What to do with my hair.

[Elyseon]

Hello, I'm new to this site
And I was wondering if I could ask you guys for some simple updo's
See, I'm a tomboy and my mom never really did anything girlie with me so I was always hanging out with the boys.

My fingers are very clumsy and I wear my hair completely down or in a ponytail, rarely I'll put it in a simple bun. I can't french braid to save my life and when I braid my hair it's always crooked or lopsided.

Are there any easier ways to keep my hair (which I love) up and out of harms way while I go about my day? (Hey, that rhymed lol.) Recently it's gotten long enough that it's been getting stuck in doors, wall hangings, behind my back exet.

I guess what I'm asking for is easier hair styles which can be done with not so nimble fingers.

[DragonLady]

Lots of hairstyling ideas here: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=category&categoryid=1

Welcome, and good luck finding something that works for you. :)

[dukkelisa]

It's hard to know what suggest since you don't have your hair length listed. I know that as I grew my hair out, the longer it got I had to change how I put it up because of the weight. At first when it was shoulder length, I would just twist it up and use claw type clips. French twists were easy to do too. When it got to be about shoulder blade length, I wore mostly simple buns that could be held up with hair forks and sticks. Now, at a little pasted my waist, I need to do split half up with a barrette and the lower half in a bun to help distribute the weight. Bunning takes practice and soon it can be down without a mirror check!

[Speckla]

french twist - they work well on all types of hair and can be modified for all different lengths.

[kirky]

Welcome Elyseon! I'm a big fan of the sock bun. It works well for me!

[susiemw]

I would vote for braids.
Don't right off your "not so nimble fingers".... it really
takes a lot of practice to get those fingers to feel comfortable with different braids. It use to be really hard on my arms to
braid also but that's gone away with time and lots of practice. French braids took me a long time to master.
Dutch braids, rope braids and herringbone braids didn't take nearly as long. I found practicing on a childs doll head or a friend really helpful for my hands/fingers and braids to get the concept down then learned how to do them on myself. Braiding hair on yourself is very different than braiding hair on others and a lot of people wouldn't agree with this idea... I think it all depends on how a person learns and what's easiest for each person. Try different things and don't give up if it doesn't work out the first 10, 20 or thirty times.... usually it eventually clicks and becomes an "easy style" for you to do.

Log rolls are also a good choice.
French twists are also good.

I've learned to like hair sticks and hair forks. If you haven't already picked one up buy an inexpensive hair stick and try some of the buns that use a hair stick. Also after you've braided your hair you can throw it up into a bun and it looks
very pretty and much more complicated than it is!


good luck.

The reason I suggest braids is that with practice they'll become very easy. They can go with a casual or elegant look and are perfect for a tomboy! :)

[Elyseon]

It's hard to know what suggest since you don't have your hair length listed. I know that as I grew my hair out, the longer it got I had to change how I put it up because of the weight. At first when it was shoulder length, I would just twist it up and use claw type clips. French twists were easy to do too. When it got to be about shoulder blade length, I wore mostly simple buns that could be held up with hair forks and sticks. Now, at a little pasted my waist, I need to do split half up with a barrette and the lower half in a bun to help distribute the weight. Bunning takes practice and soon it can be down without a mirror check!


Sorry, lol. My hair is waist length and is smooth and slightly wavy. It's about average hair I guess.

[Elyseon]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm going to try every one of those ideas once I look them up to find out what the are lol.

[LHGypsyRose]

Hey Ellison, welcome to the forum:) I would like to suggest JJJ's pretzel bun for you. Below, I will post the link to her youtube channel where she demonstrates how this style is done. It is a very simple yet firm holding up-do! I have to say that this style saved my then classic length hair before I leared how to do more buns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElSCHnzYtM8&feature=channel_page

Update: After seeing that your hair is 30" long, I'm not sure if it would be long enough for the pretzel bun just yet. But you could give it a try anyway and see what you think. Good luck:)

[sneakybea]

Hi Elyseon and welcome! One easy hairstyle that no one has mentioned yet is the caterpillar, or multi-band ponytail. You put your hair in a ponytail, and then put ponytail holders at intervals along the length; there's an article here how to do it. I like to do this with different colored bands (metal free, of course) to match my clothing, and my trick is to use a fist length to keep the bands at even intervals. I place a band, grab the tail just beneath it, and put the next band right beside my hand.

[LovingLife]

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=22425
This thread is pretty good!
A rope braid is cool and really girly http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-rope-braid-hair-2

and this has really helped me!
http://hairstyledictionary.ztn.net/filter.php?ax=o

One for short hair: http://hairstyledictionary.ztn.net/filter.php?s=72fd0aac

A little longer: http://hairstyledictionary.ztn.net/filter.php?s=6568ff8e,

Longer: http://hairstyledictionary.ztn.net/filter.php?s=cb88a2a5

[Melisande]

I recommend the following book most warmly: Ann Akers Johson. Hair - a book of braiding and styles. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hair-Braiding-Styles-Scrunchies-Accessory/dp/1570540187/ref=sr_1_3/278-1676167-6867048?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239012590&sr=1-3)

It taught me how to Frenchbraid, Dutchbraid (inside-out), Herringbonebraid and other nice styles. I gave it as a present a number of times. The book is not new but the explanations are great, the illustrations are clear, and it's spiralbound so you can leave it open while you braid. It's a good book for beginners but not only.