Favorite hairstyles for THICK hair that doesn't look like a bagel on the head?

[mcaleeac]

I have uber thick, BSL hair and i'm trying to figure out some day-to-day styles that will work for me. I can get a bun going but the ends don't make it all the way around to tuck under and hold.

Any suggestions?

[tanya222]

Is 28" long enough to do a braided Chinese bun? You make two braids towards the middle back of your head, insert a hairstick horizontally, and wind them around. Bobby pins work great to secure it. It is super comfy, holds all day, and doesn't look like a bagel on the head :)

It's just a coincidence that this is this month's Hairstyle of the Month! I just think they look stunning!

[Alex Lou]

I just love the title of this thread :D

I totally have this problem. I need a number more inches to do a proper bun. Although, when it is longer, I get compliments on how think my bun is. I tried the Chinese bun and some shorter layers stuck strait out in various directions. It was just ugly . . .

[pepperminttea]

I know I'm only ii/iii but I feel your pain on this. At waist length I still can't do a braided cinnabun properly - I have to make a kind of tucked horseshoe shape to make a semblance of a proper bun, since I don't have enough length to go around my thick first coil. I could do a nautilus at about BSL, long before an unbraided cinnabun (which I can just do now), but a nautilus does definitely make a large bun, so probably not good if you're trying to avoid the bagel situation. :p

Have you tried a folded braid? It's not a bun, but if you're just looking for an updo rather than specifically a bun, it works. There's also the French variant - the Masara (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND5dJXnBs2k) - which rather suits thick hair, I think. :)

[UltraBella]

Mcaleeac, are you able to post a pic of your hair ? A visual reference would help quite a bit.

[MissManda]

I feel your pain!

My hair is reasonably thick and I can't do a braided Chinese bun yet and I have to put extra pins in order to make a normal Chinese bun to stay. I can't do a nautilus bun because my hair isn't long enough.

I find that doing a braided bun with more than one braid really helps and that it does not stick out like a bagel, but lies closer to your head. Here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=174) is a tutorial on how to do a rose bun if you have iii-type hair. My single braid is so short and fat that it won't even wrap around itself once, so I'm better off making two or even three braids. :)

I don't know if your hair is too thick for a Lazy Wrap bun, but I find that I can manage one if I wrap my hair around one or two fingers instead of my whole hand.

I also agree with everyone who has suggested variations of the tucked French braid.

Hope that helps! :flower:

[Nocturnal]

What you can do is to part your hair and do two (or more) twists and pin them into one bun.

[Roseate]

Try dividing your hair into several sections as you make the bun- I don't have the length for a single-strand cinnabun, but I can make one if I divide my hair into two or three parts, wrap them one at a time, and pin. This also keeps the bun more flat, less 'bagel'.

The cheater's hairstick bun (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=138) is another easy one for shorter/thicker hair.