The #1 Fitness Trend I Wish Would Make a Comeback! [Violet Love giveaway!!]

I texted Gym Buddy Allison the other morning: “Black and white cheetah, pink or purple pineapples??” She picked orange bears eating sherbet or something. But I let her have the purple pineapple one anyhow even though it was my fave. Want one of these headbands? Ten GFE readers get a free Violet Love headband – keep reading to find out how!

Bikram kickboxing – you many not have heard of doing kickboxing in a super heated room before but let me tell you it’s all the rage at my Y. Oh it’s not intentional, it’s just what happens when you cram 70+ sweaty bodies into a tiny studio with poor ventilation. We sweat so much all over the floor that Turbo Jennie had to bring in carpet dryers to keep us all from hitch-kicking right onto our well-toned tushies. (Confession: while I haven’t kicked myself onto the floor – YET – lest you think me more of an athlete than I am, I did accidentally slide into the horizontal splits trying to do a plie squat. I’m already getting excited for ice-rink kickboxing come winter, when all our sweat freezes to the floor!) So today while I did slip-n-slide roundhouses, I was contemplating fitness trends that I really really wish would come back in style. Why? Because thanks to my propensity to sweat like a dude and my cute bangs, so much salt water runs into my eyes that I’m considering shaving off my eyebrows to fully embrace my pale-wet-and-clammy aesthetic:

You love me, Powder.

You know what I need? A sweatband. Oh yes, one of these bad boys:

They still make them. Under Armor even makes pink ones and I had one in my cart before bowing to the whims of fashion and taking it out. Hey, I may not be the most fashionable girl around but I do like to look au courant and for some bizarre reason bangs-in-your-eyes is the It style right now.

They look adorable but trust me when I say they are about as comfortable as wearing sunglasses rolled in dog hair. They get even worse when I sweat.

I’ve tried other solutions. Bobby pins work great for pulling my bangs out of my face but they don’t do squat for the sweat rivulets. Headbands are super cute right now but I must have the world’s weirdest shaped head because they pop right off with all the zeal of the tabloids talking about the status of Jennifer Aniston’s womb. And I can’t pull off do-rags due to the fact that I’m neither black nor an extra on Little House on the Prairie.

So you see how I have arrived at the sweatband? The terry cloth is wonderfully absorbent, the circular shape enfolds my sweaty forehead in a gentle hug, AND it’s machine washable! The only problem is I think I’d look more Muppet-unibrow than trendy Hipster:

For the love of little green apples, I’m a 32-year-old soccer mom! (Okay, “soccer mom” in name only – my boys actually do Show Choir, and do it awesomely, I might add.) But there is an alternative to the terry cloth awesomeness: a company called Violet Love recently sent me some of their wide stretchy headbands to try out. Allison and I each wore one and I gotta say that they took care of the sweat-in-the-eyes and the random-flyaway-hair issues beautifully. Alas, it still worked its way off my head periodically. But I also got to try out a fun pair of cheetah-print leggings that were both functional and fun! If you are bored by all the solid color basics that look the same everywhere you shop, you should definitely check out all the funky prints at Violet Love. 

You know what else is awesome and I wish I got to wear more of? Tennis dresses. All the coverage of a skirt but so many more cute options! Although maybe not quite like this:

Um, Venus? Do you know you have fireworks exploding out of your lady business? Also, this looks like the world’s least-flattering tank top but if you see yourself in the other pictures you will realize this is actually a dress. (You should know, you designed it!) Typically we associate crotchtacular dresses with inebriated starlets. Don’t be that girl Venus. Think of the children.

 But I do give you mad props for wearing underwear! Although I feel compelled to tell you that when they say to wear flesh-toned undies they mean underneath something else. Carry on being awesome now.

Want to win some Violet Love for yourself? The first TEN GFE readers to like their Facebook page and leave a comment telling them that I sent you will win a free headband! Then come back here and leave me a comment about how you deal with sweaty bangs. It doesn’t have anything to do with the giveaway but I need help, people!

P.S. The first meeting with the nutritionist went awesome! More on that later! Also, I’m on vacay this weekend so if I’m slow responding to your e-mails/questions/comments, have patience:)

29 Comments

  1. I hear you there! Oh, sweatbands would be perfect!
    But for now, I use my Bondi Band. They’re made of wicking material, they’re nice and wide, and they don’t seem to slip off my head. Which is awesome because other headbands seem to always do that to me.
    http://www.bondiband.com/categories/HEADBANDS/

  2. Last summer the AC in the gym went out but I still went to TKB. Was not a good thing.

  3. But I checked out the Violet Love site and those look great.

  4. These look super cute! I usually end up blowing up in the direction of my bangs a lot to get them out of my eyes. Not recommended…

  5. I usually wear a wicking hat when I run, but since it’s gotten so hot in recent weeks, I forgo the hat and just swipe at the sweat with a bandana that I carry. Not ideal, but at least I can see where I’m going!

  6. I’m all about headbands, however they don’t always stay in. Yoga provides for an especially interesting challenge. I’m often annoyed when my headband slips while in downward dog. I admit I’ve used a sweatband before. Of course I didn’t stay on long either. Maybe it’s a sign I just need to grow out my bangs.

  7. I have a pile of lululemon headbands that would stretch around my apartment perimeter. Seriously. They’re not so expensive, so every time I go there, I pick up another. No more gym headbands for this girl.

    However, I am trying to incorporate my more classy headbands into my work wardrobe without looking like I’m 10. No success yet, not even the cute gilded leaf, or gilded owl ones. Sigh.

