How to tie up hair?

I'm looking for some suggestions and some hand holding.

I am relatively new to long hair and it requires some management.

I have stumbled my way through understanding how to use a hair tie to make a pony tail or, if I feel fancy, a basic bun!

What is out there to help keep hair in place? Ties/Clips/Sticks/Ect ect? What do you do?

Thanks!

I watch way too much reality TV.  Lots of guys with long hair using hair ties.

I have long hair and I just use the stuff they sell at Dollar Tree.

I usually cut my hair once a year, but sometimes I skip that for a year or three. When I'm letting it grow, there's about nine months where it's long enough to blow into my eyes but it's too short to put in a solid ponytail. I fold a bandana in half on the diagonal, put the center of that hypotenuse on my forehead and then tie to two ends together at the base of my skull. Then I tuck the flap over my hair and under the knot.

These are taken between late summer of '16 and late spring of '17:

(Daughter, granddaughter, cat, and bunny for scale. )

It's a long time since I had long hair....
One thing I would suggest is to use a soft/padded tie of some kind. Plain elastic bands can result in hair damage - cutting the hairs or be more inclined to tangle.

Chris, you have given me something to try out with that bandana trick. I appreciate you sharing it!

My only worry is that I have a rather large head which makes hats already tricky. I might need to look for a large sized hankie...

Actually, I have a quite-large head too. I have a single boughten hat -- a Tilley, size 8 (25 in, 64.5 cm). If we're knitting me a hat, we aim for just over 24" (depending on the ease). I do have one friend with a larger head -- on the order of 25.5".

For a braid, lay one end of a length of cordage or flexible bark or leaf (almost anything—milkweed, nettles, cattails, yarn, basswood bark) against the hair facing upward, so that the other longer end hangs down. Then the longer end is wrapped around and around upward, until it gets toward the end, which is pushed through the braid. It stays secure so long as it is a long enough cord and tightly enough wrapped, but doesn’t pull.

M Ljin, please give us a picture.

Using nettle and milkweed for demonstration. Hopefully this helps!

Timothy Norton wrote: I might need to look for a large sized hankie...

Excellent easy sewing project. You might even be able to upcycle the fabric from something damaged. A hankie is essentially a square with the edges finished. The blanket stitch would be easy for the job.

Thank you!

I have almost always worn my hair long because it’s so much easier, unless it’s REALLY short which doesn’t please my beloved, so I have tried a great many things over the 50+ years I’ve been managing it. One of my favorites is called a twist clip on Amazon. I lean forward and brush all the hair into a handful, like I would for a ponytail, then I twist the whole thing until I have a bun shape, tucking the ends underneath. The clip is designed to twist into the bun and become almost invisible. Depending upon how much hair you have, it might take one on each side but it holds well and keeps it out of my eyes. Another must have is satin wrapped scrunchies that don’t break or stress the hair. It’s handy to be able to put one on my wrist or gear shift for quick changes on the go. Last but not least, I recommend not washing it every day or every other day but once or twice a week unless it gets really dirty and just rinsing it well and maybe applying shampoo to the oily areas otherwise. I see so many people who wash every time they shower and their hair becomes frizzy and dry. My daughter in law has gorgeous hair and she follows this advice and even playing with her hair color all the time it remains soft and healthy.

Instead of buying the stretchy hair ties, I've been cutting cross-sections of panty hose! Why do I even have panty hose, you ask? To tie up tomato and other plants. I just cut across the 'tube' of the leg part in 1/2" or so pieces. One leg yields many! I double or triple wrap each tie to make it the size needed, either/both before putting on, or as I put it on. Gives me joy to repurpose something I could never relate to for its intended purpose.

I use a pencil.
I twist it all into some kind of lump and stick the pencil or knitting needle or chopstick through it and that holds it.
So much depends on how curly/straight and thick/thin it is. That would never work for some people.
Clips are great too if you want a dedicated implement.

I have fairly thick hair (thick enough a haircut would change my hat size back when I kept it short). I have to be extremely picky and brand loyal about my hair ties. Same style in a different brand just don’t work.

I love these holders secured with a stick.  The nice thing is that you can make them yourself from leather, stiff fabric, metal, or recycled plastic if you're into that sort of thing.  The sticks are nice made out of wood or metal.  You can cut a simple strip of leather, or tool metal into a bun-shape to fit your volume of hair.  You can design and decorate it to make it feminine, masculine, or plain and functional.  It can hold a ponytail, a bun, or that in-between thing where you gather a ponytail, then twist it and fold it up and clip it all to the back of your head.

I take all my hair and twist and twist it into a bun, tuck the end under then use a hair tie to bind it. Works great for staying put while gardening.
A braid is nice too but I have too many straggly ends that drive me crazy when I’m working!  

