Migraine hair

[Snowbelles]

So I have always suffered from migraines...they started when I was around 5. I am at waist currently and I’m finding that on days I have even just headaches, I cannot tolerate buns, perhaps I’m doing the wrong buns. I usually do a lazy wrap bun with a Quattro Starlite fork. What are your favorite headache day styles, buns, specific types of braid, etc...that cause the least amount of scalp pull?

[jane_marie]

Hello fellow migraine suffer!

I also struggle with bun placements due to migraines. I have found that a high cinnamon bun very loosely twisted is the easier route. To secure it I use mini claw clips placed strategically.

French braids or anything else that sections my hair works well too. I have had good luck with doing half up buns and two pigtails for example. Frida braids and other crown braids are really comfortable... even more so if you use dutch/french braids. A very loose english braid can be a good option too.

Sometimes when things are really bad for me illust coil up my hair and put a hat over it (no clips at all).

I hope some of this helps a little! <3

[RunOnCaffeine]

I just have to leave it loose when I have a migraine. Anything else pulls too much, like you say.

[sipnsun]

Loose for me also, I can't even think of having my hair up or braided during a migraine because I'm sensitive to any type of pulling on my scalp. Also can't tolerate light or smells other than a little peppermint oil. For a regular headache I can usually stand a rope braid or english braid but not during a migraine unfortunately.

[Lucy McLucyFace]

I don't even suffer from migraines but I do get headaches after a whole day of wearing my hair in a bun so the best for that is to opt for braids that aren't too tight near the scalp instead or just letting it down if it's too strong a headache

[florenonite]

I usually do either a loose English plait or just leave my hair down entirely.

[lapushka]

Bun or no bun, it doesn't matter, the migraine is the migraine and will come through regardless of how I wear my hair; thankfully I have medication that works to diminish it right quick, so all in all, my hairstyle does not really matter.

[ynne]

Loose hair, mainly. But for updos, they can't be too tight, and it could be a low English braid (I see that's a popular suggestion), a ponytail, a claw clip updo (which could be a loose English braid clipped up, but sometimes I find that hard to do without some pulling / hair strands going in a direction that feels wrong). I might get away with a bun when my hair is longer, but right now they have to be quite snug, and that won't do.

[Hexen]

Thankfully I've only had what I might call a migrane I think three times in my entire life.
But I tell ya this, if thats what it was...it was NOT fun.

Felt like my head was going to explode. And I puked one of those times.
But it eventually just went away.
It hasn't happened in over a decade now at least.

I guess really tight hair can indeed cause a headache though. And it actually has for me on several occasions I think. But for the most part, I only ever have my hair in a ponytail right after a shower usually so it dries straighter around my face. Or in really hot weather.
But again, I've also only had what I might call a headache a few times from tightly bound hair
But maybe that's just sort of an unrecognized perk for some of us that may not actually do a lot of elaborate things to it.

Ever heard of that movie "Every Which Way But Loose" starring Clint Eastwood?
Well, that movie title is pretty much the opposite of how I usually wear me hair.

[Afanen]

Loose or a bonytail halfway down my hair with a satin scrunchy if I'm trying to sleep it off

[AmaryllisRed]

I get a couple migraines a year.
No updo will work. The most comfortable thing is wearing it down. A loose braid works, especially if I perch it on my shoulder so it's not pulling down on my head at all.

[TechnoAngel]

When I have a migraine I just wear it loose. It's almost impossible to leave my bed at that time so I just lay down. If I feel like I'm about to throw up I make a ponytail. (Sorry for the details)

[lapushka]

Guys, I have to mention, I have been getting these (hormonal) since age 13/14, and I'm 48. I know the routine by now. :roll: I didn't mean my previous comment to come off as though I was "minimizing" a migraine, because it's nothing to sneer at, for real! Just wanted to clarify.

[Aerya]

Thankfully I don't get migraines, but my scalp is terribly sensitive to hairstyles, especially if I'm stressed or not feeling well. I always have to be mindful about how I place my buns, how tightly they are and in which direction my hair lies when braiding. Plain Dutch braids hardly work, I will typically do loose lace braids instead so that the hair remains more or less in the same direction as it does naturally. Pulling my hair straight upwards is a recipe for pain for me! It sucks, as I love the look of high buns.