    I don’t have bangs, but I braid my shorter layers and use a bobby pin to clip them back in the unlikely event that I can’t find at least one lulu headband somewhere in my gym bag.

  8. By the way, Bikram seems to be all the rage at the Y these days. The air conditioning went out in part of the facility where I work this week and, while I don’t think we had Bikram kickboxing, we did have Bikram spinning.

  9. at the gym I wear a bandana. In the yard and ball field I wear a ballcap. Under my helmet for hockey I sprung for a fancy under armour skull cap that keeps the sweat and hair under control (that way my hair stays out of my eyes and I can actually see what happens on the ice.

  10. I don’t have bang but in order to keep the sweat out of my eyes I use one of those fabric hair bands that pulls your hair back out of your face. I have a small towel that I keep tucked into my tank top so I can pull the dry ends out and wipe my face. I also keep a towel on my water bottle so when I reach down for water my dry towel is waiting for me. I have tried sweat bands…but it feels funny I guess it depends on what the material is made out of. 😛

  11. LOOOOOOVE the headbands.
    cant pull them off…hair.too.thin, errr, fine 🙂

  12. Everyone wants an ideal body. Everyone wants a trim, sculpted figure, whether you’re a man or a woman.

    But only a privileged few get to this point. They invest a lot of time (practically at the gym everyday) and money (on gym memberships and supplements) on getting the job done. Some even see their body as their work of art. They take no short cuts.

  13. page liked! i love stretchy headbands like this, because regular headbands pop off my head too 🙁 they’re awesome for keeping all the sweat out of my eyes when my trainer makes me do crossfit – sweatiest workout on the planet, i swear! i also wear them under my bike helmet for extra padding.

  14. I don’t have bangs, but I have a lot of hair. I like head bands but I find they never stay put on my head (joining you in the weird shaped head club). I took a quick look at the Violet Love site and it looks like they have lots of neat stuff. Looking forward to a closer look when I have more time.

  15. While I don’t have bangs, I do have shorter layers that almost always fall in my face. I usually use a rolled up bandana. If I forget that, and don’t have bobby pins to help, well… eventually I get sweaty enough I can just plaster them straight back on top of my head.

    ICK

  16. I second the Bondi Bands. They are cheaper and still way cute. Plus they have awesome discounts and super fast shipping. It’s incredible how much they can absorb. Also, kinda gross.

  17. I love headbands that actually work!

  18. I spent the first 2 miles of my 3.5 mile run last night crying because there was so much sweat in my eyes. I was actually thinking during this run that I need a sweatband. I wear Bondi Bands, but the sweat is coming from LOWER than that. Ugh.

  19. You mentioned a desire for cute tennis dresses to make a comeback. While I’m typically a skirt girl myself (lululemon’s run reflection is my favorite) I do love the ease and simplicity of a dress. These ones are great: http://shop.nuu-muu.com/ Nuu Muu’s dresses are comfy and cute. And they come in leopard print. For headbands that don’t slip off, any of the ones with velvet ribbon sewn to the back work really well (Sweaty Bands is one company)-they will not slip off, even on weird shaped heads.

  20. Hahaha, my solution to obnoxious sweaty hair in my face was to just shave my head. Problem solved! 🙂 Before that though, I had a head of brilliant, glorious purple hair. For the first week after I would retouch the color I would sweat purple rivers down my face. There are purple blotches on my gym walls from practicing handstands! The shorter hair is much lower maintenance, but not nearly as pretty. 🙂

  21. Ah, so much to love in this post: cool headbands! Olivia Newton-John! Sam the Eagle! Tennis Dresses!
    I don’t have bangs. I DO have two huge cowlicks, one on each side of my forehead, so bangs really aren’t an option for me. But I LOOOOOOOVE headbands!

  22. Honestly, Charlotte, I just wear a regular ole headband but one that does not have those things that hurt behind the ears OR I pull it up in a barrette or ponytail holder… I have crazy hair!

  23. I use like 20 bobby pins to keep the hair from falling in my face..haha

  24. I’m not a huge contest entry person, so this is NOT an entry, however, I still wanted to comment.

    Mainly about the Venus pics – to say… oh my word. which isn’t the best comment ever, but truly I felt the need to use those three words.

    oh and I have slight bangs now too… I don’t like them hanging so I just bobby pin though…. you probably already thought about that though 😉

  25. I’m on a personal mission to bring back the headband. I need you on my team to make it happen.

    Also, we may need John McEnroe.

  26. “Um, Venus? Do you know you have fireworks exploding out of your lady business?” Snort.

  27. Aww, you guys look so cute in those headbands! And if anyone can carry off leopard-print leggings, it would be you!

    I remain fashion-backwards, rather than fashion-forward, so can’t quite carry off either, but I love to admire the gals who can.

  28. The question is do they stay in place for running? The only time I’ve ever wanted a headband was to go running. The one I tried slid out about 1/4 way through my run, but I didn’t notice until I saw it on the return trip. Sad! I, too, have had to go to the wicking baseball cap.

    I have crazy, wild hair that creates a lion mane around my head when it’s humid or I sweat…or the wind blows. Anyway, I’d love headbands that stay in place to tame the craziness.

    Also, those leopard leggings are very similar to the ones I wore to run Warrior Dash! Love ’em!

  29. Oh man I wish I would have been keeping up with my reader. I would have loved the chance to win on of these. Cheetah? Yes, please. I don’t mind my bangs when I work out. I have them for a while now maybe I’m just used to them. Or maybe it’s because I will not let my bangs grow to the length they hang in my eyes (or if they get that long they are now side swept) because I turn into an evil woman when my bangs are poking me in the eyes.