Can you guys do a high ponytail?

[PhillyGirl1978@]

My hair is usually down like my avatar, when I put it up it is usually because of the heat...I'm eating...or it's just getting on my nerves and my style is usually a bun or peacock twist. Today I was playing in the mirror and did a ponytail up around the middle of my head with my hand...and I love the way it looks, but I know that my hair must be pretty heavy or something because a scrunchie usually just slips out of a higher ponytail with me. Not to mention I know I would have to double wrap the scrunchie and with my curls that usually means trouble when I take it out and a few broken strands. The way my hair looked though when I just held it up in that ponytail, it was still brushing my shoulders and I loved how it swung when I moved my head, so I would still get that feeling of having it out but with it being a little more outta the way and less likely to catch. Not to mention to change it up a bit. So my question is, do you long hairs do higher ponytails? And what do you have to use to get them?

The only thing I can think of is I could maybe wrap a strand of my own hair around a few times and secure it to my head with a little clip...but not sure if there are any other ways.

[GeoJ]

I don't do high ponytails anymore because they feel like they are going to pull out all of the hair at my front hairline. As far as staying put, when I did do them I used a Bunjii (they are no longer made, so I spent a lot of time bidding on E-Bay to get mine).

[SimplyViki]

I can still do one, but probably not for long, because it feels heavy and pulls when I do. I just make a ponytail with two ponytail holders instead of just one, it seems to hold a little better, and the extra ponytail holder seems to act as a kind of "spacer" to hold the hair a bit away from my head so I can get better bounce out of it. If that makes any sense at all. :)

[PhillyGirl1978@]

Thanks...I guess I'll just have to play around. I certainly don't wanna cause any breakage....and no pulling at the hairline. It's like I would need a plastic snap ring thingy to snap around the ponytail. Long curly hair can certainly be challenging!lol

[Elphie]

I can still wear one, but I don't usually pick that style if it's something I'm going to be wearing all day. It's comfortable for a few hours at best but then the weight of my hair becomes tiresome and I take it down. I generally use ouchless hair elastics.

[SimplyViki]

Thanks...I guess I'll just have to play around. I certainly don't wanna cause any breakage....and no pulling at the hairline. It's like I would need a plastic snap ring thingy to snap around the ponytail. Long curly hair can certainly be challenging!lol
They sell things like that at Ulta, have you checked there? It might still pull though, simply from the weight of it all being concentrated in one place.

[spidermom]

Oh yes, I do a top-of-head ponytail with a satin-y scrunchie every night for sleep. The ends hang down to between APL and BSL. It will only stay while I'm stretched out in bed, though. A few minutes up, like to go to the bathroom, and the pony is sliding down the back of my head.

[julya]

I do something like a high ponytail. I make a cinnamon bun with one or two wraps high on my head and let pull the tail through the center. Makes a nice, swingy ponytail for me.

[pradabacon]

I do high ponies quite a bit. I use a couple of elastics to hold it away from my head a little more, like Viki. Otherwise, it falls too flat against my head and doesn't look nice.

I wonder if you could do it by tying it with a scarf or something. Maybe flip your head upside down, use a narrow scarf to secure the ponytail, and then add some clips or barrettes to the underside to take some of the weight and keep it from slipping down. You wouldn't be able to see the clips under all that beautiful, curly hair! :) They do make some sort of round plastic pony clip, too. Torrin Paige uses one in one of her tutorial videos.

[Euphony]

Ugh I like ponytails but my hair is entirely too heavy to wear one for more than an hour anymore. With the length the swing just gets unbearable and pulls way too much. I did get some hair ties for thick hair and I'm able to get a new one around a ponytail twice and it will stay, but the second time I use it it's pretty stretched out so I have to try to get it around a third time.

[Longlocks3]

Ugh I like ponytails but my hair is entirely too heavy to wear one for more than an hour anymore. With the length the swing just gets unbearable and pulls way too much. I did get some hair ties for thick hair and I'm able to get a new one around a ponytail twice and it will stay, but the second time I use it it's pretty stretched out so I have to try to get it around a third time.

Yup, me too. My hairs not even that thick and it hurts after a couple hours. Feels like it pulls way too much on my front hairline. My hair also eats hair ties, stretches them out like mad.

[noelgirl]

I still do them and haven't noticed any problems. Since I'm growing out bangs and layers, a high pony contains them better than a low pony (that may also explain why it's not that heavy yet, even though my longest lengths are almost-nearly-can-I-call-this-waist).

