Shoulder | Armpit

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Originally Posted by Simpscone

With my sock buns, I pull the ponytail through the donut and then sort of wrap it around/tuck it underneath as opposed to trying to roll it down the ponytail.

If you wanted to create a bun in that way, have you tried one of these? - I haven't tried them but I'm thinking of getting one, it seems a gentler way of tucking in your ends and rolling down?

Has any one else ever used these?

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I have tried those but you end up having to tuck the 2 ends together & it doesn’t give the really nice perfect circle that a sock bun gives (although it might for someone else). I just think I’m doing my sock bun totally wrong! If I wrap the hair round like you’ve described instead of rolling it’s like there is less hair covering the donut because it only goes round once. But I definitely noticed more breakage after the sock bun.

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Originally Posted by Star_fish

What is the best & gentlest way to do a sock bun? My longest layers are APL & shortest are just below chin so a sock bun is a great way to look like I have more hair. I have the bun donut which I covered with a pair of skin coloured tights as I’ve heard that’s how to stop hair being damaged by the bun donut. I put my hair into a ponytail (any suggestions for a non-damaging elastic please?) which I have to do quite tight or the bun looks lose against my head, then I put the end of the ponytail through the donut, sort of split it into 2 so that 1 half of my hair rolls round 1 part of the donut & the other half round the other bit. Then I roll the donut closer & closer towards my scalp, wrapping the hair from my ponytail over the donut as I move closer to my head. The trouble is it feels really damaging & I kind of have to force the hair to stay round the band & keep moving it round to check the donut is totally covered. I’m worried it’s really bad for my hair & wondered if I’m just doing it completely wrong? Any suggestions welcome please. I don’t do it that much as I’m trying to avoid ponytails but this style looks really good. (I posted this in another thread but thought you guys might be really helpful as I think it’s a pretty popular style for this length hair).

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Here are my tips having to wear one of these for years, and still opting to wear one now due to the easiness.

You either have a neat looking sockbun, or one that is safe for your hair. You rarely have both. Since (to me) a perfect sock bun involves sleeking the hair back and holding it in place, it is very tight on the nape hairs and will definitely cause breakage. My workaround for this was to negate the first hair tie altogether, use a freshly rolled sock which is tight enough to hold the hair in place a bit, and then only opt for the second hair tie. This gives a softer effect, though I need to use bobby pins around my front layers to hold them up.

Option two is to use the first hair tie, and the second hair tie is a satin scrunchie. This is still tight, but you move the tension off the ends of the hair.

I always fold my hair over the sock. It sounds like your sock may be too big? Sometimes I have to push my hair around so that it covers it. The second hairtie covers the end, but not pulling that one too tight is VERY important, you can snap your ends off. I got pretty bad breakage from that over the past summer.

I'm very careful with the hair (since reading on LHC, lol) and don't stretch it, I shampoo, condition and oil the damp hair - it's quite healthy, few splits or white dots. The soreness is like hair pulled in the wrong direction,except I don't really do that as I have the same style every day - claw clip, no plaits or other experiments. It just gets sore when dirty , but otherwise is healthy.

I don't find washing every day detrimental as long as I 'feed' it properly with conditioner and oils.

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Originally Posted by blackgothicdoll

I've heard scalp-only washes are a godsend, if you can get your hair out of the way. It is a lot harder for shorter lengths though. You could also compromise by applying either oil or conditioner to the length of your hair (ears down) before washing so that you can get your scalp nice and clean and not worry about drying out the rest of your hair. I'm not an expert on oily scalp because I have the opposite problem, but it does sound like it could be medical if it's causing discomfort.

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Thanks for the replies Reading Renee and blackgothicdoll - sorry about not including the quote in my reply to you Renee - still getting used to the way this forum works.

blackgothicdoll, I pretty much do scalp only washes - although my hair is still too short to avoid the poo going down, my hair is fine with it. I think the oily buildup on the scalp sort of jams up against the base of the hairs and pushes them up, if that makes sense? Which results in the soreness after about 30 hours of no washing. I don't think it's medical, thankfully. I'm just a greaseball, lol.

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Originally Posted by blackgothicdoll

Here are my tips having to wear one of these for years, and still opting to wear one now due to the easiness.

You either have a neat looking sockbun, or one that is safe for your hair. You rarely have both. Since (to me) a perfect sock bun involves sleeking the hair back and holding it in place, it is very tight on the nape hairs and will definitely cause breakage. My workaround for this was to negate the first hair tie altogether, use a freshly rolled sock which is tight enough to hold the hair in place a bit, and then only opt for the second hair tie. This gives a softer effect, though I need to use bobby pins around my front layers to hold them up.

Option two is to use the first hair tie, and the second hair tie is a satin scrunchie. This is still tight, but you move the tension off the ends of the hair.

