to ask you how to make a neat ponytail?

[swissie]

My DD (8) has long wavy hair, they type that devolves into ringlets in weather like this. Mine's dead straight and I struggle to tame her wild locks. She's required to wear her hair up for school, so a ponytail is the obvious easy choice. Seems so simple, but I cannot seem to make a neat ponytail. Her head is riddled with those annoying hair ridges no matter how many times I brush it out before putting the elastic in!

Am I missing an obvious trick? Anyone with wavy hair have any tips for me? Please help!

Put it in a pony tail when wet.
It will dry to that ‘shape’ and will be much easier to get into a pony tail each time until you decide to wash it again.

Only problem is, it won’t look good down afterwards. It would have to be washed again

I hope someone answers because I have exactly the same problem. Other girls at DDs school have the most amazing hair styles and my poor DD goes in with a bumpy ponytail.

Spray the hair with leave in conditioner before you style it.

French plait it?

My dd just has a messy ponytail and she hasnt complained so far. (Her hair is super curly). She doesn’t like it pulled too tightly and this can ruin the hair line over time.

The alternative is to use a bit of hair oil when you’re combing it (not a brush) then tie it up.

Live with the ridges! Mine is curly and I have just accepted I will never have a smooth ponytail as I can't use a brush on it

Brush the hair with a little water before pulling it up.

You can also divide it in two sections (top and bottom) do the bottom section first and then do the top section (after smoothing it with a soft bristle brush/water) and add the hair to the ponytail. Secure it with a hooked elastic/one of the elastics with hooks on both ends...

(I swear by these, btw. The ponytail just doesn't hurt at the end of the day....)

But there's nothing wrong with having ridges. She has curly hair, her ponytail won't look like yours...

And that's fine :) (imo)

Braiding it would probably make it look 'neater'...

I think the wet ponytail is actually a good idea, thank you! To be clear, her hair isn't super curly, just very wavy. It's lovely down.

Does she have a double crown, OP? I have a double crown and I've never ever been able to put my hair up in a neat ponytail. I've had to learn to live with messy ones!

I love messy wavy ponytails, probably because my hair is poker straight and we always want what we can't have! DS has long curly-ish hair and the only way I can give him any sort of smooth up do is to soak the hairbrush first.

Get a little spray bottle and spray water liberally all over her hair before you attempt ANY hairstyle.
My DD has long, thick wavy hair and that is the only way to get beautifully neat ponytails, fish plaits and French braids. I spray it, brush through with a tangle teaser and then once I've got the hair in my hand, ready to tie up, I comb through from forehead to band area to smooth any ridges.
Works well for us 😊

I used to put the top front section in a bobble, then half pony tail with the next section & then the rest in a big ponytail- hope that makes sense!

You end up with three bobbles going down the back & it lasts all day.

Hooked elastics? Never heard of them but I'm intrigued. And it does sound like water is the way forward.

Plaits are of course better but I'm so rubbish at french braids (even worse than ponytails!)

I think messy ponytails look better!

I have very curly hair. I straighten mine all the time so I can put it up with no problem then. But when I haven't straightened it, I either brush the hell out of it to get it as smooth as I can, and deal with a few bumps here and there. Or I use a tiny bit of water on the top.

Hair mouse through the top half of the head. Put it into dry hair and comb through. Keeps wavy hair neat in a pony tail

Mousse!!!

They look like this :)

Idk what they're called tbh. They work really well for me (I have voluminous hair work messy/big curls) and also my sisters (who both have much bigger and curlier hair than I do...)

With normal hairties I get headaches.

(And it's much more difficult to have a neat ponytail with those curly elastics.)

Anyhow, water and conditioner (I use the wash out and the leave - in kind) are really important :)

I hook the ends into my hair and don't connect , btw. (A quick Google search suggested the same... Idk why they wrote this on the pic I posted. Probably should have read what it said before pressing post)

Thanks everyone for the tips. Hadn't thought of mousse!

So the hair bungee cords don't need to actually connect? You just wind then around and they stay? (Have just ordered a load from Amazon so will be experimenting soon!)

My daughter's both have straight hair and I still struggle to get neat ponytails! I spray their hair with water first which helps

*daughters - damn autocorrect!

I just hook them in my hair, tbh? Getting a neat ponytail is easier (imo) because I fixate the ponytail with my hand and then loop it around the ponytail. Instead of pulling the ponytail through the elastic and upsetting / messing up the carefully brushed hairs on the top of my head... (But I mainly love them because I get hardly any tention headaches and because they don't snag my hair when I remove them...)

www.xojane.com/beauty/hair/ponytail-hair-bungees

The explanation about why she likes them is maybe a bit unnecessary. But she explains how she uses them (with pics)...

Anyhowy, I'm sure your daughter's hair already looks great :)

Anyhow. Oops :)