[WaimeaWahine]

There's a trick to it not pulling - or at least not so much. You have to have not so long, lightweight hair, and loosen it a bit to where the top of your head is rather poofy. ;)

If it makes you feel good and makes you happy and you like how it looks then you should wear your hair like that and try to minimize the damage. Cloth ties are good.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

Thanks for all your suggestions. My flexi-8 seems to work as well as anything would ( no pulling, no trouble getting it out) and unfortunately I don't think that will hold for any length of time. Maybe I just can't do that style anymore. My hair seems to have gotten too heavy.

[lindaton]

The only way I can get mine to hold is to do a half up[the sides and top] in one elastic and then add rest of hair to that and add the 2nd elastic and kinda anchor it over the first, if that makes sense. Sure is a lot of weight though.

Linda

[pradabacon]

^^^ Hmmm. That's a good idea to try! It might work for some people with heavy hair. :thumbsup: And I might try it for extra volume. Thanks!

[Feli]

I love wearing a high pony too, hair's out of my face and it still looks nice and long. My problem is that I just don't seem to be able to get all of my hair to go smoothly into the ponytail. There's almost always a bump somewhere - how do you guys do it?

[oneKnight]

I can only do high ponytails if I put it up wet, otherwise bending the dried-into-position hair back upwards gives me a nasty headache.

I use large size, thick ouchless elastics (which seem to be hard to find thesedays...)

[ericthegreat]

The high ponytail is my automatic go-to style when I need to look really neat and sleek but I also don't have too much time to get ready.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3493&pictureid=44543

My hair altho very coarse and quite thick doesn't actually bother me. I simply just love the instant face lift that a tight, high ponytail offers. I do have to double my elastic anywhere from 4 to 5 times over and over in order to really secure my ponytail tightly in place.

[masterofmidgets]

I really can't do a high ponytail, actually. No matter where I position it and how tight I band it off, within a few minutes it slips down again. It's too much trouble to bother with, so I just go with the flow and do low ponytails instead. I prefer the way a loose low ponytail softens my face anyway (even if I am a bit envious of the sleek, sporty look other people can get with a high one).

[ericthegreat]

Feli you need to use either a fine tooth rat tail comb like this

http://www.morrisflamingo.com/images/F-4141.jpg

or even better a 100% boar bristle brush like these 4

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/10095666/Large_Wooden_Round_Styling_Brush_with_Natural_Boar _Bristle.jpg

and then completely brush all of your hair on your scalp back smoothly before bending over to pull your hair tightly into the high ponytail. You should actually use either the rat tail comb or the boar bristle brush to brush and smooth over the hair on your scalp before securing it with the hair elastic.

[Feli]

Ericthegreat: thanks for your tips. I've never tried with a comb, maybe I'll have to get one. I've tried with my boar bristle brush though and somehow have a problem holding all my hair and brushing out the bumps. I've often wondered whether other people's hair just lies more smoothly than mine. even if I think I've got everything smoothed out, by the time I've got a hair tie in, bumps have reappeared!

[oneKnight]

Ericthegreat: thanks for your tips. I've never tried with a comb, maybe I'll have to get one. I've tried with my boar bristle brush though and somehow have a problem holding all my hair and brushing out the bumps. I've often wondered whether other people's hair just lies more smoothly than mine. even if I think I've got everything smoothed out, by the time I've got a hair tie in, bumps have reappeared!
I can't do it with a boar bristle either, the same thing happens - either I can't hold the hair, or the bumps just magically re-appear (slightly wavy hair, heh)

but a fine-toothed comb works for me!

[ericthegreat]

Feli, what really helps to further smooth out any unwanted hair bumps is to wet only the scalp part of your hair. I have a water spray bottle which I use to spray over my scalp. You could also use a mixture of both water and leave-in conditioner, or water and a little bit of your regular conditioner to slick back your hair. You can even use oil to slick back your hair, any oil is good in this case so why not try coconut or olive oil as well. Apply either the water or the leave-in conditioner or the oil (take your choice) onto your scalp before using either the rat tail comb or the bristle brush to brush over your hair smooth. Make sure you have brushed ALL of your hair from every part of your head and then hold it tightly in a neat, high ponytail and then you secure it with the hair elastic.

[Tap Dancer]

I often wear my hair in a high ponytail. It looks cute on me. :o In fact, I'm wearing my hair up now. I usually use a scrunchie because I think it's "safer" than a regular hair elastic.

