Cool thoughts and hair theories

First of all: I really love the intelligent feedback on my weird experiments and rants.

So thank you all!
This is what makes blogging worth it!

Funny, I wonder if my scalp gets sore due to the location of an updo/braid.
I remember when my appendix ruptured and I went into hospital with a top knot, and it stayed in that style for four days (Was the easiest to lay in a hospital bed with). My scalp never felt sore----now, I wondered if it was due to surgery and I was SO dry there!! I did brush it out and re-tie it, but it was never tender. I wonder if it's because it was balanced on the top of my head and didn't cause any pulling downward. So, perhaps using that theory if you had more updos at the top of your head, rather than the back, there may be an easier way to stabalize it? Just a thought :)

Darkhorse on An experiment in laziness: Day 5

That´s interesting!

Actually it confuses me a bit: I had the thought that maybe it was the slow moisture drain from my scalp (Since I didn't rinse or otherwise treat it between updos) that contributed to my scalp becoming sore in the end.

But then you describe that you were really dry at the hospital and it didn't leave your scalp sore. Hmm!
But wouldn't you be more exposed to dry at your work? I mean, hospitals have industrial A/C and will try to keep the climate dry to reduce bacteria and fungal growth, but working with horses at a barn should be a really dry climate too. All the sand and hay should really suck the moisture out of the air, right?

I once tried to explain the concept of needing longer hair to do certain styles if you have thick hair to someone and got a very weird look for that, but I know what you're talking about!
Basic cinnamon bun works the same for me, as it did for you: okay on waist, quite bad at classic. It worked nicely at tailbone length.
I can't get a Nautilus right on me, but I recently tried out the Lazy Wrap bun, which I never got to work at phases where I had longer hair, so:
Updo structure of LWB bun x (Waist-to-hip length/iii-hair type) = Good structural integrity
Updo structure of LWB bun x (classic length/iii-hair type) = Bad structural integrity
No matter at what hair length, I never could get anything to work out where you need to form loops and then reach through that loop and pull the remaining length through, there doesn't seem to be a point where I a) don't have enough length to pull through or b) way too much length so that it all falls apart.
Do you notice "sliding" and think that length factors in? No matter how long or short my hair is, buns, braids and ponytails slide down to my nape and disintegrate. I like styles to be quite high, otherwise I look frumpy, but as it all slides down, I frequently have to redo them. It's probably because my hair is unevenly distributed and the majority is on the back of my head and nape area, but not much on the front and sides.

Buchfreundin on Ratios

*Grin*

Oh yes, that weird look. It's just one of longhair things that it seems only the weirdest most seasoned thinks about.
Can you link to the lazy wrap bun? Last time I tried to find a good tutorial I found that there were a couple of different methods and all of them resulted in very different updos for me. It was strange.

I definitely think length factors in. I think once you reach a length where your hair is noticeably longer than necessary for an updo, you will get some sliding. If your hair is so long you just have to take a few extra loops just to get the entire length put up, you will get some sliding. My reasoning for thinking this is that you're "done" with the structure and now you're just tucking length up. If you have to form extra loops, there is nothing anchoring or structural left in the updo and you just keep piling on a slippery mass that is going in the same direction with the same tension and it just adds more load to the updo. You should need to add additional anchoring, structural hold or just a direction change to distribute the tension.
*shrugs* At least that's my theory.
Also, I think hair type is a factor here. Soft/slippery hair should exponentially increase this effect. (Gotta love coarse hair! Coarse hair don't care.)

As for your personal, non-theoretical sliding, I'd like to ask what type of tools you use? I find that using thicker sticks or forks seems to "push" the style apart and accelerate any instability. This is one of the reasons I love the basic Ron Quattro's: They are just so thin that it doesn't seem to affect the updo at all.

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Ratios

So, here´s a thought I had after my lazy experiment.

It seems to me that all updos have a ratio or some sort. Length to thickness. Outside of that ration, the updo just doesn´t function like it should.
I mean, it´s common knowledge that if you have thinner hair, you are capable of doing certain updos with less length than those with thick (So unfair). You simply need more length to "go around itself". But it seems like the structure itself of the updo gets ruined by both longer or shorter length compared to the thickness.

The first updo that got ruined for me was the basic cinnamon bun. Some with thin hair could do this awesome staple at just shoulder length. I had to wait until waist/hip-ish. And then around classic-ish, the cinnamon bun just stopped working. It simply slid all over the place, pulled and was irritating.
Updo structure of cinnamon bun x (Waist length/iii-hair type) = Good structural integrity
Updo structure of cinnamon bun x (Classic length/iii-hair type) = Bad structural integrity

A braided version took longer before I could even do it but also worked for longer. But I prefer the Nautilus for the better stability so I rarely did that one.
Updo structure of braided cinnamon bun x (Classic length/iii-hair type) = Good structural integrity
But this is probably due to being able to anchor the braid better. A hairstick through a braided bun, and that bun isn´t going anywhere. Sure it might pull and pinch and be uncomfortable, but it´s not going to fall.
The four braided cinnamon buns from four days ago were both surprisingly cute, super comfortable and didn't budge all day, so:
Updo structure of braided cinnamon bun x (Knee length/ 0,25 x iii-hair type) = Even better structural integrity

Speaking of the braided Nautilus bun. I love the Nautilus. At around knee length, it´s my workhorse and savior on busy days.
But, trying to do two braided nautilus, each on half my hair doesn´t work. It gets this weird effect where the middle part becomes too irregular and folds over or "pops out" in a way that ruins the structure.
Updo structure of braided nautilus bun x (knee length/iii-hair type) = Good structural integrity
Updo structure of braided nautilus bun x (knee length/ 0,5 x iii-hair type) = Bad structural integrity

But where the braided nautilus fails miserably on half my hair, the royal bun (formed of two even thinner braids, so in actuality on each a quarter of my hair) is just awesome. Actually that seems to have even more stability than a single royal bun (formed of two braids, each half my hair)
Updo structure of royal bun x (knee length/iii-hair type) = Good structural integrity
Updo structure of royal bun x (knee length/ 0,5 x iii-hair type) = Even better structural integrity

Solve for X, ladies and gentlemen....

