning to smooth down any strays, but usually I CBA.

[neko_kawaii]

Mostly I ignore them and redo the bun if they start to tickle my face and drive me crazy. One way I attempt to prevent them is to do twists or lace braids from part back to ears. If I know I’ll be doing something that will cause whiskies, such as spending time out in the wind, I wear a bandana.

[luluj]

Luckily for me there is no damage. I do have layers, though, and plenty of wisps. The layers don't bother me at all and the wispies I really like, so like some others, I just let it be.

Sometimes I twist the front pieces and pin them back, loosely.

[AmaryllisRed]

I use the little clips you bend to open. I don't know what they're called.

[jane_marie]

I mostly ignore them. I think that if my hair is too perfect I look a bit severe. Sometimes I'll use flax seed gel for slightly less flyaways.

[spidermom]

Hair is never one length. There are always brand new and thus very short hairs, also the longest oldest hairs, and everything in-between.

Most of the time I don't worry about it. If I really don't want little fly-aways in my face, I'll tie on a bandana. Sometimes I'll use some sort of styling product to smooth them down, but if I get into any wind, they'll sproing right back up and wave all around.

[esmeralda80]

I suffer in silence..
Me too - sometimes when the wispies are really bad, I pretend no one else can see them lol.

[esmeralda80]

I use a DIY aloe vera conditioning gel before plaiting. Sometimes I spritz rose water on my head after bunning to smooth down any strays, but usually I CBA.

Interesting # what do you put in your DIY gel and what is CBA? Thanks.

[esmeralda80]

I back up the fabric head band method. But please, if you intend to do this, put some kind of moisturizer on your edges to help prevent too much friction related breakage. I suggest any kind of beard balm meant for men's beards lol, or maybe an oil you like? I have been using a combo of Shea and Coconut oil to keep my edges clear from friction. I have a harder time myself with my face framing edges getting damage. :/ But they are doing much better these last few months!

Another suggestion you might try is the purchase of a 100% boar bristle brush to "run over" your head after you bun. Be sure to break it in with a good few drops of hair oil before first use, and I like to drizzle essential oil on mine to give my hair a boost and nice scent. Clove Oil is my favorite throughout the year. :) Boar for me is amazing. It is like it catches all those fly away hairs and pushes them INTO the rest of the hair or something. They just DISAPPEAR lol.

An option I utilized a lot over this summer though was a humble baseball hat. And honestly, if you are getting a lot of weather exposure, I would encourage you to cover your head because weather damage I find exacerbates my fly away woes through additional damage and drying.

I hope you figure out something that works for you. Fly aways can be a pain when you want to look sleek and clean. :)

Thank you for all of the great tips - I will have to look into the men’s beard balm - I am all for men and women sharing their secrets 🤔

[esmeralda80]

You can always just let them... be free, hence this thread:
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=131555

Come and join us!

Thank you Lapushka - I definitely want to join your permawispie club!

[esmeralda80]

Some use a gel, like aloe vera or flaxseed, to keep wispies in place; others split their hair-do into two parts (like making up two smaller buns, instead of one big bun) until their hair grows long enough to do one bun; some use bobby pins and/or mini-clips to keep their hair in place.

It's very flexible how you want to do your hair and what works for you :flower:
Thanks for the tips, JoAnn - I have never tried flax seed oil - does it work better than jojoba oil? Also, can you mix it with the aloe. Thanks again!

[esmeralda80]

Ditto. I embrace my hairs natural texture and roll with it.
When I tie my hair back I usually wear the smallest flexi’s as barrettes to contain the side fly always and wet my hands before braiding with a drop or two of oil to help keep my braid smooth. That’s it. I’m not going to overly fuss over something I have no control over.

I was just about to return the smallest size flexi, but I will have to give it a try with my flyaways first. Thanks for the great idea!

[Linden]

Since I need my hair to look semi-professional when I wear it up for work, I usually use a curly-girl friendly hair gel to smooth everything down after I bun it.

[lapushka]

Thank you Lapushka - I definitely want to join your permawispie club!

;) :thumbsup: :cheer:

[SelenVinland]

I suffer in silence..

Basically this :( My hair has proven to be really, really good at escaping any method I try to contain the wispies and I don't like to use gel or hair spray if I can avoid it since I only wash once a week and don't want a lot of product building up.

I've had some success with snap clips but my hair sometimes slips out of those too, especially the hairs at my neck that are too short to fit into a ponytail currently. I'm trying the claw clip method someone in this thread mentioned, we'll see if that works.

[Jo Ann]

Thanks for the tips, JoAnn - I have never tried flax seed oil - does it work better than jojoba oil? Also, can you mix it with the aloe. Thanks again!

That I don't know--someone who uses that can tell you better than I can. Personally, if it's really bothering me, I use a drop or two of argan oil or argan oil serum to keep mine in check--mostly, though, I'm a member of the "Free Wispie" club :)

[esmeralda80]

Ladies - big news here - I followed your tips and my wispies stayed in placed ALL DAY at work - very empowering! 👍

[florenonite]

I'm growing out an undershave and I use a couple of contour clips to clip it up when my hair is in a bun. I find they hold my hair in place much better than claw clips or pins.

[SelenVinland]

Unfortunately, the claw clips did not work for me at all. My neck wispies refuse to be contained. I guess I'll just have to resign myself to my fate until they're long enough to fit in my ponytail.

[Jo Ann]

Ladies - big news here - I followed your tips and my wispies stayed in placed ALL DAY at work - very empowering! ��

Fantastic!! :cheese:

[ynne]

A lot of good tips :) I'm glad your first try was a success.

I haven't found anything that'd keep canopy short hair contained, the longer ones can be pinned but nothing works on the short ones for me, so any updo or a braid has no hopes of looking "sleek" with just a few neat wispie tendrils (I don't mind those). For me, even oiling or a gel just result in majority of hair smoothed down, and then the short hairs escaping a few seconds later. :( I really don't like it.