Damage from wet bunning?

[Clarisse]

Is it possible to damage hair by making a tight cinnabun in wet hair and locking it in place with a very tight elastic or scrunchie? Hair elongates when wet and contracts when it dries - is it possible that such a tight updo could make it impossible for hair to contract, causing it to over-stretch = permanent damage?

[lapushka]

If it's constantly wet, and doesn't have a chance to dry, then that could possibly be damaging - I wouldn't do it. In any case, I would never do a tight bun, not wet or dry.

[yahirwaO.o]

Tight bun and wet hair combo sounds like the worst thing both for the scalp and hair. Damp and a safely secured looser bun sounds much better.

If i have no time to dry my hair I much prefer braided pigtails as the dry nicely and with not so much tension. I suppose coiling them in heidi braids must be much better and safer.

[Anje]

Yeah, that doesn't sound good. It's best to be gentle with damp hair, which means at least keep the buns loose. The stretching you describe could be bad, and I'm reminded of the admonitions to never braid a horse's tail when the hair is wet for exactly that reason.

My scalp always hated soggy buns against it for hours, so it wasn't really an issue, but long-term wetness can eventually cause your hair to develop hygral fatigue, which is damage that you would really have to grow out. Better to braid hair loosely if you need it contained while it dries (depending on how it dries, mine could stay wet in a bun for literally days), or dry it with a hairdryer on a not-hot setting.

Finally, elastics are a fairly awful way to hold buns -- they put all the weight on relatively few hairs, which gets uncomfortable and can lead to breakage. I suggest U-shaped pins or hairsticks instead. They have a learning curve, but the weight distribution is far better.

[Clarisse]

Ouch, seems like I must have gotten some damage this way. The hair was not slicked back too tight, but then bun itself had to be tight to keep it up with a scrunchie... I also would take it down again at night (before it was 100 % dry).

I guess braids would leave space for contracting though?

[Anje]

If you don't do them tightly. Not stretching the hair is important.

[lapushka]

Ouch, seems like I must have gotten some damage this way. The hair was not slicked back too tight, but then bun itself had to be tight to keep it up with a scrunchie... I also would take it down again at night (before it was 100 % dry).

I guess braids would leave space for contracting though?

Yes and 2 braids would leave your scalp more easily "breathable" aka "dryable". So win-win. I'd go for 2 low English braids or French / Dutch braids. But I would prefer the English for trying to dry the scalp.

[embee]

The challenge of damp/wet hair has led many of us to stretching out washes as much as possible. You are not alone.

[Clarisse]

Thank you for the replies.

I'm not going to put my wet hair into a tight bun again! Braids seem like a good idea. I'm mostly concerned about the damage I already could have gotten this way - how bad is it? Is it this easy to unknowingly permanently damage hair? Should I just chop and start over fresh?

[animetor7]

Could you give us a picture of where you think your hair might be damaged? It's hard to tell how seriously it's damaged just from descriptions. And no, usually you can baby damaged hair along for a good long while, especially if it's mechanical damage rather than chemical damage or heat damage. It's not that one sort of damage is better than the other it's just that mechanical damage tends to take longer to build up than chemical or heat damage. I'd start by figuring out other ways to hold a bun than hair ties such as a hair stick, claw clips, or even pins. I would also think about other ways your hair might be getting damage and start eliminating them. For example, how do you de-tangle? What do you use to do so? Is it gentle or could it be damaging your hair? And other areas of hair care that might need improvements. Good luck!!