I just use ordinary cheapo scrunchies. If I double it, it holds all day; but I discovered this year that it gets less tangles if I don't double it, tho then I have to keep redoing it as it loosens and starts falling out on one side.  The tangles might have something to do with showering (but not washing my hair) with the scrunchy still in place, which I have to do after a gardening shift from late May to early September because of chiggers.

Definitely not a permie solution, but I really like the hair bands that look like old fashioned spiral phone cord. My hair is cut just below the chin right now. I feel like they work better for controlling shorter hair, and I don't have to wrap them as tight as standard hair elastics.

I second what someone else said about not washing hair too often. Hair that isn't super squeaky clean is easier to control. You want to make sure you're brushing your hair a fair amount to redistribute the oils from the scalp, though.

I have a fat head and dense (hair stylist said I had enough hair for 3 people and had to use two kits on me; can't see my scalp unless I part my hair and hair treatments must be on for 8 hours to get to my scalp) wavy hair. I use scrunchies (Spring/Summer) or a thick headband (Fall/Winter).

I tie mine back with endless silicone hair ties in a ponytail, then plait (braid) and a 2nd tie at the end. Then (maybe bandana plus) hat keeps the dirt and dust out. Any other kind of tie is either too loose or damages my hair where it's joined.

I find plaiting is easier if I do the first couple of tucks then do the rest with the hair over to the front over my left shoulder. Tighter and less annoying than trying to do it so the back or holding it up above my head.

My hair is weird, but in a useful way - curly at the back and barely wavy on the top. This means I can twist it then keep twisting until it curls itself into a bun then tuck/wrap the end into itself and that will hold all day - doesn't fit with broad brimmed hats though - can be ok with baseball caps.

The quickest way for me is to make a ponytail and start twisting.  I wrap it around and around in a bun and tuck the end in.  If you keep it tight, there is no need for a hair tie.

I also like to do braids.  I have known guys that wear braids all the time.  For me, I wrap them around my head and tuck them in so they stay out of the way but that might look too girly.  

I think the best ever hair ties are the ones I make myself out of wool or silk yarn.    They are strong enough to hold up a heavy ponytail and gentle on my hair.  Once I started making them I have never used those plastic ones again.  
It is a super quick knitting project.  On a circular needle, just make a cylinder about two inches tall and 3-4 inches wide.   It can be bigger if you want or if you have a lot of hair.  I like to decrease as I go to make it a bit of a truncated cone.

This one is actually made of silk.  It holds really nicely.  

Here is another wool hair tie in red.   The purple hat I am wearing here doubles as a hair tie.   It is the hair tie I am wearing in the previous image.  I just twist it around my ponytail.  

I have long wavy hair and so does my partner. I like to keep everything as simple as possible.

For me, I have only a few: hair down, low ponytail, high ponytail, low bun, high bun, simple braid, bun with a claw clip. For hairties, we use silk scrunchies. The smaller scrunchies, super skinny ones, are "manly" looking enough to share and are small enough to secure end of braid. Partner has just 2 hairstyles: low ponytail, ponytail half loop into a bun.

There are tons of silk scrunchies on Etsy, various sizes. They don't pull your hair out. I wash them in the washer on gentle cycle in a bag and hang to dry. They last for many years. That way they don't stretch out too much. I won't use any other hairtie.

Oh, and I can't figure out how to make a bun so I bought one of those slap bracelets that wrap around your ponytail and make a bun.

The key to not needing hairclips is a nonlayered haircut and parting down the middle. We have been cutting each other's hair for years. We use a thing called creaclip which looks gimmicky, but works. Basically, it is a plastic clip that allows you to trim hair straight across/half moon shape. Long hair is much, much easier to maintain for me than short hair ever was.

Morgan Donner has some videos on ancient or historical hairstyles that might be helpful to some. They are ones I watched a long time ago but haven’t looked back in a long while—when I have the time… here is one about using ribbons, etc. and more natural materials in place of elastics.

I'm going to be 74 before Eggsmash, so by then any hair long enough to tie back will be WAY back- my ponytail is 'bout as fat as my little finger now, so maybe I'll stop trimming my beard- once I grew my beard long, but found if I wasn't paying full attention during dinner I started eating it. (my beard) That just doesn't work well. And now I have a wide collection of hats/bandannas you name it, because getting your scalp sunburned is off the pain chart, and besides, you don't need sunglasses so much. I did see a cartoon about male pattern baldness which advocated just getting a face tattooed on your bald top so you can tilt your head down: so you'll be facing whoever you're talking to! Looked about right in the cartoon. Maybe I can get my beard long enough I'll be able to part it under my chin and do a "comb up and over" ?

