How to Put Up Heavy Hair Without a Headache
If you have long, thick, or heavy hair, you probably know the feeling. You put your hair up in the morning and by early afternoon your scalp is sore, the bun has slid down your neck, and you're pulling everything out just to get some relief. A lot of people with heavy hair assume that's simply the price of wearing it up.
It isn't. In my experience, that soreness almost always comes from one of two things: the weight is hanging from a single point, or the tool holding it is clamping instead of anchoring.
Why heavy hair hurts when it's up
A lot of hair has a lot of weight. When you wrap it in a tight elastic, all of that weight pulls on the small area of scalp right under the band. When you put it in a claw clip, the teeth press into one spot, and the heavier the hair, the harder the clip has to grip to keep from sliding. Either way, the load ends up concentrated in one place for hours.
The other common mistake is height. A high bun on heavy hair puts the weight at the top of your head, where it pulls backward all day. That can look great for an hour. It rarely feels great for eight.
How to put heavy hair up more comfortably
Go lower. A bun at the nape or just above it lets the weight rest against the back of your head instead of hanging from the top. Low buns and chignons are the most comfortable shapes for heavy hair, and honestly, the most polished.
Don't twist it tight. Twist just enough to give the bun shape. Over-twisting creates tension at the root, which is exactly what you're trying to avoid. The pin does the tightening, not your hands.
Use a pin long enough to reach the base. This is where most people with thick hair go wrong. A short pin only catches the outer layers of a dense bun. It feels fine at first, then the weight works it loose. You want a pin long enough to pass all the way through the bun and anchor against the hair at your scalp.
Spread the hold. For very heavy hair, use two pins crossing at the base of the bun in an X. Each pin carries part of the load, so no single spot is doing all the work.
Take it down gently. Pull pins out in the same direction they went in. If you've been wearing an elastic, roll it off rather than yanking it.
The pin I use for heavy hair
This is exactly the problem the Power Pin was built for. At 7 inches, it's long enough to pass through a full, dense bun and seat at the base, and the upcycled stainless steel core is strong enough that it won't bend under the weight. I designed it after years of watching ordinary pins bend the second they went into a client's thick hair.
The coating is a smooth plant-based nylon, so there's nothing to catch or snag when it slides in and out, and it holds by anchoring through the style rather than clamping down on one spot. That's the difference you feel at 3 p.m.
If your hair is thick but closer to shoulder length, the Petite Power Pin is often enough. It works on most hair types. The Power Pin is for hair that's genuinely long, heavy, or hard to hold up. If you're not sure which you need, I break it down in how to choose between the Power Pin and Petite Power Pin.
One note: if you have scalp pain that doesn't ease up after you take your hair down, that's worth mentioning to your doctor or dermatologist. Most of the time, though, what people describe to me is simply weight in the wrong place, and that's very fixable.
For more on thick hair, read the best hair pins for thick hair that won't bend or break, or start with the full hairpin guide. When you're ready, shop the Power Pin.