Pre-Wrap: Versatile and Fun Headbands For The Female Athlete In Your Life

Until about a week ago I’d never heard of Pre-Wrap. When I asked my hairdresser earlier in the week whether she’d heard of it, she nodded her head and promptly produced a small bottle of liquid used prior to coloring hair. Wrong! Pre-wrap is not a liquid, it’s a foam underwrap used primarily by athletes before putting on athletic tape. But someone discovered another great use for it. Creating hair tie backs for female athletes (and non-athletes). Because it’s sold in rolls of varying colors, you can stock up (like I did) and always have a color ready for any outfit (Note: My daughter did the testing , since my hair isn’t long enough for pre-wrap).

There may be other sources for Pre-Wrap, however I located mine via the internet web site http://www.pre-wrap.com.

From the Pre-Wrap web site – here is a description of how people use it:

Pre-wrap is pre-taping foam underwrap designed to help protect skin from tape chafing and sticking. Pre-wrap is put on before athletic tape. It can be used to hold pads and socks in place and as a protective wrap inside hiking boots, ski boots, and other athletic footwear. The foam is velvety-soft and clings to itself, but doesn’t stick to other materials.

Pre-wrap is used by athletes everywhere. It’s especially popular with female soccer players, due to strict regulations on hair accessories. No need to worry about headbands that are too big or too small. The foam isn’t sticky but stays in place! We don’t really know the origin of using it as a hair band, but the one thing we do know is that it works! Most soccer regulations forbid the use of hair accessories. Some leagues say pre-wrap can be used only if it isn’t tied in a knot – but most of us agree that tying a knot is the easiest way to go!

I purchased all 11 colors in one package for $23.99. Shipping was pretty fast and I received mine within a day or two of placing the order (they accept Paypal too which is one of my favorite ways to pay online). When the order arrived I was surprised that not only was the company in my town – they actually were in my office complex! Small world.

So how does this work in practice? As you can see from the closeup below, Pre-Wrap is sold in rolls that resemble streamers. Except instead of paper, the roll contains a thin foam-like strip that is easy to tear off at exactly the right length.

Every morning is a struggle to get my daughter (8 years old) to maintain her hair. She’ll fight me about brushing it, screams with each stroke of the brush. Those of you with younger girls probably feel my pain.

Now in the morning what I’ve been using the Pre-Wrap for is to create a matching hair tie back to go with whatever outfit she is wearing. Having the multiple colors of Pre-Wrap has been a great time saver because normally I just stick a bunch of hair ties in my kitchen drawer and hope I can find one in the morning when she’s brushing her hair.

Creating a Pre-Wrap hair tie is simple:

Step #1: Wrap a section around your head to measure the length

Step #2: Break off the section (this tears easily enough but not so easily that it constantly breaks)

Step #3: Tie the ends

Step #4: Place over your head to hold back your hair

My daughter has been wearing different colors to school for the past week. These are generally one-time use headbands. She puts them on in the morning and sometimes at night wears them as a ponytail holder as she sleeps. The next morning she’ll discard the headband and create another one to wear to school that day.

There are 11 colors of Pre-Wrap as shown on the http://www.pre-wrap.com site:

While the primary market for Pre-Wrap seems to be those who want to tie their hair back during sporting events, we’ve been using it for everyday hair care and it’s working just great. Having a variety of colors makes the morning routine that much easier. In under 5 minutes my daughter’s hair is tied back in a color she has chosen and we’re all happy.

Link: http:www.pre-wrap.com

Price: $1.15 to $2.80 per roll depending on quantity purchased, 11 roll set for $23.99

What I like:
– Variety of colors
– No more searching for headbands in the morning
– Disposable – wear for the day and discard

What Could Be Improved:
– Nothing comes to mind