Updo help for a self conscious teen!

[PeachyWavy]

Hello everyone!

I'm after a little bit of advice, but firstly you'll need a little bit of background info!

I'm profoundly deaf (that means, pretty much completely without hearing). When I was two and a half, my parents decided that I should have surgery to get a Cochlear Implant. With my cochlear implant switched on, my hearing's only regarded as perhaps a mild or slight loss. Best thing ever for me, although obviously controversial among deaf community etc, but that's a totally separate issue. My issue isn't hearing related, surprisingly! :o

I'm a teenager, and as I've experienced and been told, it's a pretty traumatic time. Having my cochlear implant throws up a slight problem for me, it's a behind the ear processor, thing three times bigger than a hearing aid and you've got the picture. In fact, if you wish to Google it's the "Advanced Bionics Harmony". This means that when I want to wear my hair up, I'm incredibly limited in updos. I want to make sure that the bit behind my ear's covered, and braids, particularly a single french braid (which I love so much). :(

Please try not to tell me to embrace it and wear it as a symbol of pride and who I am, I will do that later in my life. But just now I want to be a normal teenager and blend in- as cliched as it is.

So I'm basically looking for suggestions as to how I can adapt the updos or some updos which might accomodate this for my wavy, layered APL/BSL haie!

Thank you so much in advance for your help and undoubtedly your understanding!

PeachyWavy :)

[Cainwen]

Welcome to LHC!

Do you want to cover the whole thing? I think you might need to hide your ears in that case. Perhaps look into civil war era styles? another way I can think to do it is to take smaller sections of hair from the front, braid them into tiny accent pigtails, style the rest of your hair and then pull the pig tails back low. I'll try to post a picture in a bit, once I find my camera.

On a side note, one of my professors in college had a Cochlear Implant. He happened to be a computer science prof, so we all thought it was awesome he was 'part cyborg' as he put it.

[PeachyWavy]

Welcome to LHC!

Do you want to cover the whole thing? I think you might need to hide your ears in that case. Perhaps look into civil war era styles? another way I can think to do it is to take smaller sections of hair from the front, braid them into tiny accent pigtails, style the rest of your hair and then pull the pig tails back low. I'll try to post a picture in a bit, once I find my camera.

On a side note, one of my professors in college had a Cochlear Implant. He happened to be a computer science prof, so we all thought it was awesome he was 'part cyborg' as he put it.

Cainwen, thank you so much for your quick reply!

Oh, I will have a look at civil war styles. It amazes me how people can just think of that off the top of your head! I really like that plait idea, a photograph would be amazing.

My friends think it's fairly awesome too, I've got a friend who can't get over the fact that every time I connect a new battery, it flashes to tell me how many hours I've got on it. He constantly wants to look at it. Strange child! :D

[Aveyronnaise]

You can look also at teens and twenties styles before they started to cut short , they had the back up but like a faux bob style in the front .
i am in a rush but good luck .

[Merewen]

Heck, even if you are embracing it, it's still not bad to have options for covering it when you want to. :)

Would it work for you if instead of bringing the hair straight back for an updo, you made a part and swept the hair back across the side of your head, covering either just the implant or the tops of your ears too? Other options could be side/twin buns/braids. Braids over the ears hide everything there pretty well, assuming that it doesn't interfere with the operation of the implant. (I know it would make my hearing aid squeak like crazy, but I assume your implant works very much differently.)

[PeachyWavy]

You can look also at teens and twenties styles before they started to cut short , they had the back up but like a faux bob style in the front .
i am in a rush but good luck .

Thank you very much for your suggestion, I'll do that right away!


Heck, even if you are embracing it, it's still not bad to have options for covering it when you want to. :)

Would it work for you if instead of bringing the hair straight back for an updo, you made a part and swept the hair back across the side of your head, covering either just the implant or the tops of your ears too? Other options could be side/twin buns/braids. Braids over the ears hide everything there pretty well, assuming that it doesn't interfere with the operation of the implant. (I know it would make my hearing aid squeak like crazy, but I assume your implant works very much differently.)

Thanks for your support! That's actually a very great point, I used to have a side part but I never experimented with updos with it. I'll try that!

Yes, it would've made my hearing aids go crazy too, I had them for a few years before and after the implant in the other ear. The implant's different to a hearing aid in that instead of amplifying the sound into the ear (where you get your whistling by covering the aid) it converts sound from a digital microphone in a processor into electrical impulses and sends them straight to the cochlear, bypassing the hairs in there that haven't grown - in my case - that prevent my hearing. I get barely any distortion with updos, if anything it's nice not to have the wind whistling over the microphone!

[sherigayle]

Side braids are popular right now. You could braid over the implant and over your shoulder on that side. You can also do buns the same way. Loose right behind the ear. They look really pretty.

