Advice on controlling long hair for job interviews?

[Orange]

I need advice on controlling my long hair for job interviews. I used to have short hair, but I started growing out my hair 18 months ago after I was laid-off and it is now waist long fine and straight. I've taught myself how to french braid my hair and can to make a nice bun out of a braided pony tail. The problem is I can only do stuff with my hair while it is still wet after being washed and conditioned. My hair is so fine and straight that I can’t braid it or put it up when it is dry because my hair sticks out, slips out, or falls apart. I’ve been volunteering my time so my hair style hasn’t been a big deal, but I have to go back to paid employment now and I either have to learn to control my hair or cut it :(

Washing & conditioning my hair every day is not an option as I have a dry skin and scalp. I have asthma so I can’t use hair spray. I've looked at shelves of styling products at the store and got completely overwhelmed. Are there products can I put on my dry hair so I can put it up/braid it and have it not slide out? Does that product build-up with use or have other consequences I should know about?

Thank you for your help!
Orange

[Shermie Girl]

If you want to do an updo or braid, try just drying your roots and crown and upper length, leaving your length and ends fairly damp. Add a bit of mousse or gel to give added control and a little "stick", then do your updo or braid and anchor or tie it off. Leaving it damp and adding a little product will give you the control you need and keep your updo or braid in place and you will still have the top and roots all nice and dry so that your hair looks good. overall.

This works for me when I need my hair to look it's best but have zero time to get it all dry and then fuss and fuss with it before I get out the door and it lasts all day. :D

[Orange]

I would actually like to get suggestions of which products to use. I’ve never bought mousse or gels and don’t know anything about them.

If there are some products that are better for hair than others then I would love to hear about them.

THanks
m

[Madora]

I need advice on controlling my long hair for job interviews. I used to have short hair, but I started growing out my hair 18 months ago after I was laid-off and it is now waist long fine and straight. I've taught myself how to french braid my hair and can to make a nice bun out of a braided pony tail. The problem is I can only do stuff with my hair while it is still wet after being washed and conditioned. My hair is so fine and straight that I can’t braid it or put it up when it is dry because my hair sticks out, slips out, or falls apart. I’ve been volunteering my time so my hair style hasn’t been a big deal, but I have to go back to paid employment now and I either have to learn to control my hair or cut it :(

Washing & conditioning my hair every day is not an option as I have a dry skin and scalp. I have asthma so I can’t use hair spray. I've looked at shelves of styling products at the store and got completely overwhelmed. Are there products can I put on my dry hair so I can put it up/braid it and have it not slide out? Does that product build-up with use or have other consequences I should know about?

Thank you for your help!
Orange

Well, you could slightly dampen your hair before you braid it, or put it up.

You don't say if your hair is layered or all one length. Layers will cause problems with stray hairs sticking up.

If worse comes to worse, you could use a tiny bit of coconut oil to help tame those strays. In the long run, however, you're going to have to learn to deal with your hair in another way..i.e. securing it differently (with crimped hairpins instead of hairsticks/forks).

If you still feel you need to style while your hair is wet, then maybe this might appeal to you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPHEzUr5bWQ


Good luck!

[spidermom]

Since you can french braid, that sounds like the best current option. You can always mist it if it's easier to handle while damp.

[ladyshep]

I have asthma as well. Biolage doesn't bother me, but it might for some others. It's hard to say.

[torrilin]

IME, mousse or gel won't actually help fine and straight hair to stay up. I'm not sure why stylists recommend it for updos honestly, because it doesn't make things easier.

What does help is technique.

1. In my late teens and early 20s, I was so hair incompetent that I also could only put my hair up wet. And my skin is dry, so I couldn't handle daily washing with shampoo. Still can't. But adding some conditioner to my hair every time I got it wet? Totally doable. At the time I used a cheap silicones free conditioner that made my hair easy to detangle and that worked well as a leave in conditioner on my hair. For a lot of long haired people, a conditioner that works well when left in is a useful styling tool.

2. The typical magazine advice for fine hair is to use small bobby pins. This is a load of junk. I would use huge roller pins in my 20s, because bobby pins just got spat right out. Nowadays, I use the scunci plastic U pins or Goody's regular sized spin pins most often. Other sorts of large U pins like a bent knitting needle or Bunhead 3" pins might also work. Or you can go LHC style and use hair sticks and forks, but in fine hair you may want relatively small and light sticks or forks. I had a lot of trouble learning to use forks. I have yet to master using clips like a Ficcare or barrettes like a Flexi-8. The one time where I find the magazine small tool advice useful is with claw clips, where I use the very small sizes to clip buns to my head. My hair laughs and slithers out of a larger single clip used the way a medium or coarse person might.

