Every woman’s hair type is as unique as she is, but it can influence her appearance in a cowboy hat and even how it fits. Busy horsewomen don’t have time to style their hair or don’t know how to do it, so they settle for simple wash-and-go looks or ponytails. Some women would wear cowboy hats more often if they had ways to tame their manes. For ideas on Western hairstyles, we consulted Oklahoma stylist Gracee Stierwalt and Oregon horsewoman Esperanza Tervalon.
Growing up on ranches in Osage County, Okla., Stierwalt spent many years wearing cowboy hats and styling her hair for them. She now helps other women find confidence in flattering cuts, colors and styles at A Wild Hair salon in Ponca City, Okla.
Tervalon is a lifelong horsewoman. She was raised in Oakland, Calif., where she started riding at 3 years old with her father, an Oakland Black Horsemen Association member, and she later competed in barrel racing. She resides with her horses at Dancing Hearts Ranch in Bend, Ore., and competes in horse shows throughout the United States.
Braided Beauty
Stierwalt says her thin, straight, medium-length hair looks best under her hat in a standard three-strand braid or a smoothly woven fishtail that keeps it out of her eyes when she’s horseback. For a touch of style, she likes to pull the braids apart slightly to make them “messy.”
“Braids are really good because they don’t get knotted when you’re riding,” she explained. “A ponytail can get knots, and brushing them out can stress the hair.”
Stierwalt opts for a boho-style messy bun at the nape of her neck for a more formal look. She adds Western flair with a decorative hairpin or a concho hair tie. One of her favorite styles is to curl her hair and wear it down for a full, flowing look under her hat. No matter the style, she pulls down tendrils of hair on the sides to frame her face.
How to Make a Messy Bun
Calm the Curl
Tervalon loves her thick, long, naturally curly hair, but it’s also her biggest hair challenge at horse shows and when buying hats.
“I have to wet my hair every day,” she says. “While everybody else is coming into the arena and their hair is all dry, my hair is wet and gets dusty and gross. So it gets washed and conditioned every day, even at horse shows.”
After washing her hair, she brushes it smooth and coils it as tightly as possible into a bun until it’s time to dry.
“I try to dry my hair as flat as possible, not straight,” says Tervalon. “My hair doesn’t get straight, but I try to remove some curls and frizz. And then I put a baseball cap on it to try and help it start to lay down, early in the morning, to start a process. Like everyone else, I’m using lots of gels and conditioners.”
Before entering the show pen, she puts her hair into a bun and secures it with hairpins. She tacks down any flyaway curls with gel. She doesn’t wear a hairnet in the show pen because it gets tangled in her curls.
“I don’t need to wear a hair net; it’s not going to do anything for the curly frizz I have happening in my bun,” she says. “I have very thick, long hair and have to wear my bun way down on the nape of my neck, and it can’t always be super tight. If it’s too high, it will tip my hat up.”
Tervalon’s hair regimen and style often depend on the class she’s competing in and the climate.
“In Arizona, I’m not worried about my hair being dry; it’ll be dry by the time I go in the pen,” she says. “But it’s so humid up here in the Pacific Northwest that my hair might be wet all day.
“You have to understand the class’s needs and try to find a style that works for you,” she continues. “Your hair is always growing, and then you have weather, humidity, and all the factors we deal with when we’re riding affecting our hair, so I’m always adjusting. The first few days at a show, I’m figuring out how to get my hair ready for my classes.”
In a pinch, Tervalon says Cowboy Magic Detangler & Shine, which is in her horse’s grooming tote, works to tame a human’s mane.
“If it’s late in the day or I have three classes in a day, I have to redo my hair. I’ll use [Cowboy Magic] to keep it looking fresh again and a little shiny.”
For curly hair, Stierwalt recommends applying a heat protectant to the hair and blowing it out with a hairdryer and a paddle brush or a wet brush, stretching the hair with each brushstroke. Use wax sticks, such as Slick Stick, to contain flyaway hairs.
If you’re tight on time in the morning, blow out your hair the night before and touch it up as needed throughout the week with a blow dryer.
“You can wear that blown-out look for at least five days, especially if you’re using dry shampoo and oiling your ends,” Stierwalt says. “And I feel like that makes it much less stressful because you’re not having to worry about doing your hair every day.”
Hair and Hat Fit for Western Hairstyles
When Esperanza Tervalon went to order a custom hat from Brinks Hattery in Temple, Texas, she tried on several sizes and noticed that her hairstyle affected the hat fit.
“I tried on a hat later in the day when my [naturally curly] hair was dry and bigger, and I needed to go up in size,” she says. “And when I went to try it on with wet hair, I needed a smaller size.”
The hatmaker made a foam insert for the hat lining that solves the problem.
“If my hair is wet, I insert the liner, and if it’s dry, I remove it,” she says. “It’s something to talk to your hatmaker about. Try on hats with wet and dry hair. I have hats in different sizes, so I can always look professional, clean and well-kept.”
Make a Style Statement
Your hair reflects your personality, style and cultural heritage, and how it’s styled makes an important statement about you that you want to shine through.
“As generally the only Black woman competing [in horse show classes], I already stand out a lot, and I go out there and ride with pride,” Tervalon says. “I want to represent myself and my culture as well as possible. For me, it’s not necessarily about having the straightest ponytail or the longest hair, but representing myself in a way that reflects the beauty of who I am. Hair is part of your story, and all hair is beautiful.”
| Smart Shampooing Daily shampooing can dry out hair, especially naturally dry or curly hair. Stierwalt suggests using a dry shampoo to maintain moisture at least a few days a week. On the days she does shampoo her hair, she applies shampoo twice—the first time removes oil, product and grime that has built up on the scalp, and the second round is a general cleansing. She applies a moisture-rich conditioner to the midsection of her hair and ends. “Anytime you take oil out of the hair, you have to make sure that you put some back through the ends so you don’t dry them out,” she says. “I recommend applying a bit of hair oil from the mids to the ends; it helps lay the hair cuticle down and reduces frizz.” |
This article about Western hairstyles appeared in the Winter 2023 issue of Western Life Today magazine. Click here to subscribe!
