What's a good alternative to putting my hair in a ponytail or rather pathetic bun?

[Collectorofcookbooks]

It's been so hot I've not been straightening my hair, just letting it dry and then bundling it up. However, I must be able to improve on this! My hair is collar bone length and I do have it cut and coloured regularly.

Any ideas for low maintenance 'up do's' which will make me look more professional rather than 'mum who uses her children's hair bobbles as she rushes out of the house'-ish'?

Mine is very long and I put it in a french pleat or a circle loop

I use those donut things for buns. I think if you do it a bit looser/messier- rather than scraped back it can look really neat and professional.

like

I don't think anything can beat a ponytail in the hot weather, but a plain scrapbacked ponytail is quite boring. There are lots of vids on you tube about how to do nice ones. I usually dry my hair upside down with a bit of moose so it goes BIG at the roots... then i put the top half from ear to ear into a high pony. I pull back the bobble and then tighten it a few times so its sitting quite high and volumised(?) and then i bring the other half up, not too tight. Style it with a big pair of earings for a touch of boho .

Part your hair in a middle parting then put your hair in a very low ponytail (at the nape of your neck). Twist your hair around the ponytail into a bun and secure. Super easy low bun which looks sophisticated. You can also leave out a small amount of hair to frame your face

Sort of like this

French pleat or twisted into a bun. A French pleat can look really lovely. The twisted bun I'd secure with spin pins. V secure. Looks intentional. You could also try a French PLAIT, which would require more practice but can look amazing. Have fun practicing!

Ooh I love both those looks, thank you! I’ll have to have a play.

I can French plait, but it needs to be an inch or so longer so it doesn’t look stubby at the end. Not quite there yet.

I have a banana clip similar to this i.ebayimg.com/images/g/VbEAAOSwkZhWRLkb/s-l1600.jpg which is great - similar result to a ponytail but you get more of a flowing effect and it doesn't sag as much.

@Cloudtree what is a circle loop (do you have a photo?) - I can't work out to get that result!

Like this but quite a lot fuller on my hair since its past boob length an very thick.

I also do these bottom two a lot (without plaiting the sides). They work better if you've got/put some wave into your hair

@cloudtree How do you actually do those last two? They look great but I wouldn't know where to start!

www.claires.com/chignon-roll-hair-tools-kit-231972.html?cgid=54&lang=en_GB#cgid=54&lang=en_GB&start=9 this might help.

I tie my hair in low ponytail or bun when wet. Side parting. Looks neat but no fuss.

Oooh, watching. Some nice pics there. I have bra strap length hair which is straight. It lives in a high up-falling down pony now. Am thinking of having a bob just so it looks like “something”.

They're actually really easy. I don't plait the sides typically. I just initially pull back my hair into a half ponytail so just the top is tied back loosely. Then you make a hole just above the hair bobble. Lift the pony tail up and over and push it through the hole. This creates the twisted roll in the top section (you can repeat that part of the process if you want it more twisted). Then you start picking up the part of the hair that was left out of the ponytail and start tucking it into the roll youve created. Photo shows it better.

Its the first part of the photo which shows how you make the twist.

Oh wow, that IS simple! But how do you make it into the second version from your original post?

The one with the little bun bit under the roll? The way I do it is simply to repeat the process again lower down. make another ponytail under the first roll. make a hole again in the new lower pony tail. Loop it through and then tuck the rest of the hair into that.

Honestly it really is easy. I'm pretty rubbish with hair so if I can do it, it isn't hard.

@cloudtree Thanks, I'll give it a go this weekend.

I have thick wavy hair that gets put in a ponytail or half ponytail every single day. Thanks to cloudtree I can have a go at a different hairstyle!

I’ve just ordered a set of spin pins - am going to have some fun playing around with these ideas, thank you so much!

How are you getting on, OP? Hope some of these worked out for you. With the French plait, you can tuck the little stubby tail under and pin with bobby pins under the plait. So almost any length of hair longer than a short bob could try it.

Following.

My hair is so boring. I do a lot of exercise so it's scraped right back for that but am keen to learn new styles to look .Lee groomed.

Ooh I'm having a cloudtree hair roll today - thanks!

I love the blonde pic @cloudtree I call it a chignon but think that's a bit different - mine is never that beautiful - how do you do it?