Hairstick noob, please help!

[teal]

I got some lovely new toys for my hair, which is great and I'm stoked, but I'm having some trouble and I'm sure it's because I don't know what I'm doing. :D

I'm practicing with a simple bun, just twist and wrap. The ends keep coming loose. I know people don't have to use clips for the ends, so please, explain in detail what I should be doing here! (Please?)

This is where I'm at:
1. make a bun
2. point stick at head, poke into one side of bun
3. turn, gather some hair near scalp
4. push out the other side of bun

The ends keep coming loose and flailing about. I'm not going for a messy look today. How do you get those ends to stay put without a clip or some other aid?? There must be a trick!

I did try to search, but it crashed. So even the search engine thinks my requests are dumb! :D Maybe I should put an "L" sticker on my head somewhere. :crazyq: (When you learn to drive here you have to have an L on your bumper until you pass a road test.)

[nobeltonya]

Youtube videos, they're wonderful to learn new styles/tricks with sticks. :) Search for "hair stick styles" or the like. Generally, I just run my hand around the outside of it to tuck the ends under everything. If it's tight enough, they stay. I guess it depends on how you put it through the bun, because sometimes if I don't place it right, it won't stay at all. Just keep practicing! :) You'll be a pro in no time.

[Emerald88]

Make sure the ends are tucked under or inside the bun and when you bring the hairstick (#4 above) out the other side, make sure the ends are on the top side of the hairstick and not under by your scalp where it will not have as much tension and fall out. For example, you coil around your cinnamon bun and the last few inches you would no coil around the outside, but tuck underneath the other coils towards the underneath center of the bun. When you bring the hairstick back out,the first part of the ends you tucked under would be between the hairstick and the outside coil of the bun.

I don't know if that makes sense. Hopefully someone else can explain it better. THe only other thing I can think of is in your avatar, your stick is only in the very middle of your hair, so the ends would fall out like this. You can try starting the stick in the middle outside coil on one side, grab the scalp hair and come out in the middle of the outside coil on the other side.

[teal]

Thanks for the advice! I'll keep trying... one day I'm bound to get it right! :)

[torrilin]

A plain cinnabun doesn't trap the ends very well, and it isn't always the most stable bun. It might be easier to use a different bun with your sticks. Which buns do you know?

[darklyndsea]

In the beginning, II found it easiest to practice tucking my ends with a braided bun rather than a loose one. The method's the same, but with a braided bun the ends are all attached to each other so it's either complete success tucking the ends or no success at all, Easier to see right away if you're doing it right.

And some buns, the ends just don't want to stay tucked, so I use hair pins to keep them in place after I tuck them.

[freckles]

A plain cinnabun doesn't trap the ends very well, and it isn't always the most stable bun. It might be easier to use a different bun with your sticks. Which buns do you know?

I agree. I don't mind cinnabuns, but when I first got hairsticks, they weren't the easiest to learn how to secure that way. A lazy wrap bun or a nautilus might be better.

[Anje]

As others have said, tuck the ends in deep. If you can, give them a full wrap or more around the innermost base of the bun (easier if hair is longer or more fairytaled than for thick blunt ends). Lazy wrap-style buns are more effective than cinnamon buns are for this sort of thing, in general.

[Yozhik]

What I like to do is put the stick in right around where the ends are. So, say you make a cinnabun and your ends are wrapped around and tucked under somewhere near the left-middle of your bun, then insert the hairstick there, making sure that when you spear the hairstick down that you're scooping the ends up and flush with the rest of the bun.

Does this make any sense?

Maybe you could try with a knot bun -- that way if the ends fall out, it doesn't jeopardize the rest of your hairdo, so you can just tuck them back under.

Hope that helps, and remember, practice makes perfect. :flower:

[Rybe]

I have your same problem too. I've heard as well, that if you're like me and have blunt ends, they can be total jerks to tuck. I've NEVER had a successful cinnabun... I am also an advocate of the lazy wrap for beginners.

[teal]

A plain cinnabun doesn't trap the ends very well, and it isn't always the most stable bun. It might be easier to use a different bun with your sticks. Which buns do you know?
I agree. I don't mind cinnabuns, but when I first got hairsticks, they weren't the easiest to learn how to secure that way. A lazy wrap bun or a nautilus might be better.
Aha, I'm just now learning how to do other buns besides a cinnabun. I've learned the Chinese braided bun and Spidermom's bun that stays, so far. Thanks for the bun suggestions - I'll look those up next! :)


What I like to do is put the stick in right around where the ends are. So, say you make a cinnabun and your ends are wrapped around and tucked under somewhere near the left-middle of your bun, then insert the hairstick there, making sure that when you spear the hairstick down that you're scooping the ends up and flush with the rest of the bun.

Does this make any sense?


Yes, thank you! :flower:

Thanks everybody for your advice! Off to practice! :bounce:

[tigereye]

I've found that cinnabuns, even when starting nice, are always messy to a varying degree by the end of the day, except for when I had, like hip length hair. Messy ends are a total pain when you want, or need, to have tidy hair. Any kind of braided style usually holds much tidier for me, and the folds in the braid give the stick something to grab hold of. Braiding right to the ends, and using those tiny little hairties help too. If my ends are being a real pain, I use a tiny bit of aloe vera gel to get them to slick down.