Building tolerance to updos

[nellreno]

Whenever I put my hair up (buns, ponytails, braids etc), I get a headache. I don't think it's from the weight of my hair, I don't have a particularly large mass of hair and I had this problem when it was shorter too. Making the updo looser actually makes it worse, because then the updo slides down and pulls on my hair and scalp. I've tried using sticks and forks, elastic, those hair screws, it hasn't made a difference yet. So far it seems that a figure 8 bun that starts very high on the back of my head hurts the less.

Is it possible that I just need to get used to it and then it won't be giving me headaches anymore? I'd like to be able to put my hair up and out of the way, and hide my hair when I let it get greasy. I need to bully my head into being nice to me :D

[Spike]

You may just have a tender scalp. Have you tried half-ups? Multi-buns?

By that last, I mean buns that are made from multiple small buns--there's a flower bun in the articles where you make five little knot buns in a circle on the back of your head. Some days I wear three cinnabuns arranged like a stoplight down the back of my head.

This might reduce the weight and/or the chances of hitting a sensitive spot. Best of luck!

[GRU]

I would try to "reverse wean" your hair into it. Are you okay with a low ponytail, at the nape? If so, start there only move it up half an inch and wear it that way for a couple days, then move it up another half inch or so and do that for a few days, etc. If you get to a point where you experience pain, lower it back to the previous comfortable level and wear it there for a few more days before moving it up.

You can do the same thing with buns -- put your hair up for 15 minutes one day, 20 minutes the next day, etc., or start with half-ups (or quarter-ups) and gradually add more hair over time.

Are you able to do a Dianyla braid (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=23652) which leaves the weight evenly distributed? The sections are so huge on that type of braid that I can't even feel them unless I pull it REALLY tight (which I never do).

Sorry I don't have any more advice to offer. Please do post back if you find something that works, though, because I know this is something that lots of people here have experienced, and someone else could benefit from your solution(s)!

[littlenvy]

Thank you for posting this!
I find that I have the same problem. I get a massive headache if I have my hair too high up for a long time.
I love all these lovely updos and can't wait to try them but when I see the amount of pins or clips that go into them I start thinking of the headache I will have if I try that.

[Sheltie_Momma]

I find that I need more structural support than other people seem to - so my bun looks like anyone else's from the outside but inside there are usually a couple of pony tails or a barette or two helping to distribute the weight.

[Dani]

Thank you for posting, because I have the same problem, except my hair is shoulder-length, and I know it'll only get worse from here. My only solution so far is to keep it loose, because that's the only way it's totally comfortable! The only other thing that feels okay is two Dianyla braids, and I can't even wear those all day; I just took them out a few minutes ago. :p Everything else hurts in some way if I wear it for longer than 10 or 15 minutes. I've got really bad TMJ also, so my hair up just makes that worse, which in turn makes for some seriously horrible headaches. Had my first real migraine last week, yay. :p My orthodontist (TMJ specialist; the best in the country!), at my first appt with him, asked me, "What are you, 27?" And I was like, "25!!" And then he said, "Well, you've got the jaw joints of a 75 year old woman." I wasn't amused. ;) He was almost 80 or something at the time, and he has a verrry dry wit (more on the snarky, old school man side, than the funny side like mine :p). Anyway, I've got some serious arthritis in my jaw joints, and I don't know how much longer my hair's going to make it! Because my jaw will just get worse and my hair will just get longer... um. Where's a balance when you need one?? I don't want short hair forever! Okay, I'm done.

[spidermom]

There seems to be a sweet spot combined with just the right tension - not too tight, not too loose - for me. Some days I hit it just right the first time and my bun stays all day. Other days I'm putting my hair up and taking it down and putting it back up off and on all day long. It's a crap-shoot! I can't stand anything resting against the nape of my neck, either.

Two or more buns or braids are a lot more comfortable for me than one.

[princessp]

I also really think a ficcare feels comfy, have you tried one?

[enfys]

A really silly thing that gives me terrible terrible headaches is it the tool(s) holding it up are actually against my head. I need a buffer of hair inbetween, or the pressure gets too much. Play about with how you insert sticks and forks especially; they are my worst culprits.

[ravenreed]

My hair is about as heavy as I can stand in updos. I am having trouble with braids pulling too. What I find helps with buns is moving them around. I have trouble with high buns but low buns are usually pretty comfortable. I find that extra pins to distribute the weight sometimes help if one section is pulling. I also prefer thinner hair toys to thicker, because I find they pull less. I think it is just a matter of playing around until you find what works.

