hair headaches

[podo]

Hey all!

I've finally hit a couple of inches below my waist (the last 4" only took 2 full years!!!) and I am having headaches now.

I have a headache when I wake up to when I go to sleep. Headache meds help for a few hours, but not all the time and I don't want to take them if possible anyway. It's not bad, but it's incredibly annoying.

My hair is 1aFi - hair up, hair down, hair in 1 braid or 4, french/dutch braid(s), bunned, twisted, pinned, clipped...I've tried it all.

The only thing I can think is that the length has finally reached the point where my head thinks it's heavy. Sometimes I'll put on a headband and catch half of the hair in it and leave the other half hanging. This seems to help in the short term, but after a while I get a headache from the band. So unfair! I also tested that idea the other day when I had 4 braids in; I picked up each braid at the half-way mark and just held them so the weight wasn't on my head. No more headache. But obviously I can't hold my hair up all the time, and I am NOT cutting it!!!!!

So.. all you guys and gals with heavier and/or longer hair and are prone to hair headaches: how do you deal with it?!

[Roseate]

When my hair was longer, the headaches were usually due to a poorly-placed bun. The most comfortable for me was either all the way up on the top of my head, so the weight was more balanced on my whole head and neck like washerwomen carrying baskets on their head, or all the way down at my nape. In between would often give me trouble.

However, if you've tried everything... when did the headaches start? I'm assuming it was less than four inches ago, since you said it was two years for the last 4". (I'm just assuming you haven't had a continuous headache for two years!) Maybe trim off one inch at a time until they stop?

[Audrarian]

I have very thick hair that has been waist, BSL, and is now APL. I have noticed that any ponytail position gives me terrible headaches. It must be in a bun, and that has to be supported with a stick much like the underwire of a bra. Cutting my hair to APL wasn't any help because it made it harder to bun. Are you using a cloth or plastic headband? I can't use any store headbands; they are too tight. I make mine out of old clothes and live in them when my hair is down.

[jera]

I'm so sorry you're getting hair headaches. :( I've never gotten them, so I don't have any solutions, but when I get migraines, I tuck my hair behind my ears and take OTC meds. Wearing my hair loose during headaches is preferable to wearing it up for some reason. Hope you'll be feeling better soon with this. Hugs. :)

[carinkla]

I can not help out here also since I never had the problem. I am currently almost fingertip with wavy iii so it is quite some weight. Maybe it depends on the hairdo's? SInce I am clumsy I dont have many varions and use a simple braid, a rolled up braid as bun, a up and down and up and down braid with flexi XL and a figure 8.

[drquartz1970]

A Fellow calling himself Absalom (over at the Mens Long Hair Hyperboard) said that when he got his ear lobes pierced his headaches went away. Apparently in acupuncture the pressure points in the ears are treated for alleviating headaches! This guy has very long hair down to the back of his knees!

Another possible thing to do to alleviate headaches is to drink more water! Most people apparently do not drink enough fluids.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[Dementia1013]

I made the mistake of listening to my chiropractor and in an effort to lesson the headaches I ended up THINNING my hair. I still have a Cir. Of about 4.25, but this woman cut off 5 inches of my hair then took these shears with these gaps in the blades that went in and did the kind of 'asian' thinning to my length. :(

Best advice I can give is talk to a doctor. It could also be the result of too much hair vitamins or something.

[ilandree]

Has your washing regiment changed? I find that going more than 5 days w/o shampooing will give me a horrible headache..........

[gmdiaz]

I've got big thick hair, tailbone length hair. . .quite heavy as hair goes. I usually get headaches from hunching over the computer or eyestrain or stress but I've never had headaches from the weight of my hair or various hairstyles. I have noticed that if I have a headache it helps me to take 2 Advil (3 if it's a real head banger) and go wash my hair. The hair message, the relaxing shower and fluffy hair always makes me feel better lol

For me it helps to exercise to reduce stress and to build up strength in my neck, upper back and shoulders. Think about it like pumping iron so your neck can hold up all that hair. roflol

And drinking more water is a great idea too.

[Ella Menneau P.]

I would recommend getting a massage. Okay, I'm biased because I am a massage therapist, but here's the reason: your neck & shoulder muscles do a ton of work every day keeping your head and hair up off the ground.....giving those muscles a little TLC will go a long way toward helping with your headaches by allowing the muscles to just rest for a bit. A good therapist will address all the muscles in the neck, including the front (gently!) and will do a little traction to create some space between the vertebrae. It feels really good!

For some self-acupressure when you have a headache, pinch deep into the webbed area between your thumb and forefinger. Hold for a few minutes, and do both sides.

[podo]

When my hair was longer, the headaches were usually due to a poorly-placed bun. When did the headaches start? Maybe trim off one inch at a time until they stop?

My buns, etc. go from my nape up the back of my head all the way to the top when I sleep, unless they're in a braid in which case it just hangs. They started about a month ago, when the last inch came into being. I tend to grow about an inch a month or none at all, according to measurements. Go figure.... No trimming!!! eahhhh! ;)


I have noticed that any ponytail position gives me terrible headaches. It must be in a bun, and that has to be supported with a stick much like the underwire of a bra. Are you using a cloth or plastic headband? I can't use any store headbands; they are too tight. I make mine out of old clothes and live in them when my hair is down.

I don't wear ponytails at all - they're uncomfortable and tend to break my hair. Plus, since I started using hose as ponytail holders they aren't strong enough to hold a pony. I use cloth headbands - plastic ones are instant pain. How do you make headbands from old clothes?


... take OTC meds. Wearing my hair loose during headaches is preferable to wearing it up for some reason.

Advil Migraine is a wonderful drug, but I don't want to have to live on it...hence my question. :) Hair down during feels best for sure, but it gets in the way everywhere and tangles a lot more.


