Wednesday, December 5, 2012

race hair

For reasons i will never understand, more than one person has asked me how i do my hair for distance races, because it always stays intact, and looks stylish.  While i can't agree with the stylish part, i can agree that my hair does, in fact, stay put during half and full marathons.  And i assure, you i am out there for a fairly long time.  

So, while i would best describe my race hair as "ginger yeti" meets "refugee",  here are the steps to do it yourself!

***please excuse the eyebags, i have not been sleeping well!

Step one, take a bunch of selfies in the bathroom mirror, because no one will help you do this.
2. Take the front section of your hair, which is usually shorter than the rest of your hair.  (or if you have bangs)  Pull them back to one side, and twist the hair as you go.
 3.  Secure it with a bobby pin
 4.  THIS IS THE KEY! put a second bobby pin in to secure it in place.  One bobby pin will betray you half way through the race...
 5.  To be honest, a lot of days i just wear my hair like this.  It keeps my bangs out of my eyes, and is super easy, and looks like i care more than i do about my appearance.  
 6.  Pull the rest of your hair back into a high pony tail, and MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING TWO HAIR TIES!!
7.   Wrap the hair ties around the pony tail twice (or three times if you have thin hair) Sorry for the blurry photo - this process is super intense.
 8. Pull the pony tail through for your third (or fourth) time, but stop half way.  You should be left with a peacock fan on your head, and a little tail sticking out the back.
 9.  Back shot.  Notice the tail.  If you have short hair, you probably won't have much of a tail, and can stop here.  As you can see, my rapunzel hair still has about 8 inches of tail hanging out...
 10.  Take the leftover tail...
 11.  Wrap it around the base, covering the hair ties....
 12.  And tuck it in the back into one of the hair ties!  It should hold - i promise!
 13.  You are done at this point, but feel free to accessorize!
 14. In the summer, i tend to add a BIC band.  It helps keep the fly-aways in check, and also acts as a barrier to keep sweat out of my eyes.  And they are sparkly.  In the winter i usually don't sweat so much, or its so cold i wear a headband that covers my ears.
 15.  Congrats, you look like a hot mess, and we can be TWINSIES!!!


***Disclaimer.  I have no background in fashion or cosmetology or hair.  I do have a masters in industrial design though, so we will pretend that my structural expertise certifies me to post about marathon hairstyles that won't budge.  Also, keep in mind i am not running 6 minute miles, so this hair-do has not been speed tested.  And, at the rate i am going, it will never be.

28 comments:

  1. Jeanie in "I Dream of Jeanie" would be proud! She always had her hair piled high up on her head. Thanks for the tips. If I ever let my hair grow that long, I will have a reference guide. BTW, is that a Chicago skyline shower curtain?

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    1. I highly recommend NEVER letting your hair get this long, as it is 2 pounds of extra weight on my head! And it is the "generic skyline" shower curtain they have at target. We pretend its chicago though, haha.

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  2. "ginger yeti meets refugee" = HILARIOUS.

    I think Kim should use her mad photoshop skillz to put your hair on Pete's head. I kinda really wanna see that :)

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    1. I have done men's hair photoshop work before, if you need my help. I am sure you have mad PS skillz too though ;)

      http://ilaxstudio.com/Jedi-Steven-3.jpg

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  3. I love this. Made my Wednesday. Thank you!

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  4. oh what readers will ask....love the tutorial though...may have to try it. ??

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    1. maybe i will do one on fashion next - that would be hilarious :)

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  5. Actually...this is pretty much how I do my hair for runs too....except when my bangs are long enough that I don't have to clip them but right now I would have to clip them up.

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  6. You are so stinking cute Sara! I do my hair like that minus the last part where you wrap the end piece around. I will need to try that next time. Actually I will do it tonight since I want to look all cute in my new lululemon shorts at crossfit. :-)

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  7. YES! Maggie was telling me about this! (Didn't you know we talk about you while running??)

    You make it seem so easy! But as I was mentally doing it with my hair while reading your directions, I decided to shave my head...

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    1. Haha we talk about all the bloggers while running. IT'S ALL GOOD I SWEAR.

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  8. Ginger yeti meets refugee! Love! I love how you always have your hair up like that. It really looks good on you :)

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  9. I've been waiting for this tutorial for a while now! I might even try it out tonight, but likely won't event run (boo cycling and stupid cranky ankle) so excited to know your race hair secret!!!! :)

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    1. Maybe it's time i had words with that ankle!

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    2. Um yes. Words with the ankle couldn't hurt any worse than it currently does... Ugh

      I did try out your hair style and i felt so pretty playing with my phone on the stationary bike as I went no where fast. Ill definitely give it a shot whenever I decide to run again :)

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  10. As one of the people who asked you about this ... thanks!!!!!

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  11. I love the hairstyle! Who says running can't be stylish, right? I'm totally trying this next time I run (but who knows when that will be...)

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  12. Ah.....that's my method for my messy, hair sticking out, bun. :o) I do this all time but I'm still in the scruntchy world. And since my hair is shorter, it looks "kinda" like a really messy bun. I also use the hairpin trick but normally only use one pin. If you use less hair and pin back toward your face, you only need one pin and it will last for days. When my hair is really crazy, then I do multiple pinned sections to keep the frizzy curly more controlled. Then I usually just ponytail the rest. Yours is much cuter!

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    1. yeah, i used to be a bobby-pin maniac, but for some reason if i use a bunch i get terrible headaches. I think i might be part robot....

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  13. I don't know how I missed this post the first time around. I loove this. I always would get part of the way but never knew what to do with the "tail" part. Mystery = solved. And now, I shall give this a try sometime soon!

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