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Whenever someone asks what they can do with their long hair as an alternative to the standard (and potentially boring) pony tail, someone usually suggests a bun. Well, I've tried it a few times and unless you have pretty good hair-handling skills, it's not that easy. Unless I was willing to spend a good deal of time working on it, I would always end up with a big sloppy knot. Even with my best efforts, parts of it would eventually come loose and there would be these long tendrils hanging down. At least one person told me that the careless tendril look was cute. That's fine if "cute" is what you're trying for, but it wasn't really what I had in mind.
Anyway, a couple of weeks back, I saw a story in the LA Times about a gadget that has been used by a number of women athletes and police officers who need a neat, professional look, but who also need a hairstyle that is secure enough to stay in place during strenuous activity. The thing they use to achieve this is called a "Whirl-a-bun."
Best way I can describe it is a strip of rubber (reminded me of a broken vaccuum cleaner belt) that has been slit along its longitudinal axis. You tuck your hair through the slit, pull it down almost to the ends, then roll it back up and snap the ends together. The result is a neat bun, as high or low on your head as you like. It's *fast*, comfortable to wear, and won't fall apart. I wore it to the gym yesterday, and nobody so much as gave me a second glance. It's just a neat way to hold your hair that, in my opinion, is absolutely unisex.
Mine cost $6 at the Claire's (a hair accessory store) in my local shopping mall. There weren't many of them there, but I saw at least two colors (black and white) and two sizes. I went for a large black one. They also have a web site (www.whirl-a-bun.com). The pictures are almost all of -- umm -- imaginatively styled women's hair, but at the bottom of the examples page they show the basic bun and how it's done.
I know this probably sounds like an advertisement, but I'm just a satisfied customer, and I thought some of you guys might be interested in a cheap, low-risk solution for getting your tails up off your shoulders. Cheers.
Here is the link embedded as a hyperlink.