Maybe it depends on the hairdo's? SInce I am clumsy I dont have many varions and use a simple braid, a rolled up braid as bun, a up and down and up and down braid with flexi XL and a figure 8.

Can you post here or send me a PM describing these hairstyles? I'd like to try them out.


A Fellow calling himself Absalom (over at the Mens Long Hair Hyperboard) said that when he got his ear lobes pierced his headaches went away. Apparently in acupuncture the pressure points in the ears are treated for alleviating headaches! Another possible thing to do to alleviate headaches is to drink more water!

I have 14 holes in my ears in various places - they've been there for the last 10 years, some as old as 15. I've been trying to drink more in general, so I'll keep it up.


I made the mistake of listening to my chiropractor and in an effort to lesson the headaches I ended up THINNING my hair. Best advice I can give is talk to a doctor. It could also be the result of too much hair vitamins or something.

I had my hair (1aFi mind you) thinned when I was about 15 or 16 - it was horrid!!! I take a multivitamin for hair/skin/nails, but only 1 a day instead of 3/day like it says to. I've been taking it for about 6 months though.


Has your washing regiment changed? I find that going more than 5 days w/o shampooing will give me a horrible headache..........

Ahh... interesting.. see below.


I have noticed that if I have a headache it helps me to take 2 Advil (3 if it's a real head banger) and go wash my hair. The hair message, the relaxing shower and fluffy hair always makes me feel better lol

If I have a migraine (not hair related) then I'll take 3 Advil Migraine and get into a very, very, very hot shower with the spray as hard as I can make it and let it beat down on my head. I don't have to actually wash my hair, and I usually am not able to move anyway, but by the time the hot water runs out the Advil has kicked in and I can think again.


I would recommend getting a massage. For some self-acupressure when you have a headache, pinch deep into the webbed area between your thumb and forefinger. Hold for a few minutes, and do both sides.

Massage is a good idea.. I can do that myself, and I have some training in massage so I know how to scissor my hands over my scalp too - might be good to just get in the habit of scalp massages anyway to stimulate hair growth. The web pressure thing I've heard for years, and I've never had it make any kind of difference... oh well.

......................

But THANK YOU everyone!! I think I have an idea now!

All these posts got me thinking about things over the last couple of months, and I think this is what happened.

I changed my hair washing routine, going for the George Michael method of bending over in the shower and shampooing twice - a method which leads to such tangles that I can't comb or pick my hair until it's fully dried, but did lead to improved growth, as long as you use a shampoo that your hair really, really likes. (Probably because of the extra scalp massage during the 2nd washing.)

I also stretched out my washings to once a week, since I've been out of work for months. I had done this because we keep hearing about how great it is to NOT wash all the time, but for me at least, once a week is too little.

Last week I stopped bending forward in the shower to wash my hair, since it was starting to make my neck ache, AND I was washing every 2-3 days because my hubby was dragging me out in public more.

In the last couple of days the headaches have mostly gone, so I'm going to conclude that those two things combined were the cause. If I can figure out some other comfortable styles and sleeping 'dos then I think I'm over it.

[podo]

....and I tried wearing my hair in 2 buns - one on each side of my head. I put them directly over my ear and, as there's no one to see, it worked out great! I imagine I could get them to look good too with a little extra effort. :D

[Armelle]

Just to add a bit more...
I'm a migraine sufferer and some of my family thinks it's connected to my hair. Grr! If my head hurts, I have to instantly take it down from whatever updo it's in...even if it's just a basic low braid!
Due to an unfortunate medicine side effect, I had to chop off nearly a third of my hair not too long ago...honestly, it didn't change the headaches a bit. So I would hazard a guess hair is not the culprit.
Check your stress levels. :D

[jivete]

My scalp starts to hurt when it's dirty. Sometimes a brown sugar scrub helps.

[podo]

Armelle -

I don't think it's the hair, per se, but the way things are shaping up it's indirectly because of the hair. It seems like I've been putting too much tension on my neck - from washing, brushing, styling, life, etc - and THAT is what is causing the headaches. All the things I've listed above have been helping, at least with the headaches I've been having for the last month-ish.

I definitely don't think that this is the cause of all headaches, or even all of my headaches. If they had been even a normal strength headache I'd have hied to the doctor within days, but these are more ... a suggestion of a headache I suppose is the best way to describe it. Headaches usually put me down - can't think, can't move, can't do anything - but these weren't that bad so I thought they might be different, and I think they were!


Jivete - I vaguely remember seeing that once upon a time. Is it on LHC?

[moonshinegrrl]

I have to keep my hair cut off at waist or it just gets pulled too much or something and starts the headaches. I think the big problem is the collapsing discs in nec, they can't take the little tugs my hair past my waist gives them. Wishing for some insurance so I can fix pain in neck. I also have to be very careful about putting it up

[KateMcC]

I suffer three different kinds of headaches, and am working with both a neurologist and a pain management specialist. The migraines started when I was 15. I have had pixie cuts, waist-length hair, and everything in between. I am convinced that the length of one's hair has nothing to do with headaches. As someone said in another thread on this topic "when your head hurts, even air weighs too much." Don't cut your hair; see a good doctor. Continue looking for other causes. My best friend discovered that her pillow put her neck in a kink that caused headaches upon waking. Don't discount anything that you have been doing new since the headaches started.

Good luck in solving your mystery.

[nowxisxforever]

Grats on the milestone! I'm sorry for your headaches though. Perhaps you need to find a particular style for it (Perhaps try my signature style? It's very even for me and have worn it since waist)... I get headaches if I pull wrong on it, and it's a bit too heavy to leave down because then I notice it! Kept up in my locked bee-butt I don't even notice I have hair until I go to touch it.