Pony-tail wearers!
I need your help, PLEEEEASE!
I, after about of year of growing my hair out, have FINALLY got hair long enough to have a GOOD pony-tail at the base of my neck.
My problem is, I'm having a hell of a time putting my hair into a pony-tail; I thought it'd be easy enough, but...DAMN...I can't get it to work without my fingers getting stuck between the band and my hair, causing me to either try it again (to no avail) or just give up.
What I've been trying to use is the GOODY "Ouchless" No-Metal-Clasp kind of band. I have a whole pack of em collecting dust because I can't seem to even get one to work!
I'm frustrated, plain and simple. Please help, pony-tail wearers, and as silly as it sounds, PLEASE give me a detailed (enough) step-by-step technique. By the way, if it matters any, I have wavy hair.
Thank you all in advance! I'll be sure to post a photo as soon as I have my first pony-tail!
Mike,
King of Stupid Questions. I hate to boast in such a way, but I'm pretty sure there isn't a more stupid question (re: hair) as mine:
"How do you put your hair into a pony-tail?"
My hair is finally long enough for a ponytail too and it
sure makes it nice to wear in a pony on those bad hair days.
Put the band around your wrist and then gather all of your hair
between your thumb and forefinger, then just slide the band over
your hair then pull it through, then twist the band once and
repeat until the band is tight. Just practice. I can put my
hair in a pony at the stop light now.
I learned by watching girls in class do it.
Put the band around the palm of your hand, under the knuckles and the part where the the thumb attaches. I like to keep it right on the big thumb knuckle. Using both hands, grab hair like mad until you have what you want grasped in the band-hand. Use the off-hand to just pull the band over your fingers and thumb. Then I stick the off-hand in the band and do the same thing from the other side, adding a twist.
Takes me only seconds..
This is not a stupid question--I had the same question when I first wanted to wear a ponytail. Unfortunately, I was too afraid to ask, but fortunately I got it right after a few tries (right now it takes me 15-20 seconds to do it--at first, it took me like five minutes to get it right because I wasn't satisfied with half-assed results).
Anyway, considering that my hair is somewhat thin, these are the steps I take:
1) put the band on my left hand's wrist (I'm a leftie, so adjust if necessary)
2) with both hands, from both sides, start grabbing the bottom of my hair to form the future ponytail. each hand starts out with index and thumb fingers spread apart, with the objective to get the hair in the "loop" between the thumb and the index finger
3) as both hands start crossing, my left hand grabs the entire tail in a fist, while my right hand sweeps the rest of the hair, making sure that all hair gets into my left hand's fist
4) often I slide my left hand's fist off the hair, while the right hand regrabs the hair in a fist and then slides off as the left hand grabs the hair in a fist again. sometimes I do this a few times. I do this to make sure that all hair is grabbed in my left hand's fist (and no long neck hair is free). You can skip this step if you think you got the hair in tight.
5) while your left hand is holding firmly (but not too tight) the soon-to-be ponytail, grab the rubber band off the left wrist with your right hand and slide it off the left wrist and over the fist (while still holding the left hand fist). This will require some stretching. What you will end up with then is your right hand pulling the band to the right on one side, with the band pushing under your left hand's fist on the hair.
6) now rotate your right hand so that the rubber band becomes crossed--you will now make the 2nd loop. use the fingers of your right hand to tighten the first loop and stretch the rest of the band. the fingers of your right hand will be inside the loop, with the loop pushing on the outside of your hand.
7) now, start sliding your left hand's fist. as soon as it is far off the base of the head, use your right hand's fingers to grab the ponytail. close the loop that your fingers make and the rubber band should slide off to the end of your fingers. now use your left hand to hold the rubber band, while sliding the "locked" right hand up--this will bring up the hair, leaving you with two loops made and your left hand holding the rubber band.
8) you're now in almost the same situation as at the end of step 5, except you have switched your hands and the rubber band is tighter. here comes the hard part--making additional loops as you will probably need them (since you only have one year of hair growth). so, repeat steps 6 and 7, but with the left and right hands "swapped". after you made the 3rd loop, you'll be in the same situation as at the end of step 5, except with an even tighter band. I usually only make three loops--see what works for you.