Rick Valley wrote:I'm going to be 74 before Eggsmash, so by then any hair long enough to tie back will be WAY back- my ponytail is 'bout as fat as my little finger now, so maybe I'll stop trimming my beard- once I grew my beard long, but found if I wasn't paying full attention during dinner I started eating it. (my beard) That just doesn't work well. And now I have a wide collection of hats/bandannas you name it, because getting your scalp sunburned is off the pain chart, and besides, you don't need sunglasses so much. I did see a cartoon about male pattern baldness which advocated just getting a face tattooed on your bald top so you can tilt your head down: so you'll be facing whoever you're talking to! Looked about right in the cartoon. Maybe I can get my beard long enough I'll be able to part it under my chin and do a "comb up and over" ?

My guy has a skinny tail now too, he gathers it up on top of his head for sleeping, and ties it low in back for daily wear unless he wants to look santa-like with it flowing around his shoulders.  He has a thick beard, which he also puts in a "ponytail" to keep it out of his mouth when eating and sleeping.  (He just uses the black elastic thingies.)  Another heavy-bearded guy we knew parted his in the middle and made two thick braids.  It looked decorative but very masculine -- viking-like.  

None of this solves the chrome-dome situation, but my guy doesn't give his thinning top or growing bald spot a thought -- he's earned this badge of experience as much as I've earned my grey hairs.  Think of it as a sign of wisdom!  Or you could tattoo a lifelike brain with cut edges of scalp and skull around it where your hair ends 😁  That would be so much more fun than a face!  To look more youthful if that is your goal, you could do what a friend who started balding in his early 30s did:  he hated the "horseshoe look" so much he just shaved his whole head.  That way it looks intentional, and you can keep the beard.

I use all kinds of things. If I just have to get it up off my neck/ out of my face, am in a hurry,  and don't care about how it looks, I'll twist it up into a bun and shove a pencil, pen, chopstick, or even just a peeled stick in, to hold it in place.

My hair is a type 3B curl pattern, is very dense, and the individual strands are insanely fine. So, being curly, it's prone to drying on the ends, followed by breaking, and keeping those ends protected is important to me. But, because it is both fine and there's so much of it, finding just one thing that will keep it all together can be a challenge. Oh - and it's almost past my butt. So, with typical fabric scrunchies, unless the inner rubberband is heavy duty, they don't get tight enough to hang onto my slippery hair, and within a couple hours (if I'm lucky), it needs to be redone.

For me: Straight up rubber bands are a no. Bobby pins are a waste. Barrettes hurt and break. Most clips are no better than barrettes - with a few notable exceptions. The ones that are flat, with a comb bottom and curved top and spikes are usually good, though if all the hair needs to go in, they have to be pretty big. The ones that grip like a tube (so the part against my scalp is curved in & doesn't poke) with the spikes inside are the best, for my everyday wear. When I ride my motorcycle, my preference is the open-sided leather lace-up tube, with the hair tie hook.

But, these little guys... they're like my little hair ninjas! With these, I can put in a fairly loose hair tie (thread or fabric covered), if I want it secure enough to sleep in a couple nights, or just twist it into a bun - not too loose, not too tight, and screw these little guys in next to my scalp(not tight against it), and I'm good to go. They sometimes with unscrew a little bit, but they don't come out, and can easily - almost absent-mindedly be simply screwed back in. I've been using them for years, and the ones in this photo are showing some age...

Donna Lynn wrote:I love these holders secured with a stick.  The nice thing is that you can make them yourself from leather, stiff fabric, metal, or recycled plastic if you're into that sort of thing.  The sticks are nice made out of wood or metal.  You can cut a simple strip of leather, or tool metal into a bun-shape to fit your volume of hair.  You can design and decorate it to make it feminine, masculine, or plain and functional.  It can hold a ponytail, a bun, or that in-between thing where you gather a ponytail, then twist it and fold it up and clip it all to the back of your head.

Such a thing I have too, made of leather and wood.

I found out leather in general is very useful to tie hair. If you cut long narrow strips of buckskin (or chamois) you can use them as hair ties, for a pony tail, a bun, or (a) braid(s). I do this because I re-enact neolithicum (late stone age), when probably the most used material was leather. Most plant-based materials are too slippery, in my hair they don't stay in for long enough.

For ordinary daily use I have elastic bands too, the kind made to tie hair (the elastic stuff is hidden in a woven cotton-like material).

In summer time when it's hot and muggy, I can stand having hair over my neck or face. I also need to wear a sun hat when outside gardening. My choice of hairstyle would be Dutch braid. It takes some practicing to do it by yourself but this style keeps the hair in place the longest.

Found video of a guy braiding: