How to Secure Slippery Hair for Contact Martial Arts?

[Outmoded]

I normally have my hair free, but for martial arts I pull it back into a loose (secured at shoulder height) ponytail with a seamless nylon hair tie. I can see that this definitely causes hair breakage though, and was planning to switch over to using a silk scrunchy, however, I noticed the other day, that even my nylon hair ties will no longer stay in my hair (my hair has become too slippery), so, I think silk might be a lost cause? How should I secure my hair without causing damage, if ties will not stay in place and I am unable to use anything that would be dangerous to fall on or otherwise pose problems for hand-to-hand combat, fencing, and archery?

I thought, what the hell, and just did class with my hair down once, but for my hair's sake, I should probably not repeat that experience - wound up being thrown to the ground, by my hair, and then having my opponent step on it in order to stop me in my tracks from rolling away... ow.

Oh, I should also add that I am terrible at doing even the simplest braid (I need a lot more practice), let alone anything more complicated (and I simply cannot make myself resort to a man-bun, even if I could master it, because of how ridiculous it makes me look).

[lapushka]

I would do a nape braid (plain English), loose at the nape (so don't tighten it to your head too much), then fold it up your head, a couple times under if it's too long, and secure with pins. If you have spin pins, use those. It will be flat to your head, which you will appreciate if you land on your head, in which case, might want to use the regular bobby pins then rather than the round spin pins.

[Outmoded]

Ah, that sounds good. I do not suppose you could provide a reference how-to image or the like? I am pretty thick when it comes to this kind of thing and have never used pins before. Is bobby pins the way to go, rather than spin-pins? as I do get thrown on my back with my head hitting the mat... pretty much every part of my head that has hair makes contact with the floor, or someone else, at some point or another.

How likely is this to come loose? I mean, I end up in head-locks and things like that... I wouldn't want someone impaling themselves on a loose bobby pin.

[foreveryours]

Cornrows. Doesn't have to be tight but there's no better way to secure a head of not crazy long hair

Something like spin pins, if you take a hit to the head, even if you've got padding, you can get seriously hurt.

:blueeek::blueeek::blueeek: NO HARD POINTED OBJECTS :blueeek::blueeek::blueeek:

[Cyclamen]

French braid or braided bun. But I would start the braid at the top of the head and u-pin it into a bun. That way the bun would stay on top the head and not slide down. Or do two buns if your hair is really heavy.
It's hard to find good sturdy u-pins though. You only need two for braided bun to stay.
I've seen good reviews of Bunheads pins, but I haven't tried them myself.

[AmaryllisRed]

I think interlaced braids would be perfect for this type of thing. Darn that you're not good at braiding. I wonder if there's a simpler version that doesn't involve so much braiding.
What about changing products to decrease slip? When I changed from a shampoo with silicone to one without, my hair got a lot less slippery.
Maybe a ponytail with elastics spaced throughout the length. You can always cut them out when you're done so you don't risk tearing your hair out.

[Cyclamen]

You can also do Heidi braids with ribbons. Just get non satin ribbons or they might not stay.

[Mariekeeee14]

The vortex bun was (I think) invented by a professional ballet dancer that had to secure her hair closely to her head and not hit people. There are a lot of great yt tutorials out there. Is your hair long enough for that one? Or is it not something you’re looking for?

[lapushka]

Ah, that sounds good. I do not suppose you could provide a reference how-to image or the like? I am pretty thick when it comes to this kind of thing and have never used pins before. Is bobby pins the way to go, rather than spin-pins? as I do get thrown on my back with my head hitting the mat... pretty much every part of my head that has hair makes contact with the floor, or someone else, at some point or another.

How likely is this to come loose? I mean, I end up in head-locks and things like that... I wouldn't want someone impaling themselves on a loose bobby pin.

I did the unbraided version for a long time, but with a claw clip, so I doubt that helps any.

Maybe there is already a YT tutorial online somewhere for this style; could be worth it to look for it?

[Outmoded]

What about changing products to decrease slip? When I changed from a shampoo with silicone to one without, my hair got a lot less slippery.

I do not use silicones as is, I think the increased slip is due to the amount I have been oiling, plus generally taking better care of my hair following LHC advice. Apart from the hair-tie issue, I am otherwise very much enjoying the increased slipperiness of my hair, as, before, it was static-y and crazily fly-away with even the slightest breeze.

