tricks to making hair sticks stick?

[cleanbug]

Hi all. just curious if most of you with hair that is near bra strap length need any additional bobby pins to secure pencil buns?
i have tried a few different buns using pencils/chopsticks & i am having a bit of trouble keeping my hair in place.
this is the one i was trying...my hair is not as long as the girl in the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0k3dD4qX34 or this one (they are pretty similar) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3klSwId4Flw.
i do have thick hair & seems like somewhere i remember reading that that can determine at what length hair sticks will work well.
thanks for any input.

[jeanniet]

I have thick hair about as long as yours, and the only way I can do a pencil bun is by only using one finger rather than my whole hand or even two or three fingers. It just won't hold otherwise, but if I wrap it with one finger it holds all day. When you insert the hair stick, make sure you poke it all the way down to your scalp, then catch some scalp hair when you turn it and bring it through.

Thick hair is a challenge. I can only do a few buns even though theoretically I should be able to do quite a few at this length. I'm thinking I'll have to be at waist before I can do very many more. The pencil bun is one that I really rely on.

[Toffee20]

My hair is bra strap length ish, & I have to use extra pins & clips, or slowly my hair escapes, especially if I am moving around!
I think how slippery your hair is also has an effect on this, & how long it is since it's been washed.
x x

[jeanniet]

Toffee20, your avatar is really cool! Sorry for the hijack. :) And yes, slippery hair, etc. can make a difference, too, as can the type of hairstick. Takes a little experimenting to figure it all out.

[LaurelSpring]

Slippery-ness is a huge issue for me. I have taken to sleeping with my hair braided on top of my head so I can get some fluff and grab in my hair to hold updos. Now that I am at waist I can get the buns you posted to stay most of the day anyway. I need some extra help on a chinese bun. If it doesnt look like its going to stay I throw a few pins in there. There are times when the stick is more decoration than hold for me.

[cleanbug]

thanks for the tips. i too sometimes sleep with a french braid to get some texture. my hair is thick, slippery, and i have a few long layers which doesn't help with updos.
anyone use this bun? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roL-8kqQXOw&feature=related
it seems that i need to sticks to make this one secure.

[Intransigentia]

My hair looks like it's pretty similar to yours, and I'm about 50-50 whether a hairstick will hold on a given day. Two is better. There my chance is closer to 75%. But I can only do a cinnamon bun that way.

[rhosyn_du]

I think I was near waist-length before I could get a single stick to hold anything reliably, and I still usually have to redo my buns a couple times a day if I'm only using a single stick. Some hair is just super-slippery, I guess. :shrug:

I do remember that the first single-stick bun I got to work was the lazy wrap bun, but I had to twist my hair as I was wrapping to get it to stay. You might want to try twisting and see if that helps yours stay secure.

ETA: Also, stick size and shape really makes a difference in hold, so you might want to try experimenting with different sticks to see which ones work best for you.

[pepperminttea]

I don't have as much thickness as you, but enough to make buns a bit of a challenge. The first bun I could do was the nautilus, at about BSL, long before I could make a cinnabun that would stay. I rarely had success with one stick, but a pair of sticks or a single fork would hold like a rock after I'd gotten the hang of it. (I occasionally use a bobby pin or two to hold the ends of a bun, but definitely not with a nautilus.) And ditto what jeanniet said - if instructions suggest wrapping round say, four fingers, use two or three fingers. Just one of the joys of thick hair; you need more length for full coils.

[evegrimm]

My hair is almost "mermaid-length" (think about how long a mermaid's hair would have to be to cover her girls, and I'm almost there). This translates to "just past" BSL, and for me, I can get most hairstyles to stick with one stick IF it's my wooden hair stick. Plastic and well-sanded/coated sticks won't do it. (I picked my wooden stick up at the local RenFest, along with my only and favorite hair fork.)

PraireSunrise's video on Log Rolls (need at least waist-length, I think) shows her using a scrunchie/hair tie to hold the stick in place. Near the end of the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk9GF6Xbb2M) Perhaps that could work for you?

Some buns just won't hold with one hair stick (but will with a fork). You might have to experiment with how the bun is done, like flipping the bun, doing it with just one finger (like jeanniet said), or waiting a day. ;)

(Also, my hair won't hold a french twist, and a few other buns, no matter what. Our hair dictates our hairstyles.)

You might be able to get a cinnabun to stick, but if not, try braiding it first. For me, doing this holds like a rock, even if my hair is super clean.

