Get Gorgeous (and Gym-Friendly) Hairstyles Courtesy of the U.S. Figure Skating Team

Get a gym (or errands, or date-night) friendly 'do inspired by the girls on ice.

February 21, 2014

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Olympic Inspiration 2014

There may be drama about the figure skating scores from Sochi, but the only thing I am qualified to judge -- beauty, obvs -- gets sixes across the board. (Remember when they used to judge like that?)

These ladies rock the ultimate gym-friendly hairstyles, and with flair, too. Not only does each strand of hair need to be perfectly in place, the hairstyle have to look immaculate, the looks have to stand up to crazy levels of inertia. (BTW, have you guys seen this gem?) Even if you're not going for the gold, these styles are all kinds of gym (and errand, and date-night) friendly.

Polina Edmunds (above left) rocked super-cute, braided headband-chignon combo that was a total throwback to the flower-studded styles we saw at the Honor Spring 2014 show. You can recreate Polina's winning look by pulling the half inch of hair closest to your hairline forward and clip away; smooth the rest of your hair in a secure low bun. Then, French braid the clipped section of hair against your head, startling on the left ear and working towards the right, tucking the ends of the braid into the bun. (Use bobby pins to hold pesky strands if necessary.) To gussy up, grab a pack of Mia Beauty Hair Stickers in Mini Silver Flowers and press 'em in place across the braided headband.

If you prefer to score something simpler, you can give yourself an Ashley Wagner-style pony. You know, a glossy, sexy looooong pony. Unless you've got your own full, super-obedient mane (which is like, what, two percent of you?), your best bet is to pick up a faux-pony like the Hairuwear Simply Straight 18" Pony Extension. Starting with a day-old blowout, back comb a triangle-shaped section of hair on the top of your head (I use the width of my temples as the base and the start of my pony as the point of the triangle), then smooth the top layer of hair over as you pull hair into a pony, just above the crown. Secure it with a super-strong elastic, then spirtz a firm-hold, alcohol-free hairspray generously over strands. When you're all pony-ed up, wrap a one-inch-wide piece of the extensions around the base of your pony, secure with pins and you're good to go.

Who has your fave figure skater style? Share your thoughts below or tweet us @AESam and @SELFMagazine!