Heavy hair hacks

[U_Carter]

Hello heavy-headed ladies! What are your heavy hair hacks?

Here's mine: sometimes I feel like my neck is too weak to hold up my head when my hair is wet. I have found that washing/conditioning in the sink and bending forward helps rather than in the shower, with my head tilted slightly back.

[shayna]

Well, this advice comes from back in the 1990s, but since fashion always goes round in circles it's worth remembering... don't wear your hair in a high side ponytail on the same side for too many days. When I had HL hair I got really sore aching muscles in my neck from this, and that was mostly just half-ups. I couldn't believe that hair could be heavy enough to put your neck out, but I actually had to get physiotherapy.
Getting physio because of a hair styling injury is about the most 80s/90s thing ever!!!

[Braided Lady]

A small way I help my head is to drape my hair over my shoulders while I shampoo, and sometimes while I condition it too. It helps to get the weight distributed onto my shoulders, so that it's not all pulling my head back

ETA
High ponytails with long hair are horrible for me! Definitely agree with you, shayna, about avoiding doing them too often. I just skip them entirely almost all the time. They've always pulled my head back and made me feel the weight of my hair more than any other style.

[U_Carter]

Good advice! That's crazy about having to get physio...I mainly wear mine in a low bun or braid...buuut, I do have back pain so not sure if it is at all related.

[U_Carter]

A small way I help my head is to drape my hair over my shoulders while I shampoo, and sometimes while I condition it too. It helps to get the weight distributed onto my shoulders, so that it's not all pulling my head back

ETA
High ponytails with long hair are horrible for me! Definitely agree with you, shayna, about avoiding doing them too often. I just skip them entirely almost all the time. They've always pulled my head back and made me feel the weight of my hair more than any other style.

Agree Its too bad that long hair is perfect for high ponytails

[Lady Winchester]

Luckily I wear my ponytails at the nape of my neck, since high ponytails give me a headache. If I get neck strain (which can be caused by many things, since my hair is only about medium thickness), I just wear a half up for a few days before going back to my signature ponytail (too lazy to try any new styles). Another option is switch up the hair tie or scrunchie for a large claw clip, since it distributes the weight of the hair more evenly, not just in one spot, like where the hair tie is placed. I rarely wear braids or buns, so I can't comment on those styles.

My great grandmother had long hair until the day she died (she lived to 97, and my grandmother nearly made it to the same age, but died one month and five days before her 97th birthday a few years ago) and I learned from my Mom that she used to wear her hair in a braided bun like a princess (sort of like Princess Leia at the end of A New Hope, but maybe not as high), so maybe I should try that one of these days. It was thinning, but she never cut it (which was the norm back then).

[cadaverinna]

Heavy hair + migraines here

- Wash upside down
- Massage every day(I swear it's an amazing relief, specially when I use a wooden brush or gua sha comb)
- Milkmaid braids are the best hairstyle for heavy hair BY FAR
- Neck excercises(seriously)
- When wearing it up and not in milkmaid braids, I'll re-do my buns or change how I clipped it up as to not put too much pressure in the same spot
- Not wearing the same hairstyle every day(same reason as the previous one)
- Don't be afraid to use a blow drier after washing, a heat protectant will save you a sore neck

[U_Carter]

Heavy hair + migraines here

- Wash upside down
- Massage every day(I swear it's an amazing relief, specially when I use a wooden brush or gua sha comb)
- Milkmaid braids are the best hairstyle for heavy hair BY FAR
- Neck excercises(seriously)
- When wearing it up and not in milkmaid braids, I'll re-do my buns or change how I clipped it up as to not put too much pressure in the same spot
- Not wearing the same hairstyle every day(same reason as the previous one)
- Don't be afraid to use a blow drier after washing, a heat protectant will save you a sore neck

Good advice! How do you acheive nice looking milkmaid braids? My hair meets and the braids go past each other when wrapped around my head, but they look so skimpy, I always take it out immediately.

[cadaverinna]

Good advice! How do you acheive nice looking milkmaid braids? My hair meets and the braids go past each other when wrapped around my head, but they look so skimpy, I always take it out immediately.

I'm not sure I quite got that... If it's what I'm thinking and they extend past where the other one starts, you can either start them lower down or fluff them up like this to "eat up" some length(which actually helps distribute the weight even better).

[U_Carter]

Sorry! Was multitasking at the time, lol. Yes, the braids extend past where the other starts. But they thin out at the bottom, so the braids always look skinny and ridiculous on top of my head! Thanks for the pancaking tutorial!