I can´t really get closer to a formula here. But then again, once you start factoring in the structure of each individual updo.... ehh....

Let´s just leave it at that.

An experiment in laziness: Day 5

Out of pure stubbornness I kept the braids in and did two horizontal Royal buns.
No one at work has commented on the halo. Hmm! 

Scalp is slightly itchy and a little sore to touch in the partings in the back. Not noticeable greasiness though, but when I scratch the sore parts of my scalp I can feel the oil underneath my nails.
Strangely, the dry flaky sebum my scalp tends to produce the most of, haven't really been provoked by this experiment. Does my scalp really dislike rinsing? I thought it liked it? But I guess "It feels good" doesn't mean "It's actually the best choice"? Does my scalp really like to be left this much alone?
Strange.

Although I guess in theory I could do five days on the same braids, I don't think I want to do it again. Not feeling put together just isn't worth the time saved.

An experiment in laziness: Day 4

Okay, the halo is getting irritating now. I tried to tame some of it by running some leave in conditioner through the loose hairs to gather them up a bit for a more purposely-messy look, but after the commute to work the effect was ruined.
My scalp is really longing for a rinse.
It has been really awesome to be able to jump into the shower without worrying about my hair though. A real time saver there.

Today's style was two low nautilus buns.
I didn't notice until lunch that one nautilus was more pointy (Or whatever you want to call it?) than the other. Double nautilus buns have a tendency to get too much "inner" compared to "outer" and then it "pops" out. I guess it's too much length compared to the thickness of the braids that does it. A single nautilus doesn't have this effect.

Yesterday's four buns was the definite win so far, and this has been my definite fail.

An experiment in laziness: Day 3

Felt like playing around with it a bit on the third day and did four little cinnamon buns.
The halo is now developing more all over than just at the edges.

The four little cinnamon buns were super cute!
I don't think I've ever done these before?
This is definitely something I will do again!
Also, this is a fun and playful style so the flyaways doesn't actually hurt the look...

An experiment in laziness: Day 2

Second day and seeing some flyaways at the edges. Not too bad so far.
I remember having a leave in-conditioner once that had a lot of hold. Maybe I blogged about it and can find it again? Some more hold would have been perfect.

Today's bun is a single, massive, Royal bun.

An experiment in laziness: Day 1

First day of the experiment and I'm off to a good start with vertically stacked braided Chinese buns.

I think I did a bit more of an infinity shape structure with the bottom bun than the top one?
Still good though.

An experiment in laziness

Next week will be really busy for me. So while I was preparing for a week of work and sleep and little time for anything else, I had a thought...

The braid bases are great for busy days because I can easily "reuse" them for different styles and go directly to sleep with the braids. But how long could I stretch the "reuse" period? How lazy efficient could I possibly get and still stand myself?

There are a few factors in this:

• My scalp loves water, so it will not enjoy going rinse free and not having the braids redone. My scalp is slightly dry and I don't produce a lot of sebum, so I won't get noticeably greasy unless I stretch the no-wash for... weeks? Irritation and itchiness could be a factor though.
• How many updos/buns I could do with the braid base. Doing a good braid base would be kind of pointless if I can't use it for different buns. I always get this irrational irritation at those who have long hair but can't do anything cool with it. The options of updos is what made me grow it this long in the first place.
• Flyaways/halo. I think this will be the limiting factor. I don't generally like messy updos: Why waste time on making something cool with your hair, if you're just going to mess up the structure anyways? Wouldn't you want your effort to show? There won't be much I can do for this, since you have "wear" from sleep, wind and rain. A strong leave in-conditioner might help, but there is only so much they can really do and I'm not willing to use stronger styling products.

What braid base to pick?

My theory is that although I would initially think a Dutch braid base would be the best for it's ability to tame the halo, the Dutch structure itself will increase rubbing against a pillow. The braid needs to be "flat" against the scalp instead of protruding. 

My conclusion: Why not try four simple braids?

Styling options for four braids:

• Single bun options: Royal bun and (Complicated) Chinese bun
• Double buns options, horizontal: Royal buns, Chinese buns and Nautilus buns
• Double buns options, vertical: Royal buns, Chinese buns and Nautilus buns
• Quad buns options: Nautilus buns and cinnamon buns

I'm happy with the braid base.
Tomorrow I will start the experiment....

Today's hair

The Chinese bun is one of those buns I really love. So quick to make and easily distinguishable from any other bun I could do instead. Unfortunately it has almost completely slipped out of my style rotation the last year or two because it's just so much easier for me to do something with a braid base that I can sleep on and just wrap up in a bun in the morning for work.