[Outmoded]

Thank you for all the suggestions guys; I think some kind of braiding is probably the way to go, I would not even necessarily need to put it up on my head, as long as my hair stays out of my face and the length stays put behind my shoulders, it should be fine. Is it possible to secure the end of a braid with one's own hair without causing tangles? I have also read that some people on LHC braid a ribbon into the bottom inches of a braid, in order to tie it off without worrying about the ribbon slipping out, something like that sounds like it would work pretty well for my purposes? It certainly sounds safer than using pins.

[Outmoded]

Until I get the hang of braids, would wrapping a small piece of cloth or leather around my hair, and putting the hair-tie over that, instead of in direct contact with my hair, offer any protection against breakage?

[Mariekeeee14]

Thank you for all the suggestions guys; I think some kind of braiding is probably the way to go, I would not even necessarily need to put it up on my head, as long as my hair stays out of my face and the length stays put behind my shoulders, it should be fine. Is it possible to secure the end of a braid with one's own hair without causing tangles? I have also read that some people on LHC braid a ribbon into the bottom inches of a braid, in order to tie it off without worrying about the ribbon slipping out, something like that sounds like it would work pretty well for my purposes? It certainly sounds safer than using pins.

Morgan Donner made an excellent video about tying off hair in a historical manner (I’m on mobile so I can’t link it right now) and I think it has all the answers you need!

[Kat]

I had aspirations to take a karate class once (then never had the chance), and I think my plan was either Heidi braids, or my hair french-braided with the length of the braid tucked up into the "pocket" created by the french-braided section. Secured with my plastic "Good Hair Days" pins, so they'd be more likely to break than gouge my head upon impact. (Or, as someone else mentioned, both could be secured via ribbon/yarn/string if you wanted to go that route.)

[KokoroDragon]

Until you can get the hang of braiding, I have an unconventional solution that hopefully will work for you. It's a bit DIY but nothing too hard.

Get yourself a cloth headband, you could probably use a bandana as well. Something that goes all the way around your head and fits snugly enough to not slip around. Then take a length of ribbon or similar, I'd guess you'd need about 3-4x the length of your ponytail. Tie the middle of the ribbon onto the headband. When you put the headband on, position the ribbons at the nape of your neck, under your hair. Next, wrap one of the ribbons clockwise and the other anti-clockwise around your hair. Tie it off at the bottom.

I haven't tried this myself, but I would imagine it could work well to contain your hair without hairties or braiding. Good luck!

[Alexandrina]

Have you considered covering your hair?

There's some nice products out there that are supposed to stay on pretty well for contact sports.
There's this one used by mma fighters for example:

https://i.imgur.com/FondjCg.png?1
https://grapplehappy.com/products/happy-hair-hat


Disclaimer I've never tried it myself, I just remember someone recommending it to a martial artist.

Honestly it looks kind of dorky, yeah, but I would 100% wear it instead of getting my hair yanked by people, or stepped on
(how rude of your teammate to step on it on purpose by the way).

[Outmoded]

Thank you, but yes, I believe that is more dorky than I could handle... I think I'd rather deal with my hair getting pulled to be honest, heh heh.

My teammate was not actually being rude; our martial art is not a sport, so, provided that we do not genuinely injure each other, almost anything is permissible, and fighting dirty, especially targeting obvious vulnerabilities, is done deliberately, so, that, when faced with a real situation dealing with people who really will have no qualms, we are at least not going to be as totally unprepared as we would be otherwise. I was kind of asking for it, being in a grappling situation with completely unrestrained waist-length hair, but it was on a day we were told to wear our normal clothes, to get accustomed to the difference it makes (no one walks around on the street day-to-day in their martial arts uniform after-all), and I figured, since I always have my hair down, I should leave it down for that practice... a valuable lesson.
I actually will wear my hair loose for part of practice, trying to get used to all the movements without blinding myself with it, but when actually fighting someone, I'll put it up - though I would obviously not have time to put it up in a real situation, I have no intention of getting it pulled and damaged every single week in practice, just to better prepare for a hypothetical situation that will hopefully never occur (I think hair damage will be the least of my worries if it did).

[Outmoded]

Morgan Donner made an excellent video about tying off hair in a historical manner (I’m on mobile so I can’t link it right now) and I think it has all the answers you need!

That sounds excellent; if you have the link handy at some point I'd love to watch it (I am still trying to figure out, from a written tutorial, how on earth one inserts a ribbon into the bottom part of a braid... I certainly appreciate videos)!

