Wrap stars: the secret to the Lionesses' hair-raising style

The Guardian

a day ago

Chloe Kelly will be remembered for many significant moments at 2025's Euros: a last-minute goal keeping England in the tournament, a signature penalty move and shin pads that featured an image of her wedding day. She is also part of a wider style trend in women's football: the use of pre-wrap, the tape designed to protect skin and secure athletic bandages, repurposed as a headband.
If ponytails featured in the conversation at the previous Euros, this is a new addition. In the semi-final against Italy, Kelly wore a ponytail and a wide headband made of blue pre-wrap. Her teammate Lucy Bronze wore the tape as a thinner white headband, with her hair in a bun. Other players for Germany, Spain and Italy have also worn the pre-wrap to secure their hair.
An important item in a physiotherapist's kit, pre-wrap comes in blue, yellow, red and pink, and a roll can be bought online for as little as £2.40.
Using it for hair was popularised by footballers in the US. At the 2023 World Cup, Alex Morgan and Julie Ertz wore the headbands, prompting the New York Times to declare the tape had found a 'second life as stylish headgear' among players and fans watching their team.
Jacqueline Kilikita, the beauty director at Refinery29, discovered the trend via a viral TikTok video from the American player Brittany Wilson Isenhour. 'Without that, I'd never have known that half the headbands on the pitch were actually pre-wrap,' she says. 'Thanks to its shiny finish, the foam material resembles silk or satin when worn as a headband.'
Amy Drucquer, the founder of This Fan Girl, a platform for female football supporters, explains why pre-wrap headbands are so popular among female footballers. 'They know like the little hacks that they need to do … I'm sure they do want to look good but, more than anything, they trust themselves to make decisions for their own best performance.'
Kilikita says pre-wrap beats alternative styling products. 'Unlike traditional material headbands that move around unless pinned, pre-wrap can mould to the players' heads and grip the hair,' she says. 'Because it's a non-adhesive material, it stays put without tugging, and you can use as much or as little as you need.'
A pre-wrap hairband is relatively subtle compared with the statement styles seen at men's tournaments – such as Phil Foden's bleached crop for Euro 2020. Drucquer says this because there is already 'increased levels of scrutiny [on women's appearance]'.
She adds that Foden's hairstyle was a tribute to Paul Gascoigne in the 1996 tournament but 'there is no one to look back to here. With the women's game, they are the ones setting [the precedent]'.
If Foden's hair spawned a trend for bleached crops in the summer of 2021, could Kelly's pre-wrap headband do the same this year?
'Absolutely,' says Kilikata. 'The Lionesses are trendsetters when it comes to getting hair off your face. They make convenience look chic. Plus, everyone loves a resourceful – and cheap – hair hack.'