[Cainwen]

Cainwen, thank you so much for your quick reply!

Oh, I will have a look at civil war styles. It amazes me how people can just think of that off the top of your head! I really like that plait idea, a photograph would be amazing.

My friends think it's fairly awesome too, I've got a friend who can't get over the fact that every time I connect a new battery, it flashes to tell me how many hours I've got on it. He constantly wants to look at it. Strange child! :D

You're very welcome.

I would totally be the person geeking out over the intelligence of your implant :D.

Any way, here are some quick pictures of a quick mock up. My front layers are just shy of BSL, and the rest of my layered hair is an inch or so shy of hip length (I'm really short, so ~29, 30 inches)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-D0AZpLoGnBQ/TrLtwhprLxI/AAAAAAAABbE/PV0dKF9FJBw/s400/IMG_1804.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RZEPIXrHfvE/TrLtcfH_4iI/AAAAAAAABa8/JNyGKdbQRqY/s400/IMG_1802.JPG

Again, sorry for the poor quality. The bun part is just a loose nautilus bun, but pretty much any would work I would think. I wrapped the ends of the braids around the bun, and if you wanted them to stay just add a bobby pin or so.

Hope that helps :)

[Maktub]

hello and welcome ! Here are a few ideas :

http://www.yorkdale.com/blog/prom-2011-create-your-own-celebrity-hai-2314/~/ecms.ashx/blog/Apr29/taylor-swift.jpg

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/cm/harpersbazaar/images/eY/hairstyle-updo-kate-bosworth-1-de.jpg

http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/specials/chase/kirstendunst/kirsten_dunst2.jpg

http://us.cdn1.123rf.com/168nwm/serrnovik/serrnovik1103/serrnovik110300199/9101111-beauty-portrait-of-provincial-woman-with-wheat-with-professional-make-up-and-hair-style.jpg

http://www.beautylootbag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Pigtails.jpg

http://hairstyletrendsfor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/low-bun.jpg

http://hairstyletrendsfor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/low-pony-brown.jpg

http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-page-main/ehow/images/a07/eo/6n/cute-ponytails-cover-ears-800x800.jpg

[BlazingHeart]

What about doing something like a braided bun starting right at the edge of the ear? You could make the last coil come over the edge of the ear, which should cover anything behind it handily.

And hey, when it comes to physical aids, we make our peace with them (and how people react) when we get to it. I've worn braces of various types for about half of my life and I still hate the attention they get. The staring and asking what they are and if I'm okay and what happened and so on and so forth...yeah, I could really do without that. Ditto all the people who decide that me having a service dog means that it's acceptable to ask about the disability that he helps with (I, and most service dog partners, find that really, really rude and intrusive, as I'm sure you can imagine, Peachy).

~Blaze

[Maktub]

Other ideas !

https://d3qcduphvv2yxi.cloudfront.net/assets/2831219/lightbox/scarabDEMO.jpg?1295006290

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wedding_prod/photos/hair_295_10_m.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wedding_prod/photos/pulled_back_hair_634_10_m.jpg

http://stylebell.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/katehudson21.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wedding_prod/photos/6f39766c41952e63391ec7b1561e9e69_s

http://www.eanext.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/47b18_trendy-asian-haircut-330x494.jpg

http://www.hairstyleswatch.com/UserFiles/Image/2008%20JANUARY/Amanda%20Bynes(1).jpg

http://static.weddingcometrue.com/weddcometrue/2010/05/female-celebrity-hairstyles.jpg


(don't ask why the pictures that came up are almost all blonds, I have no idea!)

[Maktub]

And more !

http://updoguru.com/images/braid11.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2349/2369110789_9e236f5c55.jpg

http://www.myfashionbeautytips.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/lauren-conrad-braided-messy-updo-hairstyle.jpg

http://www.emoda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/fishtail-ashley-greene.jpg

http://www.beauty-and-the-bath.com/image-files/messy-braids_fs.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a3tgQ6HsGQg/ThaNfw232QI/AAAAAAAAAP4/hTmHRbcwwUM/s1600/braided-across.jpg

http://thestyleking.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/90640911crop.jpg

http://www.runwaydaily.com/.a/6a00e54ed9ed5388330133f2e30a8f970b-800wi

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cGxCfTNRTCk/SVqZqTAHIjI/AAAAAAAAARI/55W9EUJ7v6I/s400/LC-hair4.jpg

http://shortlonghairstyles.com/images/2010/07/messy-updo-hairstyle.jpg

http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/2/20652/37_2008/lcvmahair.jpg

http://your-hairstyles.com/img/arts/2010/May/06/221/boho_wavy.jpg

http://haartek.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/messy-braid.jpg

http://www.stylehop.com/fashion-blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Side-Pony.jpg

http://s3.amazonaws.com/wedding_prod/photos/6f39766c41952e63391ec7b1561e9e69_s

http://www.eanext.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/47b18_trendy-asian-haircut-330x494.jpg

http://www.hairstyleswatch.com/UserFiles/Image/2008%20JANUARY/Amanda%20Bynes(1).jpg

http://static.weddingcometrue.com/weddcometrue/2010/05/female-celebrity-hairstyles.jpg


Hope you find some of these inspiring !

