Do Hair bands/scrunchies pull out more hair?

[Dreamkitty]

I tied my plait with one of those skinny hairbands at the end of my hair. I went out today so my hair was in a plait untill I came home.

I then realised that I tied the hairband too tight, I didn't want to tear my ends to shreds so I gently untied the hairband. I realised there was a small hairball of very short hairs. How do you think this happens?

I wear hairbands quite often because I mostly have my hair in a plait. Is there a better alternative to hairbands that is more gentle to the hair and makes it easy to untie?

[Madora]

Well, if by hairband you mean an elastic, you could try a covered elastic (no metal) and see how that works.

Goody makes an ouchless barrette that is very simple to disengage from your hair.

[pepperminttea]

Do you have the 'ouchless' ones, with no metal? Asda definitely sells them, I think Morrisons does too. They do packs in black too, which if I remember rightly would hide quite nicely in your hair. The only other thing is try tying off your braid in a different place each time; it's as much the repetition that causes damage as a snagging hairtoy.

[eezepeeze]

I sometimes braid my hair with a ribbon in it and then use the ribbon to tie off the braid at the end. I find this really gentle on my hair. I probably should do it more often, actually, but am a creature of habit and reach for my hair ties. I do use the non-metal, all fabric/elastic kind, but I know what you mean about the little hair balls. I've had better luck recently with the plastic ones that come in a packet of about 500. They are clear or black and very small, made for tying off braids, etc. They aren't really good for more than one use, so I carefully cut them out of my hair to avoic pulling.