Need help/suggestions for my hair (1B/M/ii)

[laughter777]

I am new and trying to figure out some stuff! I don't know how to make a bun!! I can braid, but not my own hair (except pigtails). I am following the advice on Ursula's Newbie Article. CWC for a month...today after CWC last night (went to bed with wet hair...never a good thing) my hair is smooth, silky, shiny and I LOVE the way it feels and looks! WOW I think it will look so much better next time when I don't sleep on wet hair! I wanna try this hairstyle (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=45), but I don't have a topsy thingy anymore and don't know where to get one! and like I mentioned before I can't make a bun!! I bought a comb and some hair toys today. I look forward to ordering some Flexi-8s after I sell some eggs and/or milk. Anyone with similiar hair that is outdoors alot I appreciate any and all advice!

Thanks
Sarah

[Sceleste]

You just need practice, practice and some more practice.

When I started growing my hair I could do a ponytail and an english braid but that was about it. Now I can do different kinds of buns, and have learned some braids too, even though I still have trouble with them more than with buns.

Your hair is similar to mine so I figure you have the same problem, getting hair to stay up. My hair is easier to bun if I have braid waves. Straight hair is harder to handle for me, and it's especially bad if I have used a silicone conditioner.

I would suggest learning to braid first, no matter how frustrating it is. When you can do an english braid, it's very easy to do a braided bun that stays with just one hairstick. I also recommend getting some small claw clips. A cinnabun is quite easy to do - for me the trouble is getting it stay up. I often use claw clips to hold it in place.

[froglet]

Hello, we share the same hair type and length and like Sceleste, I also recommend lots of practice.
For your cinnamon bun, what are you using to secure it? I love hairsticks but they can take some work and so far my hair just spits out hairpins as soon as I insert them. And while not the most fashionable of options, if I secure the bun by placing a scrunchie around the outside of it, my bun will stay put through a hurricane. :D

My hair has almost outgrown this, but if your hair has less volume than mine an octopus clip will hold the bun while keeping the weight pretty balanced and your hair back out of the way while you do your outside activities.

[Anje]

First of all, you don't necessarily need the topsy tail thing, though I think you can find them on eBay. You can use a tail comb, hairstick, or pencil to part your hair vertically in the middle behind the ponytail. Then lean forward so your pony goes over your head, reach through that part you made, grab the hair and haul it through. It's not quite as easy, but it works.

Bunning isn't that bad, and you'll find that there are many different styles of buns that people wear around here. One of the simplest is shown in the style, which we affectionately call a "cinnamon bun". To make one, you gather your hair in a ponytail (you don't necessarily need to tie the pony with an elastic, but it might be easier in the beginning) and start twisting it. Eventually, it will want to coil around itself, especially at your head. Let it make that first loop, then keep twisting and wrap the tail around that loop, to make a flat circular bun. Then you pin it in place, which takes practice. You can secure it with bobby pins or roller pins, which you most likely have around. What also works well is to use U-shaped pins (hold these so both ends are against your head, like it would lie on a countertop, not so that it's perpendicular like a bobby pin), double-pointed knitting needles bent into a U, hairsticks (or pencils, though they're not as smooth), hair forks, and many other devices like Flexi-8s and Ficcares. What a list!

All hair styles have a learning curve, so don't get frustrated if it doesn't go right immediately or doesn't hold long at first. Just keep messing with it, and you'll soon figure them out.