The Complete Comp Day Hair Guide for Cheerleaders

Competition morning is already full. Warm up, team meetings, uniform check, nerves. The last thing you need is a hair situation that adds 45 minutes of stress to your schedule. With the right preparation, you can get your competition ponytail done in under 30 minutes and still have time to eat breakfast.

The night before: do this, not that

The biggest comp morning mistake is leaving everything until the morning. The night before your competition, wash and fully dry your natural hair. Going to bed with clean, dry hair means your ponytail base will be fresh and will hold better. If you have straight hair, a quick blow dry the night before is fine. Avoid heavy serums or oils the night before as they can make your hair slippery and affect how well your ponytail attaches.

Also the night before: check that you have everything in your comp bag. Hair ties, bobby pins, needle and thread, your ponytail in its pouch, hairspray, and your brush set. Running out of bobby pins at 7am is completely avoidable.

The morning of: your 30 minute routine

Minutes 0 to 5: Pull your natural hair into a tight, high ponytail. Use two hair ties wrapped in the same direction. Smooth the sides with a brush and secure any flyaways with a fine-tooth comb and a small amount of gel or wax applied sparingly.

Minutes 5 to 15: Attach your competition ponytail using needle and thread through the base for maximum hold. Wrap with an additional hair tie to cover the weft, and pin. Don't rush it.

Minutes 15 to 25: Backcomb in sections, starting from the underneath or the front, you choose. Build the volume gradually. Once you have the shape you want, smooth the top layer with your finish brush and set with a medium hold hairspray.

Minutes 25 to 30: Final check. Pull out any sections that need extra curl, check the join is covered, and do a final mist of hairspray over the whole ponytail. You're done.

What to keep in your comp bag

• Your ponytail in its velvet pouch
• Ponytail Fix Kit (needle, thread, scissors, bobby pins, hair ties)
• Tease brush and smooth brush
• Strong hold hairspray
• Fine-tooth comb
• Small pot of gel or wax for flyaways
• A few extra bobby pins loose in a zip pocket

If something goes wrong on the day

Ponytail shifting during warm up? Don't panic. Add extra bobby pins at the base and a fresh wrap of thread if you have time. Curl dropping? A quick blast of heat from a curling iron and a shot of hairspray while the curl is still warm will reset it. Bringing a small travel curling iron to competitions is always worth it.

The mindset shift that changes everything

The best thing you can do for your comp day hair is decide in advance that it's sorted. Book your Pony Bar refresh the week before if you want professional styling. Lay everything out the night before. Run through the steps once in practice before the real thing. Athletes who treat their comp hair as part of their preparation rather than an afterthought always look better on the day and feel better too.