Long Hair With Migraine Disease

By Tonya Henry

3 min read

I have long hair. I have a love/hate relationship with it, though. Having long hair does cause my head to hurt and leads to migraines on some days. My hair is the longest that it has ever been right now. I love how it looks, but it can be a struggle when a hairstyle can bring on a migraine.

There are several problems that I can think of when you live with migraine disease and have long hair.

Can I put my hair in a bun?

First of all, many wear their hair in a bun. That is something that I love to do, but this is the worst hairstyle for me. It causes bad migraines. In a bun, the hair is twisted around several times, with a scrunchie holding the bun together.

The tightness of the bun causes the middle of my head to hurt first. Then my eyes start in. This leads to the right side of my head hurting. It not only causes a migraine, but my neck issues start in, as well. I am sometimes away from home and tend to wait it out til I am back in the car. That is when I just let it all hang loose, literally, to get relief. Ha ha.

Can I put my hair in a ponytail?

Ponytails are my next popular style. This is something that I do because I like easy maintenance. I just brush a little and put an elastic hair tie on it. I have found it best to keep it lower to the neck for pain relief. There are days, though, that it does not matter if the ponytail is high or low. What do I do when I feel the starting symptoms? I do the same when my hair is in a bun - just let it go.

Can I wear headbands?

Headband days are when I seem to have some flyaways at the front of the forehead area. I want to wear it down, but my hair fails to cooperate. That is an easy fix. Just pop a thin, hard plastic headband on it. I like these as they hold my hair best. I have not tried the thin spandex bands or any others, though.

The problem is that the pressure from the bands can become bothersome to my head. I will either feel it in the top center or behind the ears first. That is when I know that I have had it on too long.

What symptoms do I look for?

As stated above, I can tell when I need to take the hair down or the headband off. I may get any of the symptoms below:

Pain starting in the center of the head (stabbing/throbbing)
Pain on the top/sides of head (throbbing)
Eyes bothering me/Nausea (dizziness, floaters, difficulty seeing)
Neck pain from ponytail (stiffness/achiness)
Pain behind the ears (throbbing)

Why do I keep my hair long?

I have been pondering this topic lately as it has continued to grow. There are some positives to having it long. It really is a brush-and-go type of style. I like easy, and it only takes about 5 minutes to put it up. When my hair was around shoulder-length, I had to flat iron or curl it. That style took about 30 mins. As I said, I like easy, and I do not have to think much about what I want to do with my hair. It will either be a loose ponytail, braided down, or just loose. I love not having much maintenance.

Will I cut my hair?

I may decide to cut it one day. Right now, I can tell when a migraine is starting. I know some people do not get any advanced warning. If I stopped getting the early warnings, then I would definitely cut it. My medicines do work pretty fast also when I do get a full-blown migraine. I am on Aimovig 140 mg monthly and a nasal Imitrex at 20 mg up to 2x per migraine. So, if my treatments stop working, or I get to a point when I am not able to manage my hair on my own, then I will cut it.

Long hair and migraine disease, or any chronic illness, may not work for some. We all have to live with our choices and decide what is best overall. For me, it is keeping my hair long for now as it is the easiest way to do hair without effort.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Migraine.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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Amanda Workman Moderator & Contributor
Tonya I understand your struggle. I have had long hair (probably more along the lines of very long) most of my life. When my migraines first moved from episodic to chronic, everybody wanted me to cut my hair off. I eventually gave in and cut it to my shoulders, which was the shortest I had ever had it. I hated the new look and it did not help with my migraine attacks. As far as headbands go, I never use the hard ones. I use the thin spandex type or the cloth ones. The hard ones hurt to me. I tend to lean toward braiding my hair over a bun. But when I wear a bun, I use two hair ties instead of one. I use one to create a ponytail and then the second to secure the bun. This can help with how tight the bun feels. You can also try a low bun at the nape of your neck instead of one at the top of your head. I hope some of this helps! - Amanda W (team member)
1. Tonya Henry Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="Amanda Workman" user-id="3715820"/> thank you. I've never tried the spandex ones, but they that I should give them a try. I haven't done a lower bun either. I used to wear buns all the time, in the military. I had to keep it off my collar. Those were hard days, plus the hat. This is actually where my migraines started. Thank you for the suggestions.
jasminejo2020 Member
I used to have long hair and having long hair caused a lot of my migraines not being able to really pull my hair back into anything because doing that makes my head hurt right along with the long hair. I got my hair cut about 5 months ago it's short and it is easy to manage haven't had a migraine since. I think getting my hair cut was a great idea. 
1. Amanda Workman Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="jasminejo2020" user-id="3786157"/> I am sorry that you had to cut your hair. But it is great that you have not had a migraine in 5 months!! That is just amazing news. Thank you for sharing with us. - Amanda W (team member)
2. Tonya Henry Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="jasminejo2020" user-id="3786157"/> wow! Glad to hear that cutting your hair has helped with your migraines. I hope they continue to stay away! (Tonya, migraine contributor).
CommunityMembereb1416 Member
Very informative. Thanks for this information. 
1. Cody Leach Community Admin
 <inline-mention username="CommunityMembereb1416" user-id="6698787"/> I'm glad to hear that you found this information helpful 😀. If you're looking for more information on allodynia check out this article: <a href='https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-allodynia-and-central-sensitization' target='_blank'>https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-allodynia-and-central-sensitization</a>. It's another great article that compliments the information given in this one. Warmly, - Cody (Team Member)
insomniaudy Member
Thank you for the article! I also have long hair, about to down to my hips. I love having it in a bun! I found these "corkscrew" bobby pins (at local drug store or on Amazon) that eliminated my need to use hair ties! My hair is on the thicker side too! They don't pull NEARLY as much as the elastic ties! It's hard for me to wear my hair down sometimes, as the weight of my hair actually starts to bother me, or it starts irritating my neck... I have had short hair in the past, and personally found that to be more problematic because of styling issues. I also found that washing my hair less frequently (especially during the pandemic) was helpful since I didn't have to worry about styling as much! Sometimes it's the little things that help, at least a little bit! 
1. Tonya Henry Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="insomniaudy" user-id="3849958"/> thanks for commenting. You are so right. It's the little things. I'm glad you've found something to help you. Happy New Year!! (Tonya, <a href='https://migraine.com' target='_blank'>migraine.com</a> contributor).
2. Holly Harding Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="insomniaudy" user-id="3849958"/> Thank you for the tip on corkscrew bobbypins! I've never heard of those and will look them up! Always grateful for tips of the trade from experienced migraine folks. Thanks for sharing! Warmly- Holly <a href='https://-migraine.com' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>-migraine.com</a> team.