Parents Help! Bun keeps falling out at competitions

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Musfuro

Proud Parent
My daughter's coach requires everyone to wear their hair in a bun. Her hair is heavy and slippery. It comes down to mid back, so is long, but not ridiculously so. I've tried EVERYTHING I can think of to get that thing to stay on top of her head, but it has fallen out in 2 competitions!! I've tried the bun maker, but it adds too much bulk to her already large bun. I have used 12(!!) hair ties and a scrunchi with lots of hair product to rough up the texture. No luck.

A French braid would be so much easier and reliable. I'm really frustrated so would appreciate any advice from moms whose daughters have long, thick, slippery, straight hair, and have mastered the bun. I know this must be possible to do. What am I missing!
 
I haven't tried the hairnet. I'll give it a shot for a practice and see if it holds. I think the main issue is the pony and everything gradually slips. The bun is snug even when it is falling out. Like the pony is unraveling.
 
I've written about this here on this site and if you search through the site you will see other discussions about buns. I would discuss with your daughter's coach and perhaps she can walk you through it with your daughter and her hair. Perhaps even video it so you have a handy reference.

My daughter has thick long hair and her bun was quite bulky and always seemed to want to unravel. This season we cut our daughter's hair to resolve the problem. May not be the best solution but it did provide less stress about the bun.
 
Yep we always get my dd's hair cut and thinned out before meet season. It's a necessity otherwise her buns wouldn't stay in either. And our gym also require a bun which I really don't care for but we do it anyway.
Bobby pins and bun pins really help. Also a braided bun tends to stay in place better. The hairnet is also a great idea.
 
High pony, twist the pony around, another hair tie around that. BOBBY PINS, then a hair net, then more BOBBY PINS. Then if you have a scrunchie that matches the leo put that around. Hair spray the **** out of it. My daughter's hair comes almost to her butt and is wavy. Her bun doesn't move.
 
High pony, twist the pony around, another hair tie around that. BOBBY PINS, then a hair net, then more BOBBY PINS. Then if you have a scrunchie that matches the leo put that around. Hair spray the **** out of it. My daughter's hair comes almost to her butt and is wavy. Her bun doesn't move.
Our gym does not allow bobby pins.
 
We needed to sew the bun to the pony tail holder to keep it in place. You make a tight pony, braid the hair, wrap in a bun, and sew around the bun with a plastic needle and some heavy thread. Cover with another pony tail holder and a scrunchie. Only thing that worked ever for my YDD.
 
agree with the above.

We do 2 pony tail holders on the ponytail.
Split it in two and twist it on itself, then wrap the twist around the ponytail holder.

If we are doing WAG, then pin it once. bun net the use spin pins and lots of hairspray.

Also let her hair get dirty so its less slippy, at least a couple of days of grease and grime.
 
Always had this issue with my DD. She has thin hair, but slippery, and it never seemed to hold. Sometimes the hair net would work but sometimes the bun would come loose inside the hair net and then it looked even worse than without... like she had a sausage stuck to her head or something. No advice, but now she's old enough to do her own hair and when it starts to come loose, she just puts it back up herself between events. There are SOME good things about having a teenager...
 
My daughter had really long thick hair ( to her waist) and wore a bun that never fell out....we braided it first and then secured the bun in multiple layers (circles around the ponytail center) with HAIR PINS ( they never fell out in 15 years of competing) ...then cover the whole bun with a hairnet, pull the ends so you can then tie them in a knot, and then knot it again....we always had to cut out the hair net out with scissors after the meet. Some years, we even covered the bun with a decorative snood.

Bottom line, her bun never fell out with this regimen....
 
My daughter has long thin hair but lots of it. We do as many have stated - start with damp hair, high ponytail, then braid the pony tail. Wind the braid around the ponytail holder and pin as you go around. Then hair net, another ponytail holder over hairnets and a few more bobby pins. Then scrunchie over all that. Oh and hairspray before during and after [emoji23]
 
Have you tried a hairagami?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005...=hairagami&dpPl=1&dpID=41445vgdWxL&ref=plSrch

I use one of these on dd's long, slippery hair. Then double wrap a big scrunchy around it. That bun isn't going anywhere. I have had bad luck with other squishy bun makers, but this one is metal and snaps into place. It's the real deal.

Warning: I have sliced my finger while putting this in a few times. The metal piece has a tendency to escape the fabric covering, and its very thin and can give you the equivalent of a paper cut on steroids. However, it works so well that I keep using it anyway.
 
Our trick for long, thick hair:
Slicked back ponytail, sprayed with water and gel mixed in a spray bottle.
Two thick hairties.
Pull ponytail through bun donut.
Spread ponytail evenly from center of donut, out.
Use a hair tie over the whole thing to secure the hair around the donut. Depending on DD's mood, we may add another hairtie.
Separate all the hair into three sections (we are down to two, as I've gotten better at it).
Start with one section, and twist the hair as you twist around the donut, bobbypinning as you go. Next section do the same thing. and same with the last section.
More bobby pins.
Lots of freeze spray.
Tight scrunchie around the whole thing. (Had to use two scrunchies when the end of her hair was dyed with kool-aid and had to hide the color, but now we can do it with just one.
 
What Ali's Mom says.

To, add For us a key thing to keeping even a pony in place. 2 bandand 2 pony into one. Split hair. First upper pony where you want it. Gather lower hair to upper pony, band together with another band, using first band like an anchor. Then continue on with bun.

Silicone pony holders help as well along with snap clips, and gel gel gel.
 
We tried everything short of sewing her bun and nothing worked with my daughter's hair. We bought every hair product, pony holder, pin type, barrettes, hair nets, etc. Splitting, braiding, pinning... could not overcome the weight of her hair and the effects of gravity. After two seasons of having to fix her hair mid meet, her coach finally admitted that a bun would not work with my daughter's hair and let her wear it in a tight pony.

Good luck, I know your pain!
 
My daughter has long thick hair as well! I have found using neoprene ponytail holders work wonders on keeping it up. Our gym doesn't allow bobby pins so it's just ponytail holders, hair glue and hair spray.
 
I haven't tried the hairnet. I'll give it a shot for a practice and see if it holds. I think the main issue is the pony and everything gradually slips. The bun is snug even when it is falling out. Like the pony is unraveling.
braid and then use boppy pins...
 
Hair nets rock.
We do the wet hair, gel, high pony, braid with head upside down, wind in bun and pin as you go, hair nets, more pins, scrunchie. And tons of hairspray. Clips all over also.
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Gymnaverse :: Recent Activity

College Gym News

New Posts

Back