Exercise-related....what to do with my long hair?!?

I exercise a ton, and my hair is really really long, almost all the way down to my butt. How do I keep it from getting in the way? Do you have any tips for pulling it back and not getting wispies in your face every five seconds? I've done ponytails and braids, and I just don't know how to keep the flyaways down. It gets really annoying, especially when I'm doing cardio!

get a stretchy headband... or cut your hair...

I have had long hair pretty much all my life.  It is not as long as it once was, but I know what you mean by flyaways.

For myself, I either braid it or it put it in a pony tail and then wrap my head in a bandana to keep the annoying little hairs from getting in my eyes or sticking to my sweaty face.

How's that?

Hehe!  I was thinking about posting something similar, but never got around to it - so funny (sounds like such a minor problem until you're dealing with it)!  And for those who say "cut your hair" - NOT!

I normally have to ponytail AND braid when I run, and then get whipped the whole way.  If I don't braid, the ponytail sticks to my sweaty back. 

Sometimes I make a ponytail, then twist the length of it, and wrap it around the pony a couple of times, then use a long barrette to hold it at the top (kind of like a bun, but not as refined).  It sometimes falls out of the "bun" when thre's too much "up and down" movement in the exercise, but stays off my back and face.

I've also stared wearing those "clip" V-like barettes in the front (sometimes 3-4) to hold off the wisps since I have bangs (looks a little juvenile, but who cares).  I've tried all kinds of headbands with ponytails, but they tend to fall off during exercise.

I'm having a similar yet opposite problem.

I cut my hair to get used to it being short for the Army, but now it's too short to tie back and is in my face all the time.

I've tried stretchy headbands, even the ones with grips, and the thinner elastic bands, but they always fall off when I run.  I should try the bandana idea...

I throw my hair in a ponytail, twirl it in a bun type thingy, and stop the fly aways with a few clippy things, or a couple bobby pins.

not uncomfortable, and it works well.

my hair probably isn't as long as most of yours BUT...

a. I tie it all up in a really sloppy ponytail/bun thing lol.  Probably not pretty, but I'm about to be all sweaty and funky, perfectly coifed hair isn't my priority at the moment.

b. I use "bed head", in a stick kind of like deoderant, and put it on the spots around my face that always seem to have whispies.  I usually pull my hair back in the morning when it's still slightly wet after my shower and then go on whispie maintenance.  By the time i go to the gym in the afternoon my hair is just plain used to be pulled back. 

note:  don't go crazy with the bed head or your hair will be gross.  Just use a tiny bit.

I use a lot of bobby pins and a pony tail.

use product to control the wispies, hair spray, gel, cream, pomade, etc

If your hair is that long it shouldn't be much of a problem. Considering that you can put it back in a ponytail or bun. Using clips to keep back bangs, if you might have those. With a bit of gel if it's a serious issue..  Normally, it's those with shorter hair that have a problem. Because their hair isn't quite long enough to put back in a ponytail ect ect. Live with it. Lol.

ummm....how bout a  bun and a thin grippy headband? I buy a roll of pre-wrap at academy sports (sporting goods store) and make a headband out of that...this way I can just throw it away....I've got hip-length hair too and I never have a problem

I'll put in another vote for the bandana solution:  for the short hair, I just wrapped it up in a kerchief and bobby-pinned it to the sides to keep it from slipping and to keep the little bitty side hairs back. 
I'd think that the super-long-hair solution might be a bun- or several smaller buns- (a ponytail that long will just smack you in the face!) with a bandana as well. 

How about just a running hat?  I use one of the light mesh hats from Roadrunners and it's great to run outside with b/c everything is contained :).  No wispies and my hair is held high enough off of my neck and I twist it into a bun or longer ponytail/braid. 

I did rowing and was always afraid I'd get it caught in the slide.  I typically ponytailed and braided the ponytail, then wrapped the braid around the core wide side perpendicular to my head.  I then used a second ponytail holder to hold the tail against the ponytail base.  Then I used two hairsticks/chopsticks in an X to go through all the layers of my braid, UNDER the ponytail base, and out the other side going through all the braid layers again.

I never had that come loose even in head races (long endurance races).  And in rowing you swing your head forward and backward a lot so it took a lot of abuse.

I have since cut my hair and I miss my long hair.  :-(  I'll be old and gray by the time I grow it back out.

Thanks for the ideas everyone! I normally do a ponytail and then brain it, but I think I'll try the headbands for the wispies or a pomade or something. Wish me luck!

Oh..and I have considered cutting it..but I'm too attached. Maybe for Locks of Love after a few more inches, so I don't miss it as much!

I have had long hair since...forever. DON"T cut it! You'll regret it.  I got about half cut off and now it is even harder to keep up.  I work on cars alot and loose hair around moving belts are abad thing.    I twirl it around on crown of head, scruncie at base, scruncie over top of twirl, and cover with a little bag like thing(don't know what they are called but they came in a pack of 3, I think from family dollar) as for the front wispsy stuff--"stiff stuff" works great--sometimes too great as it is sometimes hard to get out.

ellybell ... you're only 25!  Your hair will grow out again in no time.

I had long, long hair I could sit on until I moved to Arizona and thought it would be too hot. I cut it off chin-length and almost cried that day.  It looked really good short ... but I'm not a "short-hair" person.  Growing it out was a pain (the in-between stages just looked messy) and I have not had it shorter than mid-back since (right now it's below my waist) - and it's been over 15 years!  It did grow pretty fast, though.

I've decided I'm going to be one of those long-gray-haired ladies as I get older.  There's too few of them around! :)

you could just shave your head lol.  Thats what I did!!!  It took awhile for my mom to get used to the mohawk but she thinks its cool now

I have hair kinda like Peter Petrelli's at the moment. . . not long overall, but long at the front and always in my face ^_^; .  Usually I have to either slick it back with hair gel and/or put tight-holding hairclippies in it to keep it out of my eyes while exercising (or else, I kinda can't see and all. . .).  For short hair, you just have to remember that "tight-holding" clippies are the key.  I've had things fly out of my hair randomly while exercising before, if they didn't hold well enough.

Use wider headband.  Or use a strong hold hairspray to keep the wispies down.  I also find bobbie pins to be the best invention ever... they work best with a little hairspray, too.