Thick hair (iii and over) - the inbetween stages!

[lapushka]

This is a thread to get and post ideas on how to do updos in the in-between stages for those of us who are thick haired and can't do regular buns yet.

What's your solution?

I wore a peacock twist (folded under at longer lengths, more "log roll" style) with a claw clip, until I hit waist/hip and could just about manage a LWB for the first time.

What's your go-to? Or what do you struggle with. Let us know.

[Anya15]

Oooh Lapushka this is the perfect thread for me.

I realised today that I need a bigger claw clip, my peacock twists have stopped holding well. Too much hair.

Hair is in a french braid for now, at least it keeps the hair away from my neck...

[endersworld]

I know when my hair was short enough where it wouldn't stay in a bun at all (probably about APL or BSL), I used to braid it with a long, fairly thick paranda and use the end of that as extra length.
Now that's it's long enough to do stuff, my current go-to is a Nautilus bun held with a walnut stick.

[LongCurlyTress]

Yay! Another iii thread!! &!!!!

I also did a french peacock twist with a claw clip until the top part folded back down too much and then the claw clip was not big enough to hold the twist and the folded down part. Plus, it pulled on the back of my scalp hair and also had a dinosaur scales look since it stuck out so far!! I started doing a cinnamon bun using two one inch claw clips, one on either side of the bun, and to this day, at TBL, this holds a damp bun comfortably and securely at nape length all day. My other bun favorites are the lwb or a nautilus with or without a hairstick, but almost always at nape length. Just one more idea, is a 2 inch claw clip on one side of my cinnabun/lwb and a couple of Amish pins holding down the left side of the bun, since imo that looks prettier than two claw clips. (Avatar pic) Hope this helps!

ETA I am also becoming very fond of an English nape braid with only one hairtie at the tassel end. I often pull this over my shoulder so the braid length shows in front. If I am tired, my scalp does not seem to deal with the weight of my hair in a bun and I notice more hairs pulling uncomfortably so that is when a long simple braid comes into play. Scarves do look pretty, especially paranda style, but they also create extra weight and this adds to the scalp hairs pulling.

[lapushka]

A good tip is to split the hair into two sections and do separate buns or bun one half, then bun the other half and add that part to the previous bun. I never did that much, I pretty much relied on my peacock twist, but it's doable as well.

[littlestarface]

For me its whats holding it and nothing holds up my hair, not a scrunchy, claw, bobbles, nothing and my hair just falls slowly out of the bun. Spin pins is the only thing that works for me, and the bun has to be very high up my head to stay still. My go to style is just 2 braids thats the only thing that contains my hair but its terrible when you clean and have to bend over.

[Anya15]

One thing that I've been wanting to try: bunning just the top half of my hair, and then putting the bottom half into two braids and wrapping them around the bun. In theory this should make the bunning easier and at the same time, take care of my pesky layers.

When I do try this, I will share pictures!

[meteor]

^ I used to do this a lot, anou! It's a great, complex-looking, but really easy to do style. And this style distributes iii weight like a champ around the scalp! Perfect solution for those with sensitive scalps.

Also, when my hair was shorter than waist, I simply wore braids all the time. iii hair can be extremely annoying to wear down (due to heat, blinkers effect and hair getting into everything), but half-ups (for removing blinkers) and braids (for corralling thickness a bit) really do help.
I really think braids provide some great solutions for iii hair that's not bunnable yet.
And when the braid gets long enough, one can start folding it upward - Folded Braid and, when it gets even longer, kind of doing a cinnabun/cinnablob/cinna-knot from that braid... And much later, a braided LWB becomes possible and then some other styles...

Here is a great video (by torrinpaige) on how to get thicker hair all the way up: by sectioning: half-up bun + wrap remaining hair (twisted or braided) around that base: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZvXrEOfJ4w

This Youtuber (Divya Naidu) has done some great, well-distributed styles which work well for iii+ hair: https://www.youtube.com/user/divyan2586

Double buns (side by side or stacked, one on top of another) and multiple buns work very well, as well, because the more sections you break your hair into, the easier it is to put it all the way up, even before the length allows standard buns. Sectioning is really a great solution for thick hair before it gets bunnable.

[Anya15]

Littlestarface I am in love with your sig bun picture

Meteor, I must try this soon then! I love folded braids but the only problem with that is my layers. They stick out from everywhere.

Will check out the videos and experiment with sectioning a bit. I would totally wear half up buns, I just LOVE the look but there is a heat wave here.

[meteor]

I would totally wear half up buns, I just LOVE the look but there is a heat wave here.

You can just wrap the bottom loose hair around the half-up bun to put it all up. If you braid or twist that hair before wrapping, it will stay put much better. I use claw-clips along the perimeter to pin/hold up the braids around the base half-up bun.