I always fold my hair over the sock. It sounds like your sock may be too big? Sometimes I have to push my hair around so that it covers it. The second hairtie covers the end, but not pulling that one too tight is VERY important, you can snap your ends off. I got pretty bad breakage from that over the past summer.

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I agree with blackgothicdoll. I usually do option 2 for sock buns since I don't wear them very often. I think if you can't cover the sock, a smaller sock is a good idea. I know you can use kid socks and baby socks if an adult sock is too big right now. Maybe try that?

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Originally Posted by zoezahn

Thanks for the replies Reading Renee and blackgothicdoll - sorry about not including the quote in my reply to you Renee - still getting used to the way this forum works.

blackgothicdoll, I pretty much do scalp only washes - although my hair is still too short to avoid the poo going down, my hair is fine with it. I think the oily buildup on the scalp sort of jams up against the base of the hairs and pushes them up, if that makes sense? Which results in the soreness after about 30 hours of no washing. I don't think it's medical, thankfully. I'm just a greaseball, lol.

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Oh its no problem, the quoting on this forum was/is confusing to me sometimes too.
:)

Another option, if you’re looking for a less damaging bun is using a round claw clip like this: https://pics.drugstore.com/prodimg/226608/900.jpg
I’ve been doing a ballet bun (Cinnabun?) just about everyday now, with this clip around it. I actually need to get a new one soon, my bun is just about too big for the old one. I like that it looks really tidy, like a sock bun, the clip encasing and protecting the ends.

Hello to everyone who’s joined recently!

For putting your hair up, you can cut up a pair of tights to make hair elastics, just cut strips from the legs. They’re not damaging (as far as I know).

I had a vague attempt at a sock bun but it was too fiddly. Buns made with sticks are doable for some of us at this length and I think they’re much easier. It’s trickier for people with very thick hair but there might be ways around it by making sectioned buns . A disc bun is good for this length. Otherwise a peacock twist is good, it works on most days unless my hair is extra slippery.

I recently bought a fork from Over the Hawaiian Moon on Etsy and it’s so comfortable, I love it! It’s pretty much lived in my hair since the day I got it. My buns tend to explode a bit sometimes but I know that one day I’ll be lamenting not being able to make a messy bun so I’m not going to worry about it!

I wore my hair down the other day (wavy for the first time in public!) and a friend complimented me on my long hair. I was so pleased! I know it’s not long by LHC standards, but it’s comparatively long for me :)

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Originally Posted by zoezahn

I'm very careful with the hair (since reading on LHC, lol) and don't stretch it, I shampoo, condition and oil the damp hair - it's quite healthy, few splits or white dots. The soreness is like hair pulled in the wrong direction,except I don't really do that as I have the same style every day - claw clip, no plaits or other experiments. It just gets sore when dirty , but otherwise is healthy.

I don't find washing every day detrimental as long as I 'feed' it properly with conditioner and oils.

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That's good to hear! :)

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Originally Posted by Lady Stardust

For putting your hair up, you can cut up a pair of tights to make hair elastics, just cut strips from the legs. They’re not damaging (as far as I know).

I recently bought a fork from Over the Hawaiian Moon on Etsy and it’s so comfortable, I love it! It’s pretty much lived in my hair since the day I got it. My buns tend to explode a bit sometimes but I know that one day I’ll be lamenting not being able to make a messy bun so I’m not going to worry about it!

I wore my hair down the other day (wavy for the first time in public!) and a friend complimented me on my long hair. I was so pleased! I know it’s not long by LHC standards, but it’s comparatively long for me :)

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I second this (in bold), hair elastics made out of tights/hosiery material works really well and its easy on the hair as it distributes the tension across more surface area (instead of a single narrow elastic band). You can make them yourself or buy them. I got mine from Scrunci at Target. I sometimes will even oil them up (add a few drops of oil) and wash them every now and again.

Lady Stardust I am happy you found a fork that is working so well for you! And also its awesome your friend complimented on your length, its a great feeling!

To continue the discussion of comfortable less damaging buns, I wanted to share a bun I am wearing today. It is so comfortable and is not pulling at my head, giving me a headache and it looks pretty good, and full.

So, I took a cotton scrunchy and made a loose high ponytail. Then I loosely wound my hair around the scrunchy, I think I twisted it once? After I had it pulled around my scrunchy into a bun shape and tucked in the ends, I took a hair scroo and screwed it in at the top where it was the most hair and the most loose . It ended up looking pretty good and I have worn it all day. The comfort is the main thing though, its so comfortable! Also, for those of us who care about this sort of thing, it made my hair look pretty full, because a scrunchy is hiding underneath it.

This is not a very good picture because I have been wearing it all day plus I just got in from in a heavy rainstorm so, its looking a bit messy and lived in. It looked better this morning.
I just wanted to share in case it helped anyone else. :)

https://i.imgur.com/MGAMOou.jpg?1