Hair Trouble

When you're doing your hair in a bun (or otherwise pulling it back for performance), you can sometimes run into issues that cause anxiety and take time to correct.  In this post, I'll provide some tips for quickly and easily fixing common hair issues.

For kids and recitals:

1.       My daughter's hair is too short for a bun OR my son's hair is too long to leave down.  As an assistant teacher for children's ballet, one of my jobs is preparing students for their class photos and recital performances.  I often help with hairstyles.  For young students (or really anyone participating in an informal performance), the goal is to have all students look similar, be able to see, and avoid distractions.  With students who can't do their hair in buns, it's most important to pull back any bangs and keep hair away from the face.  Gel, bobby pins, and thin neutral-colored headbands all work well.  Regardless of the student's gender or hairstyle, as long as the hair is neatly secured in a way that it won't fall in the face, it's good enough for the informal stage.

2.      My child's hair is very fine or flyaway.  In this case, gel is going to be your best friend.  You can also use a mixture of conditioner and water if gel seems too harsh.  Lightly gel or spray the hair with the conditioner mixture before combing it back for the bun or other style.  This should give the hair a light "crunch" factor and keep it from falling out of the style.  Gelling before the styling step works much better than using hairspray after the style is in place.  After making the bun or hairstyle, try to keep your child from lying down, running around, or going outside in the wind.  All of these factors will make the hair more likely to fall out of the style.

For professional-quality performances:

1.      My hair is really curly and difficult to smooth down for a bun.  Slightly dampen dry hair with water or leave-in conditioner, then apply a little bit of gel from the roots to about 6" down.  Use a gentle brush or comb (I like the wet brush or tangle teezer for this) to brush through only the area you gelled (roots to 6" down).  Once that part of the hair is smoothed, put hair in a ponytail.  You should have a sleek head and curly ponytail.  Twist the ponytail and form your bun.  It doesn't matter if the hair is curly going into the bun; the tightly coiled hair will look smooth from the audience.  Cover it with a hairnet and secure with bobby pins to prevent flyaways.

2.      My hair is thick/sleek/heavy/slippery and tends to fall out of a bun.  Brush hair back and put it in a ponytail.  Use an elastic with rubber grips to tie the ponytail.  Rather than wrap the hair in a bun, it may be more secure to use a donut to form the bun.  Slide the donut onto your ponytail, spread your hair over it, and secure it with another rubber-grip elastic.  Wrap the loose ends of hair under the donut and secure with bobby pins.  Cover the bun with a hairnet and add more pins and hairspray for security.

3.      My hair got caught on Velcro and a little piece that's supposed to be sleek is sticking out.  Don't fret or try to redo your whole style if you don't have time.  Use a spoolie, brow comb, or toothbrush to gently comb that piece back into place (it's really surprising how well this works).  Spray on a liberal amount of hairspray and/or poke in a mini bobby pin to keep the piece form popping out again.

4.      I took off my warm-up or costume over my head, and now I have major static.  Do not use a brush here, it will only make things worse.  Spray hairspray on your hands or a paper towel and gently pat your hair.  This should make the stray strands lay flat again.  Give your whole style an extra spritz to make sure the flyaways don't pop up again.

5.      I have to change headpieces during a quick change.  The anxiety associated with a quick change makes it super challenging to find all the bobby pins in your headpiece, remove them without pulling pieces out of your bun, and securely attach the new one.  The best way to do this is to get a friend to help.  Sit down and have your friend stand over you so she can see the top of your head.  Since she has a good view, she can pull the bobby pins straight out and remove your headpiece quickly.  Depending on how much time you have, your friend can then attach your new headpiece while you work on something else, like changing shoes, or you can attach the new headpiece yourself.