A basic ponytail might not seem that difficult, but things get a little harder when you are dealing with curly hair. When I was putting together the Girl Loves Curl course, I had asked my husband what things he wished he knew about curly hair that I could include with the course. His first response was how to do a ponytail, without having tons of frizz. I realized that just because doing a ponytail might be second nature for me, it isn’t going to be the case for people who haven’t worked with curly hair before. That is why I decided to include this tutorial for a basic curly hair ponytail!
Ponytail with Curly Hair Video
This lesson includes a video. This helps you visualize what I am explaining a lot more than I can illustrate with words. I highly recommend watching, before moving onto the rest of the lesson.
Products used for a Curly Hair Ponytail
While there will be a variety of specific product types available for each of these, I have linked our favorite products for each of these more generic terms. Depending on the curls that you are working with, these may or may not work for you. Don’t let that hold you back from continuing to try more of these types of products, until you can find the right ones!
- Spray Bottle with water
- Spray conditioner
- Brush for curly hair
- Elastic (use code GIRLLOVESGLAM25 for 25% discount)
- Serum
- Non aerosol hairspray
- Edge cream (optional. This isn’t something we typically use but is great for 3b-4c curl types)
Curly Hair Ponytail
As we have discussed a number of times, curly hair shouldn’t be styled when it is totally dry, to avoid unnecessary frizz. Begin by spraying down the hair with water and follow with the spray conditioner.
The hair doesn’t need to be soaking wet; just wet enough that you can tell that you aren’t immediately creating frizz as you work with it.
Once the hair is wet enough, use your fingers to direct the hair where you need it to go for your ponytail. Follow behind with a brush to smooth it out. Do not brush all the way through the curls, only brush on the scalp. If you brush all the way through the curls, you will not only lose some of the curl, but also the volume, and potentially create frizz.
Secure your ponytail with an elastic. This can be as tight or loose as you prefer. For younger kids, I recommend a tighter ponytail. They are more active and the odds of the ponytail coming undone are much higher when the ponytail isn’t very secure.
Getting Rid of Frizz
If you had the hair wet enough, you shouldn’t have a lot of frizz to work with. Even if you do have frizz, this step will help combat that. Apply a small amount of serum in your palm, rub your hands together, and gently put it over the hair that is pulled back into the ponytail. Scrunch the rest of what you have in your hands into the curls in the ponytail.
At this point, you can pull out pieces that don’t seem like they want to be pulled back and have them frame the face. You can add a little serum to them to liven up the curls more.
This is also where you can decide if you need edge cream. A little edge cream goes a long way. Just use a little in your palm and gently wipe onto the areas where you want the hair to be pushed down a little more. This product is designed to be used on the edges of your hair, along your hairline. Don’t use this on top of your head!
To finish, spray hairspray on the hair. Using a hairspray that has a pump, rather than aerosol will really cut down on the amount of alcohol you are spraying into the hair. You don’t want to dry out those curls any more than you need to. Aerosol hairspray also tends to be a little stickier! After you spray, use the back of your hand to smooth out the hair being pulled back into the ponytail. You can also scrunch the hairspray into the curls as well!
Remember that with curls, frizz can happen! That is okay! If you are working with curly hair on a little girl, just know that frizz will more than likely happen. They are active! Let them be little. Do what you can to prevent frizz but don’t stress if you have frizz develop throughout the day. They don’t need celebrity smooth hair!
Girl Loves Curl Curly Hair Course
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