Saturday, 1 February 2020

29 different updos in February challenge: Day 1

First day of the 29 updos in February-challenge and I'm starting with the Chinese bun since it's weekend and the updo isn't braid based.


This is a very easy and comfortable updo, but it tends to slip out of rotation for me since I "need" to do it on freshly washed hair in the morning and then braid it for sleeping in the evening. And 'm lazy when it comes to my hair.

Wednesday, 29 January 2020

29 different updos in February challenge

Last year I saw a challenge for 28 hairstyles for the 28 days of February on a blog, and I thought that was awesome!
I never saw the point in having long hair that you can't do anything with, so this is just the perfect  challenge for me. But February this year is a leap year, so... 29 updos!

So I sat down to do some thinking and planning.
Of course I could include braids, but... Nah. Braids are the go to bases for my updos, since they can be prepared the day before and simply twisted/wrapped/coiled up into a real updo in the morning. And then reverted back into a comfortable sleep style by taking the hair tool out again.
It would be more interesting to do 29 structurally different updos.

Some updos are of course not braid-based, but I usually reserve them for weekends where I can be bothered to do them in the morning and braid my hair for sleeping in the evening.

Of course updos and braids can be changed a lot with different strand bases and accents, which doesn't really count. But in a few cases I wasn't entirely sure where the line between two separate updos and just a variation was.

But here are 29 different updos I plan to do:
  1. Braided Chinese bun
  2. Braided Chinese bun/infinity variation
  3. Braided cinnamon bun
  4. Braided headband and Chinese bun combo
  5. Braided Nautilus bun
  6. Chinese bun
  7. Cinnaknot bun
  8. Crown wrap
  9. Double braided buns
  10. Double braided Chinese buns
  11. Double braided Nautilus buns
  12. Double figure 8 buns
  13. Double Nautilus bun
  14. Ellingwoman/Nautilus hybrid
  15. Figure 8 bun
  16. Four small braided cinnamon buns
  17. Igor's mess
  18. Infinity bun
  19. Mega royal bun
  20. Mickey mouse ears
  21. Nautilus bun
  22. Overhand knot bun
  23. Royal bun
  24. Sock bun
  25. Simplified Elling woman bun
  26. Triple braided buns
  27. Triple braided buns, stacked
  28. Wrapunder bun
I would need some planning for this though. Some buns are based on single braids, some on double etc. Some double braids are split vertically and some horizontally etc. It would save me some effort tog group those together and do some on the same base-braids. And the non-braided updos would be better for the weekends since I prefer the braid bases on workdays for a quick updo that saves me time in the morning.

Hmm, this would also be a good opportunity to work through a lot of my different updo tools. I tend to cycle the same ones over and over...

Sunday, 26 January 2020

Hair and surgery

I received some info about healthy living before the surgery. It surprised me how much of this could have been taken directly from a "How to grow your hair out fast"-type article!

But as it has been pointed out many, many times before: Growing healthy hair isn't quantum mechanics, it's just sticking to the advice about general healthy living that we all already know.


The brochure have some classic advice of limiting alcohol intake and stop smoking if possible. Not smoking will aid in healing because the nicotine restricts blood flow.

It also suggests losing weight if possible, which I actually think I will put some effort into. Not that I think I "need" it, but it will make it a lot easier on my foot after surgery if I could weigh just a little less.

The brochure also has points about the diet you should follow before and after surgery.
Except for the part about that you might be constipated and nauseous post surgery, this is very classic hair advice again: Lots of protein to heal the tissue and paying attention to getting vitamins and minerals for the wound healing and forming new blood cells. It even talks about getting fiber and probiotics to aid your digestive system to take up nutrients efficiently and keep from being constipated. Again, this is advice I have read for growing long hair before!

The foods mentioned that you should avoid are also classic "Avoid these foods if you want to grow long hair"-type entries: Sugary foods and sodium-heavy foods, which can cause damaging fluctuations in the blood sugar levels and cause swelling.

The brochure also advice to get as much exercise as you can before surgery to be in good shape and have good blood flow. After the surgery, it advises to move carefully as much as you can tolerate for your pain level. It will increase blood flow, keep you from getting constipated, and prevent complications like pneumonia and deep vein thrombosis (Sounds nasty). I think I will try to get to our local water park for some gentle exercise as soon as I get out of the cast.

So far the only advice that truly seems to differ from the classic "Grow healthy hair 101" is the point about following instructions and advice given by the healthcare professionals. It also points out that you should go to all the follow-up appointments, even if you otherwise feel okay and don't feel like you need it.
...Well, maybe you could find the last part in a "How to grow your hair out"-article done by a hair stylist. Hah.