What can I do to not have one ounce of damage to my hair ?

[nena_shawty]

I want to know if there is any method I could do to have my hair up all the time to have the least amount of damage possible? Im not good with hairstyles is there some way i can put my hair up and not have to mess with it for at least a week,and maybe just put a hat on my head or something to cover my hair ? I dont know if Im making any sence but i dont know how to explain it ... um a protective hairstyle?...

[lyria]

I think there are some people here who use scarves to protect their hair, but I have never personally had my hair up for that long!

I would, in general, recommend hair sticks or forks for the least amount of damage when putting up your hair, but obviously if your goal is a style you can sleep with, these will not be useful to you!

[Chetanlaiho]

I've heard of people leaving their hair taped for a few days (and sleeping on it is apparently not an issue) but other than that, maybe a braid that you bun during the day and take out at night? I've tried that but the braid can get messy real quick.

Video for the hair taping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqbAdvL8kME

[gthlvrmx]

Hair taping looks freaking awesome! And i bet you with a nice satin/silk scarf around, ultimate protection! I'm wondering you you even need the low ponytail though, i hate the feeling of them close to my neck. Wow, can't wait to try this someday!

[Mesmerise]

Personally, to avoid damage I'd oil my hair and bun it. I'm not sure I'd keep it in for a week (it would get very messy) but I'd braid it overnight and rebun it the next day (without brushing or whatever). I'm pretty sure you'd get very, very little damage through doing this.

[torrilin]

Shave your head. That's the only way I can think of to prevent all damage to your hair.

If you're interested in minimizing damage... keeping your hair in the same style for a week at a time is not what you want for most hair types. Some kinds of curly hair can handle weeks at a time in the same hairstyle. But for most of us, there needs to be a judicious amount of restyling. I usually allow 2-3 days in a style, max. My hair is fine and pretty delicate, and if I go longer than a few days, my shed hairs will try to form mats with the rest of my hair. This is a bad scene. So I need to take my hair down every so often to get rid of excess shed hair by combing. Finger combing is decently gentle and works to remove shed hair. (other stuff works too, but my fingers are gentlest)

Wearing a scarf or hat to protect your hair is good sense. Often, you can anchor a scarf or hat to a bun. It won't necessarily make the hairstyle last longer, but it will surely help you minimize dirt, lint, smoke, perfume etc sticking to your hair. That means you need to wash less often, and since washing causes your hair to swell as it absorbs water and then shrink back down as it dries, that minimizes damage.

[nena_shawty]

I forgot to say that my hair is short , like sholder lenghth or maybe a little longer but still there isnt alot I can do with my hair.

[katsrevenge]

Check out some silk hair scarves and head wraps. I used to work with a lady who had her hair up under a hyjab (I'm blanking on the spelling) type thing, but tied differently.

It's pretty much braid, bun or scarf/hat as far as I can tell. I'm in the same boat.

[Kathie]

At that length I became a fan of silk and velvet scrunchies. You can use them for ponies, or ponies with the ends tucked in. But again, I'd think you'd need to carefully restyle most mornings because those sorts of styles aren't going to hold or be comfortable overnight.

[Madora]

Leaving your hair untouched for a week is not conducive to having healthy/beautiful tresses.

You should at least comb it to keep it tangle free..and brushing (with a natural bbb) would be even better since the follicles should be exercised regularly. The brushing also removes the stuff that gets in your hair from everyday circumstances.

You could try a snood, which confines the hair yet lets the hair get air.

If a snood is too Civil War (or 40's look) for you, then check out one of those invisible hair nets (I assume they still make them). A snood might be better, however, as the hair nets break easily.

[Pierre]

I wear Flexis; they are perfectly sleepable, as long as they're not in the middle of my occiput (the medium goes there; smaller ones go at the sides in pairs). I also wrap my hair in a Buff when sleeping.

At your length, you could probably do a pair of French or Dutch braids. Your hair probably wouldn't hold a braid as long as mine does, though. I keep mine braided for several days in a row, sometimes changing the updo I make from the braids.

[Panth]

The only style I can think of that is protective and would last more than 2-3 days on most people is to heavily oil the hair and then microbraid the entire lot (the whole head, tiny, tiny braids). You can then style it as usual but won't need to brush/comb.

However, it takes several hours to do, especially on oneself, so I'm not sure it'd be worth it for only a week.

[torrilin]

At shoulder length, you don't need to do a lot. Really. And keep in mind I'm saying that as a fine haired person who gets split ends in a pixie cut. A ponytail is decently protective. So are braids like French and Dutch braids (Pierre is totally right that you can do two French or Dutch braids long before you can do a single one). You can maybe do a Gibson tuck, peacock twist or French twist. I say maybe on those because my hair is pretty slippery and will just fall out of 'em. You may have enough length to do double or triple buns.