Hair Help!

Okay, I could really use some hair hints or suggestions for my little Hannah's hair -- who is not so little anymore and is getting more opinionated about how to fix (or not fix) her hair. :-)

I am definitely not a hair "expert" by any stretch of the imagination and I've always struggled with how to fix hair (my own and my girl's). With my girls, I eventually defaulted to the little side ponytail just to keep the hair out of their face (since none of them have bangs).

Lately, Hannah has been very resistant to me fixing her hair this way.


She complains that the rubber band is too tight and she doesn't like it.

I realize that she's getting older and should be able to have some say in how to fix her hair. I had bought some little hard headbands (I needed one for a costume) a while ago so she has been wearing those recently. The problem is they really don't keep the hair out of her face very well.

(This picture actually shows it looking a lot better than it frequently does.)

Lately when she wears a headband to school, when she comes home her hair is just a mess. It's all bunched up on top and under the headband and is still falling all over into her face. I bought some fabric headbands once (the kind that wrap all the way around your head) but they seemed to be too big for the kids and wouldn't stay up.

So, HELP! Does anyone have any suggestions for a type of barrette or hairstyle that I might try with her? Whenever I buy a new type of barrette, I always seem to choose ones that just fall out. Hannah's hair is on the thinner, finer side (unlikes Courtney's). Keep in mind that Hannah is fairly sensitive to hair combing/pulling and doesn't have a lot of patience for sitting and getting her hair fixed. Or maybe I should just let it go and have a child with wild messy hair! Has anyone found something that works great for girl's hair?