A crash course for choosing the right fork?
So I bought a cheap fork from Etsy to try out (about 4 - 4'5 FPL, which I thought would be too short), and also have a Jeterfork from the swapboard (about 4'' FPL) - but which sadly is too short to be seen or hold up my hair :(. I have the feeling I need longer prongs, but then most forks are not really sold with that much longer prong lengths, so I'm wondering if maybe I'm just doing it wrong. How can I get a fork to work, or if not, what sort of prong length should I go for?
I have a similar issue with sticks - the shortest I can go is about 6 1/4 inches - which actually is shorter than I thought I could go (just managed to get a stick this length to work) - but usually it is a 9 inch chopstick that always holds my buns all day.
So I was wondering if there are any tips to get forks to work - do I need to get scalp hair in, yes or no? Are thin tines or thick tines better? Does the topper on the fork have an effect? Does the number of tines change anything?
Here are some reference pictures:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...207_142301.jpg
(fork is 6inches, 4 1/4 FPL) - this bun is being held up by the chopstick, as soon as I took it out the whole thing came down
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...207_142431.jpg
(fork is 6 inches, 4,5' FPL)
and less than a second after this photo was taken, it suddenly felt so much more comfortable... oh wait, the bun has come out:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...207_142448.jpg
Re: A crash course for choosing the right fork?
My buns don't stay in place unless I catch some scalp hair. It also helps to make a tighter coil/twist because it prevents the layers from slipping out.
I think you can still make the forks work, even if the prongs don't necessarily stick out the other side. It's probably just a matter of watching a few hair tutorials and practising to catch the right amount of scalp hair.
Re: A crash course for choosing the right fork?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ingrid
My buns don't stay in place unless I catch some scalp hair. It also helps to make a tighter coil/twist because it prevents the layers from slipping out.
I think you can still make the forks work, even if the prongs don't necessarily stick out the other side. It's probably just a matter of watching a few hair tutorials and practising to catch the right amount of scalp hair.
Ok - if I bun too tightly I find the tines just won't go through.. I'm hoping as I grow out layers I'll get a sleeker look, but I find that if the tines don't poke out the other side it is a matter of minutes before the whole things unwinds :( But I guess I'll just keep practising
Re: A crash course for choosing the right fork?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DreamSheep
Ok - if I bun too tightly I find the tines just won't go through.. I'm hoping as I grow out layers I'll get a sleeker look, but I find that if the tines don't poke out the other side it is a matter of minutes before the whole things unwinds :( But I guess I'll just keep practising
Slowly does it! And you can slightly wiggle the fork around as you put it through the hair. That will prevent hair from getting snagged, will make the tines slide through the hair more smoothly and result in a better hold :)
Also you can try braided buns - I find with them you don't really need the tines to poke through the other side as much.
My buns used to fall apart within two seconds, now they stay rock solid for the whole day, even with intensive physical activity!
And I feel you about the layers... I been micro-trimming mine away for about half a year now but they're still bothersome when they stick out of buns and braids. Yours look great when your hair is down though! :flower:
Re: A crash course for choosing the right fork?
I would talk to Hele. She has massive amounts of long hair and uses forks regularly. I also have to put my forks in like they are sticks. As in put them in facing away from the center of the bun, grab some scalp hair, push them through the center and out over the top/through the outside of the bun.
Have have some longer functional length jeters on swap. :eyebrows:
Re: A crash course for choosing the right fork?
DreamSheep, I think the thing that makes your updos explode is not the shortness of forks (if you can see the prongs, it's not too short IMHO), but the thickness of your hemline (absence of fairy-ends), which makes it hard to tuck them under.
How do you feel about sectioning your buns? Sectioning like what Torrinpaige shows here should really help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZvXrEOfJ4w
I think sometimes with iii hair, you might need to add some U-pins or claw-clips around the perimeter, just to make sure the whole thing stays put. For example, I think PrincessBob often uses more than one hair toy to hold her wonderful mane.
Also, I saw this cool trick for keeping fork in place. She puts a tiny elastic (Ouchless silicone one, I think) around the prongs after bunning her hair and the tiny fork holds all that knee-length hair really securely! Check it out (from around 5:00 min):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS7sisvbJp0
Re: A crash course for choosing the right fork?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Quasiquixotic
I would talk to Hele. She has massive amounts of long hair and uses forks regularly. I also have to put my forks in like they are sticks. As in put them in facing away from the center of the bun, grab some scalp hair, push them through the center and out over the top/through the outside of the bun.
Have have some longer functional length jeters on swap. :eyebrows:
A great technique, and well-explained! :agree: I also use it for most of my buns.
Re: A crash course for choosing the right fork?
I just wanted to say thanks for all the suggestions here because magically I tried a center held nautilus bun, with calm and patience and it seems to be working! :-) Though I still might order a fork with ridiculously long tines just to practice better - I think learning to do my hair with a long chopstick has given me bad habits.
Nonetheless, further advice and general guidance with forks is still encouraged as the bun has only been up for 5 minutes :p
Anyway, I'm pretty chuffed because I love the redness of padauk and the curve of the tines, and now I don't need to resell it or anything. Hopefully with the longer tines I can try and get a nice cinnabun :-) *starts dreaming of forks... should probably briefly change my username from DreamSheep to DreamFork :p* Here are some photos of the success! (click to make larger, so as not to swamp the thread)
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...208_002148.jpg
Ignore washing drying in the background, my whole room is a makeshift drier right now
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...208_002807.jpg
Shiny and redness! It looks like I have a seashell (still with layers exploding out, but it holds up and doesn't pull - and I am now one happy Sheep)
ETA: meteor - I'm flattered you think I have a full hemline =D (I wish! I have a V-hem with layers, although I will probably give it a good trim as it is quite tatty now)
Also - the idea of putting an elastic on the end is fantastic - I will definitely be trying that out!
Thanks again everybody for brilliant advice :inlove::inlove::inlove:
Re: A crash course for choosing the right fork?
I shall solve your problem! Boom! <-Click
Re: A crash course for choosing the right fork?
Oh, Kherome, that's gorgeous!
I think the OP's problem is probably the layers. It is heck to get layers to stay up.
I would also suggest trying a ketylo fork.
http://www.ketylo.com/servlet/Catego...AIRFORKS+-+All
These really have a hold that stays, even if the tines don't end up showing.
As for whether to catch scalp hair or not, that's a YMMV thing. If I catch scalp hair in my updoes, it just hurts and my buns do not stay up any better. But I'm a curly, which might explain this.