Something besides my pants size Heeheehee.

Ok back to the point. I've been bunning more than braiding because it's quick and easy. The problem is I now have a definite and distinct diagonal (say that fast) line of breakage in the inner layers of my hair.

What I know I've been doing wrong:

My buns usually slide or slip to the same place on my head every time I do them.

I don't do them very tight, but they do always twist in the same direction because I am soooo right handed.

I usually fasten with a cotton scrunchie, maybe it's eating hair?

So it's braids or frenchies for updo's until I can figure out how to get around this bun problem. I can't do a high pony or high pony braid, they hurt (gravity). I can do fancier stuff when I have the time, but I miss my buns!!!!

Anybody else run into this problem???

.

Hello Lady!

First, let me say that everyone's hair is different,
having varied tolerance levels of what hair can take
and not.

But I cringe when I see a woman grab her hair, twist
into a bun and then lasso it like she's roping a calf in a rodeo,
pulling, yanking, tugging, and then finally, the hair is
bound tightly. Two hours later, she yanks it out by dragging
it out of her hair, and does it all over again. This behavior
may take place again another two times in a day's length.

:(

I'm not saying this is what you do, but
I just fear this is a terrible way to secure my hair, so I
never do it and discourage others from doing so.

You might try a few other ways to secure your hair
if you enjoy wearing a bun.

If you can't or don't want to wear a wet bun, it
probably needn't be said that a dry bun doesn't hold together
as well. Many speak of sticky-outties with dry buns, so often
when brushing your hair to prepare for a bun, a bit of gel,
wet hands, a little oil, some Phyto 7 cream, etc. will assist in
keeping all the strands together if you have a sticky-outtie problem
as well as give a little more control over the bunning method.

As for the method of securing, I would advise any manner
to be changed on occasion so as not to allow room for
such repetitive damage. I change my methods all the time and
it is a good insurance practice.
Back when I was younger I wore a barrette
at the back of my head every day, and it showed. I had all this
breakage in the back of my head that took forever to grow out.

You might try twisting your hair a bit more before winding
the bun around?

You mentioned your scrunchies are cotton. You
might try a silk or satin scrunchie. I hope you aren't talking
about using a headband for a scrunchie... :shock:

An easy method to use a colored scrunchie and still wear a bun
is to twist your hair, (practice going the other direction, too,
a pain in the but, nevertheless good idea to do so), bun up and then use a
scrunchie and a hairstick. Have you ever done that?
Much less pressure on the bun, no calf-roping,
and very quick & easy to do. Just be SURE your hairstick
is smooth and your bun is not so tight that you have to
force or overly stretch the scrunchie to get it to hold your hair.

I don't know how you feel about claws, but they are often
good items to use when your bun is lower on your head, also
a good idea. The longer your hair gets, the heavier your bun will be,
and all that extra straining on your hair with a high bun is
not healthy. Your hair may exhibit stress points and even thinning
in some areas if you wear it too tight for an extended period of
time over and over. This is one time you want your buns
to hang lower. :D

But from what I read in your post, I would say that my
diagnosis is that you're not twisting the bun enough when your
wind it around the base nub...yes? A little cream or oil or something
will help hold the bun longer, and if you put your bun in firmly
the first time (not too tightly) you won't have to re-bun. Re-bunning
because your bun is loose several times a day, oh, such a no-no.

Let me know if you need stick and scrunchie instructions.

:D

Great post, KM! :)

I found that my hair breaks when I use cotton scrunchies, unless I'm VERY careful with them. I've been using a cheap-o black velvet scrunchi for the past few months and have had wonderful results with less breakage. I didn't think that it would even stay in my hair when I bought it, but I haven't had a problem with it at all. You might want to try velvet or satin or silk (oooooh!). :)

I agree and I've also been thinking about this too..but for me it's hair styx and pins. I have to go very slow when securing the bun with these pointy implements :shock: because when I'm not careful I hear some snaps sometimes :shock: :shock: and over time that's not good. I've also wondered if the hair stretching and pulling from the weight of the bun can cause breakage over time in the same spot. KM's idea of twisting the hair in the opposite direction once in a while is a good idea.

I don't like to wear my hair in a bun ALL the time for the reasons you and KM mentioned, so I vary it with hair safe clips and braids, pony tails etc. If I bun for too many days in a row I start to notice sore spots on my head where the bun has been heaviest, so I alternate styles and I feel it saves my hair. Leaving it down once in a while is a good idea too, especially if you're staying at home and it's not getting too tangled. It's good to just let it down for a whole day and take any stress off the scalp, IF you're not too active during that day.

HTH

Thank you for the support! It was wonderful to check back here and see you gals jumping to help this late at night :heart:

KM: You are right on that I don't twist very tight, I was afraid of breakage :( I don't redo it very often, but it does need redone at least once in a 12 hour period. Your suggestions for taming the sticky spikes are great! I will definetly try them. I do alternate with some claws, but I go around with a scrunchie on my wrist if my hair is out to play for the day 'in case' I need it, so it often gets wound up in a scrunchie. Me thinks I'm going to have to do the hairsticks for awhile. Thanks for the offer on the instructions, I used to do it ok with just past shoulder length. We will have to see if I can still get it to stay at BS ;)

Steph: What a great idea! I have some leftover elastic from a bunch of sewing projects in the past, and I'm sure Joanne Fabrics or Ben Franklin should have some silk or satin leftovers for some scrunchies. Either that or a trip to Freds is in order. I'll just delegate my cotton ones to shower duty.

Anne: Oooh I hate that snappy sound. I get it when I go too fast with the Fakkar. I'm glad you've noticed a difference varying your toys and letting it down as much as possible. I don't know if I could go a whole day down, heeheehee, I think I live in the original Ark sometimes :rolleyes: 3 dogs (at the mo) 5 cats, a guinea pig, 2 kids and a BF makes for a busy house! Maybe if I set aside Sundays as a "AP does NOTHING she doesnt' abslolutely have to day" hmmmm That might be good for my overall health come to think of it. Methinks I stretch myself a little bit t-h-i-n sometimes :)

Thanks for the great ideas!
I swear this board is the best community either online or IRL!!

To order some of the large and medium pins from tenderheaded.com.
THey're cheap - less than three bucks. I just got mine in the mail an hour ago, and they're everything I dreamed. They're holding my bun just fantastically, and they're absolutely no hair stress to removing them. Just another tool in your box. Please keep us posted - I worry about bunning all the time, too, tho I haven't seen any problems yet. :)