[DropStitches]

That sounds excellent; if you have the link handy at some point I'd love to watch it (I am still trying to figure out, from a written tutorial, how on earth one inserts a ribbon into the bottom part of a braid... I certainly appreciate videos)!

I think I just mentioned this very video on the braid thread - here is Morgan Donner, braiding a ribbon into a single braid (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpT86z93Ec8&t=776s). I also found this Silvousplaits video on how to English braid (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bco3siNm9qg)which I thought does a good job explaining it.

Also, I know that 'man bun' has a lot of cultural connotations, but I personally think it can look very cool and sophisticated, so I wanted to throw a vote in for the man bun too! Something on top of the head, maybe secured with a claw clip towards the front seems to me like it would be reasonably safe (others please correct me if I'm wrong), and might give an opponent less to grab onto than a loose braid.

[Kat]

Thank you, but yes, I believe that is more dorky than I could handle... I think I'd rather deal with my hair getting pulled to be honest, heh heh.


What if you tied it in the back? Then it would have that kind of doo-rag look, rather than "odd old-lady babushka." (Or, just a straight-up doo-rag or buff or bandana.)

[Outmoded]

I think I just mentioned this very video on the braid thread - here is Morgan Donner, braiding a ribbon into a single braid (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpT86z93Ec8&t=776s). I also found this Silvousplaits video on how to English braid (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bco3siNm9qg)which I thought does a good job explaining it.


Cheers.



Something on top of the head, maybe secured with a claw clip towards the front seems to me like it would be reasonably safe (others please correct me if I'm wrong), and might give an opponent less to grab onto than a loose braid.


I think I should avoid anything hard or pointy or that could otherwise cause problems if it came loose, so, claw clips are out.

[Outmoded]

What if you tied it in the back? Then it would have that kind of doo-rag look, rather than "odd old-lady babushka." (Or, just a straight-up doo-rag or buff or bandana.)

Nah, still too much. Also, I do not want cover my head, I get overheated and sweat buckets during practice as is.

[foreveryours]

Nah, still too much. Also, I do not want cover my head, I get overheated and sweat buckets during practice as is.

You don't wear headgear?

[Outmoded]

Nope, there is very little protective gear worn; some people do not wear any.

[foreveryours]

Brain injury, even "mild" where your brain just sloshes around inside your skull, is cumulative and irreversible

[sapphire-o]

My hair is very slippery. If you don't want anything complicated, I would just use some product to make it less slippery. Hair gel comes to mind but I'm sure people can recommend all sorts of things. I use velvet or other textured fabric scrunchies but any strong hair tie would do. Goop up your hair with product. Tie a looped ponytail, then use a second hair tie two inches down the length, a third one... etc. until the end. There is no way they would all fall off. And you can wash off the hair products after. In your case I think your safety is more important than worrying about a bit of damage. If all your hair ties are matched and dark colored, it wouldn't look dorky at all. :)

[Outmoded]

Brain injury, even "mild" where your brain just sloshes around inside your skull, is cumulative and irreversible

We never do full contact strikes to the head on each other. Generally, most of the moves are practiced with restraint, as it is aimed towards permanently removing your opponent from combat as quickly and efficiently as possible, we would end up blind or with broken bones, dislocating joints, punctured organs and so forth otherwise. I am trying to avoid wearing anything sharp or hard in my hair mainly due to the amount of grappling involved (easy for anything in my hair to get grabbed, caught on a person's sleeve, compressed against my head, stepped on etc.) and the fact that I am still very bad at falling and rolling properly, though we still use mats at my level at least.

[Outmoded]

My hair is very slippery. If you don't want anything complicated, I would just use some product to make it less slippery. Hair gel comes to mind but I'm sure people can recommend all sorts of things. I use velvet or other textured fabric scrunchies but any strong hair tie would do. Goop up your hair with product. Tie a looped ponytail, then use a second hair tie two inches down the length, a third one... etc. until the end. There is no way they would all fall off. And you can wash off the hair products after. In your case I think your safety is more important than worrying about a bit of damage. If all your hair ties are matched and dark colored, it wouldn't look dorky at all. :)

My skin has yet to meet a hair gel that it gets along with, but the looped ponytail with multiple scrunchies is a good idea. How does velvet compare to silk or nylon for grip? If I could find some kind of hair ties/scrunchies that would work without breaking my hair all over the place, that would be great. At the moment I have been practicing braiding, which works well, though I still need my sister's help to not have it looking a lopsided mess.

