new thread
I have a question to pose. The thread on tying back a pony tail made me start thinking.
1) The most common means to tie a tail is with a hair band or tie of some sort that is usually elastic in nature. Some are cloth and some are like a stretchy band and so on. I have always had a problem with these. Once I finally get my hair in the tie, it stays tied, but I have that type of wild hair that seems to get yanked when passing it through the hair tie. I do not like this. I only wrap the tie around twice and this is usually sufficient to hold my hair; however, it is just such a hassle for me. I see people tie back their hair in a matter of seconds, whereas for me it takes minutes: I have to wet my hands, gather up my hair several times, etc.
2) There are also hair clips or claw-like devices. I have one of these, but this is not something I feel comfortable wearing in the world at large and subsequently do not do so. However, it is very easy to make a tail: gather and hold the hair with one hand and just simply clip it back.
3) Another thing I thought of seems logical, but I have not tried it. I was thinking how men and women probably tied their hair back before the wonderful modern invention of elastic. I was reading in a book about the Trojan War how Menelaus, Hector, etc. probably had long hair that they tied back. So how did they do this? I am thinking of getting a small strip of leather cord or a narrow piece of dark ribbon and seeing if just tying back my hair will work. The advantage of such a scheme would be that there is no passing and pulling one's hair through a small hair tie. It seems as if though just gathering and tying the hair should be simple. But I haven't even a piece of string or anything around the house to try this out today
Has anyone tried this? Did it work? Do you think it will work?
I have been fascinated by the various hair tying methods used by early sailors...
If you have a copy of the movie TROY, check out character of Hector played by Eric Bana.....looks like a series of small (metal?) clips.
Interesting topic....Thanks
Walter
I have the same exact problem with elactic hair ties. I thought I was the only one. I have curly hair that gets pretty frizzy at times. When I tie it back it gets caught up in the tie when im pulling my hair through to the point where it rips it and it really makes me cringe. Same thing happens when I take them out, whole stands of hair sometimes pull out with it. I think it may be the hair ties I bought, they seem to be to tight.
Great topic, Mat!
I, too, have the wlld hair that gets caught in the elastic band. I pull my hair back often enough - two to three times a week, I guess - and it isn't too much of a problem, but it does cause damage and breakage of at least a few hairs. Also, if it is going to look even a little decent, it needs to be pre-wet.
The idea of a leather cord which would offer better grip and stay-put-power (compared to the ribbon idea) sounds quite appealing. I wonder how, after it's tied, one deals with the extra length of chord, though... tie it in a granny knot? Simply let it hang?
If you experiment, please let us all know the results.
Cheers!
Shawn (Mr.Crow)
I've got the same exact problem! I only tie up my hair to work and get rid of the tail as soon as I get out. For me, tying up my hair with those elastic bands is a pain in the ass!
I too with my curly hair have issue with the ponytail. 1) because of my hair type. 2) because i have only an inch to spare in my bangs so to get the tail tight takes a few goes. Please keep us posted if you find out anything usefull.
Mat
I've actually used the third method with a piece of thin, soft leather. To tie it, I tip my head back a bit, run the tie under all of my hair near the neck, and then carefully tied it in a knot I usually haven't bothered trying to make it look nicer since it's not a style I wear often our bother with out of the house. It's mostly been an occasional experiment. I have had issues with getting hair caught in the tie while making a knot; even with care it seems hard to avoid. It also doesn't seem really stable (hair slips out). I do like it for tying back damp hair around the house, though.
I also made a leather loop with a bead that slides up the length to tighten the lopp. Again, I seem to have problems keeping stray hairs from getting caught, this time in the bead. I think practice would help, as I haven't tried this hairpiece in months.
Mouse
Makes me wonder if one of the southwestern style leather bola (boas sp?) that is used instead of a traditional neck tie, might work for this. Thanks for sharing your process, Mouse. I'd rather have a few hairs pulled out but know that the product will do what I want (i.e. stay put hair elastics) than have one that doesn't perform well.
Shawn (Mr.Crow)
Interesting topic! My boyfriend uses elastics that don't look very much like an elastic. They look more like some sort of cotton band (especially because they are in brown and beige colors), but they are stretchy. They don't catch hairs and are good on the hair, no breakage. The thing is I don't know exactly what they are called, I found them very cheap in the supermarket.