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I am looking for a recommendation for something better than the typical elastic band pony tie. Have tried the elatstic ones without the metal joint, but still experience some hair breakage using these. The only thing I have found so far that does not cause breakage are scrunchies, but I want to go more minimal at times.
Any recommendations?
If you are being careful when you remove the ties, and you're still getting breakage, then I suspect the elastics may just be gripping too tightly. As an alternative, go to a shoe repair shope and get a couple of rawhide shoe laces. Then, just pull your hair into a pony tail, and tie it with the shoelace. The rough texture of the leather helps to keep the tie from slipping, so you don't need to tie it so tightly that it smashes the hair follicles to the breaking point. Be sure to use a square knot, so it will be relatively easy to untie (even better, use a bow as you do with your shoes). Also, once you've got it in place, you can trim the shoelace to whatever length you prefer.
Women do this all the time, but they generally use a ribbon and tie it into something more decorative than most of us would be comfortable with. ;-) Good luck.
. . . JP in san diego.
You may also find some soft leathers at Native American supply houses if there are any in your city. Or try the web. A long thinpiece of well tanned leather can be as inexpensive as a dollar. Or try the tandy leather type places and craft shops. leather comes predied in many colors.
Whether or not you use an elastic tie the long hanging leather looks great. You can even add beads, antler tips, abalone shell, type things to the ends of the leather. J.P. is right, the square knot is the key.
One girlfriend mad sort of a series of different lengths of leather with beads for me. Leather ties, plain or decorated, look great.
Another girlfriend made a neat thing for me. Its a triangular piece of soft leather. The shape of the triangle is long and thin, about
a 30 degree angle triangle. She put a bead on the long tip of the triangle and cut a slit about an inch from the other end. The long tip wraps around my hair and is pulled through the slit. It needs a little inside snap or something to hold it in place.
I've thought of trying one of those velcro bands used for holding clumps of computer wire together, cutting it off shorter, but fear the velcro would cause havoc with the hair.
You could try using a plain black ribbon - kind to the hair, but more masculine than coloured ribbon.
I've found two ideas that really work. One is the so-called "ouchless elastics" made by Goody. They are cheap, about 60 for around a buck. They are made of urethane plastic and work as claimed. They are very minimal in size and seem to be kind to hair.
The following is an edited repost of something I put on this board a few weeks ago. You may find it helpful or interesting.
I'm always on the lookout for hair-friendly ponytail holders. Also, I've wanted some "bigger" ties, but not so big that they
overwhelm my ponytail. The answer is....Sock Tops, the part of the sock that DOESN'T get holes in it.
I cut off everything south of the ankle and
throw it away. Then I take the tube I have left, and roll the frayed edge in. I sew around it with loose stitches so it's still
stretchy, but doesn't unravel. Wash it, let it dry, and it's ready. Just the right size. Not as big as some of the scrunchies girls
wear, but definitely a BIG hairtie for a guy.
If you can get old pantyhose from wife or GF, a 6" to 8" section of leg works too. I prefer black. You don't have to sew these,
just roll 'em up and use 'em. The texture of this fabric is good for more formal occasions.
Those Goody ties are better than the others, but they can still cause damage if you have hair that is damage prone. The damage is caused by forcing the hair into a sharp bend.
Another thing to try is cut up panty-hose. I've not tried it myself, but I've heard great things about using them. Simply cut up one of the legs into sections. You get instant mini-scrunchies. You can choose from a variety of colors, too.
My favorite thing to do is to simply braid my hair. No implements are required, and usually the braid lasts a fair amount of time before I have to rebraid. The more blunt cut your hair is and the straighter it is, the quicker the braid will fall out.
You can also use your own hair in this fashion:
Separate a small lock of hair from the rest. While holding the bulk of your hair as you would for a normal pony tail, take the small lock and wrap it around the pony tail. As you get to the end of it, push the end under the wrap. Adding a little twist helps to keep it in place.
Don't forget about clips and whatnot. Take a trip to Claire's at the mall for some good hair ideas.
The ribbon idea is also a good one. Take a look at the heads side of a US nickel to see what it can look like.
There is something called a hair slide that works nicely. Basically it is just a strand of leather folded in on itself and threaded with beads. To attach it to your hair, wind the looped end around a lock of hair 2 full wraps. Then slide the first bead up to the hair. You should now have a loop of leather completely encircling the strand of hair with the bead holding it in position. Coming out through the bead are the two ends of the leather. Take these ends and criss-cross them around your hair again, adding more hair if desired. Cinch up the next bead. Continue in this fashion until you have used up all the beads.
An interesting resource that you may not have considered is websites on dressing up horses for competition or display. Look for techniques on grooming the horses' manes and tails. Techniques for braiding and otherwise securing hair are frequently given.
Thanks all, sounds like some great ideas. There are definitely a few I want to try. Have seen the leather slides at several Harley runs - I think they even had a quick braider which was made from leather lace with bead retainers, am riding up to the redwood run next weekend, will be on the lookout for vendor info and pass it on to all!