Slippery hair with cones and updos?

[rags]

Okay, maybe a confusing thread title. I have 1a, very fine slippery hair and I use cones for various reasons. Chief among them being that my hair tangles horribly without them, causing immense breakage, and that I appear to be allergic to most cone-free product I have tried (and I have tried close to a dozen, I believe). I have precisely two that I am not allergic to, and they let my hair break and tangle.

My problem is this: I would like to participate in the daily updo challenge as my hair is so baby fine it tends to break if I look at it wrong. However, it also needs washing pretty much every other day, and hence my problem. I cannot get the evil Houdini hair to stay up on wash day if I use cones. And the cone-free is a problem, so.......

It will escape even the tightest braid or the most twisted updo. Yesterday I used a coney deep conditioner on it, and I couldn't even keep a mini flexi in it for a half up - it just gradually slid right down.

So those of you with very very slippery hair, how do you keep it up on wash days? The ONLY way I can is by using myraids of bobby pins, which then break my hair horribly. I could I suppose make one more attempt at cone free, but I am rather frightened of another bad allergic reaction (or an asthma attack from the perfumes in some of the cheap brands)

Help?

[kdaniels8811]

Ummm, I know I preach on this a lot ... but have you tried a catnip soak to help with the breakage? I do not even use conditioner any more - because it made my hair slippery just like you are describing. There are detailed instructions elsewhere on how to make the tea and soak your hair. My hair is also fine and thin - and aggrevating! and used to break off continually. The catnip has all but prevented the breakage and eliminates tangles, it is cheap and easy to use, but the secret is soaking it for an hour, as using it as a rinse is about useless. And I do a soak every other day and my breakage has gone away and my hair is growing. Been using it a couple months now, I think. Good luck! and let us know what works for you. It is all trial and error for all of us.

[Anje]

Well, I use wash methods that lessen the slip in my hair a bit (lately a funny hybrid of WO on the scalp, and coneless CO or catnip on the length), but I can empathize with slippy hair that won't stay in anything. Sometimes I oil it, or smear it with SBCC, but that speeds the day when I need to wash it again. Shampoo + conditioner makes my hair slide out of everything.

Your hair might be too short, but once you can, consider a braided bun. Braids stay a little better than twists, in my experience, and while hair can get loose from them pretty easily when they're down, braids don't fuzz up as much when they're pinned to your head.

Have you looked at U-shaped pins rather than bobby pins? They don't pull hairs out, and they can be quite secure. Even better are double-point knitting needles bent into a U (Wavelength pins).

Finally, have you looked at Goth Rosary conditioners (particularly the unscented "Nothingness" one)? Katze's quite sensitive to things, and she swears by it. Another unscented cone-free conditioner you might want to check out is the conditioner bars by SylvieL on Etsy. They impart a lot of slip, though.

[Katze]

Finally, have you looked at Goth Rosary conditioners (particularly the unscented "Nothingness" one)? Katze's quite sensitive to things, and she swears by it. Another unscented cone-free conditioner you might want to check out is the conditioner bars by SylvieL on Etsy. They impart a lot of slip, though.

I'm only aesthetically, not allergically, sensitive, which means I don't like the scent of most commercial products. But GR products *are* made for sensitive and allergic people and their conditioners are wonderful. My mom has multiple chemical sensitivities and she liked GR (unscented "Nothingness") for her fine, short hair.

My hair is also super slippery after washing. I can either put it all up in a Ficcare, in something that I have to redo every couple of hours, or enjoy it down. And I don't use 'cones - there, my scalp is sensitive, but they definitely increased slip.

The only time I put my hair up consistently is when it's "dirty" - days 3+ after washing - and I oil the length every time it's wet on those days to help it "stick". Nevertheless, it is still slippery.

Perhaps less 'cones but more leave-in - I'm thinking something like Goth Rosary or some other hypoallergenic product, there are LOTS to choose from - would help give your length more bulk?

[MsBubbles]

I just had to abandon my first 'put it up and forget about it' challenge yesterday because I couldn't get my hair to stay in any style, any how, any way. I feel your frustration. I think putting it up whilst somewhat damp helps, as long as whatever you secured it with won't slip out once it's dry (why don't I just state the obvious?! LOL). I am thinking I need to go buy some more claw clips (not sure if that's the right description) because those seem to be the things that hold my hair the most on wash days. Even my braid fell out yesterday within about 30 mins. some people have mentioned using aloe to keep hair in place but I haven't tried that yet.

I don't use cones any more but that hasn't made a blind bit of difference in the slipperyness of my hair on wash days. I'm not complaining because I feel all 'hair-ad like' if I wear it down, but it would be nice to be able to anchor it while I'm trying to forget about how fast it's growing :).

