Help me NOT chop my hair!

[BlazingHeart]

I need a little help. Here's the deal: I need to get my hair up, but I'm dealing with a lot of limitations with how to get it done.

I'm recovering from a back injury, so I can't keep my hands up at the back of my head long. I also can't make repetitive motions like you would reaching for pins for a sectioned bun like a vortex bun. I'm tender-headed and prone to headaches. I have a heart condition that makes me extremely sensitive to heat (like, I collapse and faint on a far too frequent basis). I have super-duper thick hair, which makes styles that don't involve sectioning difficult. I still haven't mastered creating a braid that is good looking, stable, and comfortable.

I need styles I can put up quickly. I have forks, sticks, flexis, and a Fakkare. My hair is just barely too short to do a pencil bun (I can do it, but it's either uncomfortably tight or it'll fall out within an hour as the ends slide themselves out - I need another inch or two to be stable). I can do a cinnabun, but it's not a comfortable style unless I get it exactly perfect, and I can't always re-do the darn thing a dozen times in the hopes of getting it to sit right. A peacock twist is even worse - at best, I can tolerate it for an hour or so before the headache sets in.

If you have suggestions of buns that have good weight distribution and can be done quickly, fellow longhairs, I would very much appreciate suggestions and links to directions and/or how-to videos.

Thanks!
~Blaze

(P.S., headed to bed soon and likely won't be on again until at earliest tomorrow afternoon, so if I don't respond before then, I'm not ignoring you!)

[meishkamooshka]

I need a little help. Here's the deal: I need to get my hair up, but I'm dealing with a lot of limitations with how to get it done.

I'm recovering from a back injury, so I can't keep my hands up at the back of my head long. I also can't make repetitive motions like you would reaching for pins for a sectioned bun like a vortex bun. I'm tender-headed and prone to headaches. I have a heart condition that makes me extremely sensitive to heat (like, I collapse and faint on a far too frequent basis). I have super-duper thick hair, which makes styles that don't involve sectioning difficult. I still haven't mastered creating a braid that is good looking, stable, and comfortable.

I need styles I can put up quickly. I have forks, sticks, flexis, and a Fakkare. My hair is just barely too short to do a pencil bun (I can do it, but it's either uncomfortably tight or it'll fall out within an hour as the ends slide themselves out - I need another inch or two to be stable). I can do a cinnabun, but it's not a comfortable style unless I get it exactly perfect, and I can't always re-do the darn thing a dozen times in the hopes of getting it to sit right. A peacock twist is even worse - at best, I can tolerate it for an hour or so before the headache sets in.

If you have suggestions of buns that have good weight distribution and can be done quickly, fellow longhairs, I would very much appreciate suggestions and links to directions and/or how-to videos.

Thanks!
~Blaze

(P.S., headed to bed soon and likely won't be on again until at earliest tomorrow afternoon, so if I don't respond before then, I'm not ignoring you!)

I'm terribly sorry about the health problems/limitations. I'm no hairstyle expert, but what about a nautilus bun? They seem very quick to do and can be held up with sticks.

(if you already mentioned that, I'm sorry; I must have scanned over it)

[meishkamooshka]

Also, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoBA2OhZrcU seems to be evenly distributed (and doesn't require hair pins)

[Amazinggrace]

The Pha bun holds wonderfully for me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsF9Kp5W9Ig

I think a this one may work too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKubj63ksC4&feature=relmfu

[lapushka]

My suggestions would be either a lazy wrap bun or a simple English side braid, or a peacock twist (doubly folded over with longer hair) with a claw clip.

[Darkessa]

The Lazy Wrap Bun is my go to style.
SUPER easy and comfy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTt771qkO24&feature=plcp

Also, a Nautilus might be great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5gTy1gCyqE&feature=plcp

[dulce]

A french twist held with a beak clip ot flexi takes 2 seconds and is easy on the hands and arms,also as mentioned ,a lazywrap bun done with a larger size flexi or a beak clip.

[Pierre]

Can you do one bun on each side? That way you wouldn't be reaching to the back. I wear that all the time (usually braided).

[BlazingHeart]

First off, I want to thank everyone for their suggestions!

