Sheena, just came from your fotki (beautiful hair btw) and it looks to me that you've got your band too far back. It's a lot of stress and tension.
Try moving your band lower so it's not so high up the crown then you can add a nice scarf on top of that.
Something like this:
http://public.fotki.com/IsItOnlyHair/natural-hair--year-/new-beginnings/naturally-me/hmmmm.html
or this:
http://public.fotki.com/IsItOnlyHair/natural-hair--year-/new-beginnings/box-braids/braidout-1.html
I've been doing puffs and they look great but Im scared of doing them too often coz its tight and when I take it down my head has sore spots. plus, I dont wanna put stress on my hair. So is there a way of making a puff look good but less tight?
I had typed this then changed my mind to not post it then changed my mind again to go ahead and include it. Hopefully it can help.
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If your eyes are starting to look "oriental" than your puff is too tight.
If your getting folds of scalp skin behind your ears or at your nape, your puff is too tight. Bumps and sore spots are definitely trying to tell you that you may be pulling too tightly.
I can only give you advice that I've done for my puffs. Hopefully you'll get an idea from it:
Try not to worry "too much" about rogue hairs, halos or laying down every kink or curl to absolute perfection 24/7. By trying to lay down every hair or stretch out every teeny tiny kink, you may be placing excess stress on your hair, especially the hair around your edges, the hair where the band or scarf sits and especially if you do it every day.
I've also done puffs with soaking wet, freshly detangled hair and a bit of gel, oil or conditioner. If it wet than I use my hands first than a boar's bristle brush to encourage a smoother look and use a scarf or band to make the not too tight puff.
Lots of ladies place another scarf on the pulled back hair for about 15 minutes or so and it should help the hair not in the puff "set" and stay smoother.
Natural hair isn't meant to be 100% perfect 100% of the time, there will be days.......
![Stick Out Tongue :p :p](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
erplexed and a
Try "setting" your hair with loose "sloppy" twists or flat twists (w/a bit of gel, conditioner or oil) first that way the stray root hairs and edges can be coaxed to stick (and lay down) together better so you won't have to pull as tightly. Do them in the direction you are going to pull your hair in the puff and they don't have to be completely dry.
Undo the twists then smooth hair with your hands first before grabbing your headband or scarf. You can use a tiny bit of whatever you used to "set" your hair with to help smooth but try not to disturb the set roots too much. After you've set your headband, you can spritz with a little moisture on the loose hair to puff it out more.
You should be able to get a smooth look without so much stress.