Hairstyles

It took me ages to figure out what hairstyle was best suited for tango, both aesthetically and practically, so here are some helpful styles & tips regarding what has worked for me.

My hair is long with a lot of textured layers and curtain bangs. I like having my hair off my neck since it gets hot dancing and doesn't get in the way of my leader’s right hand, or alternatively, sweeping my hair to my right side to avoid the same issues with the embrace. I usually keep my bangs and a few tendrils of hair curled around my face outside of the hairstyle.

I prefer using the French twist for dance/tango since it keeps all my hair off my neck and put together, although I only figured out how to do it on myself in recent months by watching an incredible amount of TikTok videos.

Tips for the French Twist

1. The best state for your hair to be in is slightly damp or with some texture spray - doing it on freshly dried, clean hair can sometimes be a little too slippery for the French twist to hold, using just a clip or needing to use more pins, depending on your hair

2. Gather all your hair into a low ponytail, then twist and roll it into a circle bun

3. Pull the bottom of the bun up toward the crown of your head and twist to the side you rolled the bun(I do the left side since I am right-handed)

4. Tuck the rest of the bun inside the twist and smooth the hair

5. Place spiral pins, a hairclip, French pins, or bobby pins to secure the hairstyle at the places with the greatest mass, and secure with additional pins as needed

   1. Spiral pins(Amazon) - I find they hold my hair much more securely than bobby pins with less strain on my scalp

   2. Hairclips/hair claws - any work, but I really like these from FennaandFei on Etsy

   3. French pins - if you want to splurge, I really like these designs from Avigailadam, or these brass hair forks from QuirkySues for practicality and fashion combined, but you can find good quality French pins at Target and Amazon!

PC: Igor Espenjero

I like the half up half down style sometimes when I feel like the outfit calls for it(a deep V-neckline or such), or I only have a hair tie and no hairclip

Tips for a volumized half up half down style

1. Pull a half ponytail from halfway between the tops of your ears and temples to the crown of your head and secure with a clip or hair tie

2. For more volume, I like to secure the half-up style with a hair tie and split the hair above the hair tie in half and loop the ponytail through the created space, so I get an inverse twist look, I can tuck accessories into

   1. Hair claws linked above

   2. Hair clip - French barrette style also from FennaandFei on Etsy