help with a style for dusty arenas

[Darkhorse1]

Hey gang!
I need some styling help.

With the weather getting so unusually warm for this time of year, our indoor arenas are incredibally dusty. We can't ride outside due to the mud, so as a result, lots of flying dust. The arenas are being watered, but that's not helping with my latest issue--dirt.

I braided my hair for work (as per usual) and on Sunday, my braid was coated in dirt. When I took it out of the braid, it was soooo gritty, I had to do a water rinse (just the ends, as I wore a baseball hat over my scalp).

The grit is really sapping moisture from it. I'm using pantene conditioner and it was soooo softy and glossy shiny when I left for work Sunday morning. It's also causing serious knotting under my head.

My dilema? I have to have my hair in a low braid so I can get on a school a horse should I need to. So, I'm trying to figure out how to wear it in a braid, but keep it dirt free. I tried putting it up in my baseball hat, but it affected the fit.

I'd welcome any tips at this point. My only thought would be to do more oilings as a way to combat the dirt--it really is like a sandblaster to my ends and dries it out as well as tangles it.

[deviantkitten]

How about doing a "Harley braid"? Torring Paige has a tutorial on this style on youtube
It is basically a braid wrapped in a length of ribbon

Can you wear your hair in a scarf? Or does it have to be down and in a braid? You can try bunning it, then wrapping your head in a headscarf.
Lemme find you the link on the Harley braid BRB LOL


ETA:
Here is the link for the Harley braid-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLnBEVd0gOg

And oiling it is a good idea, as long as the hair is protected by a covering of some sort. THe oil will definitely attract the dust!

[countryhopper]

wow... that's a tough one...!

I remember a memeber on here talking about clipping her long braid to the inside of her shirt, so the hair stays protected by hanging inside. Do you think that could work? Or maybe some kind of snood amde of solid cloth instead of netting...

[Purdy Bear]

Iv been thinking about this, as I live in a high pollution area, so want to give my hair a chance when it is growing.

As said before Torrin Paige's Harley braid is brilliant, but it might be worth investing in a nice hat, if you dont have to wear a safety hat (we do here in the UK) when riding horses, with a crown braid or the like underneath. I got a large summer hat from Ebay, that has adjustable straps at the back so you can tighten or loosen it (NB hats come in different sizes and a good one will come in a range of them).

[ruffian]

Ugh...I remember how horrible it was when the arena got dusty like that. Mine used to get so bad that you couldn't see from one end of the arena to the other, no matter how much you watered it. It fried your hair, got in your eyes (and nose and mouth, blecch)... The only thing you can do is find a way to keep as much of your hair covered as possible. (I know, that's so incredibly helpful lol) Wether it's a bandana, or some kind of close-to-the-head updo...whatever works. I know helmets make it damn near impossible, and whatever you figure out is probably going to look goofy, but it's worth it not to have cruchy, dirty, smelly hair that takes forever to get back to normal.

I would also suggest some strategically placed fans to help suck the dust out of the arena.

Lastly, and the most impractical suggestion of all :p - you can do what I did, and replace the footing in your arena with shredded recycled rubber. True, it can be prohibitivley expensive, especially if you have a larger arena, or, as I gather from your post, multiple arenas; but woooooooooooow is it worth it. I have just a small indoor arena and replaced the footing several years ago, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Two words: NO. DUST. Repeat - NO. DUST. EVER. Not only that, but the horses seem to like it better. It's nice and forgiving on their joints. :cool:

LOL I know I haven't been much help, I just wanted to relate my experience with the same problem. Just protect your hair by any means neccessary!

[Angela_Rose]

Hi, DarkHorse1.
I find myself in this pickle more often than not with Thunder, especially when he's being lazy & not picking up his feet! (time for more ground poles...)

Anyway! I oil up, put it in a low, tight braid, and then bag that all up in a bandanna, when then gets tied into the base of the braid. That way, it's kept clean, moisturised, out of the way, and it sits below the bottom edge of my helmet.


ETA:


Lastly, and the most impractical suggestion of all :p - you can do what I did, and replace the footing in your arena with shredded recycled rubber. True, it can be prohibitivley expensive, especially if you have a larger arena, or, as I gather from your post, multiple arenas; but woooooooooooow is it worth it. I have just a small indoor arena and replaced the footing several years ago, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Two words: NO. DUST. Repeat - NO. DUST. EVER. Not only that, but the horses seem to like it better. It's nice and forgiving on their joints. :cool:

I used to ride in an indoor with shredded leather footing. It was amazing. So soft, never dusty, the acoustics in the indoor were great... man, if ever I build my own place, that stuff will be MINE.

[anneisanne]

You could get or make a ponytail sleeve- just a tube of stretchy fabric that you can pull over your braid and secure with an elastic.

[JessTheMess]

HAHA I'm suffering through the same dilemma. I've been doing a very low bun, with a black stocking wrapped over it, held by a ficcare. I know you have much more hair than I though, so I don't know how well it would work for you

[JessTheMess]

replace the footing in your arena with shredded recycled rubber.

I have heard nothing but good things about this kind of footing. I WISH our arena had it.

[Darkhorse1]

Oooh! Rubber footing is the BEST! Or leather. It's amazing. Ahh, what money can buy.

I'll play around with some ideas, but right now, I"m an emotional mess. See my blog for deals.

[Finoriel]

I always do this:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2818&pictureid=68074
:p Sorry, I could not find the scarf I usually use for this, so a drawing will do hopefully. No artist obviously.

It is like a faked fake crown braid :silly: with an additional protecting layer of thin fabric over ones head and wrapped around the braid. The scarf needs to be long enough to fit around ones head obviously and the thinner the material of the scarf, the better - otherwise it can become a pretty bulky roll depending on how thick ones braid is. Then you just wrap the roll containing the braid around your head and tuck the end under the base of the roll. Kind of like for my modified towel turban (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=153). Holds really secure as long as you don´t do a headstand :wink: and after some practicing it´s really fast to put on and off as needed. Depending on the quality of the fabric it keeps off dust, mud and even rain.