Headaches...

[Biedronka]

Hello fellow LHC'ers....I need your precious advice!!:o

I prefer to wear my hair up most of the time,for various reasons.Mostly to keep the length up and away and protected.However lately I've been experiencing annoying headaches-not the horrible brain-smashing kind,but mostly a mild headache that goes on for hours and hours.Now I find that keeping my hair up contributes quite a lot to this...I do cinnabuns with clips,and after an hour or so i feel the tension on my head,if i try to make them loose,they fall apart.Buns with hairsticks seems a bit more comfortable,however 90% of the time i can't make them without the stick pulling on a big tuft of hair hurting me while the rest of the bun hangs off loosely.Braids and ponytails seem more comfortable,however i'm extremely self concious about the length and the thin ends of my hair and I don't want them exposed.
It is just hard to go through 10 hours at university with a bun that makes my head ring in pain,but i don't want to let my hair down.I rearrange the buns whenever they feel tensy,but after a while i feel the tension on my scalp again.
So please help me friends...are there any types of buns/hairdos that are comfortable and kind to the scalp?
How do you deal with possibly hair-do induced headaches?

[xoerincolleen]

Maybe you could try varying where on your head the bun sits each day so that it doesn't hurt your head. Another suggestion is a tucked French braid- your ends won't be exposed, but I imagine it won't hurt your head like a bun would.

[HintOfMint]

Sometimes I get those headaches, and it definitely helps to have a bun low on your head, like at the nape. That position tends not to cause headaches.

[LittleOak]

Hi there,

I can totally relate to the discomfort you are experiencing with your headaches. I am 18 weeks pregnant and have been suffering with both head splitting migraines and the mild lingering headaches which you describe since the beginning of my pregnancy. I too prefer to wear my hair up and I also have braid anxiety. The best way I have found to cope with the pressure problem is satin scrunchies. Admittedly I only wear these in the house but I gently roll a cinnamon bun, then place the scrunchie around the edge (a la 1990's!). Even if the bun drops slightly throughout the day I feel zero pressure and it still holds. When I'm out I do the same looseish cinnamon bun but gently place in a couple of Goody spin pins or a plain black snag free cloth hair tie. For me the key is to keep the bun low as this decreases the pressure placed on the head and loose (but not so much that it would drop out).

I really hope your headaches clear up soon, they are so hard to deal with, and must be even more so with 10 hours of university. :flower:

[skyblue]

that happens to me sometimes, usually though I already have the headache and having my hair up aggravates it more I just have to let my hair down for a bit then put it back up a long type up and down bun in stead of a round bun if that makes any sense lol it just seems to weigh less that way, if you know what I mean
sorry I couldn't help more

[prosperina]

You said without the "hair stick pulling." Are you wearing one or two? With your length you'd probably need a pair of hair sticks. Hair sticks shouldn't pull on your hair and make the bun all floppy and unsupported. Check out some of the tutorials on this site under the articles section. The equilibrium bun is supposed to be a good one if you have thin ends--I haven't tried it though.

I also suggest nape buns and folded french braids.

I'm not trying to undermine your experience, but could this just be generalized stress? 10 hours at uni is a long day! Have you had your eyes checked recently? I find when I have a long day at school/work it works best to take mini breaks throughout the day. I get a bottle of water some place quiet and I take my hair down and close my eyes for a few minutes.

[Anje]

Are you experiencing headaches as such, or an achey scalp/achey follicles from having your hair in an awkward orientation?

I'm more familiar with hair causing the scalp aches, myself. First of all, where are you wearing your buns? High ones tend to cause more pain for me, and on a bad day they're best at the nape of my neck.

How are you orienting the hairsticks? I tend to get pulling if I make them too vertical, myself. For me, horizontal sticks are the most comfortable. (ETA: I do better with one stick, myself. If I use two, I find they're more comfortable if they don't cross. Crossed hairsticks seem to pinch a few hairs between them and pull there. YMMV, of course.)

If all else fails, braids are still pretty protective. You could always double the braid back up to make a loop if you want to hide/protect the ends.

[cameronscurls]

i used to get a headache when i had wet hair, but now that i shower at night and sleep with wet hair, it doesnt bother me !

[Prelude]

I get headaches from tying my hair up all the time, which makes me favour leaving it down and unprotected unfortunately. The issue with me is no matter how my hair is tied, bun or loose braid at the nape, it still gives me a headache-almost feels like sinus pain which is weird. :(

[Biedronka]

@LittleOak, first off, congratulations for your little baby!The scrunchie method sounds very effective..i assume it would be the same if i used a piece of wide ribbon tied around the bun?I will certainly try that,thanks!

@prosperina, I also use hairsticks as pairs,but i can't seem to weave them in correctly..like,in some spots they hold really well and in others the bun is almost unsupported-hence the uneven distribution of the tension.Must do some serious bun-hairstickin' practice now!

Low buns and french braids...''makes mental note to do these as well''Thank you for the help everyone!cheese!:cheese:

[racrane]

I don't have any advice, but I got headaches, too. I didn't start the thread but thanks for the advice that everyone provided. :) It's really useful, all this wealth of information on here.

[eternallyverdan]

How do you part your hair? If you pull it straight back from your forehead that can cause a lot of pulling and tension. Try experimenting with different partings to see if any of them feel good.

For some reason, I find that braiding my hair before putting it in a bun seems to reduce tension points. Also, using bun pins, Amish pins, or those Good Hair Day pins (I've never used them, but I've heard positive reviews) and pinning as you coil the bun (1 or 2 pins per coil) will help to evenly distribute the weight.

For me, hair forks seem to work better than anything else for keeping my hair where I want it as comfortably as possible. See if you can find a cheap one on the swap board to try it out-- you can always sell it back if you don't like it!

[Panth]

Whenever I have headaches I do heidi braids (two english plaits pinned into a crown shape) or a coronet braid (one english plait pinned into a crown shape). I use masses of bobby pins to help distribute the weight. They're much more comfortable than buns as the weight presses into your head instead of pulling away from your head.

You say you're about 40". I'm about the same. My hair is just getting too long for heidi braids. However, a coronet braid works very well at classic+ provided you don't have masses of taper and you can vary things by doing different plaits - I quite like the look of a single rope plait and if I was able I might try fancier things like the wide, flat 5 or 7 strand plaits.

[Jenna0728]

I had one of the worst headaches in my life just yesterday, thanks to the OP for posting this! I'll be trying some of the suggestions myself, thanks everyone!

[Annalouise]

I get headaches if I wear my hair up too. So I wear it down.

[dorkfish]

I tie my hair in a knot. Just about like you are going to use a stick, but no stick. Just pull your hair through. That has helped me in the past.