Does your hair ever hurt?

[swellmel]

Eh, okay so I realize it isn't really the hair that hurts but it's just what I've always said. I'll do my best to describe it. It usually only happens if my hair has been in a pony tail for a long time. Every once in a while there will be a chunk of hair that will feel okay when all the hair is going one direction but if I move that chunk of hair so the hair is going in a different direction it hurts at the scalp really bad and will only stop hurting if I move the hair back to a certain direction. Does this make any sense? :o Just wondering what the heck it is.

[Hockeymomof3]

Yes! I know exactly what you mean. My hair does this when I try to part it differently -- it is like it is used to going a certain direction and when you change it, it feels very sensitive/hurts.

[spidermom]

Sometimes I can't stand for anything to touch the nape of my neck, and that's about as close as I can come to what I think you might be describing.

[Annalouise]

My hair/head hurts all the time when I wear it in a ponytail or if my hat is too tight. I get headaches. Wearing it down is the most comfortable for me.

[222toogoodforu]

I think it may be "cross hairs", hairs that cross in a different, more uncomfortable direction than the ones surrounding it. Does that explanation make sense? I've heard the term used more in braiding, when you get one or a few hairs from differen't parts of the head in a certain braid, making it painful if that hair gets tugged on, since it is so singled out.

[littlenvy]

*nods had*
YES! it does that.
Ponytail or a heavy clip. I feel like my folicols are sore. :(
My hair is also very sensitive around ovulation time.

[Gumball]

Have you ever held a phone up to your ear for a while, then had your elbow hurt when you finally put the phone down? "Phone elbow" and such? That's what sometimes happens to your scalp. Hair follicles are attached to small muscles at their base, the erector pili, which are easily understood when they raise the hair on your arms and legs forming goosebumps to make your hair stand on end. The same thing can happen on your scalp when your hair is constantly in one single direction for a long period of time, just like what happens to your arm after a long phone call. The soreness can and will go away, but it feels much better keeping it how it was since the pain is frustrating.

[EdG]

The hairs near my center part will feel that way if I part them to the other side.
Ed

[TammySue]

I get this once in awhile too, especially after my hair has been in an updo.

[LadyLongLocks]

Yes I know what you mean. The hair gets bent a certain direction and when you take it down there is a soreness on the scalp. It aches! This happens when I do some weird bun styles, like a side sock bun or a big sock bun. I take the photos and then need to take the bun out.

[Laylah]

I totally know what you mean! If I've been wearing a high ponytail/bun/hairstyle or parted my hair differently it definitely makes my scalp sore when I move it back.

[Katurday]

Actually, since my scalp is fairly numb, parting my hair in a different direction feels tingly and good. I do it often cause it feels pleasurable. Wearing a pony for a long time tugs on some strands, but taking down made me feel good even as a child.

[christine1989]

I totally get what you mean! I have this happen to me when my hair has been up for a long period of time or when I sleep on it wrong. It just hurts near the roots- especially when I move it around. A few weeks ago I got the same feeling and it just stuck around for about week and a half and my hair actually grew .5 inch! I have no idea if there is any correlation but it certanly was an odd coincidence!

[HintOfMint]

I get that as well, although it doesn't hurt me. As a previous poster said, it's almost pleasurable, like muscle soreness after a workout.

[Naamah]

Yes, this happens to me. A few times I have tried to do a bun on top of my head for sleep, but I always wake up in the middle of the night with a sore scalp. :( I don't think my hair likes to move that way or something.

[pepperminttea]

I used to get this whenever I changed my parting or took my hair out of a ponytail-based updo. Now I just part my hair where it falls and use braid or stick-based updos instead. I'm a wimp with pain. :p

[swellmel]

Have you ever held a phone up to your ear for a while, then had your elbow hurt when you finally put the phone down? "Phone elbow" and such? That's what sometimes happens to your scalp. Hair follicles are attached to small muscles at their base, the erector pili, which are easily understood when they raise the hair on your arms and legs forming goosebumps to make your hair stand on end. The same thing can happen on your scalp when your hair is constantly in one single direction for a long period of time, just like what happens to your arm after a long phone call. The soreness can and will go away, but it feels much better keeping it how it was since the pain is frustrating.

I learn something new every day! Thanks for this explanation! I'm comforted by the fact that this happens to other people too. Is that weird? :o

[julliams]

Mine does all the time. I used to think it was only when it was getting dirty but I've since noticed it when I've had my hair in some kind of updo for longer than an hour or so. Of course my hair is mostly in updos when it is getting dirty so...

Anyway, the "massage" of "hurting" hair is just heavenly but the more I move it around the more oily I find it gets.

[jackiesjottings]

I know what you mean. I find my scalp can be sore if I pull my hair too much from its natural growth direction, especially at the top. So when I do an updo/braid/ponytail, I try to leave my centre parting in place rather than combing all my hair straight back.. if that makes sense!

