I remember the day that I achieved my first high ponytail with my locs— it was definitely a monumental day! For weeks, maybe even months, prior to that day I would try to gather all of my locs into a hair tie but always had a few outliers that would never stay in. Then, 2.5 years into my loc journey, my life changed and I could finally create, what I thought would be one of the safest go-to styles: a ponytail. Now, 2 years removed from that day, I’ve learned so much about this infamous ponytail, which believe it or not, the most important factor is the hair tie.
The Evolution of Hair Ties for Locs
If you asked me a few years ago what are the different types of hair ties for locs, more than likely I would have mentioned a scrunchie and a headband. The classics. They are readily available, affordable and dare I say, dispensable. However, I’ve since discovered at least 5 different hair ties for locs, which I share in my latest video “The Best Hair Ties for Locs” but I also want to offer you what have been my go-to hair ties for my locs over the years.
Collar Bone Length (Year 2)
Scrunchie. These are a dime a dozen. Well, not truly, more like a dollar a dozen. But they are simple, easy to use, and available in multiple colors. However, one of the downsides to using the scrunchie for locs is that they have a finite width. Which means they’re easy to pop the longer your hair is and they don’t serve you well when you’re doing a high ponytail. With that being said, I honestly stopped using the seamless scrunchie after year 2.
Headband. I also experimented with headbands as hair ties for a while as my locs grew longer— remember that’s all I knew. While these also served me well and allowed me to have more control with my ponytail, there was a downside. When I used headbands, I would wrap it around my ponytail twice, which led to indentations in my locs. This really traumatized me and I share more about that in “My Current Loc Struggles”. So I will say if you choose to use headbands, get the wider versions instead of the narrow kind.
Shoulder Length (Year 3)
Hook Elastic Bungee. The bungee hair tie was a great find because of the comfortability, ease of securing my locs up, and support for my growing locs. The bungee hair tie features two hooked ends for securing. These hooks can be problematic when you are removing the hair tie but they don’t cause any discomfort while you’re wearing it.
Cord Elastic. These were, by far, my favorite hair accessory! It was comfortable, stretchy, no tension, and affordable! I also really liked that the size of my locs fit into the “grooves” of the cords. I got a great year and a half with the cord elastic hair tie before my locs became too heavy to use the cord elastic without my ponytail falling down minutes later.
Which leads us to my current favorite….
Bra Strap Length (Year 4)
Snapee. This hair tie for locs is an incredible creation for locs of all sizes! The comfort is unmatched and the fact that I can create a high-ponytail ease sold me! And on top of that, you can chain the Snapee hair ties together to make them wider. So I would say if you’re looking for 1 hair tie that is everlasting, the Snapee is the one!
What are you currently using on your locs to create your ponytails?
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Blog Comments
Ms. Linda
January 20, 2021 at 12:13 pm
I had to laugh while reading this post because that’s my exact story as well. I stopped my search when I found Snappee hair ties about a year and a half ago. They are awesome!
Margaretta Narcisse
January 23, 2021 at 7:31 am
I have used pipe cleaners to style my hair and curls after I take them out. I have long loc and it’s harder to use pipe cleaners. what do you use to style and curl your locs?
Jocelyn Reneé
January 28, 2021 at 7:33 am
I mainly just pin curl my hair because it takes forever to dry under the dryer and then I usually let it set over night and sleeping with rollers is so uncomfortable.