Protective updos for fine, slippery hair

[Silver Swan]

Greetings. :cheese:

I am trying to expand my repertoire of protective updos, and would like to find a style I can use a hairstick with. I don't want to use a hair tie as the base of a style as I have a halo of short hairs around my head possibly caused by hair tie breakage. My current go-to style is a cinnabun secured with a small claw clip.

I've searched for styles and so far tried the split bun; it loosens and falls to the nape of my neck in about 30 mins. I also tried the Chinese wrap bun (with french braided base) and aside from the fact it looked terrible, I don't understand how it is supposed to work as my ends escaped immediately.

Any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Please note; I have very limited access to youtube (restricted from the work internet connection), so any tutorials that aren't on youtube would be great.

[Madora]

Silver Swan, the only style (that I can think of) with a hairstick that might be suitable for your length is the double Chinese braided bun.

1) Detangle hair thoroughly

2) Make two regular english braids at the back of your head. Try and make them as close together as possible.

3) Insert the hairstick through both braids at the very top
(just where the cross overs begin)

4) Take the braid on the right and bring it up and over the LEFT point of the hairstick and down and up over the RIGHT point of the stick. Tuck in the tassle under the braid.

5) Take the braid on the left and bring it up and over the RIGHT
point of the hairstick and down and up over the LEFT point of the stick. Tuck in the tassle under the braid.

You might want to use some crimped hairpins to secure the style.

I found that if you braided loosely, the flexibility helped position the braids more securely.

If you haven't already, you might want to browse the Hairstyling section (see Articles tab, grey menu bar, above) and see if there are any styles that appeal to you.

[heidi w.]

I'd direct you to my blog and updo that I commonly do that is held with a hairstick. But you only have 27 posts, and it won't be til 100 or 101 post that you can gain access to these things.

heidi w.

[RapunzelKat]

I have this exact same issue! I haven't totally solved it yet, but I've come up with some compromises that will do for now. I'm hoping that as my skills improve, I will get to the point where I can use hairsticks only :D

I've had good luck with Good Hair Days Magic Grips. I got them at Sally's. They look scary ;) but work well on my hair and have caused no damage thus far.

I start my buns either with a braid or a ponytail held loosely with hair-friendly elastic. The loose elastic holds my hair together juuust enough to get the bun started :D Then I secure with the magic grips. For braided buns, I like to do a box braid or rope braid. I find it pretty easy to start these braids at a good height where I can secure them, then roll them into a bun.

I would also recommend trying the nautilus bun. Torrinpaige has a great tutorial. I can't get that one to stay with just hairsticks, but I can get it to stay with just the magic grips.

ETA: torrinpaige's tutorials are on YouTube, so I'm not sure you will be able to watch them. Do you maybe have access to a computer at home you could use? You can also watch them on most smartphones - I usually use my phone :)

[Madora]

I have this exact same issue! I haven't totally solved it yet, but I've come up with some compromises that will do for now. I'm hoping that as my skills improve, I will get to the point where I can use hairsticks only :D

I've had good luck with Good Hair Days Magic Grips. I got them at Sally's. They look scary ;) but work well on my hair and have caused no damage thus far.

I start my buns either with a braid or a ponytail held loosely with hair-friendly elastic. The loose elastic holds my hair together juuust enough to get the bun started :D Then I secure with the magic grips. For braided buns, I like to do a box braid or rope braid. I find it pretty easy to start these braids at a good height where I can secure them, then roll them into a bun.

I would also recommend trying the nautilus bun. Torrinpaige has a great tutorial. I can't get that one to stay with just hairsticks, but I can get it to stay with just the magic grips.

RapunzelKat, have you tried sectioning your hair?

This technique works great with 2 or more braids, 2 or more rope braids, twisted strands or the Cameo bun.

All you do is:

1) detangle thoroughly

2) Make a horizontal part across the back of your head from the top of one ear to the top of the other.

3) Comb out all the hair above the part, divide it in 3 sections, and braid it loosely to the end.

4) Take the braid and holding it flat against your head, coil it in a bun, pinning with hairpins as you go. Tuck in the tassle under the braid.

