WAG Need advice from experienced hair masters!

[OzZee]

I'm pretty good with hair but could do this with only one of my kids hair. Youngest I could attempt it but as it's super thick and below bum length the bun would cover the work done with the braid, lol.

For competitions a lot of our girls wear their hair in a slicked back high pony tail, three plaits, looped up, team coloured scrunchie. Works with pretty much every hair style other than short (short tend to do sides pulled back into multiple ponytails.)
But we don't have an official team hair style, it's more evolved. And if you prefer something else you can do it.

 

[hawaii_gymnast]

It is a beautiful hair style, I have dome it on myself multiple times but that takes me at least 20 minutes on a good day. And I can’t even imagine having to do gymnastics, it wouldn't stay.
To make it easier:
Have the hair sprayed down with water and add a little bit of gel to the bottom of the hair to start.
Have them lie over the edge of the bed or couch, face down with their head hanging free.
Once the braid it done, braid all the way to the end and secure.
Flip head over and smooth back all the front hair with as much gel and hairspray as needed (reccommend- got2b glued). Add the braid and ponytail.
Make the bun as desired, maybe let them make the bun their own way so that it holds better, not all hair will hold in the same bun.
It is possible, easier to do on someone else then yourself, it just takes a lot of practice to make it look perfect.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

I'm so glad we don't have a mandated hair style. I'm decent with hair, but would not be able to do this. We had a meet yesterday, and I did a few of the girls hair. A French braid at the front, so no flyaways, then slicked back into a high pony with a bun. Over that was a cute ribbon pony tail holder one of the moms made. It's still in today, just redid the pony tail.

 

[mobeans]

I honestly think it's a bit too complicated - in the sense that for the first morning sessions and adding in drive time youd have to be getting up very early to complete that hair style. Our gym says all hair in buns which I like for the uniform look...however we can do anything to go into the bun...a side braid, french braids, spiderweb. I am good with hair but I would cringe if I had to do that with my DD's ultra thick hair for meets. It looks nice but not sure if it's realistic to expect of parents...many cant do french braids.

 

[lhmom]

If I was told we'd have to do that hairstyle, I'd burst into tears. It took several years for me to get comfortable doing a bun.

 

[LJL07]

I think it looks beautiful, but I would also have a panic attack if I had to tackle that hairstyle and get three kids out the door for an 8 am meet. Our team just does plain high ponytails, and if the hair is really long, a bun.

 

[cbifoja]

I love doing hair and I could do that but I also know that most of the parents on our team would not like doing that.

To do it, I would start with damp, not wet, hair texturized with a little product and have my child bend over at the waist to do the braid.

I think I would probably use a donut for the bun and then pin generously and finish with freezing hair spray.

 

[Seeker]

For competitions a lot of our girls wear their hair in a slicked back high pony tail, three plaits, looped up, team coloured scrunchie. Works with pretty much every hair style other than short (short tend to do sides pulled back into multiple ponytails.)

This is how I do my daughters' hair too. It is too long and thick to accommodate a bun very well (the bun is way too big and she looks top heavy). This style looks great and stays well.

 

[myliljunebugs]

I love this hairstyle, but my daughter's hair is perfect for it in length and texture. Plus I'm not completely inexperienced. When I've done this style for practice the other girls and moms have oohed and aahed but have also said no way could they do it. I wouldn't want to force the moms to do this.

 

[sce]

If I was told we'd have to do that hairstyle, I'd burst into tears. It took several years for me to get comfortable doing a bun.

Even worse here. Dd would fight with me, we'd both cry and she would show up at the meet a bit emotionally shaken up. For some this might be fun hairstyle, but not for all.

 

[MBJ974]

I applaud your effort for trying to coordinate the same hairstyle for all of your gymnasts. Personally, I wouldn't abandon your idea. However, that style on a scale of 1 to 10 (as far as experience and time goes) is about a 7 or 8 depending on whether you use a French or Dutch braid. My advise would be to choose a different hairstyle that is about a 3 or 4. Have you joined the hair forum? There are a lot of ideas on there for meet hair and products that can be used to make them work for gymnastics.

 

[sce]

A simple style, could be a high ponytail, then 3 braids all looped back into the ponytail, tie with matching scrunchy or ribbon. Not too hard, but will still look great on many heads, though the loops may be shorter or longer.

 

[SignHere]

Come on Ladies, Aero asked for help! Not for us to be naysayers!


To do a nice tight French braid, hair needs to be "out of the shower wet". You cannot spray it wet enough. Lots of gel, I like Dippity Doo. It comes in a big tub. You also need a Rat tail comb, with a metal end and wide apart teeth ( get at Sally's Beauty Supply store).

Your victim, er gymnast! needs to lay face down on the floor or on the bed and you need to be at her head ( facing towards her). Brush the hair down AWAY from the nape of the neck and use clips to keep the parts you are not braiding out of your way while you are braiding.

