Headaches with English (plain) braids?

[Curlsgirl]

I am increasingly getting headaches from plain braids down my back. I didn't get them when I could reach around and braid the whole thing but that has been a while. Now I lift the braid over my head or bend over to finish it and when I let the braid fall back down when finished it seems to pull at my scalp causing a headache if not immediately then later. Anyone else or anyone have any ideas on how I could prevent this? I have a bad one today and this is my favorite style, easy and out of the way.

[Altocumulus]

Sometimes I get that too - I think what happens is that when I flip the braid over my head to continue once it gets to long to hold behind me, the crown gets pulled tighter than the nape, and when I flip it back over again, it pulls uncomfortably. I tried pulling the braid over my shoulder to finish instead of above my head, and it's really helped. It did take some practice to learn how to finish the braid without getting a kink starting where I pulled it over my shoulder.

[spidermom]

I braid as you described, Curlsgirl, and so far I haven't had a problem with it, except that I've had to re-do because the hair at my nape was too loose.

[sipnsun]

Have you tried pulling it around your shoulder and finishing it? Maybe it wouldn't be so tight.

[sipnsun]

Sorry, I just reread your post and you have tried that. Maybe find a friend to braid it for you.

[Curlsgirl]

I can't seem to get it straight in the back when I try to pull it over my shoulder. Maybe I need to work on that. I don't really braid tight or loose, sort of in between.

[Stagecoach]

I get them off and on, but I don't have any advice for making them stop.

[Altocumulus]

Do you mean the braid ends up off center if you finish it by pulling around your shoulder? Hmmm...I haven't had that problem. How far down do you braid before pulling it around? I usually go at least as far as necessary for the braid to actually reach my shoulder when pulled around..say 4 inches from the nape? That's about the place where I have trouble braiding behind my back. By that length, the upper part of the braid is stable and doesn't shift. It's important to hold the braid at the angle it has when you pull it around when you keep braiding. I also hold it out from my body, that is, away from my neck. I wish I'd seen this before putting my hair up for the day! I'll take pictures of the process tomorrow and post them.

[nessthing]

I don't like pulling over the shoulder, cause I can't keep it from getting a kink where I switch over. I just bring the braid upwards like you do, but I sort of bend over and incline my head so I'm not pulling the top side so tightly, trying to make the braid in a more natural position like it'd fall in.

[Curlsgirl]

Do you mean the braid ends up off center if you finish it by pulling around your shoulder? Hmmm...I haven't had that problem. How far down do you braid before pulling it around? I usually go at least as far as necessary for the braid to actually reach my shoulder when pulled around..say 4 inches from the nape? That's about the place where I have trouble braiding behind my back. By that length, the upper part of the braid is stable and doesn't shift. It's important to hold the braid at the angle it has when you pull it around when you keep braiding. I also hold it out from my body, that is, away from my neck. I wish I'd seen this before putting my hair up for the day! I'll take pictures of the process tomorrow and post them.

Maybe I need to practice bringing it over my shoulder more. It is awkward to me like anything new is I guess.

Thanks for your help everyone! Keep the ideas coming!!!

[Curlsgirl]

Do you mean the braid ends up off center if you finish it by pulling around your shoulder?

Forgot to answer this.. no I mean it sort of turns around instead of hanging straight down my back. Does that make sense?

[Altocumulus]

Yes, I think that's the phenomenon I've been referring to as a kink in the braid. I get that too, but not so much anymore now that I've learned how to keep braiding with the same orientation it has when I've just pulled it around. This really needs a photo! My descriptive abilities are clearly not up to the task!

The other thing that happens if I'm not careful is that I tend to braid tighter when I'm braiding in front of me than behind me, so I have to make sure to keep the tightness consistent.

[danacc]

Forgot to answer this.. no I mean it sort of turns around instead of hanging straight down my back. Does that make sense?

You can try Dianyla's technique (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=23652). Also, when you bring your hair over your shoulder, make sure you continue to move the strands in the same way as when you started. My brain "thinks" it moves the outer strand over the middle one when starting (over in this case meaning away from my body). But then when I pull it over my shoulder, I have to think about moving the outer strand "under" because it is now the underside of the original braid that is facing away from my body.

[podo]

I braid over my shoulder after a few initial plaits in the back. I've found it really helps to twist your head away from the braid when you bring it over - so if you're pulling the braid over your LEFT shoulder, turn your face to the RIGHT. This helps to keep the braid straight.

What usually happens when you pull the braid over your shoulder is that the side you pull it over on will end up tighter than the other side (think of the inner side of a curve - it's shorter, right?). This is what bends the braid. If you keep your head in a neutral position in relation to the braid, it will help to minimize this.

After 15 years I still can't get a regular English braid to not curve when I switch to over-the-shoulder. But this seems to make it work.

I haven't tried pulling it up over my head. I tried that once when I was working on my 5-strand, but I ended up with a very loose braid. It pretty much fell out before I even managed to put a band on the bottom.

[podo]

One more thing... the braid turning.

It can do that if you skip a plait, but every time I have that happen it is because I tried to even out my strands by moving parts of hair from one strand to another. I have no idea why this does this, especially if I move hair from the middle strand to both of the other strands, but it does.

I seem to have been luck just ignoring size differences near the end and having a longer tassle.