Wearing your hair up all the time

[xochitl77]

Hi, I have a problem with my hair. My hair is layered and about to my waist. When I put it up in a bun while still damp it seems to stay cleaner a bit longer and it dries much sleeker. And when I let it air dry hanging down naturally it becomes very poofy even though I try not to comb it. What I want to know is if it is really bad to wear your hair up all the time? I have had a couple of people tell me that if I do that my hairline will recede:confused: and that it will cause major breakage. To me it seems that my hair behaves best when I do wear it up but I'm worried that even though it looks and feels better when I do that in fact I 'm really damaging it. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

[eadwine]

I wear it up all the time. The only risk of damage is when you put your updos in too tight. Other than that, be happy, enjoy your hair, and wear it up like you want :)

[Carolyn]

I remember hearing years and years ago that if you wear a ponytail all the time, your hair can thin and/or recede. Isn't that traction alopecia? I don't think this is going to happen if your updo's are on the looser side and you place you bun at different levels on the back of your head. Does that make sense? If you use gentle, long hair friendly hair toys you should be fine. There is a thread somewhere here about wearing your hair up for a year. That might help you.

[freznow]

If you wear too tight a bun, allow it to pull uncomfortably, or use non-hair-friendly tools, it can cause damage.

But, for the most part, wearing your hair up is a GOOD thing. It protects it, and damp bunning helps keep the moisture in. I wear my hair up or in a braid 98% of the time.

[embee]

I wear my hair up every day. People may think I have a hairdo induced receding hairline, but I had a very high forehead way years ago when my hair was quite short, so I don't think that's the problem.

[dukkelisa]

I always wear my hair up. I don't like it getting caught or blowing around at all. I like damp bunning too. If it's a really windy day, it's the best way to keep my hair tidy.

[kali_shey]

From what I understand, as long as you're not wearing your hair so tightly it looks like a pseudo-facelift or produces a wind-tunnel effect, you should be fine. Also, wearing your hair the exact same way every day with the 'stress' points in the exact same place will most likely cause breakage, so as long as you keep things on the loose side and vary your hairstyle (bit rich coming from me and my perma-braid), wearing your hair up is healthier than wearing it down, as far as I know :)

[Elbereth]

I wear my hair up all the time- I don't think I could have grown my fine hair this long (hip length) wearing it down. Updos protect hair from friction, getting caught in things and other damage, so in fact they are good for your hair.

You can avoid breakage by wearing different updo styles placed differently. Use hair friendly accessories to secure your buns and again, a little variation might be good for you. This being said, many people wear the same (hair friendly) updo with a favorite toy every day and are just fine. Unless you pull your hair insanely tight, I think you are safe from breakage, even with fine hair.

[Dorothy]

I think I am wearing my updos too tight. Since I came on LHC and learned all these cool buns, I have been bunning and bunning, and I notice an area about two inches in diameter centered at the end of my part on my scalp that gets sore a lot. I do move my updos around on the back of my head. I have some trouble wearing updos loose, because I don't have that much hair (BSL) and it's very straight and slippery. For example, the gibraltar bun, which is comfortable, tends to slide right out. Twisted buns work better, but getting enough hair to wrap around is hard. I think nape of the neck buns are more comfortable, but I don't have that much length available there (you know, the hair from the crown to hem is longer than the hair from nape to hem). I may also be at terminal. Any suggestions?

[LadyLongLocks]

I wear my hair up everyday. My hair is heavy and knee length. Weight distribution seems to be the key. I NEVER have tight buns that pull. I use small jaw clips and distribute them over the back of my head. My buns never hurt!
If any hair is tight in front at the hairline, I loosen it by pulling the hair. This also adds a bit of volume. The clips vary from day to day where they are on my head.
I never sleep with my hair in a bun, I really think this is BAD. You could be pulling your hair putting stress on it for hours and not know it.

[spidermom]

I agree - pulling your hair back tightly in the same way every day could cause traction alopecia. As long as you aren't doing that, your hair should be fine. I think that sometimes people say this because they would rather see your hair down, which can be a pain as it gets longer.

[mira-chan]

I wear my hair up every day (safety hazard at work). I've worn it tried back some way or other (braid, ponytail, bun) for most of my life. I've not seed a difference in the hairline. I do make sure my hair is put up in a way that doesn't pull. If there's any discomfort I retie it until it's comfortable.