question for anyone who has ever had shoulder length thick (iii) hair...

[Bellona]

I'm getting decent growth, which is good. My former short shag's longest layers are a few inches past shoulder almost to APL and my shorter layers have grown mostly past chin, except for my bangs. Unfortunately, I cannot get my thick M/C hair into ANY kind of updo except a ponytail :( The hair seems to be getting "wider" than it is long as the layers grow out, and it won't twist around itself to make a bun or peacock updo or french twist or braid! I don't really know how to describe it better, but I'm sure somebody knows what I'm talking about. I get really discouraged when I see people on here with other hair types that get their hair into cute looking updos and protective hairstyles at shorter lengths than I am currently. I even tried a half braid and it was still too thick to work :cool:

Does anyone have any tips? I have stretched washings and tried some styles on less clean hair, but that doesn't seem to help any. I tried using a bit of oil to tame my hair, but that just made it softer and even more difficult to work with. Help!

[Roseate]

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. Thick hair may be impressive but it is a pain to put up! Can you do a French braid? That's a good one for containing layers , and you can use very small sections of hair in each crossing to deal with thickness. You can tuck the ends in for an updo.

I have an album labelled "collarbone length updos" showing the ones I could do at that length; the tucked French braid, a Gibson tuck, and my favorite pinned-up one involving doing a half-up bun and then splitting the bottom hair in 2 parts and winding it around.

Even at my current length, I can't yet do a regular cinnabun, or any of the fancier wrap/knot buns on this site. But if I split the hair into several ropes instead of trying to deal with it all in one, I can make a decent approximation.

[jojo]

My hair isn't super thick but I get the 'crystal tips' stage at shoulder too, it sort of grows out before it grows down. But once its past your shoulders it will stop doing this, it is quite common. Mine does it as its really wavy at shoulder stage, but once the waves have stretched out its a thing of the past!

Keep with it and dont be tempted to flat iron as I did!

[camara]

At shoulder, I could do a ponytail, or wear it down, or rather, wear it out, since it was forming the well known triangle head. :P

My hair wouldn´t go into a french braid, since the bits I had started braiding first were so short they stuck out of the braid before I was finished braiding the lower parts of hair in.

Just wait it out, my hair started to be really nice at about midback. :)

[Tangerine]

Yes, I know exactly what you mean! All I could do was wear a ponytail, or a half up, or a half up with a low ponytail. I also wore a cute scarf a lot, with some of my layers held back by it, and some poking out the front so it looked kinda playful and not too neat and schoolgirlish.
I also sometimes wore it in two pigtails if I was feeling cutesy ha ha. With that kind of hair style it doesn't really matter if layers pop out.
But most of all I wore it loose. Mind you - when I was at that stage I hadn't heard of LHC and wasn't 'into' hair growing as I am now. So I suppose I was fortunate that I went through that stage without knowing what was possible.

As to all the updos ... I'm afraid that from my experience all I can say is ... wait for it to grow a little longer ... Not what you want to hear I suppose but it is just one of those things that comes with having super thick hair ....
:flower:

[Celticfreefall]

I wore mine in double french braids, then pinned/clipped it up.

[Curlsgirl]

Just wanted to say I felt your pain for what seemed like forever too! I had lots of layers and just at shoulder when I first came here. Some of my favorites styles were a peacock twist with the ends curling out of the top, a high ponytail with curls and a french braid. It would be worth it to learn how to french braid if you can't and if you have loose ends, coconut oil and damp hair when you start help to smooth them down. I also did a lot of halfups where I would pin each side up in cute little claw clips and let the rest just hang. That way it took away the "triangle-head" but I could still wear it down. For ME it was more toward BSL when it finally started to grow down instead of "out". Be patient if you want long hair though. It's worth the pain!!! I sort of miss some of the styles I could do back then actually. So enjoy each stage of the grow! :cheese:

[Isadora Lewie]

My hair did exactly the same thing at your length.

Either, wear it down with plenty of coconut oil and aloe vera gel and enjoy your lovely curls and volume - big hair is soooooooo in right now. Check out Florence from Florence and the Machine for inspiration.

