Hair Romance

The Best Hair Blog - with tutorials for curly hairstyles and more

  • Home
  • Tutorials
  • Curly Hair
  • Curly Hair Guide
  • Shop
    • Ultimate eBook Bundle
    • 30 Days of Twist & Pin Hairstyles – The eBook
    • 30 Braids in 30 Days – The eBook
    • 30 Days of Curly Hairstyles – The eBook
    • 30 Buns in 30 Days – The eBook
  • About
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • DISCLOSURE POLICY
  • Contact

How to look good while you workout – 3 long-lasting hairstyle tutorials you can wear all day

February 25, 2015 By Hair Romance 18 Comments

Hair Romance - gym workout hairstyles you can wear all day

Do you ever skip exercising because of your hair?

There’s no need to use your hair as an excuse with these three long-lasting gym hairstyle tutorials that will keep you looking good while you workout and beyond.

My hair is too pretty to ruin by exercising today

Don’t use this excuse…try these pretty hairstyles instead! (pic by @SoniaStyling)

I’ve teamed up with the fabulous Julie from Me, My Best And I for these gym hairstyles. Julie is much fitter than I am (just check her blog for more wellness and beauty posts) and she’s also recently gone for a lob.

She was struggling with styles for shorter hair that would stay in while she worked out. Together we created a Dutch braid updo, a French braid updo and a sporty version of the bubble ponytail.

They can be done in any hair length from shoulder length and longer.

Now a bun or ponytail is the quickest style for your workout but I find they often get in the way. Does this happen to you too? If you’re doing a class and need to be on the floor, a bun or ponytail is always in that awkward and uncomfortable position.

These braids are sleek and keep your hair up and out of the way. They also are comfortable to wear for any type of exercise from yoga to kick-boxing.

The easiest style is the bubble ponytail, which only takes a minute longer than your everyday ponytail but looks 100 times cooler.

Give these styles a try for your next workout. They’ll stay in the whole time and still look good enough to wear out for the rest of the day too.

Gym hairstyles – Bubble ponytail hairstyle tutorial

Hair Romance - gyn workout hairstyle tutoral - bubble ponytail tutorial

What you need:

  • 5+ clear hair elastics, depending on how long your hair is

Step-by-step:

  1. Brush your hair to remove any knots. If your hair is curly then skip this step.
  2. Take a section of hair from the top of your head and secure with an elastic.
  3. Pick up the next section of hair, from near your temples, add it to the first section and secure it tightly with an elastic.
  4. Take the next section from level with your ears and combine it with the previous section with an elastic.
  5. Continue adding in equal sections of hair down the back of your head, securing them in bubble section with an elastic.
  6. Once all your hair is added, place elastics down the length of your ponytail in equal sections.

Hair Romance - gym workout hairstyle tutoral - bubble ponytail side Hair Romance - gym workout hairstyle tutoral - bubble ponytail front

Styling tips:

  • Use clear hair elastics or choose elastics that match your hair colour. This makes for a sleeker finish to your hairstyle.
  • Faux-hawk it – stretch out the bubble sections of your ponytail even more to create an edgy faux-hawk look.
  • To get extra volume – you can backcomb your hair lightly at the top and crown to create more volume at the top.

Gym hairstyles – Dutch braid updo hairstyle tutorial

Hair Romance - gym workout hairstyle - double dutch

What you need:

  • 2 hair elastics
  • bobby pins

Step-by-step:

  1. Create a middle part and clip the left side up out for the way for now.
  2. At the top of the right side, take a piece of hair at the top and split it into three sections for the start of your braid. Then you take the left section under the middle and the right under the left.
  3. Continue your Dutch braid, adding in hair to the left section and bringing it under to the middle. Repeat on the right and keep adding in hair as you braid under.
  4. Braid all the way down, finishing near the nape of your neck. Once all your hair in combined, keep going in a regular braid.
  5. Secure your braid with a small clear elastic at the end.
  6. Repeat on the left side, creating a Dutch braid down the centre of the left section, finishing near the nape of your neck.
  7. Cross your braids over and curve them up the outside of your braids.
  8. Pin them in place with bobby pins.

