Telephone Hair Coil Hair Ties x Migraines

A Migraine Buddy user recently reached out to us telling us that she would love to share about something which was very cheap, simple and practical, which was helping her out with her migraine pains. She mentioned that having your hair in a tightly tugging ponytail could cause migraines.

“When you put your hair in a tight bun or ponytail, or a weave or extensions, that will pull the nerves in the scalp. That pulling of the nerves will activate the sensory nerves even more,” Chou continues, “That can result in the headache itself, or it could be that the headache is beginning.” – Kristina Rodulfo 

Here is what Gem shared:

I’m a migraineur and get migraine aura. I started getting migraines at the age of 12, and migraine aura from the age of 25. I usually get a pressure in my head and white glimmers in my vision (aura).

Having my hair down hurts and feels heavy particularly when in a migraine. I have shoulder-length thick hair (Yeah, thanks Nan! – A long-running joke in our family) but my hair, doesn’t spend a lot of time in a ponytail because of the pressure on my head which leads to migraines.

I recently came across a new hair tie (telephone coil hair ties) and was curious. So I thought, “okay, so what does this thing do?” It looks like a telephone cord (it is, just smaller and without the phone- because that could be awkward! Not to mention a look a lot of people wouldn’t be able to pull off unless you’re Lady Gaga. 

The telephone coil hair tie supposedly balances out the pressure of your ponytail to stop headaches. Another bonus of it is that it doesn’t leave a kink in your hair that you get from a regular hair tie after you have had a ponytail in. I found them online and thought “okay, I’ll either take to it or, it’ll be an experience.” I found that they weren’t expensive, which was great! My pack came with four hair ties, each a different colour.

Upon touch, they are light and stretchy. I gathered my hair up and put it in a ponytail using the hair tie and it felt so light and comfy! I couldn’t feel the hair tie at all. Since I got it, it’s the only hair tie I use and it makes my other hair ties feel really tight by comparison. I have found it has helped a lot. It has reduced the pressure of the ponytail, it feels a lot lighter, and since using it my migraines haven’t been as severe.

Another thing I have noticed, when taking a regular hair tie out, it usually tugs at your hair, however, this particular type of hair tie doesn’t, which is a great bonus!  The hair tie does lose shape a little bit after time (did I mention my hair is thick!). A great trick I have found is, drop it into the bath for about 20 seconds and then get it out, it goes back to its original size-I know magic (yes you can say abracadabra if you want).

Kink-wise if I style my hair in a loop (kind of a loose bun) it does leave a kink but it’s only where my hair isn’t supported by the hair tie. If I am in a migraine, a bath helps me sometimes and I’ll put my hair up to stop it getting wet. I don’t have to worry too since they’re great to get wet too since they are made of plastic and waterproof. Should you want to try them out too, you can generally find them in the dollar/pound shops or even online, they come in different sizes, cheap, cheerful and practical.

Some words to my fellow migraineurs: 

Whether you are new to migraines or like me who had them come back with a vengeance, trust your instincts and don’t give up hope! I would say that on a good day, it would be good to prepare a manual – write down a list of things to get you through a migraine because when an attack happens, you can’t think straight. Record down what works best for you. I found that for me, glacier mints and a cold wet tea towel works. It is good to also have a “migraine survival pack” with you. If you need something, (e.g a bottle of water, something to snack on etc) make sure it’s always stocked up.

Remember you are doing the best you can and you’re never alone!

Thank you Gem, for sharing this with the Migraine Buddy community! We always welcome and encourage co-collaboration projects with our users so should you have anything you would like to share with the community too, feel free to drop us a message on any our our social media channels! (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram)

From everyone at the Migraine Buddy team, we wish everyone a migraine-free week ahead~ ?