[Janka]

I use cones as well (never tried cone-free yet, but my hair has no problems with cones), so I don't know about the difference. My hair can be very slippery too, especially after washing.
The claw clips work fine, you might try different sizes for different styles (actually, I'm wearing a cinnamon bun held with 4 claws right now).
I also love the hair scroos - they hold my fine hair much better than bobby pins (which hurt) or amish pins (which sometimes don't hold enough). The hair scroos were not that cheap, but they're great - they hold many different styles invisibly.
In another thread, many people mentioned aloe vera, but I could not get it and thus could not try it. For special occasions when I want the style to hold, I use a commercial style mousse and secure the finished style with hair spray. But that's only for special occasion, it's not an everyday solution.
You can also try using less of the cone-product (the amount) or find one that makes your hair a bit less slippery.
Good luck and happy growing!

[rags]

Thank you all for the replies!

I have not tried catnip because just picking up catnip toys for my daughter's cats makes me want to sneeze (though it could be something else in the pet aisle - who knows? I have a LOT of allergies)

I have tried several "hypoallergenic" products - and they are not! But not the Goth Rosary. And unscented too! I'll have to google it and see where to get it, as none of our few stores around here carry it. Thanks for the tip!

I have tried the Sally's kind of U pins - they come straight out of my hair. And it's not long enough yet to do braided buns - that's what I used to do when it was at waist. Glares at hair and commands it to grow faster, dang it!

I can however, put it up just fine when it's "dirty". But I can't stand to let it go longer than washing every third day, and usually every second day, as it plasters flat to my skull. So that means every other day usually, I can't get it up. (Okay, that sounds funny, but it's hilarious, so I'm leaving it!)

Ms Bubbles - I do feel your pain, believe me! I can get a braid to stay a while, but then it will start plotting its escape. I had forgotten about aloe! Hmm.......must experiment with that tomorrow!

So, going to look for Goth Rosary "Nothingness" and try aloe. Braided buns for later. Any other tips? Everything is welcome!

ETA: Man, this sounds kind of negative, I don't mean it to! I just wanted to get out there what I have tried and what I haven't. I am really grateful for the tips and am definitely going to try them! I'm excited about a line with no scent and I had totally forgotten about aloe, so I'm getting good ideas!

[rags]

I use cones as well (never tried cone-free yet, but my hair has no problems with cones), so I don't know about the difference. My hair can be very slippery too, especially after washing.
The claw clips work fine, you might try different sizes for different styles (actually, I'm wearing a cinnamon bun held with 4 claws right now).
I also love the hair scroos - they hold my fine hair much better than bobby pins (which hurt) or amish pins (which sometimes don't hold enough). The hair scroos were not that cheap, but they're great - they hold many different styles invisibly.
In another thread, many people mentioned aloe vera, but I could not get it and thus could not try it. For special occasions when I want the style to hold, I use a commercial style mousse and secure the finished style with hair spray. But that's only for special occasion, it's not an everyday solution.
You can also try using less of the cone-product (the amount) or find one that makes your hair a bit less slippery.
Good luck and happy growing!

I dislike claw clips to wear out, as I can't do much with them with my hair at this length that looks good (to me anyways). I may have to look at the hair scroos, though, if they hold that well! thank you!

[BittSweetCherry]

There's a few things you can do, but none of them are really what you wanted to do right now.

If your hair is just below shoulder length and super slippery, then most hairstyles will be impossible. I can empathise - I've been there. I second the use of claw clips and things with teeth to aid their grip, but when I was that length I pretty much left it in a snag-free hairband and/or a headband and waited for it to get to armpit or longer because there were no alternatives. That's when tension in the styles really became my friend.

Given it's hard to tie back, cones are probably wise just because you'll need SOMETHING to offer slip and detangling properties for the duration that manual friction is unavoidable. To help make your hair to stay back, I support the idea of tying it back while still damp (albeit carefully, because hair does stretch while wet and becomes fragile) and perhaps the use of something like aloe gel which acts like a pomade to "dirty" your hair faster, and give it some texture. The good thing about aloe is it's water soluble, and it's relatively easy to brush out afterwards.

Good luck. We really do have a deceptively fragile and temperamental hair type!

[rags]

Thank you for your reply. I plan to try the aloe today. If I remember correctly, it did help quite a bit the one other time I tried it.

I have also gotten some good suggestions on the cone -free products (some not on this thread) so I will be giving that another go. And I will try misting before putting it up also, thank you!

Yes, fine hair can be deceptively tempermental!

[Für immer]

hmmm... maybe