I would suggest a trial run at a practice. If the moms can get it done and it can survive a practice, it will be fine. I have done lots of different (complicated!!!!) hairstyles on my DD for meets over the years, but I always make sure I do a trial run at a practice first. Good thing, too. I have tried some real losers over the years! I can just imagine if I'd inflicted them on my poor DD at a meet!

 

[motigymnasticsmom]

Actually, I like the style. My DD is sooo thick and looking, bun is required for meets. I was thinking about doing this same exact hairstyle for her. Putting her hair in a normal bun is well, a nightmare! I was going to do two French braids on the top and one/two on the bottom. Secure the hair loose and then braid and make bun. With a regular bun we use that awful gel. I always start with spraying her hair, applying the gel and quickly trying to put up her thick, long hair. It always ends up lumpy. Now, I will light spray it, apply mouse, separate into three sections. The video shows to do the back first, then, I would French braid two on the top. All of them would be done all the way down, meeting in the same area. Secure the hair with a hefty band, take off the bands from the braids, then comb it and make a single braid. That braid, I would secure in a bun. Scruncie and hairspray last. This style would take me 20 minutes max and it would HOLD. NO gel involved. Lol If I had to, I'd do this style even a day in advance. Remember, no sticky, yucky gel. She doesn't have to wash it immediately either. Mouse and hairspray are lighter and easier on the hair than GEL.

 

[seoulmama]

There is no way I could do this for my dd-her hair is too fine to stay in an upside down braid. Please don't assume that because a few parents were excited and approached you that all the parents will be. Meet days are stressful enough without requiring a complicated hair style...and although it might seem silly, braiding for me is complicated! Of course the girls will like it-but keep in mind that they aren't the ones doing it...it's the poor parents who have to figure this out. I work one Saturday a month and when my dd was younger, there was inevitably one meet my husband would be in charge of getting dd to-this hairstyle would have meant another mom would be responsible for now two heads of hair or she'd skip the meet!

 

[Flyaway]

Aw, ya'll are party poopers! Lol. I've seen lots of teams with uniform hairstyles. I actually like the look.

OP, as you've seen here it's likely you'll have parents balk at this idea. What I would do is present this style and the tutorial as the ideal goal. Then offer a couple options for less hair inclined parents. For example, you could say the upside down braid into a high ballet bun is option one. Option two is a simple high ballet bun with no braid. Option three is a front braid into a high ballet bun. From a distance it will look uniform, but allows parents to customize to their skill level and unique issues with their gymnasts hair.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Just to clarify.... That is NOT a ballet bun. Ballerinas cringe at those sock buns!
Sock buns (using donuts, hot buns, hairigamis, whatever) definitely have their place. They can be very hard to hold in place, even with hairnets and correct bun pins. They are reasonably quick to do but I much prefer a real ballet bun any time..!

 

[Flyaway]

Just to clarify.... That is NOT a ballet bun. Ballerinas cringe at those sock buns!
Sock buns (using donuts, hot buns, hairigamis, whatever) definitely have their place. They can be very hard to hold in place, even with hairnets and correct bun pins. They are reasonably quick to do but I much prefer a real ballet bun any time..!

Touché!

 

[l.c.o]

Hi.

So, I'm fairly adept at simple french braiding. I've used this style on my dd exactly once. It was adorable, but quite difficult for both of us. It took us a good 10 minutes just to find a good position to braid in - granted, her hair is quite long (couple inches from waist-length). We ended up with dd on the floor, face down, with her head resting off of 2 or 3 throw pillows for height. DD was 8 at the time and specifically asked that we never do her hair like that again.

We started with dry hair which I sprayed lightly with water to help smooth it. I used both a fine-toothed comb and a narrow brush (with a 'porcupine' bristle) to help, then I slicked on a small amount of gel. I did a normal French braid to her crown, then ended it with a small ponytail holder, put it all in one pony, then did the bun. The key for success for us was slightly damp hair near her scalp but dry towards the ends. When it was all smoothed down (we needed a few snap clips), we hairsprayed.

A good friend of mine has a dd who competes dance. She recommended trying Garner Fructis' sleek and shine intensly smooth conditioning cream. Her DD's dance team uses it for their ballet buns. I'm going to give it a shot this year and see if it helps smoothing it down in general, but I've yet to play with it.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

 

[cbifoja]

Aw, ya'll are party poopers! Lol. I've seen lots of teams with uniform hairstyles. I actually like the look.

I think some very valid statements have been made that have nothing to do with being party poopers or not liking team hairstyles.

for the record, I LOVE doing hair and it would be so much fun to have everyone's hair look the same but the fact of the matter is that not all kids have the same hair texture. You can't do the same thing with Ms. Scandanavia's hair that you can with Ms. Kenya's hair. Some kids have thick hair, some have thin, some have super fine that moves more like a liquid than actual hair!

You aren't seeing party pooping but rather some realism interjected and that is what CB is all about! Some parents have no idea how to do a simple plait...how in the word can they do an upside down french braid? And stress the day of the meet is another valid concern.