3. Practice. By age 22, I was wearing my hair up every day as a normal thing. When you do something every day, you get good at it. After a few years of this, I got to the point where I could put my hair up dry.

I do find gel to be helpful for having fewer of my short baby hairs sticking out. Any alcohol free gel should work ok. ATM I'm using a walgreens knockoff of LA Looks gel, mostly because with fine and straightish hair I couldn't imagine using up a jug of LA Looks, but the walgreens store brand version came in a "sample size" tube that I could imagine using up. Still can't imagine using up a big jug :P. For a sleek look, I'd expect to use a dime sized blob or less to slick everything down after my hair is up.

While I know you say your hair isn't curly, when I found LHC, I found that a lot of the things I'd worked out on my own for my hair are considered "curly" techniques. So I started checking out the curly hair focused threads, and while not all curly techniques work for me, a lot do.

[katsrevenge]

Mostly practice... and maybe spin pins.
Try dampinging your hair. Texturizing products help too.
Stuff like this:
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/garnier-fructis-style-surf-hair-strong-texture-paste/ID=prod1332157-product

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/got2b-playful-texturizing-creme-pomade/ID=prod376117-product

Use a tiny bit on the parts that like to slip when damp. Less is more... I've had a jar for several years now. (It helps that the better I got, the less the braids moved about.)

[Orange]

But adding some conditioner to my hair every time I got it wet? Totally doable. At the time I used a cheap silicones free conditioner that made my hair easy to detangle and that worked well as a leave in conditioner on my hair. For a lot of long haired people, a conditioner that works well when left in is a useful styling tool.


I’ll admit it: I was a tomboy all my life, only had older brothers and never played with my hair at all. I need basic help. LOL

For example if I got a call for an interview and they had a slot open in an hour. If I wanted to put up my dry hair for the interview now, it currently wouldn’t stay up or look smooth. To use your advice, how would I first moisten it with a mixture of water/conditioner? Spray it before I put it up?


I do find gel to be helpful for having fewer of my short baby hairs sticking out. Any alcohol free gel should work ok. ATM I'm using a walgreens knockoff of LA Looks gel, mostly because with fine and straightish hair I couldn't imagine using up a jug of LA Looks, but the walgreens store brand version came in a "sample size" tube that I could imagine using up. Still can't imagine using up a big jug :P. For a sleek look, I'd expect to use a dime sized blob or less to slick everything down after my hair is up.

So you use gel to smooth down baby hair that are on the the top/sides of your head?

THank you!
Orange

[afu]

could you try dampening hair (maybe just with water in a spray bottle) and then applying a little bit of coconut oil. The dampness will make it more managable for you and the coconut oil should add a bit of grip (it does for me anyway). I personally try to avoid having loads of products everywhere, i have a regular cone-free conditioner and a tub of coconut oil and that does everything for my hair without the need for all sorts of branded products and potions. My advice is to start with the simplest options first and try not to overcomplicate things

[bumblebums]

I would stay away from products. Some of them force your hair cuticle to stick together, which can cause a lot of damage when you brush or undo the hair.

I would try the spray bottle, since you're doing well with wet hair. You can also try aloe vera gel--the kind people use on skin.

[Amazinggrace]

I would get a small spray botttle, you can pick one up at walmart in the shampoo/conditoner/travel size bottle isle. I would also get "fruit of the earth clear aloe," walmart also sells this.

If you get a short notice call:

Detangle your hair with the seamless plastic, or wood comb.

I would mist your hair, starting to first where you begin your briad.

Mist your hands, then place a dime size amount of aloe in your hands and rub together.

Braid your hair as usual, french or ponytail and english braid.

To make the french braid look more "done," you can bun the length at the base of your nape. You can also tuck the end of the braid up, under the rest of the braid.

You may want to try spin pins to secure the buns, or bobby pins, the same color as your hair. If you need them goody make smaller bobby pins, that are great for securing flyaways.

[torrilin]

I’ll admit it: I was a tomboy all my life, only had older brothers and never played with my hair at all. I need basic help. LOL

For example if I got a call for an interview and they had a slot open in an hour. If I wanted to put up my dry hair for the interview now, it currently wouldn’t stay up or look smooth. To use your advice, how would I first moisten it with a mixture of water/conditioner? Spray it before I put it up?

Uh, no.

