Ponytail, bun, plait... the choices!!

[Lone Kitten]

Hi girls

first off, it's lovely that we now have a place to discuss things like this. Nice one to GreenArrow for getting stuck in and setting it all up. Have always thought we needed something like this.

I have VERY long hair.It's also frizzy! For kendo i tend to plait it, I find that if i just ponytail it it somehow manages to work its way down the back of my gi. Even if i plait it, sometimes after a hard keiko it still does that. I've tried putting it in a bun, but then it gets in the way of my men himo. I suppose plaiting is the best bet, but has anyone come up with any other ideas that work? (definitely a women's issue!)

just wondered what everyone thinks!

[Genya]

I´m not a girl, but a boy with long hair. I usually put my hair on a ponytail and tuck it under my tenugi. I don´t know how that works with VERY long hair, but for me it works well.

It´s awfull when hair gets messed up with men himo knot.

[Paburo]

I´m not a girl, but a boy with long hair. I usually put my hair on a ponytail and tuck it under my tenugi. I don´t know how that works with VERY long hair, but for me it works well.

It´s awfull when hair gets messed up with men himo knot.

top. knot.

[GreenArrow]

In my long hair days, when I was on site I had to put my hair back so I could (a) get my hard-hat on and (b) so it wouldn't tangle in the fall-arrest harness.

I used a ponytail, band tight so it didn't slip but loose in that it was at the nape of my neck/top of my shoulders. If needed I plaited it from there.

The alternative was the high ponytail stuck out the back of the hard-hat harness- but it got tangled and also gave me a headache after a while with the wieght of hair.

I don't have that problem now- these days, when my hair is more than an inch long, it's time for a trim

[rottunpunk]

the best one i found was to put my hair into thin braids then put it into a ponytail.
otherwise a plait with the bobble below the himo line
have you tried just leaving it down?

[Bailee]

I've found a low ponytail works well. Keeps it out of the way of the men himo most of the time.

I've tried to high ones, but then I have trouble with my tenugui.

[Commander]

For me its a ponytail, i have very long black hair.
I have also left it down once and it gets tangled when you tie the himo; not good

[Naginatagirl]

My hair gets tangled ridiculously easily, so putting it in any sort of pony tail or braid didn't help much since it would still get caught in my men himo. Now I do as Genya and shove it in my tenegui. Holds it secure and out of the way. No worries.

[KendoKT]

what i did was first put my hair in a low pony tail, then i would braid it. i found this worked the best when i had very long hair, it kept it from geting tangled in the himo.

[Solinde]

I agree with the rest, low ponytail or braided is the best. My hair is not all that long though so I prefer to make it...a special kind of braid that I have no idea what it might be called in English. Anyway, it's the kind of braid that starts on your head and not at the neckline, if you know what I mean. Like in this picture although at the back of the head: http://dorba.webblogg.se/images/fl_ta.jpg

[tantadi]

Low ponytail, I wear the tenugui low and the himo over the tenugui. This way I avoid the hairy men himo knot.

[Alison2805]

My hair is just under shoulder length at the back - too short to put in a ponytail, so it gets tangled in the himo constantly. Once it was so bad, I was still trying to get my men off and everyone had finished, bowed, and was packing up. Any ideas from anyone as to how to stop shorter hair getting caught in the himo?

Has anyone tried tying a ponytail at the side of thier head just below thier ear and tucking the poytail into their gi? Would that work for you?

[tantadi]

As I said, wear the himo over the tenugui. Might be difficult if you tie your himo at the base of the neck though.

[Alison2805]

My tenugui never comes down far enough at the back.

[Solinde]

Get a bigger tenugui. Actually, at a taikai last year I was surprised to see that all the other girls wore their ponytails high so that it stood out as a bump at the back of the head, under the tenugui. Then they tied the himo under the bump, so that it helped keep the himo in place. Seemed reasonable enough, but I've found it to be way to difficult.

My idea for shortish hair (not short enough to leave be, not long enough for a low ponytail) is still the kind of braids that I talked about earlier. Since they start on your head and not at the neck they work well with shorter hair.