Hair Romance - gym workout hairstyle - double dutch back Hair Romance - gym workout hairstyle - double dutch front

Styling tips:

  • Brushing your hair before you begin makes braiding much easier. Unless your hair is curly! Don’t brush curly hair unless you want a ball of frizz.
  • The Dutch braid is just the reverse of the French braid. It’s sometimes called an inside out braid or reverse braid. It’s exactly the same as a French braid, but instead of bringing the pieces over into the middle, you bring them under and into the middle. All the sections that add in and the extra hair you combine will go underneath making this braid hold really well.
  • If you have long hair – pin your braids all the way around into a crown, or twist them into a low, flat braided bun at the back of your head.

Gym hairstyles – French braid updo hairstyle tutorial

Hair Romance - gym workout hairstyle tutorial - double french braid tutorial

What you need:

  • 2 hair elastics
  • bobby pins

Step-by-step:

  1. Part your hair in the middle, clip the left side out of the way as we’ll braid the right side first.
  2. Start your French braid by taking a section of hair at the top of the right side and splitting it into three equal pieces. In the same way you form a regular braid, you bring the right section over into the middle and your left over the right.
    When it comes to doing the third piece, when you bring your right into the middle again, you want to grab a little extra section of hair from the right side of your head and combine it with that piece and bring that into the middle.
    Then on the left side bring that piece into the middle and add in another section of hair from the left hand side. This way you keep forming a regular braid but you keep adding in sections of hair as you go.
  3. Continue braiding down to your lower hairline. Secure the end of your braid with a small hair elastic.
  4. Repeat on the left side, creating a French braid all the way down to to your lower hairline.
  5. Cross your braids over and fold the ends underneath. Tuck in the tails of your braid and pin them in place with bobby pins.

Hair Romance - gym workout hairstyle tutorial - double french braid back Hair Romance - gym hairstyle tutorial - double french braid

Styling tips:

  • Braid position – I like to place the French braids just above the ear and curve them around to follow your hairline.
  • Angle your braids – to keep your braids sitting flat against your hair, angle your braids in the direction that you want them to finish.
  • If you have long hair – twist your braids together, in a kind of pretzel shape, to create a low braided bun.
  • Fold your braids – folding and pinning them in place means they sit flatter than a traditional twisted bun. The flatter your hair sits, the more comfortable it will be for your workout.

Now there are no hairy excuses as to why you have to skip working out! Which style is your fave gym hairstyle? How do you style your hair for a workout?

Filed Under: Braids, Gym Hair, Hair Romance, Tutorials

« Beauty Blog School – How to find time to blog
Big Hair Friday – Barbara Palvin »

Comments

  1. Toni Broome says

    January 17, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    Ohh I love that bubble pony tail and I might just about be within my ability too. The other time I find a pony tail or bun really uncomfortable and don’t want my hair all around my face is on a plane, I’m sort of short and the bump is always in the wrong place for the headrest.

    Reply
    • Hair Romance says

      January 22, 2018 at 5:37 pm

      Thanks Toni! And yes ponytails are the worst for travelling. I have some suggestions for long haul hairstyles here xx

      Reply
  2. Karen says

    May 20, 2016 at 8:45 am

    I love the last one in particular, but am a bit confused…in this style, and a couple in your book, you talk about only picking up hair from the bottom or hairline while doing your French braid – does this mean you’re essentially only picking up new hair every second pass, or you’re sort of reaching down to the bottom to bring in hair for the bottom and top pieces of the braid? Really hoping you can decipher this question and help me out! 🙂

    Reply
    • Hair Romance says

      May 20, 2016 at 10:15 am

      Hi Karen! For some of my French braid styles I only add in hair from one side. This braid is sometimes called a lace braid. So in a lace braid, I’m only adding hair in to the braid from one side, usually the hairline, but it depends on the style. Does that make sense? For the style above, it’s a regular braid so I’m adding in hair on both sides until I reach the neck and then I finish in a regular braid. Hope this helps! If not, let me know and I’ll make a video about it x

      Reply
  3. Mara says

    October 26, 2015 at 6:08 pm

    These are really good, but I’m not allowed pins for gym and my hair is long so just braiding it or bubble pontailing it doesn’t work as it flicks me in the eye. Does anyone know anything that would work for me??

