Damage from clear, small, plastic hair ties?

[Kandy]

I've been really getting into braiding tutorials online (aurorahair on insta is my fave :heartbeat: ), and I've noticed that most of them use these clear plastic hair ties...https://www.amazon.com/Goody-Classics-Polybands-Elastic-Multi/dp/B005HT3P1A... sometimes even at the base or midway down the hair shaft. My question is, do these damage hair? I'm really really prone to breakage, even with standard ponytail holders. If they are damaging, is there anything I can do to reduce that? Or any alternative ties that function the same?

Edit: Also, how do you remove them? just slide them out like normal? I've heard you should cut them out but that seems so wasteful...

[meteor]

I'm not a fan of using elastics when I can avoid it. I incorporate my accent braids into updos, so I simply don't need to tie them off at all - they get bunned up or pinned. Of course, when hair is shorter and the accent braid is thicker, it may unravel, but if you bun it, it will stay - usually for days - in a pretty good shape when bunned up. The more intersections in a small accent braid (i.e. when it's longer and thinner), the better it will hold without any ties.

If I wanted to wear a braid down, I'd simply add a smooth ribbon (folded - so one half is added to one strand of the braid and the other half to another strand) pretty high up and then keep weaving it into the braid, tying it off at the end. Similar to how one would use a paranda. ;)

[littlestarface]

Those clear ones were making me have a lot of split ends i wouldn't recommend them. Now that i threw them away and stopped using them no more splits.

[animetor7]

I use small clear elastics for the ends of accent braids or crown braids before pinning and have for years. I don't notice any damage from them as long as I'm gentle when sliding them out and do so carefully. But then I have straight, slippery hair so I'd imagine if I had grabbier hair these might get tangled up in it. I think I remember you mentioning in another thread that you have some bleach damage, this can also cause grabbier hair, so even though your hair is straight, I'd say try them if you're interested, but proceed with caution, maybe adding a coney serum or something to your ends before using these so that they don't get grabby and tangled in the elastic. They are single use however, if you try to use them more than once they tend to snap. So if you're worried about waste, these may not be for you.

[lucid]

I haven't noticed any damage from my old ones. But I recently bought some new clear elastics, another brand. And these are a lot more 'grabby', stick to my hair and are difficult to remove. I don't dare to use them for other than tying regular braids of (bottom inch of my hair). So the clear elstics differs from brand to brand.

I prefere to use small black hair ties (not silicone, but regular tiny ones) for braids that aren't braided to the very end of the hair. They are easy to remove and look better than the clear ones imo. I bought 100 ties for a couple of dollars on aliexpress. :p

[Zesty]

I used to use these and didn't notice damage. The ones I used (I think they were Goody as well) stuck way more to themselves than to my hair. Now I occasionally use black rubber bands marketed for hair braiding, which blend better with my hair. I bought a pack from Sally's years ago and am not even remotely close to running out, even though I don't use them more than once. I think cutting them out with nail clippers or whatever is a lot more hair-friendly than trying to remove them another way, so that might be why I haven't had negative experiences.

[jennareid]

I have a pack of cheap Primark ones and a pack of Goody brand. The Primark ones are more grippy, have to be thrown away after one use as they lose their stretch, and snap more easily. The Goody ones slide off easily and I can get a couple of uses at least. I never really notice much damage from either, though I have occasionally had to cut the cheaper ones out. I'd recommend the Goody brand (I found a big bag at TK Maxx for about $3).

[Madora]

The trick to using those tiny elastic hairbands (clear or opaque) is to take them off the same way you put them on. Never just pull them off because that pulling causes friction, which leads to hair breakage.

[lapushka]

You can cut them out after one use as well. They sell special combs with an attachment especially for cutting these bands out.

[Aredhel]

Somehow I'd never thought of cutting them out... that's a good idea. :) They always get tangled in my hair (resulting in hair ripping out) no matter how carefully I try to remove them.

