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I do have one word of caution for those fellas who are growing their hair long, it is TRACTION ALOPECIA. http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic895.htm This is the condition where one's hair is literally pulled out by the roots by tying it back too tightly in a pony tail or football tackles etc.
In the time of my life I was wearing my hair very long I was very mindful of this condition. So I made sure there was a little bit of slack left behind in the hair when I tied it back in a pony tail. So my hair has not suffered from any of the effects of traction alopecia. I do not think traction alopecia can be caused by long hair itself. For that to be a problem the follicle may have to carry the weight of a hair that is 50 meters long. But some ponytails I see may have the equivalent force on the follicle of a hair far greater than that length. A word of advice if you tie you hair back an it hurts, you have tied your hair back too tightly. Take the band out and tie it back again so it doesn't hurt.
Pain after all it nature's warning sign that damage it being done.
Make sure the main weight of the pony tail it taken up more by the hair at the nape of the neck and not the front hair line. So if there is an accidental football tackle it will be the hair at the nape of the neck and not the front hairline that will take the strain. And if any traction allopetia happens it will be at the nape of the neck where it will be no where near as noticable.
Do not try tieing short hair back in a pony tail. It has to be well passed your shoulder before you think about doing that.
In my experience a little bit of force pulled on the hair follicle may actually strengthen it. While my hair is a bit shorter now gently tug the hairs and now my hair is actually thickening up.
Cheers Paul
That was very informative, thanks.
I have experienced a little pain when tying my hair back but not an increase in hair loss. Due to its extreme length (over 3 feet) and an extreme tendency to tangle (I have a mix of straight, wavy and curly hair) I must put 8 to 10 hair bands along its entire length. If I feel discomfort I will loosen or retie to reduce tension on my hair. This also helps to prevent "traction headache" as well. Absalom
I have experienced a little pain when tying my hair back but not an increase in hair loss. Due to its extreme length (over 3 feet) and an extreme tendency to tangle (I have a mix of straight, wavy and curly hair) I must put 8 to 10 hair bands along its entire length. If I feel discomfort I will loosen or retie to reduce tension on my hair. This also helps to prevent "traction headache" as well. Absalom
Just a little bit of pain is OK, but some people I see have their hair tied back to tightly that in profile the line from the bottom of the forehead to the pony tail tie is one continuous curved line with no break in it whatsoever at the hairline as it is pulled as hard and as flat as possible against the scalp. I saw such a style on a Negro actress on the Bill recently and I her I thought the style did look very aesthetically appealing, but dangerous. They must enjoy the pain for the sake of bit of temporary beauty that they will regret later in life.
I remember last time i had long hair when i started wearing it tied up, i would get a headache about an hour after tying it up. This gradually faded to to nothing after a few months of having it tied up every day. Is this the same thing?
This is why it's also important to not tie your hair back when it's wet. Wet hair stretches. It might feel comfortable at first, but as the hair dries, it will lose its elasticity and become dangerously tight. Also, schunchies are a good idea as they don't hold the hair as tightly as smaller bands or (god forbid) rubber bands. I remember reading something that said that since the widespread use of schunchies came into fashion, this form of hair loss has been greatly reduced.
Oh, yeah, I'll add something more to this also. The study said that the loss usually occured under where the ponytail of bun was secured. This is why you should move the anchor point of your tail around. Wear it high some days, medium on some others, and low on some others.