Hair Issues

At first, I thought that hair issues were something specific to women, but then as I thought deeper (and looked around at some of the long-locked men at the gym), I realized that hair issues may also be something that men think about as well. Maybe no one else, of either gender, thinks about it, but I know I think about my hair nearly everytime I workout. Yes, it strikes me as silly to be thinking about hair when I should be focusing on my body, but sometimes hair can be downright distracting when you're working out.

Last spring when I started to run seriously, and began to build a program out of running, my hair was very short, but not short enough to leave alone -- long enough to need to be pulled back, but not long enough to actually be pulled back. So, at first I was keeping the hair in check with a series of clips, bands, and elastics -- my hair was chock full of gagetry. Thankfully, my hair has grown out over the past months, but it has been a long time growing and the graduation from many hair accesories to just one has been slow. However, just because the hair now fits into just one elastic doesn't mean my troubles are over. Far from it.

For one thing, I have these wisps of hair in the front of my face that haven't grown since I was two and they like to spring away from whatever is attempting to hold them back, and they fly into my mouth, my nose, and my eyes while I'm running, and I have to wait for my head to get sweaty enough to paste them back in that fashion (gross, I know, but you go with what works). Plus, it always seems that I have to reach back and do a hair adjustment part way through my run; usually it's just a tightening of the band, but sometimes I have to re-tie my ponytail in mid-run (not an easy task).

All this brought me to a brief blurb in the recent issue of RW that featured a new hair tie designed specifically for when you work out -- supposedly it will stay in place better than any previous designs. Sounds great, but I wonder if it will be like the promise of lipstick that will never wear off (the stuff that is so permanent you need to get paint thinner to remove it)? Will the hair tie become a permanent part of my head, will I be able to get it out once it's in, or will it be just like any other elastic -- strong and firm at first, but after months of use, wear out?

Perhaps it can also fix my wingy-y hair that I have out in front: Is there any cure for that?