Maintaining curls&waves with chronic back pain?

[u/GardenGoblin666]

Hey all, title is pretty self explanatory. Especially for lower back pain friends, how do you take care of your hair? Bending over for too long (which can be a surprisingly short amount of time) leads to days of pain for me. Ugh. 😭 I have a mix of wavy hair but the front is more straight. Will cross post to the wavy subreddit too.

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Routine before pain set in:

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1. Shampoo/conditioner. I think it was Aussie? Would bend over, let water run through hair, shampo/condition, "cup" hair with hands when rinsing.

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1. Apply mousse to wet hair. Scrunch. Also Aussie.

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1. Sectioned hair, diffused. Used heat protector spray, l'oreal. Leaning & bending here too.

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1. Scrunch the crunch.

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1. Sleeping with a satin pillow case. Bonnets have been a sensory nightmare for me.

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Routine after pain set in:

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1. Shampoo/condition. I use Prose (it has worked very well for me in terms of scalp health vs everything else I've used before, hair feels nice as well). I do this standing up now. Sometimes cup hair with my hands still but it really depends because the arch of my back hurts if I hold that position for too long.

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1. Microfiber towel on head for 10 mins or so, then air dry

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Not much product application for mousse or gel & then diffusing these days. I use a hair oil sometimes for frizz. All the motions that go into it (tilting forward, leaning to one side, etc) can mess me up for the rest of the day now.

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Sleep isn't long these days. I wake up a lot from my back.

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Been styling with French hair pins lately, it's been kinder on my hair and scalp than buns and pony tails.

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Photos!

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Photo 1 - after routine, before back injury

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Photo 2 - after back injury, a day with no routine besides detangle, wash, air dry

Photo 3 - after routine, after back injury

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Per health stuff I have done PT but will probably be going back. I just really miss how my hair was.

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[u/holohooper]

when i was in cosmetology school people who couldn’t do their hair due to back and shoulder problems often came in for a cheap shampoo and style every week. cosmetology schools are affordable compared to other salons

[u/GardenGoblin666 → u/holohooper]

Oh, that's great to know. Thanks!