Hair Styling Tools

Who would have ever thought that wearing a pony tail would actually be the style that you select for going out for a formal evening affair?  It is also a very inexpensive way to style your hair and doesn’t necessarily require an appointment with your hair stylist. 

Since celebs set the trends, the place to look for the current styles are in fashion magazines, online news articles and even more popular now than anywhere else are the online blogs.  After perusing these resources, it is obvious that there are many ways to achieve a variety of  ponytail styles as well as how to accessorize them.  Whether you are looking for a casual yet chic style, or an elegant or polished look, there is a ponytail style just for you.

In the first of a series of five articles this week, I’m going to be sharing how-to’s, do’s and don’ts, and helpful hints for styling your hair in a ponytail.

Let’s start with some ideas for pulling off the chic, glam, sophisticated (whatever you want to call it) longer pony tail style that works for that dressier occasion .

You can start by parting your hair on one side, down the middle, or even not at all, but you do want to pull your hair back into a low hanging pony.  If you don’t have naturally curly hair and you use professional curling irons, select the appropriate size barrel to determine what size curl or wave you would like.  Depending on the thickness of your hair, you can either divide the ponytail into sections, or take the entire tail and curl under the length of your pony to give it shape, or hold your curling iron parallel with the strands of your hair and wrap your hair around the barrel.  This way you can achieve ringlet type curls which you can either let cascade naturally, or you can run your fingers through the curls to give them more body and a more natural looking curl.    If you have flyaways sprouting up on the crown or along the part line, be sure to use a little gel or your favorite hair styling serum.

Another classic way to wear a ponytail is to brush all of your hair back into a high hanging ponytail.  If you do not have bangs make sure all of the hair is pulled back with no loose strands falling out.  If you do have bangs and are able to side-sweep them, do so.  If your hairtype is straight, you may only need to ever so slightly curl under the ends of the tail with a large barrel curling iron, a flat iron, or even using some large curlers with extra hold hairspray for a short period of time to give it that uniform look of body.  Let the tail hang naturally from its high perch.  What you are creating here is the sleek, yet sexy look.  If you are fortunate enough to have thicker hair you can also take a section of the tail and wrap it around the ponytail holder to cover it up and tuck it in using hairpins that blend in with your hair.  While the style is simple, it opens the door for accessorizing. 

The accessories for ponytails will either dress up the style or dress it down.  For the elegant look, there are several options.  You can take any hair jewelry, like jeweled hairpins to keep some of the loose flyaway hairs pinned back.  To hold the ponytail up, there are a multitude of ways to disguise that ponytail holder to create the sophisticated look.  Look in your jewelry box or borrow from a friend or family member an old brooch that will add sparkle to the style.  All you have to do is open the brooch and insert it over the ponytail holder.  Clasp it and you now have a creative hair statement with a simple addition of a piece of jewelry.  Of course, there are also many beautiful jeweled hair accessories in the marketplace that you can choose from as well.

If you choose not to decorate the ponytail or your hair itself, certainly accessorizing the neckline with a beautiful necklace or wearing some long dangling earrings or large shaped earrings with posts will also play up the sophisticated look you are going for. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I will discuss ponytail alternatives that can either be updos or are more appealing to the casual dresser.