I have oh hair just past my shoulders or to my shoulds which I'm working on growing out. I love hairsticks but have thicker hair and have never used them before, would anyone be willing to help me with these problems?!?!

You can see some simple styles in the HairStyles Gallery.

I usually recommend that when first starting out, use a hair friendly hairtie to put the hair into a ponytail, then twist the hair into a bun.  The hairstick can then be woven through the hairtie to secure it quite well when your hair isn't quite long enough to hold the bun well by itself.

By putting hairsticks in my hair will it break off my hair? I don't want to damage it by twisting it too hard or anything like that.

If you are gentle (as you always should be), hairsticks will not damage your hair.

A few "tricks" to remember:
1.  Be sure the hairsticks are smooth and do not have any rough edges.
2.  The point of the hairsticks should be rounded enough to part the hair easily and without breaking or stretching the hair.
3.  Do not twist the hair too tight.  You should NOT look like you just had a facelift!  LOL!
4.  If twisting your hair when wet or damp, be VERY gentle and do not over-twist.  Your hair is very stretchy when wet.  Over twisting could cause breakage.  I usually take my bun down a few times to let the hair relax and dry a bit when I have put it up wet or dry.

With my hair being so thick it's almost impossible to put it up when wet or it will NEVER dry. When I have to "occassionaly" use the hair dryer it takes about 10-15 to get it dried! So it's a good thing I don't dry my hair daily like some people.

LOL - I hear you on the drying.  The longest my hair has taken to dry was one week.  I had kept it in a bun the whole time, and it NEVER dried.  I had to wash it before it dried.  I'm always afraid my hair will mildew or worse, so I make a point of taking my bun down, shaking out my hair to let it dry a bit, then put it back up.  Even then it can take two days to finally dry out!

That's what I'm affraid of to LOL. When I do put it up wet I find myself constantly taking it down to smell it and see if everything is the color it's suppose to be. I usually leave my hair down on the way to work and let the windows down to dry as much as it can before I get there then go in the bathroom and put it up.

here's a tip for drying hair!  btw, my hair is long, thick, and took hours to dry (down!) before I figured this out.
 You know how your hair gathers in clumps when its wet?  Well, after you wash it and squeez it good in a towel, stand in front of a fan or air conditioner or something and use your fingers to separate the clumps.  The smaller clumps you separate it into, the faster it will dry.  It takes me about 15 minutes.  Works wonders, though-by the time I'm finished, my hair looks half dry and only takes about 2-3 hours to dry completely!

Another trick that helps with the hairstick practice and drying at the same time.  Take sections and hairstick'em up - that way the other parts are exposed and dry faster and you get great waves when you take down the sections.

This would be like the half up style shown in the gallery ... keep at it, even the thickest hair can be done up ;~) (like I'd know  ::))

My hair is so straight and silky that I need to put up hairstyles that are firm and dense. I always put pins or sticks in with a wiggling motion to prevent snagging and breaking hairs.

My hair is about same length as yours, very slippery and pretty thick.

When making a bun, I twist hair very little- I just turn it to a kind a loop that I secure with plastic hair pins and finish with a bun net. Bun nets are divine!

So far I haven't managed to secure my hair with just a hairstick, so I use them as ornaments only- though I think they add a little extra security to my style.

When I use hairsticks, I take my hair in a pony tail and twist it (gently!) until it starts to curl up on it's own.  Then I make the bun and put the sticks through.

As for drying, I try to wash my hair at night... once it's all detangled, if you run a comb through it every now and again to seperate the hair (a fine-toothed comb) it'll dry faster.  Just a thought.

Hair sticks saved me today!

After intense pampering, my hair was extremely slippery today...I couldn't do a pinned bun or braid it securely. Then I tried the bun novusfemina described and secured with a LL hairstick and...IT WORKED!!! The stick didn't slip away, the bun did hold...to put it short: I was saved from a hairdo disaster!

I was able to do my hair!!!  ;D

Hairstick saved my hair today, too!  I did a weekend of conditioning and treatment on my hair, and it feels good, but isn't looking so hot left down today.  So, after a myriad of hair accessories, I fell back on the good ol' sticks to do the job...looks sophisticated!