I really hate sounding negative. I really am trying these, not just dismissing them. It's things like this that make me realize my stylist really was telling me the truth a decade ago when she told me that I had about three times the average hair thickness. (well, this and the big, poofy, 80's country singer look I got when I tried to get 'the Rachel' cut when I was 13)

Meishkamooshka, I do appreciate the thought, but my disabilities are really just a part of my life. A little frustrating at times, sure, but so is being short.

Spidermom's bun would require at least 4 more inches of length than I have.

The Pha bun might work with a super narrow fork or a heavy stick.

Gibson tucks (and their variations) are unattractively huge and very uncomfortable for me.

I have never found a claw clip with tines anywhere near long enough to hold my hair doubled over. The biggest I have found are only just capable of securing 1 thickness of my hair with enough scalp hair to hold it, which is no longer comfortable because if the weight of my hair. Maybe if I can find one of those 6 inch long curved ones like I had in the mid-90's, it might distribute the weight enough to be tolerable.

I haven't managed a braid that is both secure and comfortable, plus a braid leaves me with a huge club of heat down my back. My braid is bigger around than my wrist, even when it is done neat and tight. Also, that keeps my hands up long enough to make my back twinge. Maybe if I am successful at teaching my fiancé to do it...it would still be better than just loose.

The lazy wrap might work, but it will be very close.

A nautilus bun is not doable. I need probably 4 more inches to make it work. My hair is THAT thick.

Finding a clip that could secure my hair in a French twist is hard. My XL flexi might. Also, at this point, my hair would have to be folded 2 1/2 passes (that is, it would go top to bottom, fold, bottom to top, and then the ends would need to be folded and tucked down) and I can't get the pocket big enough to accommodate that. It falls apart before it is big enough to fit all that.

Pierre, the back injury issue is more holding my hands up at head level than it is holding them back, but if I took a break between, I might be able to make that work. I'll just end up with about 1/2 of my hair covered by buns! As long as I avoid the Princess Leia look, it could be cute, though.

Thank you all again for your suggestions. I am still hoping for more, if anyone has any! I know I'm presenting a complicated problem, but if anyone can figure it out, it is LHCers!

~Blaze

[DreadfulWoman]

Would this work?: http://youtu.be/FkPvgeVMGTE

It's not super quick, but it is secure at every stage, so you could rest your arms for a bit as you go.

[Tisiloves]

You could try a sectioned bun and rest inbetween.

1. Take the top part of your hair and make a bun, securing it with a longer stick(s)/fork than you need. (I would suggest a two stick bun).

2. Take the remaining hair and wind it around the original bun, under the hairt sticks. Tuck and if needed pin ends (should only take one pin).

It worked for me when I killed both my trapezoids, a rotatorcup and a tricep (Rugby).

[Mina17]

The lazy wrap bun is my go to style too. There's no twisting so it's quick, easy, and pretty comfortable.

[mzBANGBANG]

This might be an overly simply suggestion, but what about a top knot? You can do it in one motion, and pull the hair through so that it is more evenly distributed. I do these most days I don't have time to let my hair dry and I'm in a hurry. Are you able to tilt your head down ok?

If you get alligator clips (with the teeth, may also be called banana clips, not sure) you may find simple buns easier because you don't have to fuss with the stick, just clip it and rock it. Definitely make sure it has teeth if your hair is as thick as you say it is, otherwise it will more than likely plop out of your hair.

[Laur]

If you're having trouble with a peacock twist/french twist not holding without pulling, you might try clipping it multiple times with smaller, claw-style clips instead of using one big fakkare/beak clip. I do this because my hair tends to sproing out of peacock twists in funky ways.

Basically you do the regular twist, but instead of putting in your regular "big" clip, you use smaller claw clips (at least 3) along the fold side of your twist. That would help distribute the weight so it wasn't pulling all on one spot on your head. It's also not a substantial amount of extra time holding your hands up over your head, once you get the trick of it!

[Vanilla]

Have you tried a Gibraltar bun? Its just as fast to put up as a cinnabun, but holds way better in my opinion.