[Sundial]

I am not sure if this helps, but I used to have issues with hair sticks and this was solved after I bought a bunch of Ketylos. There is something about the curved sticks that make them stay in the updos more securely. The previous plastic sticks that I had were smooth and were useless, they just pop right out.

Also, using hairsticks got easier after I gained more length. When my hair was shorter, I found that forks seemed to hold better.

[cleanbug]

I am not sure if this helps, but I used to have issues with hair sticks and this was solved after I bought a bunch of Ketylos. .
Yay! i ordered my first two last week. cant wait to get them. :)

[Sundial]

Yay! i ordered my first two last week. cant wait to get them. :)


Great!! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! :)

I was really skeptical since everything I have ever used pops right out after I stick it into the bun, but I kept reading about how Ketylos seem to hold and finally caved in when they were having that 'free shipping' + 'fourth stick free' offer. Amazingly they hold really well!

Just an alternative suggestion, I was playing around with my Flexi-8 while watching the video link that you posted and oddly I could put my hair up in a lazy wrap bun with it. You can try using other toys if you want to switch things up.

I apologize if you already realized or knew about this, but for me it is as if a light bulb suddenly went off in my head and I could suddenly make things work. :o I used to stare at pictures of updos done by LHC-ers and youtube tutorials wondering why I couldn't do the same thing.

By the way, I haven't gotten around to getting hairtyped but I am also a straightie and as you can see from my picture, I am around BSL too (that picture was taken a couple of months ago when my hair length was hovering slightly above BSL). So I am guessing that Ketylos should solve the hair stick issue for you ^_^ All the best!!

[cleanbug]

Thanks Sundial. I anxiously await the arrival of my ketylos. I'll have to see if I can find some figure 8's. There is a Sally's Beauty Supply in my city...I wonder if they carry them?

[bunzfan]

I don't have as much thickness as you, but enough to make buns a bit of a challenge. The first bun I could do was the nautilus, at about BSL, long before I could make a cinnabun that would stay. I rarely had success with one stick, but a pair of sticks or a single fork would hold like a rock after I'd gotten the hang of it. (I occasionally use a bobby pin or two to hold the ends of a bun, but definitely not with a nautilus.) And ditto what jeanniet said - if instructions suggest wrapping round say, four fingers, use two or three fingers. Just one of the joys of thick hair; you need more length for full coils.

This thread makes me realize it wasn't that i couldn't do certain buns i.e the lazy wrap bun etc it was my hair, i can only do a loose lazy wrap bun if i use 2 hair sticks as i have heavy hair and there's lots of it. A previous post was right if i don't poke the stick through enough scalp hair it just falls straight down!

[Sundial]

Thanks Sundial. I anxiously await the arrival of my ketylos. I'll have to see if I can find some figure 8's. There is a Sally's Beauty Supply in my city...I wonder if they carry them?


This thread makes me realize it wasn't that i couldn't do certain buns i.e the lazy wrap bun etc it was my hair, i can only do a loose lazy wrap bun if i use 2 hair sticks as i have heavy hair and there's lots of it. A previous post was right if i don't poke the stick through enough scalp hair it just falls straight down!

One more thing to add here, sometimes the accessories we choose may not be suitable for our current length. Case in point: for me, lazy wrap buns are possible with Flexi-8s and Ficcares but not with Ketylos even though Ketylos are secure in cinnamon buns.

@ cleanbug: I went through your album and it appears that you have a few pretty Ficcares in possession :D
How about making use of those in lazy wrap buns before you start looking around for 8s? Here's a youtube tutorial which may be handy for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9PbnpqsnnM&feature=fvw
This was where my "lightbulb" first came on and I realized that I should be experimenting with my other toys on the same updos even if those buns didn't work with a hairstick.

[cleanbug]

I don't have as much thickness as you, but enough to make buns a bit of a challenge. The first bun I could do was the nautilus, at about BSL, long before I could make a cinnabun that would stay. I rarely had success with one stick, but a pair of sticks or a single fork would hold like a rock after I'd gotten the hang of it. (I occasionally use a bobby pin or two to hold the ends of a bun, but definitely not with a nautilus.) And ditto what jeanniet said - if instructions suggest wrapping round say, four fingers, use two or three fingers. Just one of the joys of thick hair; you need more length for full coils.

thanks. i'll try my fork as soon as it comes in the mail. I will also try wrapping around 2 fingers instead of the whole hand.
all great ideas!