Ever since I was a teenager, a ponytail has been in my arsenal of go-to hairstyles. Over the years, I have grown very particular about the way I like it teased, how straight I like my hair to be, and exactly where I like it to sit on my head. This is all a personal preference that I am sure varies from person to person but this is what works best for me! The main reason this is a go-to for me is because it is so incredibly easy to do but since I get so many questions about it, I decided to do a quick tutorial for you guys!
For starters, I like to start with day two or three hair! By this, I mean that I like to do this hairstyle on hair that hasn’t been washed in a day or two. This is extra convenient because that is usually when my hair stops cooperating into curls or waves. I really like when it’s slightly worn in because it allows the hair to be easily tamed and have an overall sleek appearance. Also, it prevents any gaps that might be present if your hair is too clean. There is a happy medium with this style though, you don’t want your hair to be too dirty because then it will fall flat and just look messy.
The second thing you need to know is how to tease your hair. So many people are afraid of teasing and I cannot understand it for the life of me. I think people immediately think of Priscilla Presley and get intimidated. I am by no means recommending a beehive or sky-high bouffant but teasing is one of the absolute best ways to add texture and volume to the hair! That is the number one key to my ponytail that keeps it looking more like a party hairstyle than a workout hairstyle. Do not be afraid to tease your hair – it is chic, I promise. If you’re interested in an entire post dedicated to all different ways to tease your hair, I would be happy to do that!
- Especially with my hair a bit shorter, I like to have my hair as straight as possible before I start. This makes the front of the pony super neat and makes that actual pony appear sleek and long – just the way I like it! While I wear this look tons of different ways, I think this is an especially perfect addition to a really mod outfit!
- The first thing you need to take into consideration is how high you want the teasing on your ponytail to be. I always prefer to tease mine more than necessary because it can always be brushed out and tamed to your liking. I have had the honor of learning to tease my hair from the ultimate master, my aunt Patti who was the queen of all 1960’s glam in her teenage days (she still is, to be totally honest). From watching her over the years and asking her “can you tease my hair?” about a million times, I have picked up a few tricks along the way! For this look, I am going to be teasing it a moderate amount but I don’t want it to look like a bouffant by any means.
- To begin teasing, you need to mark off where you want the teasing to begin. Grab a thin horizontal section just in front of where you would like the teasing to begin, because you are going to need a smooth piece of hair to cover up any teasing. This will avoid the messy ratted hair that so many people hate (me included).
- Grab another horizontal section just behind the smooth section and get ready to tease. Hold the horizontal hair straight up and pull it taut, to give your hair something to backcomb up against. Spray the section with hairspray and wait about 5 seconds for it to get tacky. Take your teasing brush and push it down the shaft of your hair, towards your scalp. Remove the brush and repeat, pushing it down the shaft of your hair repeatedly.
- Repeat this step on horizontal sections, continuing down the center of your hair. Building up the teasing section by section will give you a much longer-lasting tease that will hold volume!
- In order to avoid looking like you have an awkward mohawk of teasing, you are going to want to grab some vertical sections along the sides of your hair and tease those to add some shape back to your head. You don’t have to go crazy with these sections but trust me, they make such a difference.
- Push back all the teased sections and start smoothing and fluffing as needed. When the hair is placed down into the way that it normally falls, it will be a lot easier to see where you may need a bit more volume or where you were heavy-handed. You can brush out any teasing that is too intense with the teasing brush or a regular paddle brush, like the Wet Brush. Teasing that has been brushed out will usually have more volume and texture than hair that hasn’t been touched so this will still work in your favor!
- Your hair will look like an absolute mess at this point but that’s what we are after! It will all come together. At this point, you can start pulling your hair back into a pony with your hands to see what it’s going to look like.
- I really like to start by putting my hair half-up, including all the parts that have been teased. This makes it really easy to shape the top of the ponytail without having to worry about incorporating a bunch of extra hair. There are no specific instructions here, you just need to play around with it until you achieve the look you’re after. I like to take the sides of my teasing brush and very gently smooth any frizz or bumps. You’re not brushing out teasing here – you are just shaping the smooth outer layer. I also like to take the end of my teasing brush and pull up sections that need a bit more volume. Do this very slowly and carefully! You don’t want to pull a section out too far and have to start shaping from scratch.
- Now it’s time to incorporate the rest of the hair into the pony tail. Do this while still holding onto the shaped portion that you just finished. Tie it off with an elastic hair tie and continue shaping and smoothing as necessary. I like to leave mine slightly tousled and messy but you can make it as smooth and neat as you’d like! If you’re having trouble getting it the way you want it, try adding some texture spray (I like this one) to help give your hair a more tousled and textured feel.
- Once you have the ponytail just the way you like it, I wrap a smooth piece of hair around the elastic to finish the look off. I think this adds the perfect polished touch! Grab a thin section of hair from the bottom section of your ponytail. Brush it out if necessary to make it ultra smooth and then wrap it around the base of the ponytail to cover up the elastic. Pin it with a small bobby pin that matches your hair color to make sure you can’t see it.
- You’re all finished! Rock that pony! Work that updo!
Teasing Comb | Texture Spray | Hairspray | Small Bobby Pins
Lauren I will have to agree that your aunt Patti and your mom are pretty GLAM