Do you remember scrunchies from the late 80's/early 90's?
Or butterfly clips of the 00's?
Are you still using them? In public?
If you are because you don't know what else to use, let me offer up a suggestion:
Ribbon Elastics.
In my Birchbox a few months back, I got a beautiful golden-beige "Twistband".
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| That's it just above the "twirl" perfume sample and below the Cynthia Rowley Band Aids |
Twistband is the brand name for a ribbon elastic. It's elastic, it's stretchy, but instead of being narrow like a typical hair elastic, it's wider, like a ribbon.
The claim is that these won't break or damage your hair as easily, and that they won't leave tell-tale "ponytail dents".
In my experience, they are gentler on your hair, and they don't leave as bad of a ponytail dent, but it's not a fail-safe solution. I still had a bit of a ponytail dent, but nope, it wasn't as bad as usual.
Another thing they tout: these are cute to wear on your wrist (and more comfortable) so you will have one when you need one. I agree. They are cuter and they are more comfy. In fact, recently I went to a NASCAR race and popped one on my wrist in case I might end up wanting my hair back out of my face.
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| See the stretch ribbon on my left wrist just above? Like a cute bracelet. |
It was comfy, so much so that I forgot about it completely until I needed it.
I pulled my hair back during the race because the wind kept whipping it into my face. When the race was over, I slipped it out, popped it back on my wrist, and didn't have a ponytail dent. Good stuff!
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| Another shot of one on my wrist before my workout. |
Also, they are cute. They have a touch of shine & come in all sorts of colors, from the bright & child-like (see my daughter's hair below, or the bright pink one above) to the more subtle grown-up colors (like the ones at the top). Even metallics and neutrals.
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| Holding my daughter's thick hair. |
Now, let me give you another piece of information that's good to know:
these bands are adjustable.
Do you find that some elastics are too short/tight? Or maybe they are too long/loose? Well, these are tied into a loop, so you can untie and retie tighter if you find that it's not the right length for your hair's thickness...or if the band gets worn and stretches out a bit. I'm not promising it'll be easy to untie it, but it can be done. It's easiest to adjust before you ever start using them. I found that different brands have different fits, so I have had to adjust a few of mine in this manner.
Adjustable=Good!
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| In my hair. |
Twistband through Birchbox ($10 for 6 to start, pricier for fancy prints, etc.) was my introduction, but I really didn't want to spend that kind of money on more...and there's shipping & handling, too, mind you. I was just about to resolve myself to paying the high price for Twistbands when I was looking for a metal brush for my daughter's American Girl doll and happened to spot Goody's much cheaper version of the stretch ribbon at Target (about $4 for 5, I think). Yay!
I grabbed the lovely metallic set. I also picked up a girlie set for my daughters.
I've since also found similar ribbon elastics at Sephora, 8 for $8. They have them in neutrals or bright jewel tones (metallics are currently out of stock).
These are the ponytail holders for this decade.
Gentler on your hair, less ponytail dents, easy & cute to wear on your wrist for portability. And now, inexpensive!
These will be great for sleek holiday ponies. Especially in the metallics, or in a neutral that matches you hair color.
Do you have any? Where did you find yours?
If not, are you going to get some for the ponytail wearer in your home?
