Migraine Updos: The Non-Ouch Kind!

[Wavelength]

You migraineurs know what I'm talking about -- you're getting a migraine and suddenly your scalp is sensitive to everything. Your favourite hairtoy feels like a torture device. With hardly any warning, hairsticks pull, barrettes yank, elastics are too tight and hairpins feel like they're sticking straight into your head. :pins:

But wearing your hair down doesn't always work either. So when you're getting a migraine, what do you do with your hair to make it less ouchie? :undecided

For me braids are a good solution if I can do them, but when I'm getting a migraine I turn into "butterfingers" and can't braid to save my life. I've developed a couple of comfy buns that are quick to do and can be fastened with a scrunchie or a flexi-8, but I'm interested in other people's migraine styles!

I'll try and get pics of my styles and post them in later in this thread.

[Hypnotica]

Well....the Nautilus Bun. It's weightless.

[Gabriel]

Having just learned the nautilas bun from Hypnotica's great video I have to agree... it is weightless! Braids are a good idea too or I sometimes, when having a migraine will make two very very low and loose pigtails that lay in front so most of the weight of my hair is distributed.

[Wavelength]

Is the nautilus the same as the inside-out bun? That's the one I use quite often, but I'm unclear if it's the same bun or not. I don't use sticks to fasten it, though, when I'm getting a headache.

[LeaM07]

If I'm at home, it's a scrunchie bun (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/blog.php?b=7026). If I need to look presentable, an English braid folded under with a scrunchie or a pinless braided bun (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/blog.php?b=10324) is what I'm likely to try. It uses a stick, but it's more comfortable than most stick buns because you're not weaving it in and grabbing bits of scalp hair to support the weight of the bun (and drive you bananas). Theoretically, a Chinese bun should work the same way (your bun is supported by your whole ponytail, not a few scalp hairs), but I'm too fussy about getting it to look neat to bother with it if I'm not feeling well.

[Tapioca]

When I have a migraine, any kind of updo is out of the question. If it's cooler weather, I'll just leave it down. In the summer, a braid.

[Tangles]

A side braid is my usual "sick" hairdo. Low, out of the way, can lie down in it, doesn't accentuate pallor like a bun can.

[unaspenser]

I actually sometimes have problems with braids during migraines, but french/dutch braids seem to be best, since they pull more evenly. If at all possible I leave my hair down. An inside out bun higher than usual (right on my crown) is also good because it doesn't pull much and the weigth is in a comfy spot (relatively). Could someone instruct me on the Nautilus bun?

[Finoriel]

The nautilus bun is the inside out bun, depending on where you read the instructions for that hair-do there are different names for it :).
It´s also one of my favourites when there is an upcoming migraine, because it´s loose, does not involve any hairtoys and is surprisingly comfortable to sleep with. Inside out bun and a very loose English braid are real "head" savers for me. When I have a bad headache I switch to one of them and just hope to not develop a migraine, but if it comes I´m already prepared :wink: Same reason I put a glass of water and a bucket beside the bed and let down the jalousie before it becomes a migraine.
Scrunchies or elastics near my head are definitely out when having a migraine, feels like being scalped shudder: and I would not even try to sleep with a hairstick.

[KatKeRo]

At home I can have it down. At work my hair has to be up. I doe a Literal Knot, I don't really need a hairtoy in it but I stick a fork behind it so it has added security.

[frizzinator]

When I have a headache or feel bad, no matter which bun I make, I usually use my home-made Wavelength pins to hold it. Also, it's easy to take a nap with those slim, weightless pins holding the updo.

[Curlsgirl]

Sometimes I can do a Figure eight if I insert the stick just right and put it right on my crown to balance it well. Recently I learned I can also do an inside outside bun on top of my crown and put little claw clips around it and sleep with it, work out with it in almost anything and it's off my neck but very light and comfortable. Sometimes a single braid even hurts when I have a headache and there are times when I just have to leave it down.

[Wavelength]

Thanks to my wonderful fiancé Chris who took these for me, I have videos of my usual migraine updos. (Of course, sometimes even these are too uncomfy or I can't get them to sit just right, but most of the time they work.)

Inside-Out Bun with Scrunchie:
(I make a bee-butt bun first and keep the first coil a bit loose. Then I fasten it with the scrunchie, pull the first coil out a bit, and make the bun from there.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/wavelength/th_Bun1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v724/wavelength/?action=view&current=Bun1.flv)


Inside-Out Bun with Flexi-8. (This is a bit of a pain to put in, but once it's fastened it doesn't pull at all.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/wavelength/th_Bun2.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v724/wavelength/?action=view&current=Bun2.flv)


Knot Type Bun with Scrunchie. (This might be a new bun, I don't know.)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/wavelength/th_Bun3.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v724/wavelength/?action=view&current=Bun3.flv)

I use only one scrunchie (a very soft loose one that I stretched out a bit) when I have a headache. Any other ones I have are too tight.

Thanks everyone for your replies! :flowers:

[Oskimosa]

Those videos are so cool! You seem really nimble about doing your hair now. I always get mine off-center unless I use a mirror.

[Wavelength]

Those videos are so cool! You seem really nimble about doing your hair now. I always get mine off-center unless I use a mirror.

