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View Full Version : Updo advice for waistlength, 2c/3a hair?



CurlyCap
November 18th, 2011, 09:12 PM
Hi All.

This week I got a crash course on what it must be like to have a kid with hair completely unlike your own. Basically, my curly-headed self got my butt kicked by the sad eyes of a little girl with 2c hair.

Long story short, a friend's daughter has always loved my tendency to wear elaborate hairstyles. My hair is only shoulder length now, and I can already pin it into some fun shapes. Well, call me shamed, but my friend's daughter apparently spent her allowance on bobby pins and a hair flower so she can have fancy hair "like Ms. CurlyCap".

So there I was, in front of their TV, and dove right in to trying to replicate my hairdo into wavy/slightlycurly hair, and realized I had no idea what I was doing.

2c is hard!

It has all the slipperyness of straight hair, but the stubborness of curly hair in that it doesn't lie flat. I finally managed to build some volume on the sides, and make a tucked and pinned braid. But I was frustrated because she had wispies EVERYWHERE and it took me about 40 hairpins (mine takes like 3!).

She was really happy and felt grown up, but my ego was irritated because I could see the pins and it didn't look neat. I'm babysitting her this weekend, and I want to do a style that someone above 10yo will think is pretty and well-done.

Any tips?
Does 2c lie better if put up damp?
Do you lightly spray a part before you pin it?
We used bobby pins with crimps. That's enough for my hair, but do I need to cross them in hers?
Any styles that work particularly well?

Any help appreciated!

LMS

P.S. I'm babysitting her next weekend. I'm totally willing to go buy some pins or something for this cutester if it'll help.

Kelikea
November 18th, 2011, 09:42 PM
Ummm...I'm not really sue what KIND of updo's you want to do. I have many pics in my hair album, just check my profile. My hair is very wavy, but also fine and very smooth near the scalp, so it is slicked back very easily, but I do have wispies. Spritzing sections (like for a braid) with water helps control it, and you can use some aloe gel instead of hair gel, for more control and hold. My hair is mostly too thick for regular bobby pins, unless they are just for my long bangs. The bulk of my hair can be held with crimped hair pins or bunheads hair pins. Never tried amish pins, but they might be worth a try.

Good Luck!

Madora
November 18th, 2011, 09:48 PM
How long is her hair? Is it layered? It is hard to suggest anything w/o knowing the length of her hair.

CurlyCap
November 18th, 2011, 09:49 PM
Ummm...I'm not really sue what KIND of updo's you want to do.

lol. Neither do I!

I guess the learning curve was that I usually use a bobby pin to secure a shape where it already is. There's no coercing it.

I do like your updo with a braid at the front going into a bun at the back. That would look cute on a kid, too.

Thanks for the advice!

Kelikea
November 18th, 2011, 10:01 PM
Yeah, I have to use elastics unless it is a hairstick bun.

Purdy Bear
November 19th, 2011, 02:28 AM
My hairdresser suggested using a fine spray of water just to slightly dampen down the hair to help with the fly away bits.

I found brushing also made it a lot worse, a wide tooth comb was a must.

Altocumulus
November 19th, 2011, 05:25 AM
My hairdresser suggested using a fine spray of water just to slightly dampen down the hair to help with the fly away bits.

For me, that only helps until it dries, but then I find even more baby hairs have sprung free and are forming a halo around my head (and I don't mean a short halo either!). I usually just go with the messy/entropy happens look, but I'd use aloe gel if I wanted to look neater.

I don't brush or comb when I do an updo - I just smooth it with my hands.

Bobby pins don't work for me, but it could be user error. My hair either spits them out entirely, or they pin a section without reaching any scalp hair, so the clipped section flops around and won't stay put.

