Hair elastics

[Anya15]

Hi :)

I am having trouble finding the perfect hair elastic for my hair. Due to my thickness, any elastic usually becomes really loose after a few uses and totally useless in a couple weeks. :(

I usually use cloth covered elastics. When I used to wear ponytails, I used scrunchies made with shiny smooth material, but now I almost never wear ponytails. So it's just these elastics to secure my braids.

Do any of you have this problem?

[Goddessa]

When I had type iii hair a few years ago before a big shed due to medication, this was the worst. I remember all the stretched/broken hair elastics I went though. Ugh.

What worked for me was making my own out of pantyhose(I could get like, 50 out of a single pair and it didn't even matter), or actually buying elastic at the fabric store and making my own that are a tied piece of elastic. I actually saw some at Walmart that were essentially like that the other day, just tied elastic. Crazy. Not sure how hair friendly it is though.

[pili]

Yup. The curse of iii thickness. The only ones that help are the ones made by Goody that look like thick pantyhose material, but they are hard to find. These will also stretch over time, but are the only ones my hair won't break, they just stretch.

[Arctic]

I have ii hair and never had this particular problem. I can use same elastics for several years (although I have to say I don't use them very often). Of course they eventually stretch out of shape, but it takes looooong time. I have never broken an elastic that I remember. If I have it would have been due to elastic being old and tired, not because of thickness.

My sympathies about the thick hair elastics problems, must be irritating to having to buy more all the time.

You could try braiding a ribbon to your braid and using the ends to tie the braid off (braiding it in will prevent it from slipping off). Or try some of the DIY elastics people have posted here over the years. Meteor has often made a compiled posts about them, if you search her posts you could find them.

[Shepherdess]

I haven't used elastics or scrunchies very much within the past few years in ponytails, since the weight is a bit too much on my head, and when I use elastics and scrunches in my braids, they just don't work either, since my braids ends are rather thin, so scrunchies and most elastics just slip right off. I think I used to have the same problem though years back when I did use them frequently. I have found that loop n loom stretchies (for arts and crafts) work the best for my hair in securing braids ends, and they don't fall out as easily, though I think some of mine might have stretched out a little, though they still work and aren't like hair elastics. I'm not sure if they work as well for ponytails though, since they are rather thin, and the stretching isn't quite the same as elastics, though I prefer them since they seem gentler and work with my hair. I hope you are able to find something that works for you! :flower:

[Anya15]

Thank you Arctic, I will try the ribbon idea. Though I am not sure how well it will work since my braids at rather short (I leave a long tassel because of my layers). I'll look into the DIY thing too.

Shepherdess, the place I tie off my braid is fairly thick because of the long tassel. I have tried those loop n loom type elastics but those just break off. :(

I can't even use the elastics I use for braids for ponytails... They break right away! The ones I use for braids are kind of thinner compared to the scrunchies I use for ponytails. Generally I don't use scrunchies for braids, I don't fancy the look much. And now I almost never wear ponytails...

[lapushka]

The best hair elastics for me were the stretched out ones, at least those fit around 3 times and felt more secure. My elastics were always too loose at 2 times around and couldn't fit a 3rd time. So when they stretched: yay! For years in my teens I had the same 2 stretched out ones. :lol: Of course they still had a metal thingie attached, but that never ever bothered me. They say it can trap the hair, but on me it never did. And I did far more damaging things to my hair than using that elastic. :lol:

Just the no-metal ones and the ones made from hosiery are great. And these ones made from terry cloth:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/817xDm%2BHUFL._SL1500_.jpg

[Belle Paix]

This is why I switched from using ties to using sticks and ficcares...
The very few times I do use ties, I use the goody ribbon ones. Usually when I braid my hair for bed. They haven't come out yet, and I'm a light sleeper.

[Nique1202]

I have seen extra-large elastics for very thick hair. Like, they're the same thickness but about 12 inches around, so that they don't have to stretch so far to ponytail and get warped out of shape so quickly. You could probably find some on eBay or if you live near a store that sells very thin elastic headbands you might be able to use those to the same end.

[meteor]

Hi :)

I am having trouble finding the perfect hair elastic for my hair. Due to my thickness, any elastic usually becomes really loose after a few uses and totally useless in a couple weeks. :(

I usually use cloth covered elastics. When I used to wear ponytails, I used scrunchies made with shiny smooth material, but now I almost never wear ponytails. So it's just these elastics to secure my braids.

Do any of you have this problem?

Are you wondering about ponytails or braid tassels? :) Because different things can work for those, since you don't need as much strong hold and tension for braid ends as you do for holding a ponytail in place.

For braid tassels, to keep it as gentle and hair-friendly as possible, I'd try:
- DIY cut up nylon pantyhose circlets (the ones for kids are smaller). Choose the ones that are silky smooth to the touch.
- weaving a silky ribbon/narrow scarf into the braid. Fold the ribbon in half, add one half to one braid strand and the second half to the opposite braid strand and treat them like they are part of the hair, braid it to the end, wrap the ends of ribbon and tie them together.

For ponytails on thick hair, I'd try things that work by wrapping around the pony tightly:
- hair bungees (http://hairromance-3df0.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Hair-Romance-hair-bungee-for-curly-ponytails.jpg) (http://www.hairromance.com/2015/07/perfect-ponytails-how-to-use-a-hair-bungee-and-hide-your-hair-elastic.html)
- hair bobbles (http://www.larkstore.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/b/o/bobbleblack.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt4EnXKVvY4)
- DIY hair bungees (with bobby pins): e.g. http://gemskee.blogspot.ca/2013/03/so-that-bungee-hair-tie-post-diy-hair.html
- DIY hair bobbles (with buttons): e.g. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=132760, http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/tag/hairband/

Also, check out the Lazy Wrap Ponytail: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=129368 Unlike many other "Comet Bun" (bun + pony) hair styles, this one does not require very long hair, especially if one takes only a smaller strand of hair for doing the LWB portion.

Hope you'll find something that works well for you, anou! :cheer:

[Anya15]

Thank you everyone!

Lapushka, that happens to me sometimes with ponytail elastics, but not always, I suppose it differs for me with the type of elastic...

Nique, I must find these extra large elastics!

Meteor, thank you so much, as always a very informative post :flower: I will try those. And I am worried about braid tassels, since I don't want to wear ponytails anymore. I stopped wearing them after I joined LHC :p
Ribbons especially sound like a good idea. My hair is so dark, I am always itching to add some color to it, at least ribbons will make it look interesting :lol:

[meteor]

^ Awesome, anou! :D For a braid tassel, it's pretty easy to use a ribbon like a paranda. :) And if the braid happens to be too short or layered for this, one can start adding the ribbon/narrow scarf to the braid very high up by beginning with a French/Dutch braid or starting with a small English braid (like an accent) going into the larger English (or any other) braid.

Also, for ponytailing thick hair, I wanted to add a video of a sectioned ponytail: by Haartraum - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWNoIQZ6OrM - ponytail the hair in the back/nape first, then add the top/canopy hair, comb it over and ponytail it together with the first ponytail. Using sectioning and 2 pony holders makes the pony hold much better. HTH! :flower: