There’s nothing like an old school ponytail; it can be casual or elegant, sexy or flirty, or downright messy! Whatever the case may be, ponytails are one of the best go-to hairstyles for any occasion.
If you have a crazy multi-textured hair type like mine, then you know all about the occasional struggle to get your hair into a smooth and tamed ponytail. It can be a frustrating situation, but don’t fret! I have 6 tips to help you achieve a slick and sleek natural ponytail with your type 4 hair!
Wash/Cleanse Beforehand
Unless you just blow dried or flat ironed your hair, sleek ponytails won’t be as slick as possible on “old” hair because of potential buildup. Make sure you either wash your hair or cleanse your scalp beforehand.
If you don’t feel like going through a full blown wash day just to put your hair in a ponytail, do a quick root cleanse or scalp exfoliation.
Grab a water spray bottle, spritz your scalp and roots, lather in your favorite shampoo or cleanse, and rinse with a cup or saturated cloth; it’s a fast way to get all of the benefits of cleansing without having to go through the full routine.
Detangle and Stretch
Type 4 textured hair can have really defined curls to super tight coils, so often times it is prone to shrinkage more than any other texture. So if you want a nice, full and long ponytail, you’ll have to finger detangle and stretch.
Detangling is needed so you don’t run into any problems when applying gel or styling, but stretching is optional. I personally stretch my hair before ponytails because I have far too much shrinkage and I’d like to show off my length.
Other times, I stretch my hair because I’m going for a less defined and condensed ponytail and my blow drying method gives me the “poof” I’m looking for.
