Quick hairdos that fit under a hardhat

[Ocelan]

I started work in a quarry today and atleast a part of the day I need to wear a hardhat which means I can't fit my usual high buns in there. I've worked in a quarry before for a couple of months but this time it will be atleast over a year. I usually wore a braid, but that can get boring and can cause damage in the long run.

Does anyone have suggestions for good fast hairstyles to fit under a hardhat? I don't wear ponytails anymore due to them being damaging (I'm already growing out old damage from them). The hairdos would have to be doable in a very short time, preferably 3 or 4 minutes tops since I don't want to wake up even earlier in the morning than what I have to. They should also keep the hair off my face easily and stay all day. Demands, demands, demands, huh?

[neko_kawaii]

Lots of buns done low on the nape should work. Here are some ideas. Of course some of those would not last the day. Braiding and then bunning will improve the durability of a bun.

[Zesty]

I'm not sure if this is an option because I'm not sure about what hardhats are supposed to fit like, etc., but I would think about doing the Madora (French braid into two English braids, wrapped around the head -- prep time depends on your braiding/pinning skills). That or a flat bun like a vortex bun. If having hair under it is not an option, I think a low braided infinity bun or something like that would be best, and probably the quickest. There's a recent thread about hair and helmets, you might look for that one.

[Ocelan]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will try those out and will try and find that thread aswell. I wasn't aware of one. My smaller fork should be able to hold most of the buns if I get them right. The fork buns usually stay quite well on me but I rarely have done low ones.

The hardhats are slightly adjustible so I might be able to fit something like the Madora under one. Just today I had a french braid so it shouldn't take much more space than that. Might take a little more time than I would like to spend but on some mornings I wake up before the alarm goes off so I get a few more minutes to spare.

[browneyedsusan]

A paranda? That will keep your ends protected at least? Two low buns --one on each side? I'm trying to think what I would do, but it's hard. I've never had hair as long as it is now, much less as long as yours!

[ghost]

Milkmaid braids, or one braid pinned all the way around your head? I use those to get my hair under a wig & wig cap.

[Ocelan]

Thanks browneyedsusan and ghost! I thought of using a paranda, but I haven't tried it yet. I need to test which ones of mine are proper length to protect my ends but not too long to get caught between boxes of rocks. Milkmaid braids and braid pinned around my head sound like good ideas and I hadn't thought of them yet!

Today I had my hair in a low cinnabun held with a small hair fork and it held ok for some time but I had to redo it a few times. Low buns don't hold as well for me as high ones do. It is still a useable solution for days when I only have to be outdoors and therefore using the hardhat a few times a day.

ETA: I still should get me some of those double pointed aluminum knitting needles so I could make U pins to hold my buns. They should be more secure and safer with a hardhat than a longer hairfork.

[torrilin]

There are a lot of threads floating around for bike helmet hair. IME hard hats are designed to fit somewhat similarly to bike helmets, but they usually are meant to have more of an air gap between your scalp and the helmet surface. I'm not clear on whether it's a safety problem to use that air gap for holding hair. On a bike helmet, I know it isn't a problem if the helmet meets the other good fit criteria, or if wearing your hair under the helmet causes it to meet more good fit criteria.

I do use high buns under my bike helmet, usually held with spin pins or U pins. Some bun styles stick out a great deal from your head and don't work well (cinnamon buns are very guilty of this) and others are much more flat to the head (for me, Celtic knots and the Gibraltar bun and the vortex bun are good). My ponytail has never been thicker than 3" tho, so if your hair is thicker, this may not be viable.

You can do twin braids and form the loops into an interlaced infinity shape low on your neck. I find this style takes a fair number of pins to secure it, but it's doable to get it very low indeed, and it holds pretty well under a helmet. If your hair is very thick or very slither prone, this may make helmet hair easier.

[Ocelan]

You are right, there is quite a bit of gap between the head and the hardhat and just for my own safety I won't be filling all the space between, but I think I might be able to put some hair in there as long as I figure out where the gaps are where I could stick my hair. I know low buns would need to be really low to work (and I mean they need to be in the neck, not where there's actual hair growth) since there's a strap just there, but you may be right about flat high buns fitting under there. I'll have to experiment! Thank you for your insight!

[excentricat]

I can usually fit a nautilus or lazy wrap in the space above that neck strap. The challenge for me is always getting the hat back *off* without the straps destroying the bun.