21 Best Workout Hairstyles That You’ll *Actually* Want to Wear

Hands down the simplest way to give your regular ponytail a refresh is by braiding it. It’ll add a sleek vibe to your look and keep your hair off your face and neck way better than a regular ponytail. Secure the ponytail at the base of your head, then braid your hair down to the ends and tie it off with a small elastic.

Sick of your regular bun? Split your hair in half and tie each side up into lil space buns like these ones on Hailey Bieber. It’s also a great workout hairstyles for anyone with short hair, since your hair probs isn’t long enough to come together into one single bun hairstyle.

Y2K style barrettes are trending hard right now folks. So if you want to level up your style from your regular bobby pins, white barrettes like these (or any color TBH) will add a little ~lewk~ to your workout hairstyle and be just as effective at keeping flyaways out of your face.

You really can’t go wrong with a pineapple hairstyle for curly hair types. It’s off your neck, it’s out of your face, and it’ll look just as cute during your workout and afterwards too. Keep a lightweight edge control in your gym bag to lay your edges if you want to give your style a lil zhuzh once you’re done.

I’m absolutely here for pigtails that don’t make you look like you’re in fourth grade, like these ones on Olivia Rodrigo. Secure the base of the pigtails tight with an elastic or regular hair tie, then braid each side as tight as you can to keep any hair from sneaking out during your gym sesh.

If you’ve already gone through all the work that goes into creating the ~optimal puff~ (like giving it lots of moisture with leave-in conditioners and moisture sprays and picking it out to get the fluffy shape), you might as well take advantage of this cardio-level secure puff hairstyle and wear it to the gym too.

To get this low ponytail workout hairstyle, smooth your hair back with your hands into a tight base and tie it off with a hair tie or scrunchie. And if you want a little more volume, divide the ponytail hair into two sections and gently tug them outwards and upwards to tighten and lift the base.

This long braided ponytail would only take a few minutes of refreshing after you workout. Once you’ve sweated it out, comb your edges back where you want them with your edge control brush, and run a palmful of mousse through your hair to lay down any unwanted flyaways.

LMK if this sounds familiar: You attempt a messy bun, but instead of getting a cute lived-in style, one side of the bun is too tight and the other is bulging in weird spots. The trick to nailing this workout hairstyle? Spritzing the length of your hair with a texturizing spray first to give your hair some grit so it clings to itself and results in a fuller shape—just like this bun on Selena Gomez.

Don’t underestimate how well French braids can keep all your hair out of your face. It works for longer hair, shorter hair, and bangs (!). And if you are working with shorter layers like bangs, start the braid closer to your forehead to catch all the little hairs—and if all else fails, secure any stragglers with a bobby pin.

The fishtail braid will take some practice to get right, so I’d start doing a dry run or two during a streaming session (like, um, rewatching the new episodes of And Just Like That...). But once you’ve got it down, you’ll quickly realize it’s one of the best braids for securing any shorter pieces that usually pop out during your workout.

Need a hairstyle for short hair before hitting the gym? Finger-comb it up in to a small top knot like this, and secure any shorter pieces with bobby pins or a stretchy headband.

POV: It’s leg day and you peep yourself in the mirror with this cute half-up box braid style. As long as you’re doing a low-impact workout (read: no heavy sweating), just tying up the top half of your hair will be enough to keep it out of your way. Tie your braids into a ponytail (using an extra large hair tie if necessary), split it two sections, and then wrap each section the opposite way into a bun and tuck or pin the ends underneath.

A low side braid is a great workout hairstyle for longer hair. Just pull your hair over to one side, separate it into three sections with your fingers, and tightly braid it all the way down to the ends. Pro tip: The tighter you start your braid, the better it will hold up during your reps.

If you want a style that you can do in three seconds, a simple ponytail is a great workout hairstyle (listen, I’m not here to knock something that works, k?). To get this slicked-back look, comb your hair back with a fine-tooth comb and then secure it with a hair tie.

For those of you with super-long hair (wow, jealous), a low ponytail might not cut it if your hair is still whipping around your face during your workout. After wrapping the hair tie once or twice over your hair, pull your hair only halfway through. The result? This secure ponytail bun, no pinning or wrapping required.

If you’re not already wearing cute scrunchies while you’re working out, WYED? It’s literally the perfect opportunity to try out some prints or bright colors that add a little personality to your workout ~lewk~.

Sometimes a workout requires a tight updo, and sometimes it just requires getting your hair out of your face so you can do a little light stretching. For those low-impact workouts, try this messy braided style, which also happens to look adorable when worn to brunch after class too.

A regular ponytail is cute and all, but a high ponytail is a straight-up statement—and the exact energy I want to bring to my workout, TBH. To DIY, secure your hair in a high ponytail first, then take one small section of hair and wrap it around the base to conceal the hair tie, and pin the end of that section into the base with a bobby pin.

Are you headed to the gym or an all-hands meeting in conference room B? With this hairstyle, we’ll never know, which is pretty ideal if you ask me. And after you’ve worked out, spray a few puffs of dry shampoo on any sweaty spots and leave for a few minutes to absorb the moisture before gently massaging in with your fingertips.