An "in between phase" at BSL??

[jenjen10]

I was so excited to finally be at BSL (or extremely close) but have found in the past few days that my "go to" styles aren't working anymore and I can't quite master the other up-do's I see on here won't work with my thick hair either. :steam

I thought that once I got past that awkward "mullet" stage, it would pretty much be smooth sailing. Did anyone else experience a stage where hair styles just didn't seem to work anymore?

Any ideas on what to do? I seem to have too much hair to pull off a french twist and even my usual style of a pony pulled halfway through with hairsticks doesn't work (the ends don't stay in due to the ends)... The only way I can get up-do's to work is to do them on wet hair... how bad is it to wet my hair daily to do my hair? (I only wash twice per week).

[christine1989]

BSL all the way to waist for me is an akward stage :(. My claw clips are too small but all of the really cool updos are for longer hair. I am in the same boat as you so I will be excited to read the replies :).

[DorothyAtForty]

Maybe you could just spritz your hair until it's damp and then style it as opposed to having it freshly washed? I do that to my hair because it's past BSL but not at all near waist length, and my hair is too short for the up-dos I would like to have. Making it damp keeps it in place while I work with it.

[thatjengirl1]

HAHA i can relate. My everyday hair style stopped working when i hit BSL. it looked akward. Now i braid my hair alot more that it is BSL. I do french braids quite a bit. Also two fishtail braids is another favorite of mine. I also wear low side pony tail :D

[prettyhairisred]

Oh, is it damaging to wet your hair everyday? I wet it every day throurally to get my natural waves. My hairs BSL. Please tell me!

[spidermom]

BSL was a waste-land of disappointment as far as up-dos go. I had the french twist and the peacock or waterfall twist with a sturdy clawclip. That's about it.

[SpinDance]

There seems to be an awkward stage every so far in the growing process. Perhaps this is by design, so we are forced to learn new ways to handle our hair on a regular basis. For a while my go-to styles stopped working ever 1/2 inch or so. Lately I'm finding that some of my favorites aren't working, making me thing I will need to spend more time reviewing the Articles section on hair styles.

[torrilin]

how bad is it to wet my hair daily to do my hair? (I only wash twice per week).

If your hair is very porous, it might be bad. Mine isn't very porous, and daily soakings are fine... a lot of styles won't hold for me if my hair is dry. Yes, that means I go out in WI winter weather with a wet head. It won't kill you. Just make sure you have a hat on, because frostbite sucks.

As far as styles... a lot of the time, I find my first dozen or so attempts at a style will look horrible, or just not work. It can take a lot of practice! Be realistic with yourself, and give yourself time to learn.

[Shell]

Yes, I think that BSL is an awkward length. Last time I was at this length, a French Twist worked until hip, but this time around, it's already stopped working at BSL. It is undoubtedly because my hair has changed texture, but whatever it is, I need to find new styles. I've been haunting YouTube and the articles section here--please let me know if anyone has any brilliant ideas!

Right now I'm just starting to be able to get a figure eight with a tail sticking out, so I usually use a bunhead to keep it in. I also use ficcares a lot. Sometimes a switch in hair fasteners will work for you. Best of luck:).

[milagro]

Your hair is one length I see so at least you don't have the layers' problem :) I think buns and half-ups are simple and quite nice looking, and easy to redo during the day.

[bunzfan]

Have you thought of braids? my hair is just past BSL and is starting to look nice in a braid:)

[tigr]

What about a bun cover? http://www.snoods.com/catbun.html (not affiliated in any way - a friend has one of her snoods and likes it).

[luxepiggy]

You should be able to do a regular bun secured with hairsticks at BSL - I've done them for many of my friends with BSL hair, even a few who had APL, and it always stays up for a whole night of clubbing (^(oo)^)v

[lapushka]

I'm just about WL, and I still only mostly have a peacock twist in my hair (doubly folded) with a claw clip. Some buns are do-able (cinnabun, pencil bun, lazy wrap) but they won't stay in long. I still have a layer in my hair that's just about APL.

[xoxophelia]

Lets see suggestions...

-half up, half down
-a messy cinnamon bun
-one single braid
-two french braids going down the sides of your head that come together into one normal braid
-a low messy bun with a hair tie
-braid waves when you want to wear your hair down

[Intransigentia]

I found styles were really awkward past APL, but as I'm getting closer to BSL, all of a sudden things are getting easier; all sorts of things I couldn't do are suddenly becoming possible - last week, a lazy wrap bun and a spidermom-style split bun wouldn't hold. This week, I've worn both, and they've held all day without needing to be redone. On the other hand, I could do a french twist at shoulder length; it got harder and harder as it approached APL, but now it's getting easier again.

<nerd>
It makes me think that each style, for each person, probably has a mathematical formula where it works great at length L, L + n, L + 2n, L + 3n, etc, but say, L + n + 1, it doesn't work. I'm thinking the main variables that would affect the values of L and n would be hair thickness and what length it takes to do one full wrap/twist/turn of a particular 'do.
</nerd>

[bumblebums]

Check Torrin Paige's youtube channel for the Masara (or Masara's profile here). It's doable at any length past APL or so. You need to know how to French-braid.

My simplified alternative, when nothing else works, is to do a simple English braid and fold it up and then pin it to my scalp with a Flexi-8.

[pepperminttea]

Most definitely an awkward length. The nautilus bun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b86ZH0J7xtE) saved me from trimming pangs. :) (Skip the wrapping bit until you have more length.)

[milagro]

The nautilus bun[/URL] saved me from trimming pangs. :) (Skip the wrapping bit until you have more length.)
Yes, this is a HG bun :) Wrapping is actually great for layered hair. It gets all those perky ends together and then you can hide and fix them with pins.

[Laurenji]

DEFINITELY am hitting an awkward BSL stage. Even my usual go-to cinnamon bun is working out weird, because the ends are in different places than they used to be. I can't do a french twist or a gibson tuck, and my hair is still too short for most of the knot buns/other cool buns because of its thickness. It's a little obnoxious.