Or, my favourite updo when I was at your length was a french twist held with a claw grip at the top? It looks really nice with slightly messy sections of loose hair at the front. You can always use kirby grips (bobby pins) to catch the loose sections if you prefer it more sleek?

[myrrhmaiden]

That length is one of the hardest to get through. I recently just got past it myself. One style that really helped me through it was the "half-up." It will keep it out of your face, and magically makes the hair look longer overall somehow. (I think it's because the shorter layers are up, leaving only the longest layers showing.) :)

[halo_tightens]

I'm there too. I'm almost-APL, and I still can't do a lot with my thick hair, either. If I try to do a cinnabun, the "rope" is too thick to wrap all the way around itself.

Patience, lol! I think it'll all be worth it in time.

[lapushka]

I'm almost at BSL. My hair is layered (shortest layers are SL). About a month ago, I guess, I first managed a cinnabun. Only just.

The french twist was one of my first updos. It's quite easy even with layered thick hair. It took APL though.

One style that I frequently wear (with a claw clip) is what the Flexi8 site calls a tails-up:
http://www.flexi8.com/instructions.html

I need at least WL hair for most updos, I think.

[florenonite]

*raises hand*

I was where you are when I joined LHC. I liked twin French braids, because I could never get my layers to stay in a single one. I could also do buns with claw clips holding all the layers. Besides that, I just resorted to ponytails, half-ups, and wearing my hair loose.

[Peter]

This drives me crazy! I'm nearly at waist length now and I could only start doing a bun a couple of months ago. I'm not very good at it, but it works at least, whereas at APL, it just wasn't happening. There was a long time where I couldn't do a single braid and had to make two instead. :p

The only solutions I can think of are to get your hair thinned or grow longer.

[Igor]

Ah yes, the beauty and curse of too thick hair. I know exactly what you’re talking about! Right now you’re seeing most of the curse of having thick hair, but in a few years it will show its true glory :wink:

The tips I have are:
Leave in-conditioner to tame the bulk
Keep inspired for hair styles you can create (Half ups, double buns, etc)
Lots of little claw clips or pins to help control it
Add fake length to your ponytail to help create up dos
And… Don’t try to force your hair too much. You will be able to put it up sooner or later and by then, you will appreciate the thickness you have :flower:

[Teakafrog]

Peacock twist. You only need to be able to twist a little bit of it, then a big clip to hold it.

[Bellona]

Thank you so much everyone!!!! I haven't tried a french braid since I was a kid, but I will try it as well as the other suggestions. I know I need to be patient but sometimes I just want to do something different. :D

[Sheltie_Momma]

I really empathize! My best suggestion is to try things when your hair is wet, and to try them higher up on your head (gains you a few more inches in length). My hair will go into buns and braids when wet, and stay, that it would never do when dry. I can only just do a figure eight at 31 inches but I'm waiting to get hairsticks before I know if it will truly stay up like that. Can Christmas come any faster?

[Roseate]

... I can only just do a figure eight at 31 inches...

Ooo, ooo, thank you so much for that length measurement. Since we have very similar hairtypes, that gives me a good idea of what to look forward to. I'm dying for the figure 8, and now I can start the countdown. Sounds like... about a year and a half? I'll be waiting eagerly...

[florenonite]

Here's (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=72187) a thread I made back when I had shoulder-length hair asking for suggestions; there might be something in there that will help you :)

[Hiriel]

I can only just do a figure eight at 31 inches but I'm waiting to get hairsticks before I know if it will truly stay up like that.
I can do a figure 8 with a ficcarissimo and some bunhead pins at 29 inches. Juuust barely. It doesn't really finish the final loop completely, but from a distance it looks convincing enough :)

[SimplyLonghair]

My hair used to be much thicker and my oldest dd had even thicker hair. What we used alot was 2 french braids at the top half of the hair and then the lower half I would either leave down or do a bun that gathered the french braided top half. I would pin them and bun over them. The look was like a faux crown braid look almost, ending in the bun. HTH

[eshta]

I just left it loose or in a half up at that stage. I would also suggest a french braid or maybe twin french braids if your layers won't stay in one. I really like the idea of twin buns and the french braid bun SimplyLonghair suggested, wished I knew about those back then.

