WAG Need a nice hairstyle for meets.

[Aero]

So I've been trying to look for a neat hairstyle for meets and maybe even practices. I want it to involve a ponytail or bun coming down the side because I'm trying to avoid anything in the middle of the head. My reasoning for this is due to rolls on floor and beam that could squash their hair and mess it up, or worse, mess up the roll! I also like the look of a side ponytail because I don't see it often. I was hoping some of you expert hair moms could help out a young male coach who has no idea about girl's hair.

Here are some examples of what I'm looking for:

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/00/b0/88/00b0887689647e20b776baacf535f75f.jpg
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e2/d1/a4/e2d1a419778b72558451139563b4ac16.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p2kre84oo4fy4mb/IMG_2032.png

Or like this cute girl from one of my rec classes:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6c7znta8n01ls0e/Photo May 01, 5 19 33 PM.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0364gf58rq1da69/Photo May 01, 5 15 54 PM.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ydvaeceoryde7xh/Photo May 01, 5 15 48 PM.jpg

I think this would be super cute if the braid could go up diagonally so that the ponytail comes off the side of the head instead of the center: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/fe/f1/ae/fef1ae9c58b979cde33f6c374d0f13ec.jpg
It would be like an 80's side pony, but with a twist haha. I'll pay anyone who makes a tutorial for that!

 

[Frase]

Would a side pony with any length to it not flick into the face? I love the first lot of braids you posted but those girls all had lovely thick hair. I know for my dd with thin hair unless it was scraped, sprayed and gelled to within in an inch of its life it would be back down in her face before she'd finished her present

Why not let the girls come in wearing their own suggestions of something a bit 'different'?

 

[coachmolly]

I would just give a few guidelines (must be out of face, must be in a bun, must have specific colored scrunchie, etc.) and let the gymnast and parent do what best suits the mom's ability and the child's hair. It's so hard to find a hair style that works for all hair types, and can put a lot of undue stress on parents who just can't do hair. To make sure all is well and you don't get any unpleasant surprises at a meet, have a few practices where the kids have to come in with "meet hair" to make sure it meets requirements and stays in place.

 

[Seeker]

All hair is not created equal...and some gym-Mom's do not have the "skills" to do anything complicated. I did a lot of meet hair for our team this year, because they just couldn't do it. I don't mind...I like to do hair, but it is challenging with some types of hair to get it to behave in the manner in which you wish.

I would provide guidelines as coachmolly said. Slicked back in the front, gelled/sprayed so no flyaways, the idea to practice meet hair ahead of time is a good one -- to see if it works and if it will stay ahead of time. Providing some examples as these would be fine, but I would shy away from "it must be like this" because everyone's hair is different. I can do a lot of things with my daughter's hair that her teammates could not do and vice versa, so some guidelines with some flexibility would be good.

 

[gymmomx2]

All hair is not created equal...and some gym-Mom's do not have the "skills" to do anything complicated. I did a lot of meet hair for our team this year, because they just couldn't do it. I don't mind...I like to do hair, but it is challenging with some types of hair to get it to behave in the manner in which you wish.

I would provide guidelines as coachmolly said. Slicked back in the front, gelled/sprayed so no flyaways, the idea to practice meet hair ahead of time is a good one -- to see if it works and if it will stay ahead of time. Providing some examples as these would be fine, but I would shy away from "it must be like this" because everyone's hair is different. I can do a lot of things with my daughter's hair that her teammates could not do and vice versa, so some guidelines with some flexibility would be good.

I agree with this 100%. I am one of those hair challenged moms and I wouldn't be able to do any of the side french braids hairstyles you linked. For that reason, I am so thankful that our gym only requires gelled hair tied back with an elastic and the matching scrunchie. Some moms added extra braids going into the pony tail, some did a bun, etc. We went with a simple high ponytail and it worked perfectly...didn't seem to interfere with her front rolls at all

 

[Quadqueen]

I completely agree with others on this one - please do not require a certain hair style for meets. Everyone has different hair, and parents have different abilities when it comes to their hair. It is fine to specify that they must not have flyaways, etc., or something like no hair past shoulder length - DD's gym says no ponytails if it can touch your face when it flips forward.

 

[profmom]

My DD has hair that is both very fine and very thick. I can French braid it, but it's pretty difficult to do. She's always competed in a simple high bun. It never caused any problems, even at old L5 when she had the dive roll in her floor routine. DD's gym requires buns for all girls under L9. A few girls do French braids, which is fine with the coaches AS LONG AS IT IS IN THE SPECIFIED BUN, CORRECTLY PLACED ON THE HEAD. Yes, ma'am, we got it!

Ponytails are not good for girls with really long hair. Too much risk of hair flying into their faces.