What is generally comfortable for me is lace braids, as mentioned - when done fairly loosely I find they distribute weight quite well, as long as taking away some volume (which allows for a looser bun if your hair isn't long enough for that in itself) so that I can secure it in a bun at the back of my head. I usually just use a stick, but I'm guessing a fork or pins would be quite comfy as well. I also like side braids, starting with a lace braid at my part, then by ear level I'll start "dutch braiding" with more hair so that once the braid reaches my nape it will contain all my hair, and then braid it regularly down from there, either leaving it down or bunning it. Looks cute and done up too!

[Cg]

Try to distribute the weight evenly with Heidi braids. Sometimes even that doesn't work and you just have to leave it loose because any style/pin makes things worse.

[Snowbelles]

I didn't take it that way...yes, when you have had them all your life, you just learn to deal.

[Snowbelles]

Oh gosh...I did that wrong, that reply was supposed to be for lapushka, sorry. I can't edit my posts yet either.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I have some new ideas, and I'm definitely going to check out lace braids. When I posted this I had taken my meds....unfortunately they didn't work yesterday and by mid-afternoon I was in bed. I ended up leaving my hair down over my silk pillowcase. By that point, even wrapping my hair with a silk scarf sounded torturous.
Better today, and hair is up in loose lazy wrap.

[Entangled]

Sorry you’re going through this! I mostly just do low English braids, though now that my hair’s longer, I wrap it around my head coronet style with some claw clips.

[lapushka]

I didn't take it that way...yes, when you have had them all your life, you just learn to deal.

Oh good! Yes that's true. It's like, oh hey *another* migraine; yipee-ka-ey. :roll: :lol: ;)

[Wavelength]

I get migraines a lot, pretty much every time the weather changes for the worse. If there's a front moving in, then my head aches anywhere between 12-24 hours ahead of time. So needless to say, I've experimented with a lot of styles over the years, trying to find one that's tolerable and keeps my hair relatively protected.

The best I've found so far is based on a low English braid, but it's a bit hard to describe, and it doesn't work for me without my France Luxe barrette (https://franceluxe.com/collections/barrettes/products/classic-rectangle-barrette-classics) that I got awhile ago from a swap. I've tried doing this style with other hair accessories, but it's the only one that works. (I should also mention that my hair is at classic length now, so it's pretty long. This may not work with shorter and/or very thick hair, as you need a lot of length.)

Basically I braid my hair somewhat loosely at the start so it doesn't pull on my scalp (which gets very sensitive during a migraine), but I tighten it up as I progress so that the individual strands are contained and the profile is as small as possible. Then I thread the end of the braid up and under the first loop that's closest to my head, pulling it all the way through. This forms a kind of bump or knob at the base.

After that, I fold the braid close to my head, and use the barrette to secure it high to my scalp -- somewhat like this, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l47CpIiCB80) except I also wrap the braid around that knob as I'm folding. You should be able to feel it rise slightly off the back of your neck. And when I secure it, the barrette is almost sitting on top of my head.

Threading it through the first loop is crucial to ensuring that it doesn't pull. I'm not entirely sure why, only that it works. I've tried this style without that first step and it's like night and day. If I do it right, I can't even feel the weight of my hair anymore. The only thing I feel is the barrette itself, but since it's so high on my scalp it just kind of sits in place, which makes it very tolerable.

As a bonus, it also looks pretty good. If your headache gets worse and you have to lie down, then you just unsnap the barrette and pull the hair back through for a regular English braid again (which for me is a decent sleep style).

I guess a small Ficcare might also work -- something that's guaranteed not to move and won't be too heavy on a sensitive scalp.

[Pouncequick]

If my hair is already braided when the migraine hits I just take it down and take my medicine. At that point I just want to lay down with an eye mask on. If I can feel it coming I will braid it and if it's already braided I leave it. I usually try to sleep off the medication and that sleep is usually very restless.

[spirals]

I find the position of my hair doesn't matter at all. It does bother me to have it up when I have a brain injury*. The symptoms are similar but for whatever reason it bothers me in one situation and not the other.

*LOL, look at me talking about that as if it were a frequent occurrence. I have had more than one, though.