will it ever be the great ponytail holder in the sky?

August 16, 2005 6:49 AM

I need some advice about the best brand of hair elastic to use.

My hair is about three feet long, and so I tend to keep it up in a bun. I tend to find that most of the ponytail holders I use are cheaply constructed and stretch past a useful level too quickly. I'm hoping for recommendations of a brand (and possibly a place to find them) that will endure some measure of repeated twisting and stretching over a bun made up of three feet of hair.

posted by rebirtha to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

Instead of elastics, have you considered sticks to hold the bun in place?

Step 6 from eHow's How to Make a Bun (I'm sure you've got the rest of the bun part down):

If you're using a hair stick, push the tip up through the right corner of your bun, so that a thin flat layer rests on top of the stick. Rotate the stick 180 degrees and push it gently through the base of the bun. As the stick begins to emerge, hook a small amount of hair on the underside of the left corner, then center the stick.
posted by LunaticFringe at 7:00 AM on August 16, 2005

I like the scrunci elastics, but you have to get the kind that are made for thick hair. They work great on my very thick, pretty curly hair for ponytails and sloppy buns. However, for real buns I use good old fashioned hair pins. The look is much neater than with elastics.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 7:10 AM on August 16, 2005

I use a type of scrunchy that has the elastic encased in a loose fabric sleeve. That way there is no contact between the hair and the elastic. Sorry, don't have or remember a brand name, but I use these to put my hair up in a bun and it works well for gym and sleeping bun purposes!
posted by garbo at 8:35 AM on August 16, 2005

These are the only hair elastics that work for me. They are pricey, but don't stretch out nearly as much as the other ones. They also last a very long time, unless you are like me and lose them constantly.
posted by Sheppagus at 9:03 AM on August 16, 2005

Unlike LittleMissCranky, I've had bad luck with Scrunci, but they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter to me that they don't last long.
posted by QIbHom at 10:16 AM on August 16, 2005

Try a Gellio they are very gentle to the hair and last until you lose them, you can only get them here.
posted by hortense at 10:29 AM on August 16, 2005

I used to have hair that long. I could only use the big thick Goody brand, any others would snap and go flying across the room.
I don't know if they make them without the metal bits, but if they do go for that, it's a million times better.

(Miss my long hair so much, can't wait until it grows back!)
posted by Kellydamnit at 11:35 AM on August 16, 2005

garbo writes "I use a type of scrunchy that has the elastic encased in a loose fabric sleeve."

These are buck easy to make and homemade ones both last for ever and can be customized for size.

To Make: Source fabric and elastic from sewing supply place. I like to use cotton fabric in solid colours but feel free to mix it up however you'd like. For elastic I use a 1/4 or 3/8 inch wide elastic for sweats. It comes on either a card or a spool. Sew up a tube about twice as wide as your elastic. Wider will make it more ripply when done and narrower will make it more smooth. Invert the tube and thread your elastic. Experiment with length of elastic and casing and when satisfied sew the elastic together and then sew the tube/casing together. Viola custom hair scrunchy that'll last a long time and is the perfect size for you.
posted by Mitheral at 2:42 PM on August 16, 2005