damp bunning/braiding?

[brave]

I hear people talk about this a lot but I'm not quite sure on the rules behind it and why it's supposed to be fantastic?

Is it ok to slap your hair into a braid or a bun right after toweling off and oiling? What if it doesn't completely dry? I heard somewhere that hair can potentially mildew or something if it's put into ponytails, etc while still wet.

When I do buns, I tend to do a twisty spiral bun and weave a wooden hair stick through it. Is this ok as a protective style as long as I vary the position?

I'm sorry if this is the wrong place, I did a search and looked through the different articles but found nothing. :poot:

[Madora]

I would suggest that you detangle the hair before putting it in a braid.

Be sure to braid it loosely. The wet hair is swollen from the moisture and is weaker when it is wet. Handle it gently.

[Kiffer Fadybugs]

Honestly, I don't know if there are any "rules" against it or not.

I always braid or bun wet, though. My hair holds together better when it's wet. If I try to put it in a bun or braid it when it's dry, it's too slippery and either the braid won't hold as tight as I want it to, or the bun will just uncoil in a few minutes.

As for the hair not drying... first, I always do two braids or two buns. My hair is really thick so it's hard to do just one. When I braid, it is usually dry the next day. However, when I put my hair up in buns... By the time I wash it again, (I wash every other day, sometimes every third day) it's still a bit damp. That could also be a result of how I do my hair, though. I always do very tight braids or buns. It doesn't feel sturdy if it's loose.

[Vanilla]

I do damp bunning to bring out the curl/wave pattern in a more desirable location in my hair. It does make my hair very soft, but I do take the bun down and redo it a few times as my hair dries.

I would have waves at my temples if I did not damp bun, instead of waves from ears down.

[caadam]

The only instance I know about that caused someone to have a mildew problem with their hair is with one of my cousins:

She kept her hair in a ponytail and never, ever took it down. Never. She left it in while brushing the tail part of the ponytail, washed her hair with S&C with the ponytail, and let it "dry" wth the ponytail. NEVER took it down for any reason.

Eventually, her mother noticed a funny smell coming from her, and found out that the smell was coming from her hair. Let's just say my cousin learned a difficult lesson.

That's really the only thing that would make me worry about mildew. My hair is thick and I've put it in a damp braid or bun, and in 24 hours it'll still be a little damp. The thing is that I eventually let my hair down so it can dry, or will take it down to wash it and keep from any mildew forming.

It shouldn't be a problem. I've never had a problem. :D

[brave]

:
She kept her hair in a ponytail and never, ever took it down. Never. She left it in while brushing the tail part of the ponytail, washed her hair with S&C with the ponytail, and let it "dry" wth the ponytail. NEVER took it down for any reason.


That's pretty gross but man, must've been some sturdy ponytail. I sleep on a ponytail once and it's like "Freeeedooooom!!".

Thanks for the tips on this! Is the main benefit to damp bunning the fact that the ends are safe and protected?

[caadam]

The main benefit, for me at least, and I think for a lot of people, is that it helps to keep hair soft, even adds some shine. And yes, it'll also protect ends.

I braid my hair every night after combing and oiling my damp hair, and in the morning, my hair is still just a little damp, but it's frizz-free, soft, and pretty shiny.

If I damp bun my hair, it'll do around the same thing, but I damp braid because I like braid waves. :D

[chelles2kids]

I damp bun always...with a few "buts" to throw in.;)

I damp bun always after I shower at night "but" I always take it down before I go to bed so by morning it will barely be damp underneath. Depending on what time I've washed it the night before it sometimes will be completely dry when I get up in the morning.

If I wash earlier in the day, I also damp bun and keep it up until bedtime, even in the summer I've never had any problems with 'moldy' hair or anything like that.
But then again I don't wear it up all the time, I always give it a rest at night.;)

In the summer months bunning my hair up when it's still damp really helps to keep me cooler as well.

The reason behind me damp bunning? I have wavy hair that has a coarser texture to it, I've found if I damp bun it helps my waves to be a bit 'clumpier' so that once it's almost dry my waves seem to stay smoother than if I just wash and leave it down to dry on its own.
If I leave it down as it dries it gets frizzier and frizzier and I turn into a puffball.:p

I also feel like it helps to keep my ends a bit more moisturized.
If I tuck my ends into my bun, it helps to keep them damp alot longer than if I leave it lose to dry, my ends are always the first area of my hair to dry if I leave it loose.

As far as the "bunning" technique, I usually use an infinity bun, which at the length of my hair now {a little past tailbone} it helps to divide the weight a bit more evenly and this also make it so that I can actually lay my head against the car seat/sofa when I'm sitting down.:D

Hope this helps to answer a few of your questions.:flower:

[Masara]

I damp bun to make my hair feel softer and shinier. It means my hair takes longer to dry so I only do it at weekends. I do just a very simple cinnabun with a Ficcare. I don't like doing any updos or braids with damp hair because it is sort of "sticky" when it's damp which makes any sort of manipulation difficult.
My daughter always braids her hair when wet and manages nice smooth sections. If I try it, I get clumps and lumpy bits and hair snapping...

[sfgirl]

I don't damp bun, but I like damp braiding. I can get the wet hair out of my face, and I can go to bed without my hair getting all frizzy, or having to wait until it dries.

