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View Full Version : What's so wrong with ponytails?



Bazinga
December 17th, 2011, 11:17 AM
I keep reading in this forum that ponytails are not very good for the hair. I was wondering why, and I'm also a little bit sad because I have rather short hair and the only style I think I am able to do IS a ponytail. Is it possible that my hair grows slower because of the ponytail I wear every day? My hair length is a little above shoulder length.
Do you have any other style suggestions that would protect because I can imagine that wearing my hair down would cause a lot of damage either (especially because of my scarf and my jacket these days).

Gothchiq
December 17th, 2011, 11:22 AM
Hair breakage where the elastic band is. The occasional ponytail is no sweat, but if you do it often, there will be a noticeable amount of hair broken at that level.

Rybe
December 17th, 2011, 11:22 AM
I think the issue is pony tail holders in general are a little damaging, especially if they have metal on them. And ponytailing daily puts the holder rubbing on the same spot of your hair every day, and repetitious anything is always bad for your hair. But other than that they're not exactly evil, just not THE solution for hair protection.

Edit: Gothcig beat me!

Hollyfire3
December 17th, 2011, 11:23 AM
Ponytails are okay every once and a while. The reason people caution agaisnt them is beacuse of the tension they cause to your hair. The band is in a specific place for a long period of time, putting stress on strands of hair. A soft cloth scrunie will lessen damage. You can french braid short hair, wear it half up, use a big prong clip to pull it up or even do 2 french braids. And if you do like ponytails, you can wear them every once and a while, with little problems.

Mina17
December 17th, 2011, 11:28 AM
You could probably do a peacock twist too.

Amber_Maiden
December 17th, 2011, 11:36 AM
It has to do with the tension to the hair + most people where their ponytail in the same place all the time= more stress to the same hair over and over again= damage/strain on the hair.

jacqueline101
December 17th, 2011, 12:03 PM
The ones with the metal are worse yet. The metal pulls your hair out due to the hair getting caught in the metal part.

gboneske
December 17th, 2011, 12:06 PM
I don't notice any breakage - I use velvet colored ponytail holders. I made a TON a while back and have been using them ever since.

pepperminttea
December 17th, 2011, 12:12 PM
^ What everyone else said. Also, a lot of people tighten their ponytail by splitting it in half, and pulling each half away from each other to force the band/elastic upwards, which goes against the hair cuticle and increases the damage, especially if you do it several times a day (like I did :o ).

Sunsailing
December 17th, 2011, 12:13 PM
There is nothing wrong with ponytails. Yes damage can occur, but it is not a given.

There are so many variables that go into it:
- type of elastic
- size of elastic
- how tightly you put the elastic on
- varying/not varying ponytail placement (ie:higher, lower, etc.)
- hair type
- hair condition

There are people who ponytail often with no damage. There are others who will cause damage the first time.

Buns are not necessarily without damage...it depends on many factors also (ie: what you use to secure it with).
Bushing can cause damage...so many things can cause damage. You just have to use some common sense :)

Kaelee
December 17th, 2011, 12:52 PM
I wear a pony tail almost every day and have done so for years...even to bed. No damage. I have the kind of holders that don't have ANY metal or rubber on them- I think Scuncii makes them or maybe it's Goody. Just a little bit of glue where the ends meet.

My stylist was about to harp on my for wearing a ponytail, but her griping turned to shock when I told her I'd worn a ponytail every day for years. She couldn't find ANY damage.

I can't even manage a peacock twist without putting my hair in a ponytail holder first, and I *have* to have my hair pulled back for work, so I don't really have a choice in the matter...but with proper care and proper ponytail holders, you won't have issues. Or maybe I'm just really lucky. lol

lesbia
December 17th, 2011, 01:14 PM
I don't think ponytails are so damaging. I usually use scrunchies to hold it and in my opinion it is the safest way to do ponytails. My only problem with this hairstyle is my lenght: now I'm at waist and when I wear ponytails my lenght is not protected and became full of knots. But if your hair are not very very long (ponytails worked for my until bls-midback ;)) I think it could be a safe hairstyle. Just pay attention on what you use to hold your pony :)

QMacrocarpa
December 17th, 2011, 03:34 PM
If you think constant ponytailing is damaging for you (there's a wide range in hair resilience and resistance to damage) and want some other styles to mix it up, here are some alternatives that might work:

French braid (optionally a tucked French braid with the tail tucked up into the pocket underneath the French braid and anchored with spin pins or other hair pins)

French twist-- there are lots of youtube tutorials and lots of different ways to secure it. If you don't have a big collection of hair tools, you might try this version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B4CCJWhw2s) which uses a few bobby pins (I don't know how well that works-- sadly, I missed the French twist length-window for my own hair).

Octopus clip bun-- I pretty much lived in this for months until I grew out of it (at which point "style-panic" set in until I found this place!). Basically consists of gathering your hair into something bun-shaped and stuffing it into an octopus clip that will fit over it. I can't find any youtube tutorials which are quite as simple as what I mean. Basically the octopus clip acts as a bun-cage. The clips are available at Walgreens, CVS, Target, etc.

Miss Catrina
December 17th, 2011, 04:45 PM
I wear a pony tail almost every day and have done so for years...even to bed. No damage. I have the kind of holders that don't have ANY metal or rubber on them- I think Scuncii makes them or maybe it's Goody. Just a little bit of glue where the ends meet.

My stylist was about to harp on my for wearing a ponytail, but her griping turned to shock when I told her I'd worn a ponytail every day for years. She couldn't find ANY damage.

I can't even manage a peacock twist without putting my hair in a ponytail holder first, and I *have* to have my hair pulled back for work, so I don't really have a choice in the matter...but with proper care and proper ponytail holders, you won't have issues. Or maybe I'm just really lucky. lol

:o What texture is your hair? Surely it's thick and coarse to withstand that?

clairenewcastle
December 17th, 2011, 04:56 PM
When I got my last chop in the early spring the only style I could wear for a few months was a ponytail. I got absolutely no damage at all from doing so.

scotty810
December 17th, 2011, 05:31 PM
well I need to use a ponytail whenever I want to pull my hair back for work or something.

also when I sleep at night I put it up in a ponytail, though the band isn't tight

I don't do anything damaging to my hair like heat straightening or dying it or curling it so I think I can get away with doing the odd ponytail. :)

I just don't do the band super tight.

Copasetic
December 17th, 2011, 07:52 PM
Ponytails aren't inherently bad, but wearing an elastic in the exact same spot every day will do some damage to your hair. If you really like ponytails, just use a soft material to hold them in place, and change up the location once in a while.