High Ponytail -- How To

[beryl]

Hi, all!

I've searched the forum, but nothing with the words 'high' or 'ponytail' had what I was looking for. I'm sorry if this has been asked in the past!

This is my question: What's the best way to get hair into a high ponytail? Is it just practice? I can never get my ponytails as high as I want them without wearing out my arm muscles or ending up with hair lumps all over the place. I've seen people flip their heads forward and do it that way, but I've tried and I get such horrible tangles that I don't want to do it again! :shudder:

Of course, maybe high ponytails are bad for hair anyway. :shrug:

How do you guys manage it?

[Andrea H]

I just keep brushing the hair upwards(using a paddle brush), and use a boar bristle brush to smooth everything out. It takes a bit of practice though! Especially the smoothing out process, definitely gives my arms a work out. :P

[jacqueline101]

It takes practice and keep smoothing out the lumps.

[beryl]

So it isn't necessary to flip your head over at all?

(which would be mighty reassuring)

ETA: I guess I need a lot more practice!

[Andrea H]

No it's not. :) You just have to keep brushing it upwards. I start with the hair at the nape of my neck, then the sides.

[yvsa]

I do it on my daughters hairs like this (it's not me in this video). It's a video spoken in Dutch but you can follow the technique she uses: First make a half up and then include the bottom hair. Makes a firm ponytail that doesn't slide down easy during the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rXk9QatSi4

[Seeshami]

I don't flip my hair generally. And I detangle, use my fingers to get my pony where it belongs and then brush out the tangles when I am done.

[Khiwanean]

An easy way to flip your head forward without tangling your hair so much is to gather your hair with one had at the nape of your neck and grab your ends with the other. Then you flip your head forward and move the hand with your ends over your head, letting go of the ends once your hair is at an angle that dangles naturally toward the floor. Ease the hand at the nape of your neck up toward the top of your head and let go. Use a brush to smooth your hair into a ponytail and tie it off. Then stand up normally. I hope that makes sense.

I'll usually flip my head like that if I want a really high ponytail, but otherwise, I just gather my hair about where I want it and smooth it into place with a brush.

[torrilin]

Honestly (like pretty much everything else) it's practice. I learned to make an acceptable looking ponytail around age 12 or so, after about 4 years of having hair long enough to ponytail. Admittedly, I wasn't the world's most coordinated kid, but that's not really an abnormally long time to take for learning either.

At this point after over 20 years of practice, I can get a nice looking high ponytail just by finger combing my hair. That's a pretty recent development, within the last couple years.

[FireFromWithin]

I tend to scrap my top hair back, then add the bottom hair and smooth everything out with a brush. If I want it really high, I flip my head at this point (very gently and keeping control of my hair). Then very carefully run my hands back from my hairline to my ponytail allowing it to inch further up (or down since I'm upside-down) my head. Then I smooth out the sides and back with a brush before re-assessing and repeating the process if necessary. I know this involves flipping your head over which you don't like but it's more controlled than doing it at the start of the process. Good luck, like previous poster have said, it's all about practice!

[nena_shawty]

I used to struggle with that too. I finally got it though, I take half of my hair as if you were gonna have a half ponytail, then I just keep adding form the bottom; then I just smooth anything else out if need be. I don't really like very smooth ponytails so I don't worry about smoothing out too much . ;) hope this helps .

[Panth]

For me, at least, it's tricks.

Trick #1: if you want to lean forward without tangles, comb out your hair, then divide it in half along your centre parting and put each half in front of the shoulder. THEN slowly, smoothly, bend at the waist and let your hair swing up past your face. Bend until your hair hangs vertically downwards. You can then comb it neat. (Note: this is how I would lean forwards without tangles, it is not how I do a high ponytail as I can never make it smooth and neat this way.)

Trick #2: Sit on bed. Comb out hair nicely. Lie on your back across the bed, staring at the ceiling. Scootch along until your head and hair are hanging off the side of the bed. Then use gravity to assist the hair into the correct position for the ponytail (a comb, or better still a brush will help get everything smooth). Secure your hair into the ponytail before your core muscles die from holding your head sticking out like that. If your hair is long enough to drag on the floor when attempting trick #2, try trick #3 instead.

Trick #3: Comb out hair nicely. Sit on a high-backed chair and put your hair behind the back (not between you and the back). Scootch down in the chair until the point on your head where you want the ponytail to be is in line with the top of the chair back. Use fingers/comb/brush to smooth the hair into the ponytail position while letting the chair back take the weight of the hair and support it in the correct position whilst you maneuver your hands. Quickly secure the ponytail before your back dies from being scrunched into that silly hunched pose.

For either trick #2 or #3, once the ponytail is secured you can sit up. After that you are free to comb through the ponytail to get out any tangles (I always manage to acquire at least a few), plait the ponytail, bun the ponytail, etc.

[lapushka]

Lean your head back, then gather your hair. It will be high up your head already. Then just smooth back the hair on the sides and underneath, and hey presto.

[beryl]

Thanks guys, for all these tips!

I will keep practising, but I think I might try the chair idea, Panth. One problem with my 'high' ponytails is that I pick a spot, brush, smooth and whatever else til I get there, and after hairtying it realise it's a good few inches lower than I thought it would be. :(

So a chairback might keep me on track. ;)

[Syaoransbear]

I lay on my bed with my head and hair off the edge and just tilt my head back a bit more.

[cobden 28]

Whichever way you decide to do a high ponytail, once you've got the knack and found out what works best for you, it's really easy. This is how I wear my hair every day.

[beryl]

I used to be able to do it regularly when my hair was WL--then I wore buns and braids for a few years, and now that my hair's just past classic I need a new way of high-ponytailing it.

[Panth]

Thanks guys, for all these tips!

I will keep practising, but I think I might try the chair idea, Panth. One problem with my 'high' ponytails is that I pick a spot, brush, smooth and whatever else til I get there, and after hairtying it realise it's a good few inches lower than I thought it would be. :(

So a chairback might keep me on track. ;)

Even with the chair trick (or with the other trick), you'll still want to gather it an inch or so higher on your head than you want the finished ponytail to be. It always somehow drops lower whilst you are tying it in place.

[Immera]

I lie in the bed with my head at the edge and my hair hanging over the edge. Then I pony tail it while lying down. Fewer lumps.