My Ponytail Gives Me a Headache!

The Cause Of Headaches

Whether you’re having a bad hair day or you just want to get the hair out of your face, the easiest solution  is to tie your hair up into a ponytail. But have you ever left your hair in a ponytail for a long period of time that suddenly you start to feel a slight headache? If you think that your ponytail was the cause of it, you’re so right! Tying your hair too tight with an elastic band can build pressure to your scalp and cause hair pulling. Ouch. Even though you may not feel the pain from the hair pulling, there are still nerves in your scalp and beneath your hair follicles. No wonder you start feeling headaches! Tying your hair too tight can also cause your hair to fall out. Always be aware of how tight and often you tie your hair.

These types of headaches are also very similar to a condition called allodynia. Allodynia is the pain from simply brushing one’s hair with common symptoms like headaches and migraines. While the cause of this is still unknown, it may occur due to increased responsiveness or malfunction of nociceptors, which are a particular type of nerve. According to the American Migraine Foundation, up to 80% of people experience symptoms of allodynia during a migraine.

Other Alternatives

Even though there’s no cure, there are ways to prevent these nasty headaches! Try a different methods to keep your hair in tact:

Style your hair with pins and clips to get the little hairs out of the way. There’s so many ways you can use these hair accessories to create a beautiful hairstyle and it’ll definitely feel much lighter on the head.

If you’re someone born with a lot of hair, it may be more likely for you to develop headaches because of how much weight is added to your head. Especially when the hair is tied up into a ponytail, this can cause a lot of tension in the scalp and hair follicles. An easy fix is by trimming your hair every so often so  that your head feels much lighter. This is also a good excuse for you to try out a cute new hairstyle that doesn’t require your hair being tied up!

Looking for a simple and easy alternative? Just find a fancy hat to put on and you’re good to go.  Wearing a hat that goes with your outfit will look so fashionable and guess what, people won’t even notice your hair problems!

If you have annoying bangs that won’t stop bothering your face, braid and bobby pin it to the side.This will only take less than 5 minutes to do and you don’t have to worry about your hair giving you a headache.

Use a headband that’s comfortable and fun! You can wear a headband as a normal or even when you’re doing physical activities, it’ll get the sweat and all hair out of the way! One thing to watch out for when you’re looking to buy one is to make sure that the headband  is not too tight or else it may cause a headache.

Overall, if you do decide to continue putting your hair up, that's okay. Try to make tie your hair much looser and lower so that it doesn't tug too much. Also try avoid leaving your hair up for too long or else the headaches will start coming back!