[Gillian1978]

Unfortunately I have to use these at the moment as they are the only ties that will hold my very tiny pony:(. But when my hair was long I really loved the Invisibobble - they are more gentle for sure. Oh and a good old scrunchie ! But yes I would not use the clear ties if I didn't have to

[NV]

I always had to use those sort of elastics when braiding my hair for dance competitions. I didn't notice a lot of damage from them, but I have very straight hair thay elastics easily tend to slip off and because they were usually on the ends of my hair I'd try to carefully snip the elastic off rather than slide it of. They lost their stretch so they couldn't be used again anyways

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

The ones I use are made for braiding. You can get a little bag of like, 200 of them from Walmart or Sally's, they're black and rubber and they don't cling to hair. In fact when I oil enough they slip off my hair in my sleep sometimes. I've never had to cut them off because I've never tied them so tight that they wouldn't just come right off. But it helps that they're made for braiding specifically. I hate using ribbon elastics because my braids are so thin using anything other than these, just looks bad. Using thicker elastic leaves this giant mass hanging off the end of my thin thin braid.

[lunasea]

https://i.imgflip.com/1uxjfl.jpg (https://imgflip.com/i/1uxjfl)via Imgflip Meme Generator (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)

[Anje]

The clear Goody and Scunci ones tend to kink my ends and like to fuse to themselves, so I tend to not use them. I prefer the ones that come in colors (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71I%2B8PphCfL._SY679_.jpg), are often sold as "poly bands", and have a square cross-section instead of a flat one. Way less damage with those for my braid ends, and I can get several uses out of them easily.

ETA: These are also decent as braid-enders. Don't pay $8 for them, though! (https://www.amazon.com/Goody-Tiny-Terry-Pony-Tails/dp/B00DGXGAM0)

[browneyedsusan]

I get damage from them, but still use for fun sometimes! I can't resist accent braids or warrior woman styles when I'm feeling fierce! :)

[PrincessAralin]

I hate those little ties, not for damage reasons but because for me they always break at the worst moment.

[Nique1202]

I use small clear elastics for the ends of accent braids or crown braids before pinning and have for years. I don't notice any damage from them as long as I'm gentle when sliding them out and do so carefully. But then I have straight, slippery hair so I'd imagine if I had grabbier hair these might get tangled up in it. I think I remember you mentioning in another thread that you have some bleach damage, this can also cause grabbier hair, so even though your hair is straight, I'd say try them if you're interested, but proceed with caution, maybe adding a coney serum or something to your ends before using these so that they don't get grabby and tangled in the elastic. They are single use however, if you try to use them more than once they tend to snap. So if you're worried about waste, these may not be for you.

I recommend against oiling hair too heavily or too soon before using them. Many of the clear, black, and coloured elastics in the same "family" are made of latex, which doesn't react well to oils. They have different additives from things like gloves, so they don't usually trigger latex allergies (at least, they don't cause mom's to act up) but they can still degrade and snap if exposed to oils on the hair.

If you feel like cutting them out is wasteful, just compare the price to how many you get in the package. Even the most expensive Goody ones here are only about $3 for 100 elastics, that's more than three months of secure daily braids even if you only get one use out of each elastic at a dollar a month, and many brands (especially sold at dollar stores) offer even more elastics for even less cost.

My hair is extremely slippery and these are the only elastics that will hold my hair for long. Scrunchies, invisibobbles, and ribbon elastics slide right out in the slightest breeze, thread-covered elastics slide out AND cause massive friction damage to my ends, and I can get ribbons woven into the braid higher up to tie the thing off at the bottom but my ends always end up kinked from it so I don't do it as often as I'd like. Your Mileage May Vary, as with everything you read on the LHC. The only way to know if it'll work for you is if you try.

[Kaya]

To be honest, I've never had the slightest issue with elastics like these. No noticeable damage. I'm not sure how tightly one has to tie them to result in cutting them out. :? Or perhaps it depends on the type? I use ones that are thin and flat, very smooth and slick. I use one at the end of my sleep braid every night, and it's been the same one for months and months. I've never snapped it or had to cut it out. The only reason I need to get a new one is if I lose it! My current one is discolored from the oil I put on the tassel, but it's still going strong. I could probably slip it right off my tassel in the morning, but I don't; all I do it careful undo the loops until it's loose enough to come off. I could see issues with ones that are more traditional rubber-band like elastics, like the box shaped, sticky type ones. But I'd never use those in the first place!

I reckon it's definitely one of those YMMV situations.

[Cg]

Only rarely do I use these just above the tassel, but almost always they slide out on their own (yes, even after bunning and pinning like a madwoman). If they do not slither free easily, I cut.