Long Hair

[nicklaszlo]

We have had a couple of short hair threads.  What do you do with long hair?

DW has long hair.  For time/convenience/indulgence/ignorance, we got it "professionally" put into a bun.  In the future we want to do hair ourselves.  We asked the person doing the bun not to use bobby pins because of the warnings about them falling out, but bobby pins were the only way she knew to do it.  It took 51 pins and as far as we know none fell out.

[jjane45]

OMG 51???!!! LOL. I'll show her how mine works without pins.

My impression is in skating, 95% of the long hair ends up in a bun, regardless how long it is. (It always shocked me how Caroline Zhang got her extremely long and gorgeous hair into a relatively compact bun) 

[taka]

Buns seem to rule here too. Bun (hair)nets (usually for ballet!), bun sponge doughnuts (if the hair is long enough) and industrial amounts of hairspray seem to help!

Have seen a few french pleats (with some sparkly hair combs along the join) but they are probably harder to do yourself than a bun. They need the right program too... something elegant.

No idea what to do with mine for testing etc. Not long enough for a bun but too short not to tie it back somehow!

[SynchKat]

I do my buns with no bobby pins and it is long enough now to do a bunch without using a donut.

Here is what I do...
Pull hair back into a ponytail using lots of super strength gel. 
I then twist into a bunch and then put a hairnet over to hold it in place.  I usually have the hair net folded in half and twit it over the bun once.
Then secure all of that with an elastic.  Spray with lots and lots of hairspray. 

It is easier to do the whole process with wet hair.  Then you don't need as much gel. 

[VAsk8r]

At what length does it become appropriate to put long hair into a bun instead of a ponytail?

My hair is shoulder-length now. I have a competition next weekend, and I'm wearing it in a ponytail for my free skate program and a half down ponytail for artistic. When my hair was several inches below my shoulders, my ponytail would sometimes slap me in the face when I was skating. But my hair is very fine and straight, and I didn't think I could get it to stay in a bun without bobby pins.

[Schmeck]

Synchro does not allow bobby pins on the ice, so buns are sewn using fish line and embroidery needles.  Put hair in ponytail, wrap it into a bun shape, put on hair net. Weave fish line through hairnet, bun hair, and scalp hair. Hair scrunchies go around the bun, and the top of the scrunchie is also looped through with fish line, so it doesn't fall off. Tie tightly, and cut off excess line, about an inch after the knot.

[RosiePosie.iskates]

My sister has really long, and THICK hair. And a bun was the only option it seemed. So I put her hair into 5 seperate plaits, then woved the 5 plaits into a bun. Her hair is so thick that a scrunchie won't stretch large enough to fit around it.  And I used around 32 bobby pins for this, surprisingly none fell out, but hairspray is your best friend! It help mold the hair into place. 

[FigureSpins]

Sounds like the hairstyle I did for my DD when she had very long hair:



I used the Klutz hairstyling book for instructions.  It was time-consuming, but really came out great. 
It's basically a flipped ponytail that gets divided into three braids, then tucked and pinned/clipped to form the rings.
I used a few bobby pins -- they're only banned for Synchro -- but found that the snap clips work better for her thick hair.
(Make sure they aren't the kind with seams that catch/tear the hair - it hurts to take those out.)

The barrette on top keeps the flip from coming loose and adds some sparkle.  Lots of gel and hairspray to keep it in place.

[Sk8tmum]

I'm able to successfully secure mid-thigh length (honestly!) thick, heavy and very silky hair into a bun that will stay through any rigours in under 5 minutes. My main thing is to go to a dance store, particularly one that serves ballet dancers: they have the proper supplies and the expertise to help.