[Dragon Faery]

When I can't reach the back of my head, or up very high, I do braids that start at the nape or behind each ear. When my neck and shoulder were out last week, I did an English braid starting behind my right ear and coming down over my shoulder to the front. That meant I could keep my arms down while braiding. If I were in a situation similar to yours (and I have been, as far as the back problems go, but not the heart condition), I would probably use twin English braids, starting behind the ears, as my go-to style.

Then I'd either leave them loose and let them hang in front or behind (at least that way I could change their location if I got too hot), or I'd pin them up--either across the top of my head, cris-crossing each other at the top, or around the back, crossing each other there. The way I pinned them would probably change depending on how long my braids were.

I don't know if that's helpful or not, but maybe it can at least get you through the days where you really can't do anything.

Edit: You mentioned you can't do braids very well. At least with this option you could have your arms down and see what you're doing, as your hair would be in front of you while working on it. End edit.

[BlazingHeart]

I wanted to thank everyone again for their ideas!

I tried the lazy wrap bun today, and it turns out that I need longer sticks for that - my bun laughs at my 6" sticks. I suppose I should have expected that, since a lot of people say the lazy wrap makes for a big bun. (A tight cinnabun is almost 5" across for me) I have enough length, it's just that one end or the other of my stick will pop inside the bun instead of securing it as soon as I move an inch in any direction.

Dreadfulwoman, I can't believe I'd forgotten - we used to do what Torrin is calling a 'French pony' when I was a kid. We called it a caterpillar 'tail. It'd take some practice to do the updo so I can figure out how much slack to leave so my club o' hair can fit through - if I did it the way Torrin did, I don't think my hair would fit, and even if it did, it'd give me a major headache.

Tisiloves, wow, that's a good idea. I kinda feel like a dork for not thinking of it. And doing something like that means I'd be dealing with half as much hair at a time, so directions for other people might actually work for me. Might require some longer sticks, like the lazy wrap bun does.

mzBangBang, I'm not sure we mean the same things when we say 'topknot'. I know of it as being a bun, typically wrapped around a ponytail base, up at the crown of the head. I can't wear anything up there - my hair is very heavy and pulls itself down quickly, even if it's done tight enough to give me a headache. Also, are you describing something different from beak clips?

Laur, that might solve my problem with a peacock twist, but it wouldn't help with actually making a French twist. (For a French twist, if I make the pocket big enough to fit all of my hair in, I can't get it stable enough to hold together. It's a thickness problem rather than a length problem.)

Vanilla, I tried a Gibraltar bun, but I couldn't begin to complete the coils. I can't quite make 2 full coils in a Cinnabun - my thick-to-length ratio is just too high.

Dragon Faery, splitting my hair in two might help with some of the braid issues, I suppose. I haven't been able to braid my hair without causing a headache for years, but I never tried just braiding half at a time. Worth a try!

FWIW, the reason I'm having so much trouble with a lot of these buns is that my circumference is about 5.2-5.3". (And that's with it totally compressed down as tight as it can go - the inexact measure is no doubt due to measuring error.) I really do have an enormous amount of hair, which means I can't quite make 2 coils on a Cinnabun when my longest tips are at 33 1/2" long (the majority is only about 1" shorter than that). It takes a ridiculous amount of length to make a single coil with this dratted thick hair.

~Blaze

[ratgirldjh]

If you can turn your head upside down what I like to do (and becomes easier the longer your hair is) is to just start twisting all my hair until it kind of coils back on itself and then wrap it around itself and lift my head up and the coils hold the ends in place.

You can always add a hairstick or a headband doubled to this if it doesn't feel secure. When I was a kid I had a friend with thigh long thick hair and she used this method exclusively and it held her hair very well even in sports. Plus it is super easy to do.

[Tisiloves]

Tisiloves, wow, that's a good idea. I kinda feel like a dork for not thinking of it. And doing something like that means I'd be dealing with half as much hair at a time, so directions for other people might actually work for me. Might require some longer sticks, like the lazy wrap bun does.



You're welcome :) I only figured it out after a week of leaving my hair in a pony and brushing it by propping my arm up and moving my head.

For long sticks try chopsticks from the pound/dollar/euro shop.