A ponytail seems like the easiest hairstyle but getting the perfect ponytail is not that simple. Here are some easy tips and tricks so you can perfect your ponytail every time.
Why is it that when you want to secure your ponytail your hair band is too loose when it’s twice around but three times is so tight you can’t even get your hair through the last loop? Every. Single. Time.
Then I end up pulling at my hair, causing breakage and damage. Or I get so many lumps and bumps that I can’t smooth out.
The solution to all these painful problems is a hair bungee.
Thanks so much to the wonderful Sonia of Sonia Styling for lending me he gorgeous hair for this tutorial.
How to use a hair bungee
A hair bungee is a great alternative to normal hair bands or hair elastics. It’s a length of elastic with a hook at either end. You wrap it around your ponytail which means there’s no pulling and you can get the perfect tension every time.
- First you hook the bungee into the base of your ponytail. Holding your ponytail in one hand, wind the hair bungee around the base of your ponytail.
- Once you have the tension you want, place the other hook in to your hair to hold it. You can also connect both hooks together if your ponytail fits.
I especially love a hair bungee for curly ponytails as you keep all our curls intact as you don’t have to squeeze them through an elastic.
You can find hair bungees at hairdressing supply stores. You can also find them online at adorebeauty and Amazon.
How to make your own hair bungee
If you want to make your own hair bungee, here’s a quick hair hack. All you need is a normal hair elastic and two bobby pins.
Hook the hair elastic into both bobby pins. Place one pin into your hair and wind the hair elastic around your ponytail, using the second pin to hold it in place.
How to hide your hair elastic
A simple tip to pretty up your ponytail is to use a small piece of hair to hide your hair elastic. This classic look really finishes off your ponytail and makes it look more polished.
All you need to do is take a small piece of hair from the underneath of your ponytail, wrap it around the base of your ponytail and pin it in place with a bobby pin.
The hardest part is getting your hair to stay around. Here are two simple tricks to hide your hair elastic and get your hair to stay there all day.
1. Curl the ends of your hair
Before wrapping your hair around your elastic, curl that section of hair. When the hair is curled, it will curve in and your hair will hold the style more easily.
2. Twist your hair around the pin first
Trying to hold a small section of hair in a bobby pin is hard. It keeps slipping out and won’t stay in place.
Instead of just place your hair in the pin, loop it around your pin so that it can’t escape. Wrap it around your hair elastic (or bungee) and push the pin up from under your ponytail.
The only thing you’ll need to adjust is how many times you can wrap your hair around your hair elastic, and where to place the pin so that the tension is right.
Bonus tip: Spray your bobby pins with hairspray or dry shampoo first for extra hold!
Tell me, how often do you wear a ponytail and do you like to wear it high or low? What’s your secret to the perfect ponytail?
Hello!
Do you have a tutorial of how I can do the hack with the two bobby pins and elastic band to secure a pony? I’m cant seem to find any online.
I love reading your blogs about curly hair and am very glad To have found Hair Romance. Unlike most of your readers, I am 70 years old. My hair is quite curly and thick, salt and pepper grey, very healthy and nearly to my waist. I usually wear it in some kind of an updo. I would love to wear it in a ponytail, but wonder if it is age-appropriate. What do you think?
Hi Lynne! Thanks so much for commenting and for reading Hair Romance 🙂 You can definitely wear a ponytail or any style you like! I don’t believe in age-appropriate hair. It’s all about having fun with your hair xx
Thanks for reinforcing my own sentiments. I do have fun with my hair or I would have cut it a long time ago. One of the perks of growing older is that I can do just about whatever I wish. I’ve earned that right. After all, I’m really not old, I’ve just been young a very long time.
Oh Lynne, I love that! “I’m really not old, I’ve just been young a very long time” is my new fave quote xx
I like to wear my pony tails high or low and to the side! They’re the quickest way to get my hair off my face and neck, and until I found this blog, I wore them whenever I wasn’t working.
Thanks Tanya! I love a side pony too x
A hair bungee! Never heard of one, but they’re genius! Going to get myself one for sure xx
They are the best, Jackie! A little hard to find but so much more comfortable than elastics x
Oops tips not tops
Great t,ops! I wear pony tails quite often at home! I’m going to start using that bobby pin trick!
Thanks Ingrid! I swear my hair never comes out when I wind it around the pin first 🙂
What a great trick! I’m wearing ponytails a lot lately, so this is so useful. Thanks!
Thanks so much Gio, and thanks for sharing too 🙂 xx
Ponytails are one of my three go-to hair styles and I like ’em high and swingy! Also, can you tell me why I have a cupboard full of various kinds of hair elastics yet only two of them seem to be any good?
So you have all my hair elastics! I swear I keep buying them and the pixies come and take them all in the middle of the night 😉
Ui was thinking the EXACT SAME ! CAN NVR FIND ANY
I’m so glad you posted about this! When you told me your bobby pin trick I was seriously blown away. Too simple, yet too clever! x
Thanks for lending me your beautiful hair! You are wonderful xx
Thanks for this! The other issue I have had is finding GREY bobby pins… I eventually had my hairdresser order a tin of 500 for me, otherwise they are impossible to get, and any colour (even just the tip peeping out) looks super tacky in my naturally silver hair. Covering the elastic will solve that issue, too… No grey elastics and the clear ones are too small for my ponytail!
It is hard to find grey pins! I know there are specialist redhead pins now too in a range of different shades. I get my pins from hairdresser supply stores too. I’ve found larger clear elastics but covering your elastic always gives the best finish 🙂