[Periwinkle]

Depends what you mean by 'high'. If you mean at the crown, then I can do it but I don't because it doesn't suit me (and would probably get uncomfortable too). If you mean in the centre of the head, then that's what I normally do.

[Ryanne]

I can't do it, the times I tried it slipped down and it never looked smooth.

[noelgirl]

Something I've found makes it smoother is tipping my head back as I tie it. That way, all the hair is going in the direction of the ponytail to begin with.

[pradabacon]

I like the facelift effect too, Eric. :D

I tend to get lumps and bumps in my ponytail and I find that flipping my head over or tilting it back does work much better. I've always been jealous of those girls who can just whip their hair into a pony with finger combing only and have it be perfectly smooth. :p

[Aisha25]

Nah no way could never do one:bigeyes: hurts my scalp and feels like my hairs are being ripped out of my head :lol:

[Alun]

My hair is thin and fine, so basically weighs nothing at waist length. I can do one, but most people consider lower ponytails to be more masculine, which is an issue I bet never entered your head! You did say 'guys', but for some reason in the US 'guys' seems to include girls, which it doesn't anywhere else.

[ChatoyantLocks]

I can do a mock ponytail that hides most of my length, but I don't know what length of hair it starts working for.

I start a braid high up on the back of my head, and leave a long tassel at the end of the braid. Then I fasten the base of the tassel just above where the braid starts with a large barrette. (The base of the braid forms a support to help keep the barrette from slipping down.) Then I fluff out the tassel to hide the folded braid, and sometimes put another barrette above the ponytail to decorate it.

I can think of one modification that might work for someone with shorter hair. Do an upside down french braid from the nape of the neck to just below where you want the ponytail. Then gather the rest of the hair smoothly and fasten it with the barrette.

[Reptilia]

I can, and I love it like that but it gives me a major headache!

[PhillyGirl1978@]

My hair is thin and fine, so basically weighs nothing at waist length. I can do one, but most people consider lower ponytails to be more masculine, which is an issue I bet never entered your head! You did say 'guys', but for some reason in the US 'guys' seems to include girls, which it doesn't anywhere else.

LOL! Yeah I did mean girls....or anyone with long heavy hair that may do a higher ponytail. I like lower ones it's just they don't really accomplish the getting it off my neck or keeping it outta the way of my purse strap. It seems since I've been totally natural my hair has gotten much more slippy, and being longer than it's ever been...it's also quite heavy so maybe I just can't do it. So far the only thing that works is my flexi-8 and when I make a ponytail using some strands of my own hair. I will have to experiment more.

And by high I mean center of head, the crown ponytail only worked for sleeping and that doesn't seem to be working anymore either. Dang heavy hair!lol

[WritingPrincess]

I love the way a high ponytail swings, but I no longer wear them, because for them to stay put they need to be tighter than I find comfortable, and within a couple hours I get a tension headache. I've continued to hunt for ways to replicate the swingy feel, but I don't think I've found the perfect solution yet.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

I love the way a high ponytail swings, but I no longer wear them, because for them to stay put they need to be tighter than I find comfortable, and within a couple hours I get a tension headache. I've continued to hunt for ways to replicate the swingy feel, but I don't think I've found the perfect solution yet.

Yes....love the swing!! I think I may try it today with my flexi-8. I'm only going to work so I can re-do if I need to...I'd like to see how long it holds...not to mention it is gonna be so damn hot today I need it off my neck!!

[JamieLeigh]

I can, but I usually don't. It pulls the hair at my temples in a very uncomfortable way when it's up that high. I usually keep my ponytails to crown or lower, just for comfort's sake.

[Debra83]

sigh. mine is not long enough yet to do a proper high ponytail, it turns into a weapon I would need to register!

[Vermelha]

I'm wearing a high tucked in pony today. It's hard though when my hair is curly, because it's too thick and all the hair doesn't fit in the pony. I prefer it to be up high because it keeps my hair out of the way and it looks better.

I have to set it in the shower with my hair detangled and flipped over with a bit of oil or product. It's not easy for me to do, even at my length. I'm sure it would be even harder with longer hair.

[AnneAdeline]

My hair is coming up on hip, and I can't really do high pony tails anymore. It starts to loosen and fall down my head, which then means it will pull on other hairs.
I may try the upsidedown French braid base. Sounds fun.

[LaFlor]

I wish I could do one... it always give me a huge headache.