Ponytail when sleeping. Slides out?

[JohannaFTW]

My hair is very thick and heavy, and while it's not that long yet (passing a bit down my shoulders), it's kinda soft and slippery. This causes some trouble!

When I sleep, I usually sleep with it down. But as I had started to sleep with it up, I use scrunchies (bc they are easier to put in/out, and also doesnt damage the hair that much). But for obvious reasons (of which I had figured out lately) the hair scrunchies SLIDES RIGHT OUT. This became a lesson for me when I used a satin scrunchie and tied it up in a ponytail* , in which I thought was "tight enough". I hadn't even fell asleep yet before I fellt that scrunchie thing was living its own life. It was halfway down. I had pulled it up 5 minutes ago.The only thing I did was puting my duvet up to my chin and turning around once or twice (got a message on my phone). And there it was. 7.9'' down my hair. Surrealistic to say the least... :D Reality check!

I tried a velvet scrunchie another night. Better grip I thought. I was partially right, and partially wrong. This time it hadnt slide down (so much) before i fell asleep, instead when i woke up, my hair was a totally mess, and the scrunchie fell out just as i pulled my fingers through the hair. WHAT! How could that happened?


So, I tried to use a very thin hairtie instead of a scrunchie, and i was totally sure it was the type of hairtie that made it sliding down. By using a thin hairtie the hair would hold perfectly (I was completely sure!). But to my surprise I was fatally wrong! When I woke up the next morning, the hairtie had slid down all the way down to the ends of my hair. I had hair in all of my face and possibly the climax of embarresment was fulfilled. In chock and embarresment I slowly pulled the hair tie out of my hair and went to the shower. :rolleyes:

So; Thin hairties = Good. Well.. I guess I was wrong. :rolleyes:


So..

1. How do I put my hair in a semi-high ponytail without it sliding down so much when i sleep?
2. How much do your hairties slide down when you put your hair in a pony and sleep with it?
3. What hairties are really the best and worst to sleep with?
4. Any further suggestions?
5. Own observations? :)


(* Why I put it in a ponytail is bc my hair works best that way. If it holds, the hair cames out PERFECT. But if it slides down, the hair becomes a BIG MESS in the morning. )

[sweetestpoison]

I sleep with my hair in a braid at night but the ponytail holder does slide out sometimes. I tried to tie it off with ribbon before but that didn't work, so what i do now is just braid it down really far and put a standard black no metal ponytail holder (Goody's brand) and hope it stays in. I don't worry too much about damage, i have been sleeping with it like this for the past few months and still have no visible damage, just don't tie it ridiculously tight. That's also another reason i braid down to the tip of my hair, well almost the tip.. so that if any damage does occur it's as close to the ends as possible, and not further up which requires more length loss to correct. Of course i'm no expert and what works for some doesn't always work for others, this is just what works for me. Good luck!

[Joribear]

I generally sleep with my hair in a braid, also, but on the nights my arms are just too tired to braid, I'll put my hair either in a bun or I'll do a ponytail and just not pull it all the way through to the ends.

With the braids I usually a metal-free hairtie and with the bun/half-pony, I use a regular hair scrunchie; either velvet or flannel.

[Sundial]

I'm not sure I am going to be much help, but when I was at shoulder length I was still sleeping with my hair down because I had the same issue as you and i figured that my hair isn't long enough to get caught under me when I am sleeping.

What I did when sleeping was to toss my hair over my pillow. It was only when I got to around APL before I started wearing it up and even then I still had problems keeping the scrunch in. I have recently solved my problem when I got my hands on some Goody Spin Pins (idea courtesy of member Juneii). I'm not sure if your hair is long enough to use those yet but I am a very restless sleeper and this seems to be the best option for me so far.

[Madora]

I'm not a fan of ponytails period. Your hair should be as relaxed as possible at night to give those follicles a rest. You can confine it in a loose braid, or in a bun.

You also might try loosely braiding a scarf through your hair and tying the ends into a bow to hold it in place.

[sharicat]

Are pony tails damaging to hair?

[JohannaFTW]

Thank you all for your advices :) I will try again and see what happens!

[spidermom]

I used to do a ponytail right on top of my head with a satin scrunchie at night. If it would slide out and bother me, I'd just re-do it. It usually pretty much stayed in unless I had to get up during the night. Then it would slide down.

Now I do a top-of-head braid (loosely), unless I'm too tired, in which case I just arrange my loose hair over top of my pillow and push it back up there if I toss&turn too much.

[Madora]

@ sharicat..

Yes, unless you are careful, ponytails can do a number on your hair.

The ponytail is usually pulled back..that alone puts stress on the delicate hairs around your forehead. If you pull the hair back too tightly, in time those fragile hairs will suffer and eventually traction alopecia will begin (not a good thing!)

The weight of some ponytails is another consideration. Those with long hair have a heavy weight dragging down on the back of their head..something I wouldn't want dragging on my fragile scalp!

Ponytails can tangle easily..leading to more damage because you have to detangle them to keep them looking good.

Ponytails do have their place..but it's how you place the ponytail..and how much hair you put in the ponytail, that can make or break it.

If you put the ponytail in the same place, day after day, the hairs in the top of the tail suffer from being used in the same position day after day..and they weaken, break..and in drastic cases, you can see the scalp because the hair just won't grow back.

