does anyone know any cool hairstyles that are easy to do for practices? i'm sick and tired of doing a ponytail everyday, but usually i don't have too much time to do my hair. any quick up-do's that look good?

Depends what your hair's like - how long it is, how thick it is, what suits you, what kind of skating you do (e.g. will your hair hit you in the face). You could maybe experiment at home, & get someone to help you if you can't do somehting yourself. You could try a bun, a messy bun, a plait, a french plait, or a half ponytail.

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

thnx for that :-). my hair about shoulder lenth, kinda thin and brown, and its for practicing freestyle.

I have shoulder length hair. I wear it in a bun, sometimes a low ponytail, sometimes high. I braid it or put it up w/ a big clip in a twist. You can also do a twist w/ a big comb. All these are pretty much instantaneous, except for the braiding, which doesn't take long. Some of the girls wear pigtails too which is cute, although I'm a little too old for that. I hve a million different clips & scrunchies, including the kind w/ ribbons, and also the fake hair that matches yours & adds more curls or length just for fun.

Icenut, you came up with some good suggestions. Would you mind explaining how to put together the styles you mentioned? I always wondered how to put the hair in a bun and make it stay. And what's a plait?

A plait is a braid.

A French ponytail is a nice variation on a ponytail, doesn't take much time and can easily be done by yourself.

I bought this book when my daughter had really long hair and I never knew what to do with it. It had some nice ideas and the instructions were very easy to follow:

http://www.hairboutique.com/books/bookreview097.htm

Just ignore the bottom half of that review at the point where there's a picture of a woman's head with braids--they're talking about another book there.

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I take it you don't call them plaits in the US, lol. Is a plait the same as a braid in the US? Well, that's what I meant anyway, where you section your hair in 3 and cross them down the hair, etc. A french plait is similar, but you start the plait higher up the head, and start with only part of the hair (e.g. the amount you would use in a half ponytail). As you plait, you take up more hair from each side as you go down. It can be tricky to do yourself, but you can get someone to do it for you.

As for the other ones I mentioned - a half ponytail is where you take the top part of the hair (e.g. the hair above the ears, or a bit less, depends on your preference) and tie it like a ponytail. I'm sure people wear them in the US too - some ice dancers have their hair like that sometimes, like Naomi Lang and Tanith Belbin. If you're going to have a bun, it's more likely to stay if you put it in a ponytail first, then you can twist the hair and wrap it tightly round the bobble, securing it with grips/a scrunchie. Or you can use a hair net for buns, like I think Michelle Kwan uses, which keeps the hair in better and would probably be more secure for skating. As for a messy bun, that's basically when you put your hair in a ponytail but you don't pull the hair through completely each time you wrap the bobble round, so it's kind of in a bun shape but it's not neat & tidy. That's usually how I have my hair when I tie it up, but it might not work if your hair isn't long enough.

Hope that makes it a bit clearer!

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

THANK-YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!1

This would be a French Braid. It starts near the front top of the head and works backwards.

grips are hair pins (bobby pins) , and normally if you put a net over the bun and secure with the hair or bobby pins.

Good directions Icenut84

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That's how my daughter often wears her hair. I prefer to wear mine in a Stylee comb, of which I have far too many in a variety of colours. Especially when I can match them to my boot covers!

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

lol. Seems like some of us needed some translation. Plait=braid. Grips= bobby pin or hair pin. Actually, when I went to the drug store to by pins for my hair, I discovered a difference between a hair pin and a bobby pin. They are actually two different types of pins (where I live).

Thank you everybody for all the suggestions and instructions.

thanks every one!!

Glad to help!

It occured to me after that it was a bit silly to ask about what kind of skating you do - considering your user name, it should have been obvious It didn't occur to me till after though.

And just FYI - a plait is pronounced "plat".
And you could also wear pigtails - to me, pigtails are like ponytails at each side of your head. If you plait the pigtails, I refer to them as "pigtail plaits". Am I right in thinking in the US that two plaits are just called "pigtails"?

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

yep, your right they're usually called pigtails in the US, but in Canada, you can say plaits as well. I know because i'm a canadian, but i lived in the US for two years. anyway thanks a lot, your suggestions are great!

Try a "Gibson Tuck." It's elegant and very simple to do:

Make a low ponytail.
Part the hair right above the band to make a Pocket.
Flip the tail portion up and tuck it into the Pocket.
Fasten the Part with a hair clip or bobby pins.

I think I learned this from one of the Klutz hair books.

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I like this thing:

http://www.topsytail.com/

So do I, but you can make your own very easily out of a wire coat-hanger or similar.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

The Hairagami tool would be perfect for you. Once you get the hang of using it, you can transform a ponytail into an elegant bun in less than a minute. There are many other possible styles too. http://www.hairagami.com/ My hair is 3 feet long and I used Hairagami for skating - it holds in place very well - and can be used for a variety of lengths of hair. (Essentially, if you have enough for a ponytail, you can use it.)

French braiding is another great hairdo creation too. An excellent book on it is Hair: A book of Braiding and Styles by Anne Akers Johnson, published by Klutz books. It also comes with three scrunchies.

Claire's, which seems to be in just about every mall, is a great place to buy hair accessories, including the Hairagami.

Those of you with long hair (or those who want it) should visit www.tlhs.org. Also, I consider Louise Marie Longhairs in Toronto to be the best long hair salon in the world, and if you can't get there in person, you can order the best long hair products out there online. www.hairgasm.com

One final note - a bit off topic, perhaps, but long haired women should beware of hair donation "charities" if approached...reports suggest that only a very small percentage of the donated locks are used for children's wigs...most is sold (where those $ go is not accounted for) or sits in warehouses...where are those salons getting all that hair for extensions for Britney, Paris, et al?...don't be duped...do the math...spread the word.

I have the hairogami, but I can't use it because even though my hair is long, it's too darn frustrating! The tool keeps snapping prematurely and I can't roll my hair up evenly using it. Did you have the same problems?

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Where there's a will, there's a way.

If you have straight hair, you could try a poopsy tail---its where you flip your ponytail...you need a simple plastic tool and its probably too hard to explain here, can anyone else try? It takes TWO secodns and it looks really cute with straight hair!


Since I have curly hair my hair can get frizzy so I just do really fast corn rows or twists back into a pony tail and twist it into a bun or a messy bun. Twists come in hands tho because you're hair wont fall out, they are tight, and no frizzies!!! I actually recommend that the best and best of all, it looks great!!

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Make a ponytail before using Hairagami - if your ponytail is over a foot long, insert the hairagami tool halfway down the ponytail and fold the end inwards toward the base of the tail. This way you will be rolling up a doubled over ponytail. Think of it as a giant hair roller.

Yes, sometimes the hairagami snaps prematurely. It helps to hold the ends of it very firmly. Practice is the best way to master it. It's worth the effort.

French braids work very well, and can be worn as pigtails, single, smaller would be corn rows or even a reversed french braid(havent seen them for a while).

So far everyone seems to have long hair, what about shorter hair options?

The trouble with short hair is that there very often is only one way you can style it!

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

You can say that again, and especialy if it prefers to stay straight!

Steven

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what's a reversed french braid?