Migraine hairstyles?

[TiaKitty]

Hey, Y'all... just a strange question for those of you who suffer migraines, like I do.

How do you wear your hair when a migraine settles in for the long haul?

Usually, if I can get to my hair during my warning/aura phase, I do double english braids, low, at the back of my head.

Today, I didn't get to do my usual style, and for some reason, my hair feels like Medusa's snakes. My scalp is extremely sensitive, and trying to finger comb brought me to tears. There are huge knotties and it's got bountiful body. It feels like I've ridden in a convertible cross country.

It is down and wild, and in the midst of the migraine, trying to carry on with daily life and it's normal activities, several people, not just one or two, but a bunch of people, including my family, and parents/teachers at school, commented on the size and wildness of my hair. One even said it looked fierce!!!

How do you wear yours? What do you do for comfort if/when the scalp sensitivity starts?

Should I just rock the Medusa look, or try to tame it so no one thinks I'm just plain crazy?

[ifyouforget]

When it was long- down. Any sort of up-do or braid would pull on my scalp and make things worse.

I'm not sure what I'd do if it was too long to be practical down. Then again, my migraines tend to only last a day a most in the debilitating stage (although they can linger at 'very unpleasant' for nearly a week), so I can generally spend the worst of it in bed with my hair flipped over top of the pillow.

[cmnt831]

Oh, gosh, I just wear it down. I usually can't bear to have anything holding it. And I just don't brush or comb it if my head is that sensitive.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with a migraine on top of everything else.

[Islandgrrl]

A loose braid or two seems to work for me.

I know what you mean about fierce, wild hair. Mine's not curly, but there's a heap of it, and if I were to leave it untamed for any length of time it would be a sight to see, I'm sure.

[HairColoredHair]

Double braids... or down... But by the time I need to take my hair down, it's to the point where I am not going to be 'going about my business', it's where I'm 'huddled in the darkness trying not to vomit'.

[Viechen]

I am unable to do anything when I have a migrane and my scalp is so sensitive that I can not stand having anything on my head that doesnt belong there. So all I usually do is lie in bed and push my hair up so it lies over the pillow and hangs down the side of the bed. The olny problem I have run into with that is that I have to close the bedroom door so my cats dont come in and play with my hair :p They are slowly catching on that closed curtains and a still body in the bed during the day means no play time :)
I hope you find something that helps with your migranes soon :)

[TiaKitty]

Migraines are so unbearable! I've got them at a frequency of two to three times per week, and I do most of my activities of daily living whilst suffering.

I used to be able to tunnel under the blankets, head between two pillows, and let the world rotate around me while my mate took over the parental duties, but with two children and my recent status of becoming a single mother, it just will not work anymore.

I have to go pick my girls up from school and carry on because I have no other option at this point. I've become numb to most of it, the visual auras, the vomiting. It's the sensitivity to light and sound that are the worst for me, and screaming children, or even children with regular but squeaky voices really get to me. I'm considering wearing ear plugs...seriously, just to live with my own children.

Down and loose it is going to be. Wait until they see me with this wildness, which has at least doubled since this morning! :D Maybe I'll even give an upside down scalp massage and flip up so I'm more menacing, hair-wise!

[breezefaerie]

Down and loose for me when I'm in the grips of a migraine.
I cannot stand having anything pull on my scalp because it hurts too much.

[LindsayNichole]

Down, definitely. At the beginning, sometimes I'll leave it in a braid, but end up taking it down as the pain gets worse. Sometimes the pain is so bad, I can't even lie down because of the pressure of the pillow against my head. On the other hand, I have an ouchless brush that sometimes feels very good to my scalp when I have a migraine. That's the only time a brush touches my hair! But it depends on the severity of the migraine, and what that particular one feels like.

[swanns]

I feel like the weirdo here, but when I used to get migraines when I was younger, the tighter I pulled my hair the better it was, so my shoulder length hair was usually up in a very tight high ponytail.

[Angela_Rose]

Down, or in a very loose braid. The less pulling on my scalp, the better.

[rusika1]

Braid at the base of my skull/nape of my neck is the least painful. Anything higher makes it worse, and I really prefer not to have vomit in my hair.

Tiakitty--Really dark sunglasses (even indoors) help with the light sensitivity if you can't just crawl into a dark hole somewhere. A fellow migraineur coworker suggested that to me years ago.

Unfortunately there's not much to do about the sound sensitivity except wince and say 'SHHH', earplugs muffle outside sound, but then you can hear yourself swallow, and breathe, and the blood rushing through your veins. Not really pleasant.

I find that cold helps me feel a little better. I'll put an ice pack or a frozen water bottle on the back of my neck. Heck, I've even slept in the backyard all night because the cold air helps--I think it helps lessen the nausea.

Good luck getting your hair back to it's tame state.

[woodswanderer]

I wear it down for migraines. It is the nausea that bothers me the worst. A fellow sufferer I know who is an R.N. recommended I take motion sickness pills for nausea. ( I am not willing to do things like Imitrex). It actually helps me.

[christine1989]

I hear that putting pressure on your head can help with migraine pain (it dosen't work for me but I have a friend who swears by it) So maybe a tight hairstyle would be good. When I get a migraine I wear my hair down, comb it, make it look presentable then head to the ER for some percocet. Last time the ER nurse even complimented me on how shiny my hair is :). Too bad the excruciating pain ruined the moment.

[RadiantNeedle]

I've never really thought about this..
I tend to just lay down in whatever I'm wearing my hair in, unless its a bun or pigails. Double braids or just having it loose and laying above or to the side over the pillow works best. Then I 'go away' for a while.

[growing2shine]

I also suffer a lot of very bad migraines, and I also find it quite difficult to handle the mane. But I do the same as many others: Wear a loose braid or let it down.

[Teakafrog]

Down and loose. I can't stand to have any pulling on my scalp when I have a migraine, so any kind of updo at all is out of the question. It has to be free!

[Loreley]

I wear it loose when I'm at school or doing something, and wear it in a ponytail or a loose braid when I'm really suffering and lying in bed. I have a headache about twice a week. Sometimes migraines, sometimes not. But they are both very bad. I often want to cut my hair very short when I have a headache. :(