Summer's here! At least in Bombay, it is. So, it's getting hotter and sweatier, and basically difficult for someone with long hair like mine. On top of that, when you are committed to a daily practice, hairdos can make or break your day. So, I decided to put together a few basic options that you can do whether you're into yoga, kickboxing, dance, or any kind of activity where you need to keep your hair out of the way.

1. The Ponytail

The ponytail is essentially basic, but you can always dress it up with fancy clips, elastics, and hairbands. Maybe a braid made out of your shorter bangs... go crazy!

Of course, you can always wear the good old ponytail, but let's explore a bit more here...

2. Plaited Ponytail

You could also make a plait out of the ponytail so that the hair stays together. How fancy you want to make it depends on you. If it's just a run on the treadmill, you can experiment with the fishtail plait or a simple three-section braid like this one for yoga.

3. The Warrior Princess

This is by far my favorite since it tackles the fly aways. If you're into a powerful Ashtanga practice and don't want to be bothered by your hair, this one is for you. It effectively manages all the hair on your head. Start with Dutch braids from the front, and slowly, using all the hair, reach the nape of the neck where you can pull it into a ponytail or a braid. If you have long hair, this one is worth the practice, trust me.

4. The Ballerina Bun

The third, and my favorite, is to make it into a bun. Nice and compact—no fuss.

Now, the best part about the ballerina bun (I'm going to explain how to make it below) is that you can wear it everywhere. College, office, home, and with a bit more practice and hair wax, even to a party or a wedding like how I did. So basically start withe the ponytail and keep twisting it till it starts to wrap itself around itself. Secure it with an elastic tie and your done. Once you have the basics sorted out, you can start to spice it up with a few essential Cityogini accessories like a... Bandana! How it helps is that it keeps the fly-aways away. Now, you could use a sweatband like this too, but I find it too bulky and very '80s. It almost always reminds me of the aerobics video tapes, which were so popular then. No harm in that, but this will keep you looking and feeling cool. You can also try the Headwrap! Now, don't confuse these with hairbands. Headwraps typically have a twist or a knot in the center, which gives it a cool turban-like effect. A lot of variations are available in a lot of stores.

5. The Chopstick

The final one is the... Chopstick! Well, any hair stick really! I use pencils, pens, and paintbrushes too in case of emergencies. How to wear those? Here it goes...

Steps to Create a Chopstick Bun:

1. Pull your hair together into a ponytail. I do this because I have some hair in the front that are shorter, so this keeps them all together. You can completely omit this step if you like your buns messy or would like to let the bangs fall naturally.

2. Start twisting the ponytail and keep doing it until it begins to curl.

3. Wrap the twisted ponytail around the hair elastic that's holding your ponytail together. Take it around as many times as your hair length requires until you reach the end.

4. Tuck the hair tips into the bun.

5. Holding the bun with one hand, grab your chopstick, hair stick, or pencil. At this stage, you can also secure it with a hair elastic.

6. Poke the chopstick vertically on the outside layer of your hair bun, then bring the chopstick down and keep tucking the hair tips inside the bun with the other hand. This might require some practice.

7. Once you are happy with the bun, push the chopstick all the way through the hair bun and... Tada! It's done. You can get creative and use a paint brush or a pencil too, as I mentioned earlier. I have also started investing in silver hair pins now which go beautifully with ethnic looks.

8. You can also try the French Twist roll with it. Adding a link to wiki posts that can help. https://www.wikihow.com/Put-Your-Hair-up-With-Chopsticks
   

   
   

   

   
   

If you are a traveler, keep your eyes open... you can find a variety of hairpins or hair forks that you can use. I have some in my collection that are over 14 years old now!

So yeah, go ahead and enjoy playing with your hair this summer, with these Quick and Stylish Hair-Dos . Take care and stay awesome and amazed.