What I did when I was learning is I'd take my morning shower, stuff some conditioner in my hair, and put it up when I got out. Every day. Seriously. Keep in mind I wasn't blow drying either, so sticking my hair up like that kept it from dripping all over while it dried.

I did this because blow drying my hair was taking about an hour or two, whereas it took about 5 minutes tops to stuff my hair into some kind of updo after a shower.


So you use gel to smooth down baby hair that are on the the top/sides of your head?

THank you!
Orange

Yep! And honestly, if I put my hair up wet, I don't have tons of problems with them. Often they stick up because they're too dry, so all the extra conditioner keeps 'em calmer. Gel is for when I need to be super duper incredibly sleek.

I developed these habits in late high school and into college because I was *lazy*. Putting in the effort to make myself look polished and professional in the conventional manner took hours. It wasted valuable reading time! Wearing long hair and doing an updo was almost instant by comparison, and it created the impression that I was with it and putting in a ton of effort. Plus, I was also a major tomboy, only with a lot more hair than you. My dad would NEVER let me do fun stuff if there was a chance my hair could get caught and I could get hurt... so I had to learn to do something with my hair so I could have fun.

These days, my routine is different coz I've learnt to put my hair up dry. I don't have to be as rigorous :) But I still have mad love for the fast and easy ways to look polished and professional.

[Orange]

I would get a small spray botttle, you can pick on eup at walmart in the shampoo/conditoner/travel size bottle isle. I would also get fruit of the earth clear aloe, walmart also sells this.

You read my mind! This afternoon I remembered I had some the Fruit of the Earth clear aloe and wondered if I could use it on my hair. I think I will try this tomorrow and see how it works.
Thank you!

[luxepiggy]

Why not just get yourself a little spritzer bottle and fill it with water? Mist your hair until it's damp, put it up, and go. By the time you arrive at your destination it should be dry, and you don't need to use any products that way. I have extra-slippy hair too, and that usually works for me.

For a professional look, I like to wear my hair in a French twist, secured with spin pins. It looks so elegant and stays put all day.

[Maiken]

You could try saltwalter. It,s cheap and you can make it yourself at home. It gives the hair more texture. Just keep an eye on, that the salt isn't drying your hair.
You just mix hot water and salt, and put it in a spray bottle. And it's ready for use.

[Krentje]

spin pins are cheap and very helpful I recently learned and combining those with a ribbon/small clip makes it even more secure.

- What works for my very fine hair is: hands wet under the tap and slightly dampen my hair, than put a drop of cold cream or oil on my hands, rub my palms and apply it to the hair.
- Finger comb it, make a small braid somewhere and put it all up with spin pins.

[earthnut]

For controlling flyaways, I'd look around your house first before you buy more products. Conbitioner, esp diluted with some water, oils of various sorts (kitchen oils are fine), aloe vera gel, glycerin can all help smooth down hair. Start with a little, just a fingertip. You can always add more but if you add too much you have to wash it out.

I love olive oil for taming flyaways on both my hair and my daughters hair. I add a drop at a time, rubbed on my fingers and then smoothed onto my hair.

[dulce]

A lazywrap bun with a ficcare is very classy as is a french braid down or folded under, and a plain neutral colour hair fork in a bun is nice too.Keep it simple,classy and neutral is my thought.

[MandyBeth]

LuxePiggy has how to sock bun straight and slippery hair. If it's not huge, that's going to be accepted.

[Fantak]

How about a hairnet ? A lot of classical dancers ise them to keep hair tidy and in place. It's easy and quick, no product buildup or dry crunchy hair, and looks super neat an proffessional. Here's a couple of links:
http://m.walgreens.com/mt/www.walgreens.com/store/c/conair-styling-essentials-hair-nets/ID=prod6062591-product
http://www.dancingsuppliesdepot.com/product/0a588b66-3a58-4563-a01a-0118813a3cec.aspx



HTH

[julya]

I used to wet my hair daily in the shower, to make it easier to put it up. I only washed it with shampoo about once a week, which kept my scalp from getting dry.

[Tisiloves]

+1 for a hairnet/bun cover.

[Vanilla]

I also suggest spin pins as well. I wear a French twist and cinnabun in my hair and it looks professional always. :). I second the aloe gel and distiller water in a spray bottle to deal with the flyaways.

[Artisticat]

I also suggest spin pins as well. I wear a French twist and cinnabun in my hair and it looks professional always. :). I second the aloe gel and distiller water in a spray bottle to deal with the flyaways.

I agree - classic = professional!