The few times I've used ponytails I've always divided the tail in 2 sections. One section is wound around the ponytail base. The other section is left free, or braided and wound around the outside of the ponytail base..or looped and tucked under the ponytail. The thing to remember is to distribute the weight..then the ponytail is more comfortable and more hair friendly.

[JohannaFTW]

@ sharicat..

Yes, unless you are careful, ponytails can do a number on your hair.

The ponytail is usually pulled back..that alone puts stress on the delicate hairs around your forehead. If you pull the hair back too tightly, in time those fragile hairs will suffer and eventually traction alopecia will begin (not a good thing!)

The weight of some ponytails is another consideration. Those with long hair have a heavy weight dragging down on the back of their head..something I wouldn't want dragging on my fragile scalp!

Ponytails can tangle easily..leading to more damage because you have to detangle them to keep them looking good.

Ponytails do have their place..but it's how you place the ponytail..and how much hair you put in the ponytail, that can make or break it.

If you put the ponytail in the same place, day after day, the hairs in the top of the tail suffer from being used in the same position day after day..and they weaken, break..and in drastic cases, you can see the scalp because the hair just won't grow back.

The few times I've used ponytails I've always divided the tail in 2 sections. One section is wound around the ponytail base. The other section is left free, or braided and wound around the outside of the ponytail base..or looped and tucked under the ponytail. The thing to remember is to distribute the weight..then the ponytail is more comfortable and more hair friendly.

Interesting. Really. My hair isnt damaged from wearing ponytails (of what i have seen), but i never pull it super tight either. But now I'm a bit worried after reading your post, so maybe I should be more carefull about putting it up.

Usually i only wear my hair up when I'm sporting or when I'm home. When I'm out with friends and in school, I let my hair lay free. Sometimes i just pull it up (loose) and then pulling it out after a small time. Like, I could put it up in a ponytail 10 times a day, but I only pull it loose, and for short times. Other days I never pull my hair up. And then we also have the sliding-down-issue. Still a mystery to me :rolleyes:

But i guess, putting hair up and then pull it loose all the time may damage the hair if doing so constantly, so I try to avoid it. Urgh.. this is rocket science, lol. So much to learn about hair!

[jojo]

I used to do a ponytail right on top of my head with a satin scrunchie at night. If it would slide out and bother me, I'd just re-do it. It usually pretty much stayed in unless I had to get up during the night. Then it would slide down.

Now I do a top-of-head braid (loosely), unless I'm too tired, in which case I just arrange my loose hair over top of my pillow and push it back up there if I toss&turn too much.

same here, just loose and draped! did have a sleep bonnet but felt like an extra off the Little house on the Prairie plus it was always off by morning!

[Lianna]

A lot of people like these (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IPyXprBn9WU/TNWJACn3AyI/AAAAAAAAGfo/nNIA2W5LQBk/s1600/ouchless+goody-large-black-17pc-cover.jpg). Not too thin or too thick, and no metal parts (this doesn't bother me though).

[sweetestpoison]

A lot of people like these (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IPyXprBn9WU/TNWJACn3AyI/AAAAAAAAGfo/nNIA2W5LQBk/s1600/ouchless+goody-large-black-17pc-cover.jpg). Not too thin or too thick, and no metal parts (this doesn't bother me though).
Those are what i use! :) i keep one around my wrist at all times, just in case XD

[sharicat]

But i guess, putting hair up and then pull it loose all the time may damage the hair if doing so constantly, so I try to avoid it. Urgh.. this is rocket science, lol. So much to learn about hair!

Ha, I know right! Thanks Madora for that explanation :)

[torrilin]

Interesting. Really. My hair isnt damaged from wearing ponytails (of what i have seen), but i never pull it super tight either. But now I'm a bit worried after reading your post, so maybe I should be more carefull about putting it up.

Well...You don't give your hair length, and I'm not sure how tall Madora is. But... I'm at around 32". On me her 40" hair would put me at tailbone, so a good ways down my butt. Her goal of 50" would be a solid mid-thigh on me. With my growth rate, the ends of my hair would be 5 years old or so. So her hair is old and fragile (and obviously very beautiful... I *love* her crown braid). She has to be very careful and paranoid to protect it. Mine is a lot shorter, so I don't have to be as careful as she is.

My view of ponytails is a bit different. I consider them a very useful updo because they're very simple, and it is often a good way to start protecting your hair. I haven't seriously done ponytails tho for about a year tho, because my hair is long enough that it still gets caught between my back and my chair, even with a high ponytail. I use other hairstyles instead, because that catching causes split ends for me. And I hate split ends... they're the main thing that drives me to trim my hair.

Even when my hair is short enough for a ponytail to be useful, it isn't an everyday thing. I do some sort of rotation between a cinnabun, a braid, a ponytail and wearing my hair down. ALL the problems Madora warned you about can come from wearing your hair in the exact same style, in the exact same position on your head every day. The tighter the style, the sooner it can cause problems. The finer your hair, the sooner it can cause problems. Since my hair is fine, straight and slippery, I really need to rotate styles and be rigorous about it. A lot of loose styles won't stay in my hair at all, so if I wore the same style every day, I'd hit ALL the requirements for breakage.

[JohannaFTW]

thank you for all the answers :)

I love ponytail <3