The "This Might Be A Stupid Question, But...." Thread

[mmswm]

I have very long, thick, dense, curly hair.  When I put it up in some sort of 'do, I wind up using about a billion bobby pins.  Just three strands too many and they won't stay.

[Mental Magpie]

I have very long, thick, dense, curly hair.  When I put it up in some sort of 'do, I wind up using about a billion bobby pins.  Just three strands too many and they won't stay.

That's my pain!  I wind up with a billion bobby-pins, most of which are just supporting what the last three are holding up.  In my new line of work, tracking each bobby-pin (and or limiting the amount) is very important.

[Ereine]

I don't use them but I've recently read that you're suppose use them with the wavy side down, I don't know if you're doing that? That is also a very common problem and there are tons of tips and tutorials and videos for bobby pins online.

[Iris]

Buy some of this. Seriously. It has saved me from the torture of bobby pins altogether.


http://www.whitesandsproducts.com/Products/Detail.aspx?pid=109

[Outdoor Girl]

Magpie, I used to use these plastic headband things in place of bobby pins.  They came apart and allowed you to connect them again and were zigzaged plastic teeth.  I'd flip my head upside down, put one around my neck then push it into place, taking all the wispys with it.  Then I'd flip my head back up and tie back the rest.  Sometimes I'd put the pony tail in first then put on the headband.

I loved them because they didn't hurt my head, kept my hair back and took no time at all to put in.

[Dindrane]

I also have hair that is quite thick and, I've recently determined, curly. With bobby pins, the normal sized ones never really worked to hold up my hair unless it was already in a ponytail when I pinned it into a bun (or even better, a ponytail and then braided), or I used approximately eleventy billion of them. Something else I realized when I had my hair done for my wedding is that not all bobby pins are created equal -- the ones the stylist used for my hair that day had a much firmer grip than the ones I usually buy at the store. It still took approximately eleventy billion of them plus a lot of hairspray, but I did have hair down to my waist and a relatively complex style.

What I found worked even better was using some of those Goody "spin pins" they sell now. They're like double-helix spirals that you sort of twist into the bun to hold it up, and the two that come per package is plenty. Those worked quite well, and didn't hurt my head. If you need a really secure bun, I'd imagine putting your hair in a low ponytail first and then using the spin pins would work even better.

When I use bobby pins to do something like pin my bangs back, I find they stay a lot better if I use two, and cross one over the other so they make an X. Sometimes just using two really close together works reasonably well, too.

[Luci45]

I don't use them but I've recently read that you're suppose use them with the wavy side down, I don't know if you're doing that? That is also a very common problem and there are tons of tips and tutorials and videos for bobby pins online.

All of mine have a slight curve so they fit flat side toward the scalp, so I would end up with a bunch of rockers if I did it that way.

[lilfox]

My hair is straight but thick - I can hold back pieces using the "X" formed by two bobby pins, one to hold the hair and one to pin the first one in place.  I think it's trial and error to figure out how much hair can be held by any one or two pins. 

My problem is, I cannot figure out how to hide them!  When I do this, you can clearly see an X, but I thought the point of bobby pins is that they disappear into your hair.  When I've had my hair professionally done, you can't see any pins. Then again I've had my hair curled for formal styles and maybe the curls allow for better hiding...

Also, does anyone know, will spin pins work on straight hair?

[Dazi]

I also have hair that is quite thick and, I've recently determined, curly. With bobby pins, the normal sized ones never really worked to hold up my hair unless it was already in a ponytail when I pinned it into a bun (or even better, a ponytail and then braided), or I used approximately eleventy billion of them. Something else I realized when I had my hair done for my wedding is that not all bobby pins are created equal -- the ones the stylist used for my hair that day had a much firmer grip than the ones I usually buy at the store. It still took approximately eleventy billion of them plus a lot of hairspray, but I did have hair down to my waist and a relatively complex style.

What I found worked even better was using some of those Goody "spin pins" they sell now. They're like double-helix spirals that you sort of twist into the bun to hold it up, and the two that come per package is plenty. Those worked quite well, and didn't hurt my head. If you need a really secure bun, I'd imagine putting your hair in a low ponytail first and then using the spin pins would work even better.

When I use bobby pins to do something like pin my bangs back, I find they stay a lot better if I use two, and cross one over the other so they make an X. Sometimes just using two really close together works reasonably well, too.