[KokoroDragon]

My skin has yet to meet a hair gel that it gets along with, but the looped ponytail with multiple scrunchies is a good idea. How does velvet compare to silk or nylon for grip? If I could find some kind of hair ties/scrunchies that would work without breaking my hair all over the place, that would be great. At the moment I have been practicing braiding, which works well, though I still need my sister's help to not have it looking a lopsided mess.

I've found flaxseed gel to give pretty good grip (though I made it with coconut water instead of regular water, so that might have affected my results). It gives great slip while wet, but on my dry hair it became grippy.

[nougat]

Have you actually tried out silk yet? I’ve found real silk to have surprisingly good grip, unlike satin (often marketed as “silky”), which slides all over the place. But YMMV. Velvet seems like it would be pretty grippy. I’ve never tried invisibobbles (those ones that look like old coiled phone cords), but those might provide less damage with more grip for you, since coils kind of mesh into your hair.

Braids are nice because you can vary how close to the end you tie them off, which prevents all the stress being centered at the same point over and over. Still in danger of being yanked, but harder to catch than loose tresses. I love an English braid for sport myself. Just watch out—if you’re at waist length, it might whack you in the face if you whip around quickly. ;)

[Outmoded]

I've found flaxseed gel to give pretty good grip (though I made it with coconut water instead of regular water, so that might have affected my results). It gives great slip while wet, but on my dry hair it became grippy.

Thanks, I have not tried flaxseed gel yet, I shall duly add it to my list of things to try.

[Outmoded]

Have you actually tried out silk yet? I’ve found real silk to have surprisingly good grip, unlike satin (often marketed as “silky”), which slides all over the place. But YMMV. Velvet seems like it would be pretty grippy. I’ve never tried invisibobbles (those ones that look like old coiled phone cords), but those might provide less damage with more grip for you, since coils kind of mesh into your hair.

I actually have not, good to know, I was eyeing some silk scrunchies but had decided against buying them based on my assumptions... I think I will go ahead and purchase them after all. I'll try velvet next if they do not work out.


Braids are nice because you can vary how close to the end you tie them off, which prevents all the stress being centered at the same point over and over. Still in danger of being yanked, but harder to catch than loose tresses. I love an English braid for sport myself. Just watch out—if you’re at waist length, it might whack you in the face if you whip around quickly. ;)

My hair is not yet long enough to really be whipping about, but I suppose when it is, I can just tuck it down my back beneath the collar of my uniform... it is a rather pathetic braid anyhow (no one can tell how thin and broken my hair is normally because it has so much body, but when compressed into a braid, well, it looks more like an emaciated rat's tail, heh).

[Pouncequick]

The vortex bun was (I think) invented by a professional ballet dancer that had to secure her hair closely to her head and not hit people. There are a lot of great yt tutorials out there. Is your hair long enough for that one? Or is it not something you’re looking for?

The vortex bun is amazing for dance but wouldn't be safe for martial arts. I've done both and the pins will hurt terribly when you get thrown to the mat. For ballet where I am not expecting to whack my head against things it is amazing. The marine bun might work if you could do it with no pins. I have very slick hair and usually need at least two. That one is also pretty amazing for dance.

Braiding is definitely your best bet. I secure my braids with embroidery thread a lot of the time. It works really well and since I can buy colors that closely match my hair and braid the thread in for several stitches so it almost never comes undone. Also the loose thread ends can be used to tie the end of my braid back to the top and make a folded braid. I usually use two dutch/french braids for high energy sports to keep as many flyaways as possible out of my face which I transform into a single braid for the length. Since I wear sports bras, I will also just pull the bra on over my braid and pull the gi on over that if a folded braid isn't working. It isn't perfect but nobody is grabbing my braid tail and I'm not hitting people with it.

Until you get the hang of braiding, I used to do judo with just a folded ponytail. You make a normal ponytail but don't pull the ends all the way through on the last pass. I usually stopped pulling the ends through when they are the same length as the loop and that stayed pretty well. This worked okay from APL to about WL for me. You can also do a caterpillar braid. Instead of braiding you secure hair ties at even distances down your hair as if you wanted to tie rushes together. It keeps the hair as contained as a braid and I find it's a bit less flexible so it whips around less. I usually needed at least four hair ties to keep my hair pretty contained.