    Reply
    • Hair Romance says

      October 27, 2015 at 6:26 am

      Hi Mara, you could try using clips instead of pins. Or use elastics to create buns at the nape of your neck 🙂

      Reply
  4. Melissa says

    February 28, 2015 at 7:07 am

    My hair is naturally curly so I rarely brush it, but when I put it in any kind of updo I end up with a halo of short frizzies around my face. Not the pretty, delicate, “aren’t your curls cute?” frizzies, but the “oh my word, did you sleep in that hairstyle?” frizzies. Even if I spray some hairspray on the sides it fuzzes up within an hour, especially after exercising. Do you have any product suggestions to help tame the sides and keep them under control so I can look more professional at work, but still enjoy the convenience of an updo?

    Reply
    • Hair Romance says

      February 28, 2015 at 9:31 pm

      Hi Melissa, check out my post on how to tame fuzzy flyaways for tips and this hairstyling hack. Hope this helps xx

      Reply
      • Melissa says

        March 1, 2015 at 2:35 am

        Thank you so much for the quick response. These articles are very helpful!

        Reply
  5. Janessa says

    February 25, 2015 at 1:54 pm

    Just saw this email and decided to do the braided hairstyle. Since my hair is long, I wrapped it around to make a crown braid. I’m going to dance a bit later so I shall see how well it holds up!
    I love your blog so much! I don’t comment often but you inspire me to be creative with hair, love my hair, and have fun.

    Reply
    • Hair Romance says

      February 26, 2015 at 12:32 pm

      oh thanks so much Janessa, that means so much to me xx

      Reply
  6. Sonia from Sonia Styling says

    February 25, 2015 at 12:42 pm

    I love all 3 of these styles! I think the Bubble Ponytail is my fave for 2 reasons: I could probably do it myself (being the absolute braid-novice that I am) and I can add volume to the top of it (I’m not a fan of scraped back hairstyles on my big noggin). Too fit and fabulous! x

    Reply
  7. Phyrra says

    February 25, 2015 at 11:04 am

    I need to practice french and dutch braiding again to give these a try. The bubble one is the easiest 🙂

    Reply
  8. steph says

    February 25, 2015 at 10:21 am

    Looaks great! Im usually rushing to training at 5.30am though and a high bun is as good as it gets lol

    Reply
  9. Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid says

    February 25, 2015 at 7:24 am

    Yes, I suffer from a big nose too, but I think one of these stunning styles would draw attention away from the prominent feature! I never miss a workout because of my hair, but if my hair looked this good, I’d be totally motivated to go to the gym. It would be a hairy good incentive! I usually just have a ponytail and you’re right, it always gets in the way!

    Reply
  10. Karen says

    February 25, 2015 at 2:58 am

    That’s nape, not nap. DYAC!

    Reply
  11. Karen says

    February 25, 2015 at 2:57 am

    I find it so interesting that you say these are more comfortable for floor work than a bun. My first reaction was that they would get in the way of floor work, but I have hip length hair so anything gathered at the nap is uncomfortable lying down.

    I wear my hair in a high bun or very occasionally in two braids, either standard braids or Dutch. I have also worked out with my hair in milkmaid braids but I like that hairstyle to remain pretty sleek and working out will fuzz them up almost as much as sleeping on them for me.

    Reply
  12. Marina says

    February 25, 2015 at 2:08 am

    I wish you did a hairstyle for a big nose…
    Whatever updo I try to make seems to make me look worse because of that, ahem, prominent feature.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

HAIR ROMANCE – LOVE YOUR HAIR


Hi, I'm Christina and welcome to Hair Romance. Here you’ll find tutorials, tips and beauty advice to help you to love your best accessory: your hair.
Find out more here...


Search Hair Romance

SHOP HAIR ROMANCE




Learn how to braid your own hair, style your curls and have new hairstyles every day with Hair Romance's ebooks.

ARCHIVES

HAIR ROMANCE

All information copyright Hair Romance™ 2010-2021. Hair Romance is a registered Trademark.

DMCA.com

QUICK LINKS

Home
About
Braid Now course
30 Days of Curly Hairstyles
Advertise Contact
Privacy

CONTACT

Email: thehair[at]hairromance[dot]com

Mail: PO Box 1288,
Darlinghurst NSW 1300

Twitter: @hairromance
Instagram: @hairromance

Copyright Christina Butcher 2020