Aww thanks! I'm not nimble all the time though -- today I got lucky. Some days I'm all thumbs... :o

[frizzinator]

I prefer a log roll held with 2 Wavelength pins.

[Wavelength]

I prefer a log roll held with 2 Wavelength pins.

I envy you. A log roll is one of those styles that I can't seem to make work no matter what technique I use or what tools I have. Every single one either falls down or has 2-inch long ends poking out.

[Islandgrrl]

I favor a simple, loose braid if I can't leave it down. I'm pretty much non-functional when I have a migraine, so down is usually okay since I'm usually in bed.

[Duchess of Erat]

I can't have anything pulling my head, so I make a loose braid (and usually redo that several times before it's comfortable).

[naturechild]

I agree with you islandgrrl: I am lucky if I know I have hair when I get a migraine I usually prefer the Medusa look.

[frizzinator]

I envy you. A log roll is one of those styles that I can't seem to make work no matter what technique I use or what tools I have. Every single one either falls down or has 2-inch long ends poking out.


I don't twist my hair at all when making the log roll, until the very end when I twist the whole log roll - which makes it tighter and secures the ends that were poking out.

[sahiba]

Just a plain english braid for me. And btw I never knew we had so many migraineurs here.

[Darya]

Wow! If I have a migraine it is amazing if I can get it into any kind of braid let alone an updo. I usually end up taking any updo down and going to bed with my puke bucket with my hair loose because inevitably ONE hair :nono: or all of them will feel like it is pulling out of my head if I try to contain it and my scalp is so super sensitive during a migraine. The only thing I've ever done with limited success is an English braid very loosely done - mostly to keep my hair out of my face during puking. :puke:

[Wavelength]

Well, I'm definitely not capable of doing anything remotely organized with my hair (or anything else!) while in the midst of a migraine.

These styles are more like what I do when I think a migraine is coming on. It's like, "Oh crap, I'm feeling that way again -- better get my hair out of the way now, while I'm still semi-functional..."

And sometimes I have to take it all down again anyway because it just hurts way too much. But about half the time, I can keep it in one of these styles -- especially the scrunchie ones, because I can take a nap without anything poking into my scalp.

[Wavelength]

I don't twist my hair at all when making the log roll, until the very end when I twist the whole log roll - which makes it tighter and secures the ends that were poking out.

*light bulb goes on*

I just experimented with this -- it works WAY better than anything I've been doing. I need to fiddle with it so it doesn't pull on the scalp, but it definitely holds much, MUCH better this way! Thanks so much! :happydance:

[unaspenser]

I envy you. A log roll is one of those styles that I can't seem to make work no matter what technique I use or what tools I have. Every single one either falls down or has 2-inch long ends poking out.

Ditto... It used to work for me, but somewhere between BSL and waist it stopped doing what it ought to do...

[UncommonTart]

When I have a migraine, pretty much anything but loose hair is unbearable. I have had some luck with loose buns held high on my crown, pretty much just piled up right on top of my head. If I'm sick and just need it out of the way, I make two braids just behind/below my ears and then I can cross them over the top of my head if they're still in the way.

[Magrat]

I don't have it often, but when I do have migraine, I never worry about looking presentable - I'm laying flat on my back in a dark room. I mean, just trying to sit up can be a horrible experience at that point... :puke:

I sometimes try to do a loose side-ways braid when I realize it's time to lay down just so I don't have to think about the hair, but more often I just have it loose.

[Rain]

Totally down or a very loose braid are the only styles I can deal with when I'm getting a migraine.

[Wavelength]

If I'm sick and just need it out of the way, I make two braids just behind/below my ears and then I can cross them over the top of my head if they're still in the way.

How do you keep the braids fastened on top of your head? I think this would be a good solution but I can't handle sticks or pins very well when my scalp is sensitive. (The exception is the flexi-8 bun I demonstrated earlier, because with that bun, the flexi-8 is only barely resting on my scalp. It's really just holding the bun together at the nape. Still can't take a nap with it though.)

[LeaM07]

How about a scarf or snood or buff? Something soft that you could tie at the nape (or in some reasonably easy fashion... I've seen pictures, but haven't experimented myself much) seems like it would be soft and comfortable and keep the wispy short pieces out of the way.

[FlowerHair]

A really loose braid works for me. When I come home I just let my hair loose and go to bed in the darkness :(

[vindo]

I feel you...braids are also the only way to go for me sometimes..:(
I have not figured out any better solutions but my hair headaches have been getting more so I should look for alternatives.:rolleyes:

[LindsayNichole]

I usually just have to leave my hair down completely with a migraine. Right now, I'm doing well to be able to braid it just when I have a normal sinus headache, which I've been having a lot. Lately, pretty much anything except totally down seems to be giving me a headache. I don't know what to do with it! I've been feeling very tempted to cut it, and already cut it a few months ago because of headaches. But I want so much to let it grow...

[winter_star]

Darya I'm with you.. When I have a migrane I'm usually curled up in bed too sick to move. I usually leave my hair out because any kind of pulling or pressure is torture on my head. otherwise a really loose, low braid will do the trick!

[Rapunzelwannabe]

loose french braids work well for me, especially when I have to work