[julliams]

The idea behind it is that it's a little like a wet set. If I put my hair in a bun when it's wet, all the hair above the bun dries smooth and silky. The hair in the bun will still be wet when I take it down several hours later but then I'm drying it when I'm sitting on the couch and it's not blowing about, so it dries less frizzy and my waves and wurls are more defined.

Damp braiding gives me the more braid waves effect so I rarely do it but again, it's less frizzy and just sits nicely.

I never worry about mildew but then I'm not leaving it for more than a few hours at a time with a bun, or overnight with a braid.

[Zapookie]

I like to put my hair in a bun when it's damp so it dries and sets in its waves/curls, but I have to take it out every now and then to air it out otherwise if I leave it in the damp bun until I think its dry, it goes straight from freshly washed to oily - I have no idea why! So I do the airing out thing every time.

[whitedove]

I damp bun too, it reduces my frizz and makes my hair softer. When the bun dries it loosens so I take it down shake and reset. I dont damp bun when I first get out of shower, I leave it until it has air dryed for an hour or two.

Never thought about getting mildew from it, ew, but I think thats from not letting air getting in, I think most people would take down the hair to let it air out and finish drying, its just the logical thing todo IMO.

[jacqueline101]

I mist my hair with water and then I will bun it but not damp.

[Firefly]

I don't damp bun as much anymore... unless I'm going out somewhere and need it up and out of the way. It was great when I first joined LHC though-- it really helped keep the damaged ends I had soft.

[Taenarian]

I coat my palms with coconut oil and braid my damp (but not wet) hair. It stays soft and the braid doesn't fuzz as quickly, in my experience. First I've heard of a rule, though. I adopted the technique because my hair is far, far easier to braid while damp.

[NativeGirl]

All I ever do is damp/wet bunning. My hair can be quite frizzy, and won't go up into a "clean" bun unless it is heavily oiled or wet. Most of the time, after I shower in the morning, I'll try to get the excess water out of my hair, oil it, then immediately bun it. I've never had an issue with it, and I've been doing it my entire life.

[Freckled.Thing]

I've damp-bunned my hair once or twice but whenever I do my hair inside the bun is still sopping wet when I take it down, even 12 or more hours later. I did it because I wanted to try bun waves but if my hair is still wet it's not worth much. I might try it again based on the comments here. I guess I just shouldn't expect waves afterwards. :shrug:

[spidermom]

The most damaging thing you describe to me is toweling the hair. Towels really rough up my hair.

The benefit to damp bunning/braiding is that it compresses the cuticle, making the hair nice and smooth looking, bringing out shine.

[Renate]

I don't do anything with my hair while still damp because for some reason, the ends get very dry, even after I oil them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[coastalnicole]

I wash my hair in the evenings; my usual routine is to brush my hair when it's very wet to brush out some of the water, and then clip it back in a loose bun. I rearrange the bun a couple of times over the rest of the evening, and by the time it's time for bed I let it down for fifteen minutes or so, then loosely put it in several braids and go to sleep. In the am, my hair is somewhat curly (though less so if I just let it dry without interference) and easy to rebraid or just pull back loosely.

[brave]

The most damaging thing you describe to me is toweling the hair. Towels really rough up my hair.

The benefit to damp bunning/braiding is that it compresses the cuticle, making the hair nice and smooth looking, bringing out shine.

By toweling I mean squeezing/scrunching with a microfiber towel. I never noticed much damage from a towel but I switched anyway.

I definitely noticed that damp styling cut down on my ever-present frizz but I was worried about the health of it. It's good to know it's actually good for the hair.

[longcurlygirl<3]

I get headaches with damp bunning, but my hair is less frizzy and the curls aren't really defined.

[lapushka]

Damp bunning and braiding, I guess, is okay as long as you don't put up your hair sopping wet or very wet. Just a little damp is enough to have the hair dry into a certain shape, and this way it'll be dry after you let it down.

[Nissuh]

Can you use hairsticks on damp hair? Exotic Ketylos are waterproof apparently but...I'd hate for anything to happen to my beloved Ketylos!

[brave]

Can you use hairsticks on damp hair? Exotic Ketylos are waterproof apparently but...I'd hate for anything to happen to my beloved Ketylos!

I have been concerned about using my wooden hair stick. I think I'm going to keep an eye out for a nice acrylic one or use spin pins instead.

[torrilin]

I'll usually throw my hair into buns or braids dripping wet. My hair tends to take forever to dry anyway, and very often an updo will take less time to dry than my loose hair. Braids particularly can dry a lot faster, since I can squeeze excess water out of the braid more easily than loose hair. It's a big part of my benign neglect system since my hair is fine and fragile, so keeping it out of mischief is important.

I do absolutely take 'em down fairly often. Not every day, since the point is to minimize handling, but I do need to swap styles to prevent breakage. Combing is handling, and IME combing my hair is definitely more damaging than leaving my hair in an updo for 2-3 days. I've been working hard on learning to braid and bun loosely, to prevent issues from stretching wet hair and to make my hair dry better when it's up.

[see_turtle]

I put my hair into a bun or braid straight from the shower every day. I comb it first. I have very little damage and it's growing at a normal rate.

[Vallena]

Sometimes I damp braid my hair, because it is bedtime and my hair is still wet. I try not to do it frequently, because my scalp doesn't like having wet hair on it overnight.