Maybe a sock bun will work with some bobby pins or clips to hold the shortest layers.

Around upper BSL I could make my first cinnabun (lots of layers).

I'm a few inches past BSL now with very little layering left and a simple cinnabun and lazy wrap bun are my go-to buns. Most buns are still out of reach because I can't make a full second coil.

[MissManda]

Ah, I understand. I'm almost waist length and I am still having issues with my layers/thickness. I can just *barely* do a half-decent bun and I either wear my hair down, in a braid, half-up, or in a ponytail.

My DBF and my favorite style to use to get our hair out of the way is to put our hair into what we call a double ponytail. It's where you first put your hair into a half-up, and then you take the hair that is down with your half-up pony and make it into a second pony. It is very comfortable and keeps the hair out of the way nicely. You can also do this with a braid for the half-up part instead of just a small ponytail.

You can also try what my DBF calls a rat-tail, which is either a single or double ponytail with extra bands/elastics going down the length. Although that's more suited to at least APL length.

I hope that helps!

[Bellona]

...and the good advice keeps coming! Thanks to everyone who contributed new ideas.

Miss Manda - I just did that double pony because my layers and bangs were getting in my face. It was easy and worked really well!

[curlylocks85]

I am at that stage as well. My front sits right above my collarbone. I usually wear it down, in a bun, and lately, I have been putting my hair into a ponytail, then pinning it up so the curls are at the top of my crown and it looks nice. I keep it parted on the side and that usually takes away from the triangular shape. I think long -layers may help with the overall shape starting no higher than chin length. Maybe looking on YouTube for scarf ideas may help in the protection. My hair is very thick so I am anxious as well to see how it will grow as it reaches longer lengths. Growing out to the sides is not so bad but it would be nice to have the length instead of the width ;).

[Sheltie_Momma]

Growing out to the sides is not so bad but it would be nice to have the length instead of the width ;).

Amen to that. It takes so long for it to grow down, instead of out!

[spidermom]

Oh yes, been there, done that. Instead of trying to get your hair up into one style, divide it in half and do two. I could do two side-by-side peacock twists, for example, before I could do one.

[Bellona]

I feel better that I'm not the only one who is dealing/has dealt with this. :) I was getting really, really frustrated. I'm actually kind of glad for my layers now, even though they are a pain when it comes to pulling up my hair. I almost cut back to one length at chin, but I can see that being a huge disaster now, so I'm glad I didn't! I probably shouldn't go for too blunt of a hemline until I at least get past BSL, which will be awhile.

I've been kind of side parting it and pulling it back. The layers at the ends make it curl naturally into big curls that kind of look like I put it in hot rollers, so I just pinned any layers (and my grown out bangs that are in an annoying stage) along the sides.

[klcqtee]

I'm here for you too. I find 2 buns works well. You can do them in an 8 shape, or Princess Leia style by your ears. It's one of my favourite styles, and I just do them as cinnabuns.

Twin french braids are nice, as they hold the layers mostly restrained.

You can braid your bangs back (along with many of your layers) in a lace braid, and then ponytail (preferably bun, if you can- since you have less hair to deal with). It adds some visual interest, and keeps your bangs/layers from falling out without damage from bobby pins (in theory).

Have you tried putting it into a ponytail, then rope braiding your ponytail, and pinning it up? That might help you get it into a bun (to protect your ends).

A sockbun is awesome with thick hair! I just let the tips stick out all spikey, and coat them in a little oil for protection. The only thing to worry about with a sockbun is if your layers will cause you too much trouble.

Happy growing!

[Messyhair]

I think mine is only ii now, but it was much thicker when I was younger... Even now, I have to style it when it's wet in order to get it to do anything. I know this can be more damaging, but it actually doesn't seem to damage my hair.