:flower:

[Intransigentia]

Another idea (though I haven't checked out all those links yet) - this might be a bit too "grown up" (=boring?) for high school I don't know, but...

Make a fairly far to the side part, on the side opposite your implant. Pull your hair back, more around your head than overtop, and then make a bun low on the back of your head.

[Panth]

I would do this:

Part hair in centre or on the side (however you like).
Part the hair at right angles to this, from ear over the top of your head and down to the other ear (rather like Cainwen's style).
Clip the front to portions temporarily out of the way.
Bun the back however you like. Of, if plaiting, french/dutch plait down nearly to the nape.
Take the front parts, drape them loosely over your ears/implant and draw them back.
Wrap them around the bun or, if plaiting, incorporate them into the plait. For plaits, particularly plain english plaits, you'll likely need to put at least one bobby pin on each side at the back to keep the drape neat and even and prevent it from moving out of place.

So, in summary, like Cainwen's style but without plaiting the front bits, just leaving them as loose draping hair.

[Elph]

tell me if I am wrong but does your implant and the outer bit come apart? As in can you take the part that is on the outside off while doing your hair. If you can then do any style you like and then with pratice you can probably slide the outer part under the hair without really wrecking the style.

I could be compelety worng though. And yes while the implant may be controversal if there is an option to be relativly unaffected by the use of technology then why not. Go for it girl.

[julliams]

I would place the implant and the part that has to be velcroed in, and then I would style my hair with a dutch braid going across your forehead and over the area where the implant is. You may not be able to hide it totally but if your hair is thick enough, it will certainly take the attention away.

Here is what I'm talking about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJd4o_o-AA0&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL She actually has a bunch of ideas that might work so have look around at her other videos.

This is similar http://www.christel-seyfarth.dk/christel-seyfarth/Gallery.html#21

I don't know but I think with a bit of creativity you should be able to do a pretty good job of covering and staying current at the same time.

Another idea would be a clip in coloured hairpiece which would thicken the hair on that side and also take the attention away from your earpiece. Can you attach a flower or bling up that bit that velcros in your hair? Maybe it can double as part of the look? I'm always finding that little clips hide many sins when I'm doing a messy bun.

I think you should make some time to sit down and play. Take photos each time until you find some styles you are happy with and then practice them.

Best of luck.

[Shesta]

How about something like a perimeter crown braid (if you are good at braiding). You can manipulate how high/low it stays on your head so that the implant lays under.
Here is a pic. I'm not saying this exact look is flattering but it is an idea worth considering for some occasions.
http://jsolovely.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/erin-fetherston-autumn.jpg?w=490&h=736

edit:sorry for the big pic, it's just the only one i've found

[Pierre]

I second the double braids/buns - that's my usual style. My avatar is a variant in which I braided my beard into it and made a bun with the Flexi. Sometimes I don't braid, but twist the hair on each side, fold it a time or two, and clip it with the Flexi leaving the end loose. The end covers the back of the ear.

[Blandine]

Try combining headbands and scarves with your updos. These need to go over your ears in order not to slip, so they will cover what you want to be covered. And they are funky accessoires. At least in my part of the world those that look like a bandana but are closed with an elastic in the back seem to be the ultimate fashion.

You could tie a long thin scarf round your head and braid the ends together with your hair. This makes amazing thick braids and adds some extra length. My favourite is the four-strand box braid, two strands of hair and two strands are the ends of the scarf. Or a French braid along the back of the head, then add the ends of the scarf as strands 4 and 5 and braid the loose part as a 5er.

[coffinhert]

I like to take two chunks of hair, from in front of my ears to forehead, and braid them towards the back, then meet them in the back and secure with a little butterfly clip. You can then combine them and braid downwards, or just leave the end loose to blend with the rest of your hair. This creates a little braid circlet around your head.

[CurlyCap]

Makub! Those are all really great, modern hairstyles! :love:

When I was trying to think of things, I was completely stumped.

How'd you find so many pictures so fast?

[Maktub]

Googled things (in google images) like

hairstyles "hide ears"

hair hide ears

hairstyle "over ears"

hair updo "hide ears"


etc :)


that's not really an updo but it's cute : http://mainelymara.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Jenn-Braid.jpg

[jesis]

You could get a wide, looser headband or scarf to aid in all of your updos. :)