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barnet_fair
September 25th, 2019, 05:52 AM
There have been some helpful threads on how to wear hair during yoga - here are a few:
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=50790
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=39605
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2433
https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=24422

I wear two English braids for yoga and just flip them out of the way when needed.

But I find that my hair rubs horribly on the mat when in certain poses, such as savasana. I'm not sure what my yoga mat is made of but it looks like rubber or some sort of synthetic material.

So my question is: Has anyone found a yoga mat with hair-friendly material?

Alternatively, I have noticed with interest that some ladies at my gym wear sports hijabs (e.g. https://www.nike.com/gb/t/pro-hijab-y7mzD8) - I wonder if this would help or whether the hair would rub just as much inside the hijab?

CuteCrow
September 25th, 2019, 06:44 AM
I think a silk/satin scarf hold with some Bobby pins could be a easy solution

Reyn127
September 25th, 2019, 08:04 AM
There are definitely different materials for yoga mats that are smoother/less grippy than the typical rubber, but... I couldn’t tell you what they are, you’d have to go find some and feel them for yourself. I do think CuteCrow has a great idea with wearing a scarf, or something, around your head. Smoother/less grippy yoga mats can make it difficult to actually do the poses, in my experience. I’d rather wear something on my head than be slipping around, personally.

AshtangiPNW
September 25th, 2019, 09:06 AM
The cork ones seem to be less grippy and many have really beautiful designs. I always use a microfiber towel over my yoga mat- that might help, too!

Cg
September 25th, 2019, 02:53 PM
I wear a buff, but the silk scarf idea is equally sound.

gin
September 25th, 2019, 09:55 PM
Maybe you could bring in a satin/silk scarf in with you, and whenever you're about to do a pose where your head is in contact with the mat, just grab it and put it under your head? This is what I do at least. :)

spidermom
September 26th, 2019, 06:11 AM
How is hair rubbing during corpse pose?

Arciela
September 26th, 2019, 09:14 AM
I just do a low pony tail or loose braid and havent noticed any damage really. I do yoga daily if that makes any difference.

MoonRabbit
September 26th, 2019, 09:36 AM
How is hair rubbing during corpse pose?

Yeah?

I do yoga every day and never experienced damage. As long as you are not aggressively dragging your head across your mat, I think simply containing your hair would more than suffice...

YvetteVarie
September 27th, 2019, 02:07 AM
I usually wear my satin scarf when working out. It stays on and helps to prevent my braids from becoming fuzzy

barnet_fair
September 27th, 2019, 02:38 AM
How is hair rubbing during corpse pose?

Haha, I didn't explain myself well here. When we're in savasana the yoga teacher will come and shake out our legs and align our shoulders. When she picks up my feet and shakes them, the back of my head rubs on the mat. Once it was so unpleasant, I had difficulty being as corpse-like as I could be. This is hardly ruining my life, I think I just remember it particularly strongly because it got in the way of my relaxation!

barnet_fair
September 27th, 2019, 02:40 AM
Maybe you could bring in a satin/silk scarf in with you, and whenever you're about to do a pose where your head is in contact with the mat, just grab it and put it under your head? This is what I do at least. :)

Thank you gin, I like this approach. Silky scarves don't tend to stay on my hair and certainly wouldn't during exercise - I think my texture is similar to yours, judging by your sig pic. But keeping a scarf nearby would work well.

barnet_fair
September 27th, 2019, 02:44 AM
There are definitely different materials for yoga mats that are smoother/less grippy than the typical rubber, but... I couldn’t tell you what they are, you’d have to go find some and feel them for yourself. I do think CuteCrow has a great idea with wearing a scarf, or something, around your head. Smoother/less grippy yoga mats can make it difficult to actually do the poses, in my experience. I’d rather wear something on my head than be slipping around, personally.


The cork ones seem to be less grippy and many have really beautiful designs. I always use a microfiber towel over my yoga mat- that might help, too!

Thanks, Reyn and AshtangiPNW. I should find a specialist shop and see if I can find a mat with a nice texture. I think the mat I have currently is overly grippy. I'm very sensitive to textures and it does make me quite uncomfortable to try to slide my hands/feet on it.

spidermom
September 27th, 2019, 06:33 AM
I usually do a top of head bun. I'm not advanced enough to be doing poses that involve top of head on mat.