 

[Quadqueen]

If, however, you feel you MUST have uniform hairstyles, I would go with something simple, such as a ponytail or a bun. A bun is preferable, since girls with long hair look sloppy with a ponytail, IMO. No fancy braid requirements though .

 

[dynamicduo]

For one of my DDs, I put her hair in 2 high pig tails then did a simple braid and tucked it back under the pony tail holder. Not sure if I'm explaining it right, but it was very simple and didn't get in the way of her back extension roll! I call them loopers since it made a little braided loop. I'll see if I have a picture of it and post it! I'm sure most people can do something like this since there is no french braiding!

If you do have parents who are good at braiding, I did a circle braid on my other DD and it worked great too!!

 

[dynamicduo]

Found it! It looked much better for competition and I tied ribbons into it too, but this was just for practice!

 

[MBJ974]

I like the pigtail idea too! Here is another example that is super easy...

 

[bookworm]

Some of those hairstyles would only be suitable for really young kids....

 

[hawaii_gymnast]

Also keep in mind that the side pony tail could easily get underneath the girls hands doing back extensions or even just a cartwheel or handstand. If you want to have a universal hairstyle keep it simple, a basic bun placed properly on the head should suffice, or give the option of having one or two buns for those who don't like it for their rolls.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

I'm trying to avoid anything in the middle of the head. My reasoning for this is due to rolls on floor and beam that could squash their hair and mess it up, or worse, mess up the roll!

If they are messing up their hair its A) to long or B) they are doing it wrong. You roll on arms ...not your head, a side pony will do a good job of getting in the way of the arms however. They also don't look good on everyone, your fair haired gymnasts are going to have a bald look from one side.

 

[happychaos]

NO mandated hairstyle! I can do a simple ponytail, or a really simple braid. No french braids, or anything fancy. If you would like hair uniformity, do what many gyms do around here and have everyone wear the same unique ponytail holder. You can tie ribbons on it to match your leos and even the optional girls love them.

 

[COz]

Good advice above. Listen to the Mums!
A couple of other things against side ponytails besides the things already mentioned (although I think you've gotten the message):

- If they're not used to wearing a side ponytail, you'll find the girls starting to tilt their heads sideways, it isn't the most pleasant feeling, kind of unbalanced, particularly if you have heavy hair.

- Long hair in a ponytail will get caught around necks and under armpits. More so for a side ponytail.

Keep it simple

 

[HoldThePhone]

I don't like having a mandated hairstyle either. I think giving recommendations, and linking video how-to's is great, but it can be very frustrating for parents when they aren't great with hair to have to do something complicated. A braid is complicated for lots of people, let alone making it go around the side and into a bun.

I love doing hair, and we had a mandated hairstyle, I hated that, because it was so simple and I couldn't play At her last meet, I got to play, and it was much more comfortable than the mandated one had been anyhow. I did a twist around the head to the side, like you're looking for, into a bun. I can try to take a photo, of provide a video explanation of the hairstyle if you'd like.

 

[Aero]

Well, my idea was pretty much shot down, LOL! Oh well, that's why I asked about this in a thread; I literally have no idea about these smaller team details yet. I want to thank all of you for your opinions, suggestions and honesty. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to mandate anything now because you certainly all have a strong argument that hair can vary so much, and also how many parents are not hair artists! I really, really, really want to try to avoid the typical bun though. So many people use it, and I want to try to find something more unique, but I suppose letting them choose individual styles would be fine too. What do you all think of the style of the little girl from my rec class? Does it seem hard?

 

[marie83]

Back when I was a gymnast our head coach insisted we all had a French plait with ribbons tied at the bottom
Or threaded through the plait. Those with long hair had to poke the bottom end of their plait pack up and under the French part. (Hope you get what I mean!) those with really thick hair had to have 2 French plaits. anyway, not all parents could do this so we used to have a hair session the night before the comp where any parents who could do the hairstyle did the whole team's. We all went away and slept on them, and they were still good to go the next day (with a little bit of spray)
Would something like this work for your team? If you found a fairly simple, quick style that 3 or 4 parents could do I'm sure they would volunteer to be team hairdresser! I guess it could be morning of competition rather than night before if it wasn't too early a start!

 

[COz]

Too hard Arron! Sorry

Out of the dozen girls that my kiddie trains with, probably only a couple of the Mums can actually do a braid (French plait). It's much harder than just an ordinary plait and if the parent hasn't had long hair as a teenager and spent ridiculous amounts of time practicing hair can be intimidating.

Here's a thought. My challenge to you and you'll get an idea of the difficulties:
Borrow a child. Try just a simple French plait down the back of the head and see how you go

Then post photos!

If all goes well, then you can do their hair!

(Edit: marie83's plan is good)