[Anadyomene]

For me I used to det headaches when I had my hair up but these days even though it is longer now than ever I can put it up in a bun in the morning and take it out before bed (if then) and I don't find that I get headaches (from my hair). I do get headaches from certain lights, my jaw, if I am nervous, tired, hungry... I guess I am lucky that my head finaly decided that updo's are good. Now it needs to be Ok with other things:rolleyes:

[supermanok03]

I do get headaches from updos! I don't have thick hair, it's to my waist but pretty thin, so not heavy at all! I have a fork that I love but can not use it for a regular cinnabun. The only way I've found to use it without getting a headache is to first frenchbraid my hair, then bun it and tuck the fork in through the french braid against my scalp. Maybe it's to do with the pressure directly against my scalp in a regular cinnabun and having the french braid as a buffer helps distribute the pressure more.

For a regular cinnabun i can only use a thin hair stick. That holds without pulling uncomfortably, so try that!
Other than that, hair screws work well for me as long as I'm careful inserting them, sometimes it takes a couple tries to get right.

So try frenchbraiding first, or use a thin hair stick. Also I like figure 8 buns too.

[Flossy]

The only updo I can handle all day is twin french braids, then bunned either together or separately. I also can tolerate a single plait down my back, but that's not really an updo, is it?!

[eezepeeze]

You might try a braided style that distributes the weight more evenly, like milkmaid briads or hair taping. For the hair taping (search for TorrinPaige Elizabethan Hair Taping on YouTube), I often just pin it in place, instead of using the ribbon. I can wear both of these styles all day with no headaches or sore spots later on my scalp. Another thing that works for me is to wear my buns a little lower on my head (not looser, just lower) because if it's too high, my neck muscles get tired and give me a tension headache. Also, I find that braiding helps give my buns some more grip to them, which means fewer pins poking at me.

I'm not a really big fan of the hairstick buns or the ficcare clips, which I know is tantamount to blasphemy on here, but they just don't work that well with my hair and head. I like bobby pins, good hair days hair pins, amish hair pins, jaw clips, etc. To me, the sticks and ficcares add too much weight, besides the fact that I tend to snap the sticks in half trying to get them through my hair.

One style that will stay all day for me is chopandchange's faux french braid. This is sooo comfy, and not much in the way of real braiding expertise needed. It holds well, but doesn't pull the hair "against the grain". Some people get a headache if the hair is pulled in the opposite direction of hair growth.

That's all I can think of for right now, but if I think of anything else, I'll post. HTH! :-)

[CarpeDM]

I'm glad I'm not alone. The only two "styles" my head can handle is a low ponytail and a loose single braid, yawn soooo boring. I love all the updos I see, but my head can't handle much weight on it. Sad little tender headed boring style me :(

[littlenvy]

I'm starting to think that the thinner or finer your hair is the less your scalp is used to any weight bearing in one particular spot. :(
I can handle braids, so that at least is something good.

[SpinDance]

I find that placement matters a lot. Sometimes a particular place on my head will hurt, sometimes not. I have had great success with buns, but not if the stick is placed vertically. That puts too much tension on the wrong way somehow. A horizontal placement for the stick really works for me. This is my usual way for a Flexi, which I also use a lot.

Other things that work for me are a single braid in the back, which sometimes I'll fold up and hold with a Flexi. It is easier for me to reposition during the day if I use a Flexi than it is if I use pins, so I usually use a Flexi. Double braids also work nicely, and can be positioned in various ways as an updo.

My best comfort option is a stick, Flexi or fork holding a simple bun because I can (and do) take it down, finger comb out and put it back up regularly throughout the day. Having it held in the same place all day gets uncomfortable.

[JulietCapulet]

I know what you mean, I have that issue as well. I just try not to do the up do's too much.

[Naphthylamine]

Oh that problem made me undo very nice and hard-work buns after 1-2 hours after I made them. It is worse when I do the bun on a ponytail. Also I cannot stand any kinds of braids that needs to be done very close to the scalp. High ponytails are also a nightmare, and I don't use them since years because of that.

However, I feel comfy with a regular side braid -not too tight, not too loose. Recently I found about the braided bun here in LHC, and it holds without any pain too.

And surprisingly I started using cinnabuns at home. Unfortunately, I get the same pain when I use hair sticks. Instead I use two bobby pins -"U" shaped ones.
(link: http://www.radenterprises.co.uk/images/hair-pins.jpg)