Can hair be too long for crown braid?

[In|{girl]

So I have the following problem, I practice acrobatic gymnastics so I need a hairstyle that is VERY secure but uses few bobby pins (for one because I am bad at bobby pinning :() I need to be able to do a headstand with it and lie on it. For this reason I have decided to learn how to crown braid as it seemed the only hairstyle that met my needs, but my hair is a little below TBL and quite thick so when I do it I can wrap the braid that is left over after going once around the entire head around it a second time which makes it difficult to secure and in general it doesn't stay up very well.

Now my question to you is whether it is possible to make a secure crown braid with my length of hair and if not I would appreciate any suggestions as to what other hairstyles you would suggest for me to try.

[MegaMystery]

You could look into hair sewing? I think Torrin Paige made a video about that, I think it's called something with Elisabethan hair taping? That way you wouldn't have to bobby pin at all :)

[lunalocks]

You might try a very low bun, like an infinity, secured with spin pins rather than bobby pins. My hair laughs at bobby pins.

[Seeshami]

I think there is a braid similar called a spiral braid. It's a lace crown braid that you spiral from what I have seen. The majority of your hair ends up lace braided around it's self.

[Magalo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUgvGskIhHg

[Milui Elenath]

For myself I do a Dutch crown braid and then thread the length kind of in and out of the braid all the way round again. I only secure the very end with crossed over bobby pins. My hair likes to spit them out usually but seems to work in this style. I also think Elizabethan hair taping is a good option.

[Anje]

Definitely look into [Elizabethan] hair taping/sewing. That should secure your hair without any hard metal pieces that could poke you if you land wrong, and it's secure.

Also, bobby pins are a horrible way to secure a bun. (Not bad in my experience for crown braids, but not great.) Look for U-shaped hairpins instead -- Amish hairpins are especially good and there's nothing on the market that's quite like them. Use them as tiny hairforks (that is, don't try to pinch hair between the tines; that's not how they work). Much more secure way to hold a bun, and it probably will require fewer pins.

[jacqueline101]

I'd try spin pins and if you don't have good results do the hair sewing.

[goldloli]

in on this thread. i do this sport too and bobby pins just dont hold. I tried a low bun but when i fell on my back during a flip the bun dug into my neck quite nastily which could have been very dangerous! i tried a high up bun which either falls out or gets in the way of rolls/headstands/bboy freezes, braids whip you and are now so long they touch the floor when upside down.

there's one style which could probably work, which is 2 double buns (one either side) only idk how to do them so i dont look like a child, star wars or a burly dutch nanny.

[Savvyhorsez]

I myself use a tight wrap bun held with a hair stick, I can run and ride horses at any gait. I do pretty much anything in that hair style, I love it! I've yet to master a crown braid on my own hair, but with my hair I'd think I'd have to use a ton of bobby pins.

[Natalia]

Ive never done a crown braid so i cant chime in on that but maybe if you kinda zig zaged it across your scalp first then went around the crown it would take up more length? Is a flat side bun impractical for you? I figure if its enough off to the side maybe that might work?

[alexis917]

I vote you try it without bobby pins first. Spin pins work for me- kept a cinnabun during a half marathon!
Then again, I wasn't doing flips or anything, haha.
But yeah, my hair's thick and bobby pins just sort of snag it instead of holding well.

[chen bao jun]

spin pins are great and amish hair pins hold up my hair too (which nothing ever held up well before I found these two things.) I find the crinkled amish hair pins work best. They also come in two different lengths. They hold up my ultra-curly thick hair but i think they must be even better for slippery fine hair since this seems to be a typical amish hair type (from the videos I've seen showing them using the hair pins, always with their faces kept hidden).

[teal]

Another vote for spin pins. A simple braid from the crown coiled into a bun and secured with spin pins is rock solid. That is my go-to swim style, because I cannot afford to have my hair coming loose when I've got my eyes and hands on toddlers who think they'll float like a cork, or just don't think.

[kme81]

This weaved double braided do holds really well with very few pins in my experience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG4MTltnX7M
I have done this with both french and dutch braids, and my hair is thicker and longer than Loepsie's in this video, so maybe this will work. Oh, Torrinpaige did a version as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zA37CREatY

I also second the hair taping advice...I can't think of anything holds quite as solidly. (especially for people who's hair laughs at non-braided buns held with pins, i.e. my hair :))

Furthermore, hair taping does not necessarily equal a crown braid, you could also sew down the average braided bun, for example.

[spirals]

Maybe twin dutch braids crossed and wrapped around the crown, held with spin pins?

[Paranda Belle]

Try the yulia timoshenko crown braid to eat up more hair. There is a YouTube tutorial somewhere.

[eresh]

The spiral braid works well for my hair, it eats up more length than a regular crownbraid.
I still have braid left and I pin that aound my head, but hairsewing is much more secure.

Making two ropebraids and sew them into place like a crownbraid is VERY secure, I can shake my head and upside down and it does not budge.
Only downside is that it takes some time to take it down again :-)

For horseriding I usually do a regular low braid and fold it (a few times, depending on length) , then put 3 or four elastics (cut off pantyhose) around it in intervals.
Eeeeh how to best describe this....I hope you know what I mean ;-)

[In|{girl]

Thanks so much for all the answers, I'm definitely going to take a look at hair taping, the hairstyle kme81 suggested sounds great too I think I'm just going to try one suggestion at a time ;)
...oh and I've already ordered some spin pins since I can't buy them in stores in my country...or at least I haven't found them yet...anyways I believe they'll be great also for just regular buns :D