Braided styles work well for me. It is easier to braid when slightly damp, or, even better, lightly oiled.

long&blonde
November 19th, 2011, 05:37 AM
Most secure buns for me with fine, very wavy, 2c hair, i'd say at TB now, involve using an elastic around ponytail to start. Getting a small pack of elastics colored same as your younguns hair would be good. Bobbypins fall right out of my hair;but Amish hair pins; I've only tried the straight ones; work excellent. And take few for very secure hold. Got mine quicky & easily thru "Mennonite Maiden" site. I prefer a dry hair bun,my hair will remain wet for days if bunned wet;but when done. I like to mist it with a leave in proteinizer conditioning spray. I then comb sides smooth w/a mirror,along w/back around bun,& any remainining "wispies",I pull down on so they dangle straight down at back base of neck and look cute.
So I tell myself;Lol.
You are a wonderful friend & babysitter:that little girl must adore you.

long&blonde
November 19th, 2011, 05:37 AM
Most secure buns for me with fine, very wavy, 2c hair, i'd say at TB now, involve using an elastic around ponytail to start. Getting a small pack of elastics colored same as your younguns hair would be good. Bobbypins fall right out of my hair;but Amish hair pins; I've only tried the straight ones; work excellent. And take few for very secure hold. Got mine quicky & easily thru "Mennonite Maiden" site. I prefer a dry hair bun,my hair will remain wet for days if bunned wet;but when done. I like to mist it with a leave in proteinizer conditioning spray. I then comb sides smooth w/a mirror,along w/back around bun,& any remainining "wispies",I pull down on so they dangle straight down at back base of neck and look cute.
So I tell myself;Lol.
You are a wonderful friend & babysitter:that little girl must adore you.

celebriangel
November 19th, 2011, 06:15 AM
My hair works best if I damp bun it to relax the waves slightly, or wear it curly and put it up in a bun (cinnabun, gibraltar or nautilus) without brushing or even combing.

Also, my hair eats hairpins when curly and spits them out when wavy. I use hairsticks or spin pins to keep it up.

Madora
November 19th, 2011, 07:47 AM
You might try combination braids..i.e. joining a braid from each side of the head at the back of the head with a hair friendly tie. Comb out the remaining hair from the tassle, and then join it in a regular 3 strand braid..or a 4 strand braid.

pes3108
November 19th, 2011, 03:15 PM
My hair tends to do better when it is slightly dirty and unwashed. If it is too clean then its slippery and frizzy. So maybe try oiling it?

Mopolop
November 19th, 2011, 03:25 PM
I can't put up my hair with bobby pins (although that might just be because I'm incompetent with bobby pins). If I want to put my hair up I either do a pencil bun or use a big hair grip, and to keep my longer layers out of my eyes I like to do a small french plait along the hairline.

Mopolop
November 19th, 2011, 03:27 PM
and to keep my longer layers out of my eyes I like to do a small french plait along the hairline.

I mean "shorter layers". :)

Freija
November 19th, 2011, 03:40 PM
My hair sounds like that - it's always been very fine, with a halo of wispy 'baby hairs' around my head, but there's a lot of it! I had it very long when I was young, too. Braids worked well on me, and French plaits looked really sweet, so I'd suggest anything involving either of those. My mum would sometimes put a tiny plait in at each of my temples, without securing the ends (I think she dampened them a little to hold them in place while she finished). She then smoothed the plaits back with the rest of my hair, in a sort of ponytail, and twisted it to form a bun, which she secured in the normal way with large hairpins - the sort sold in dancewear shops. You could put in several plaits, around her head? Some up some down looked really good, because it showed off the underlayer of my hair, which is the curliest part. You can use some very pretty hairslides to hold it! Oh - and I sometimes wore it up in a large claw-clip - the sort with two sets of interlocking teeth, held together at the back with a spring.

Dampening hair didn't ever help me much - I used to get lots of fuzzy hair as it dried. Now I'm older I would second the suggestion of a light oiling or a tiny amount of aloe vera gel, but at the time, my mum didn't use anything on my hair. I did use a hairbrush though - I don't know how strong this girl's curls are, or how thick her hair is, but mine is fine enough that when I brush it with my boar bristle bush (detangle first!), my curls vanish for a bit and it lies sleek and ripply.

Hope that helped a bit!

katsrevenge
November 19th, 2011, 03:48 PM
I'd say work with the frizzies rather then against them. Pull out bits and let them curl up..

CurlyCap
November 19th, 2011, 03:48 PM
Thanks everyone!

It's really helpful to hear that damp hair alone doesn't do the trick. I'll try a light oil like coconut or sweet almond, and try more braids than "tucks".

Lol, it was so obvious I don't have a kid. She was squirming and I was focusing on her hair because that's what she asked me to do. I didn't know a kid could both want something and try their best to do anything else! :D Next time we are watching a kid's movie. See, I learn quickly....