5) Take the remaining hair and braid it, then wind it around the bun already made.

Voila..a double braided bun.

[RapunzelKat]

RapunzelKat, have you tried sectioning your hair?

This technique works great with 2 or more braids, 2 or more rope braids, twisted strands or the Cameo bun.

All you do is:

1) detangle thoroughly

2) Make a horizontal part across the back of your head from the top of one ear to the top of the other.

3) Comb out all the hair above the part, divide it in 3 sections, and braid it loosely to the end.

4) Take the braid and holding it flat against your head, coil it in a bun, pinning with hairpins as you go. Tuck in the tassle under the braid.

5) Take the remaining hair and braid it, then wind it around the bun already made.

Voila..a double braided bun.

I have not tried this, but it sounds very pretty, thank you! :) I struggle a bit with sectioning my hair, it is slippery but somehow it likes to tangle while I'm sectioning it-go figure :shrug: I am getting better at it though, so I could probably do this one now :D

[heidi w.]

As previously mentioned, I was turned on to a Torrin Page hair updo video. She's pretty good.

Her videos might help you.

Also at Long Hair Loom there's a Styling Section part of the website and you can post there. People often reply with updo instructions, and often include photos that you can follow.

It's a free website, much like LHC. Nice crowd of people, too.

heidi w.

[Madora]

I have not tried this, but it sounds very pretty, thank you! :) I struggle a bit with sectioning my hair, it is slippery but somehow it likes to tangle while I'm sectioning it-go figure :shrug: I am getting better at it though, so I could probably do this one now :D

Yes, when handling long hair, especially when braiding, you should always gently rake your fingers through your braid ends each time you do a cross over. If you omit this step, then your ends tend to "braid together", creating a tangled mess that is very bothersome to untangle.

You might want to consider banding the part of the hair you're not working on at the moment so that it stays relatively stationery while you're working on the first part of the style. The more control you have over the strands, the less opportunity of them getting tangled.

You certainly have enough length to try many different styles!:)

[excentricat]

There's also an articles section with lots of updo ideas. Just click the articles button at the top of the page. I like to test out new ones whenever I'm bored with my usuals. Unfortunately, they aren't very organized, so you'll have to just skim through them.

[RapunzelKat]

Yes, when handling long hair, especially when braiding, you should always gently rake your fingers through your braid ends each time you do a cross over. If you omit this step, then your ends tend to "braid together", creating a tangled mess that is very bothersome to untangle.

You might want to consider banding the part of the hair you're not working on at the moment so that it stays relatively stationery while you're working on the first part of the style. The more control you have over the strands, the less opportunity of them getting tangled.

You certainly have enough length to try many different styles!:)

Yeah, my hair is a champion back-braider :D :D Thank you for the advice, I love braided styles and I'm always excited to learn new ones! ;)
It's funny, I wore my hair in basically the same style for so long, it got really long without me ever really learning how to deal with it! :o Now I have almost classic length hair that I barely know what to do with... But I'm enjoying learning all the new styles! ;)

Silver Swan, I am noticing we seem to be hairtwins, so the style Madora is describing would probably work for you ;) I find that braided styles tend to be more comfortable and stay better for me, though they do take a little longer to do.

[Silver Swan]

I'd direct you to my blog and updo that I commonly do that is held with a hairstick. But you only have 27 posts, and it won't be til 100 or 101 post that you can gain access to these things.

heidi w.

Perhaps the rules have changed, at 25 posts I was able to start looking at blog entries - well I can get to yours anyway. Which entry should I be looking for?

[Silver Swan]

Silver Swan, the only style (that I can think of) with a hairstick that might be suitable for your length is the double Chinese braided bun.



If you haven't already, you might want to browse the Hairstyling section (see Articles tab, grey menu bar, above) and see if there are any styles that appeal to you.

Thanks for that, it is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for! I will give it a go tonight/tomorrow.

:eek: I have been browsing the articles, but was looking for a little extra help as it is sometimes hard to figure out what will work for me or not.

[MissManda]

I would recommend spin pins to hold updos. I've got Houdini hair, too, and the right number of spin pins holds my hair like a rock.