Ha!  My hair is actually too short to use the spin pins on now, but last year I wore it a bit longer.  My hair is REALLY thick and a CW suggested I try them.  I could not get them through my hair at all.  I took them back to Walgreen's (maybe CVS) and the woman at the cosmetic counter tried to "show" me how to use them as I was obviously doing it wrong.  She did manage to get the first one in...and it promptly broke, hair springing out everywhere.  She waited a beat and said "Wow, I've never seen it do THAT before".

Bobby pins are a completely lost cause.  The big giant super grade salon ones will work to put my hair in a french twist or something similar, but the last time I had it professionally done it took almost 50 of them and a vat of Aqua net hairspray.

[Betelnut]

Home repair experts!

During Sandy, I kept checking my basement to see if there were any leaks, seepage, etc.  I did find a small leak coming from the ceiling of the basement.  It looks like it may have leaked in the same place before as there is a tiny bit of black mold on the rafter there (not a huge amount).  The leak was not coming from the floor above as I checked my daugher's floor and there wasn't any standing water.  I don't think it was coming from a pipe as my basement is unfinished and all the pipes are pretty much exposed.

Who would be a good person to call to check out this small leak?  A foundations guy?  A plumber (just in case it IS from a pipe)?

Also, should I call in a mold person or treat the mold myself with bleach?  There truly isn't a lot of it.

[Luci45]

Home repair experts!

During Sandy, I kept checking my basement to see if there were any leaks, seepage, etc.  I did find a small leak coming from the ceiling of the basement.  It looks like it may have leaked in the same place before as there is a tiny bit of black mold on the rafter there (not a huge amount).  The leak was not coming from the floor above as I checked my daugher's floor and there wasn't any standing water.  I don't think it was coming from a pipe as my basement is unfinished and all the pipes are pretty much exposed.

Who would be a good person to call to check out this small leak?  A foundations guy?  A plumber (just in case it IS from a pipe)?

Also, should I call in a mold person or treat the mold myself with bleach?  There truly isn't a lot of it.

Plumber. In our town, county, and state, we can treat up to 25 square feet of mold ourselves. Check your local laws.

Good luck! Hope it is easy and cheap.

[Virg]

Betelnut wrote:

"Also, should I call in a mold person or treat the mold myself with bleach?  There truly isn't a lot of it."

If it's only a bit you can deal with it yourself easily enough.  However, as Mike Holmes always says, you don't need bleach to deal with mold and the bleach will be harder on you than the mold.  Just use soap and water (well, I'd use some sort of all-purpose house cleaner rather than raw soap) and it'll clean up fine.  You only need a pro if you've got penetrating mold (the plumber will find that while looking for the leak if you do) or if it's a very large area like renovating an abandoned house or dealing with damage left when you had to evacuate for a while.

Virg

[Adelaide]

Has anyone else ever gone to law (or grad) school and finally "hit the wall", so to speak, of feeling genuinely stupid? I get the material we're covering in class. I did well on my midterm, but legal writing is killing me. My professor probably thinks that I'm unteachable at this point. I've also heard that a lot of people start out their first year feeling this way, but right now I'm having to force myself through another memo that I'll be embarrassed to turn in. I feel like putting a disclaimer or attaching a copy of my LSAT score to try and prove that I am not as stupid as the words I've strung together on the page.

[mmswm]

Has anyone else ever gone to law (or grad) school and finally "hit the wall", so to speak, of feeling genuinely stupid? I get the material we're covering in class. I did well on my midterm, but legal writing is killing me. My professor probably thinks that I'm unteachable at this point. I've also heard that a lot of people start out their first year feeling this way, but right now I'm having to force myself through another memo that I'll be embarrassed to turn in. I feel like putting a disclaimer or attaching a copy of my LSAT score to try and prove that I am not as stupid as the words I've strung together on the page.

For me it was topology.  I did fine in Abstract Algebra, Real and Complex Analysis, Combinatorics, Mathematical Statistics, BioStats and everything else I took between undergrad and grad school. Topology kicked my behind.  It nearly killed my 4.0GPA. I don't know what it was about that subject, but my brain refused to comprehend it.

[KenveeB]

Has anyone else ever gone to law (or grad) school and finally "hit the wall", so to speak, of feeling genuinely stupid? I get the material we're covering in class. I did well on my midterm, but legal writing is killing me. My professor probably thinks that I'm unteachable at this point. I've also heard that a lot of people start out their first year feeling this way, but right now I'm having to force myself through another memo that I'll be embarrassed to turn in. I feel like putting a disclaimer or attaching a copy of my LSAT score to try and prove that I am not as stupid as the words I've strung together on the page.

I think that's the purpose of 1L.   Don't worry -- as they say, this too shall pass!