Step One:  Part the hair on the side.  This gives a nice appearance from the front instead of just pulling it straight back. If I'm in a fancy mood, I"ll leave a 1-inch strand loose and then pull that back later into the bun for a bit of detailing.
Step Two:  Pull back into a ponytail; secure using "no slip" elastics (if I use normal ones, the bun gets unstable). Goody has great ones that GRIP.  The ponytail is very tight to the head.
Step Three: Twist the ponytail into a rope; basically I keep twisting it until it actually starts coiling in on itself.  This shortens it, secures any random ends, and makes it look sleek.
Step Four:Wrap the rope of hair around the base of the ponytail like a "cinnamon roll" so that each of the wraps lies tight to the head.  This avoids the "knob" look sticking out the back.
Step Five: Tuck the end in and secure using  a hair pin, NOT a bobby pin; hair pins stay in, bobby pins by the nature of their design push out.
Step Six:  Cover in a ballet hair net, which is different from the ones you get for doing, say, food service or whole head coverage.  Insert hair pins at regular intervals around the base of the bun. I usually use around 14 to 15, but, they are very long, proper hairpins sold in dance stores.
Step Seven: Slick heavy duty gel over the head part; spray the bun and head with super hold hair spray.  I buy the stuff that is advertised to last for 24 hours of clubbing ... it works perfectly.

I have a collection of rhinestone headed pins that I will use for comps.  They are easy to see if they are coming out, and they look sparkly.

I've had to send my kid into school in full bun due to timing issues with ballet, skating etc happening right after school, and it survives an entire day of gym class, recess, lunch, and generally running wild absolutely intact.  She actually slept on it once ... and it was still perfect the next day.

Have also used a figure-eight formation ... not as succesfully, as it seemed to lack the structural integrity of the normal bun formation ...

[dak_rbb]

I second the super-hold gel, hairpins, hairnet, hairpins, super-hold hair spray method.  My daughter has long thick hair and this is the only way I've been able to feel confident that the bun will stay in.

[hopskipjump]

I do all the long hair for the girls with a hairagami.  I don't use any pins.  Put it in a ponytail, gel it really well.  Then use the hairagami.   I finish it with a hairnet - full sized not a bun net.  Put it over, twist so it's tight, put over again, and twist again and then the third wrap and twist.
Hairspray the style!  I like to do a dutch braid first or two.  It's a very pretty, clean look that is more than a bun.

[hopskipjump]

The hairagmi has to be tightly close to the head.  it won't move.

[Rachelsk8s]

Sounds like the hairstyle I did for my DD when she had very long hair:



I used the Klutz hairstyling book for instructions.  It was time-consuming, but really came out great. 
It's basically a flipped ponytail that gets divided into three braids, then tucked and pinned/clipped to form the rings.
I used a few bobby pins -- they're only banned for Synchro -- but found that the snap clips work better for her thick hair.
(Make sure they aren't the kind with seams that catch/tear the hair - it hurts to take those out.)

The barrette on top keeps the flip from coming loose and adds some sparkle.  Lots of gel and hairspray to keep it in place.

I love this!!  I have very long hair, it hits to about my waist.  I have to check out this book for this style.  Thanks for sharing!!

[RosiePosie.iskates]

The feather is a very nice touch! Love it! You did a great job! 

[chowskates]

Maybe not the neatest way, but I've been doing my bun without hair gel nor hairspray. I just make sure I use good hair elastic and a hair net to keep the bun up. Then I use the hairclips to clip strays from the bangs back. I just hate having to wash gel off my hair!

[Orianna2000]

I've been wondering about this myself. My hair reaches to the small of my back and it's extremely thick and curly. Trying to put it up in a fancy hairdo tires my arms out so much that I usually give up halfway through. When I do manage a bun or twist, I use old-fashioned hair pins, not bobby pins. I have no idea how they work on the ice, but in general, they tend to stay in better.

I haven't done any sort of testing or competitions where I'd need a fancy hairstyle, yet. For practice, I pull the sides up and back and secure with a rubber band, then braid the bulk of it down the back. It keeps it out of my face and is somewhat nicer than just a ponytail. I don't know if this would be acceptable for a competition or not.

For me, the trouble with clip-on buns, or scrunchies with fake hair, is that I have a rare hair color. It's a dark red or auburn, which is extremely difficult to match to fake hairpieces. You can always tell at a glance that I'm wearing fake hair, because it doesn't match. 

[ChristyRN]

For me, the trouble with clip-on buns, or scrunchies with fake hair, is that I have a rare hair color. It's a dark red or auburn, which is extremely difficult to match to fake hairpieces. You can always tell at a glance that I'm wearing fake hair, because it doesn't match. 

I'm a strawberry blond and can't find things to match either.  I love my hair, except when I want to match anything to it.