[Merewen]

Yup, I get this. If I put my hair in a way it doesn't usually go, particularly in tighter updos, it will hurt when I take it down.

[breezefaerie]

This happens to me too, usually when I take down an updo.

[Carolyn]

Yes it happens now and then. Gumball's explanation is excellent. I get it most often when my hair is dirty and right near where I have an annoying cowlick. A scalp massage and washing my hair always fixes it.

[dropinthebucket]

This happens to me if i put my hair up for the day - when i take it down at night, the scalp is sore, all around the hair - i figured it was the erector pilae too - i do the same thing i do for sore, tire muscles when i've worked out too hard, a relaxing massage - anyway, you're not alone! wonder why some of us get this and others not? flabby follicle muscles? :D

[Ivy~Rose]

I just got new thicker elastics, and they made my hair hurt so bad yesterday! Wrap 2 times and the pony is too loose, wrap 3 times and my hairline starts receding :mad: I stuck it out through work, but it was down the moment I got in the door. Some headbanging and scalp massaging made it feel better, plus a shower later on. Now I feel better :)

[FrannyG]

Yes, I have experienced exactly what you're talking about. It still happens to me occasionally if I've had my hair in a very high bun for a long period of time.

It used to happen more frequently when I was a child and my mother would put my hair in a half-up. It think she did it so tightly that the sensation of "hair hurting" when I took out the ponytail elastic was really bad back then.

[eicamawa]

I have it exactly the same way, especially if I have a bum on the top of my head or braids that goes from my neck and up. It really hurts sometimes, but if I just don't touch it, and let it fall down by it self, it usually becomes better short after.

[Sammich]

I have it exactly the same way, especially if I have a bum on the top of my head or braids that goes from my neck and up. It really hurts sometimes, but if I just don't touch it, and let it fall down by it self, it usually becomes better short after.

Same here.
Sometimes little hair's get stuck into my pony tail and it pulls very painfully. Also, when I part my hair in a different way, the skin is very sensitive... Hmm...

[going gray]

Very common problem for me too!

[JenniferNoel]

Never had this problem. I've experienced pulling and yanking in a too-tight ponytail but that's about it. I've gotten the nickname "Iron Head" for a reason. I've had so many things happen up there and never felt any pain. So it's really just my weird scalp. :p

[Pixna]

Yes, but it is more like scalp pain than hair pain (since the hair itself doesn't have any nerve endings). It usually only occurs when I wear my hair up, which I do daily. Once I take my hair down, the pain dissipates. Sometimes a too-tight hair toy or bun is the culprit. Sometimes there doesn't seem to be any really good explanation.

[alabaster]

I have the same problem and it seems to be a common thing among those who wear their hair up all the time. My question is if this "pain" is a bad thing or not. I want to make sure that i am not doing anything that will damage my hair/follicles :)

[eezepeeze]

Yes, I get that, too! Especially with half-up styles. It's like the hairs are pushed up in a weird position all day and then when I let them out they have a muscle cramp or something. It's like when I sit with my foot under me for too long and then try to stand up, my ankle hurts with the release of pressure.

[BrightEyes7]

Whenever I wear my hair high on my head that usually happens. And I tell the DBF "my hair hurts" and he thinks I'm crazy! It is hard to explain when they have never felt it. I try to explain it like when you have been wearing socks all day and when you take them off there is the crease in your skin and it kinda feels like it itches and feels really good to scratch. When I take my ponytail out and my hair feels like that I like to rub my scalp for a long time until the feeling goes away.

[ihavelonghair]

*raises hand* I've gotten that too! I hate having my hair parted in the other direction.

The dog gets annoyed when I scratch her back from rump-to-head instead of the usual head-to-rump, so she must feel the same way too.

[Crackaleen]

Yes I get this. For me it seems to be most noticeable on wash days when my hair is dirty. I will wear my hair up so that it's less noticeable that I'm out and about with dirty hair (:o) and it will kind of ache while it's up, but I really notice it when I finally take it down to wash it.

[Kimarie91]

This is the main reason I have never grown my hair longer than shoulder or a little longer. This time I figured out that making a low ponytail or bun helps keep that problem away. I do believe that is has something to do with the normal growth direction of your hair. I also.notice it more when my hair is needing a wash too.

[Beatrice]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who experiences this! Ponytails are fine, but French braids give me the most horrendous pain on the left side of my hairline. I don't even have to pull them tight or leave them in for more than a few hours. Last time, my hair even hurt the day after. I'm hoping that my hair will eventually "get used to" this style, but I'm afraid to try it again.

[WritingPrincess]

Yes! I get this every time I do a crown braid. It's the weirdest feeling, isn't it?