Hair DIY: The wrap-around sleek ponytail

A ponytail is a relatively simple hairstyle, but when it’s super sleek and perfectly polished, it can look just as formal as any updo. Here are tips to master the look yourself, and how to cover your elastic to make it look even more polished.

Ponytails are basic hairstyle, one that’s often tossed aside as too simple for a fancy occasion. But, a ponytail can be the perfect hairstyle for a formal event, particularly when it’s smooth, sleek and right at the nape of the neck. And in your quest for hairstyles for long hair, you might have seen low, sleek ponytails on the red carpet or on the runways, and wondered how you could recreate that hairstyle for yourself. Maybe you’ve struggled with getting it as smooth as you want it or figuring out how to completely hide the elastic holding it together. Good news: it’s really not that hard, and with just a few tools, you can definitely pull it off. Read on to find out what those tools are and to learn from L’Oréal Paris Canada Hair Artist & Expert

Brennen Demelo’s expert advice.

Steps for Prepping Your Hair:

Step 1: Start with washed and conditioned, wet hair, and blow dry it flat with a paddle brush or round brush to get it as smooth as possible.

Step 3: Spray your hair with a heat-protectant smoothing spray such as L’Oréal Paris Stylista #Blowdry Heat Protective Primer , which delivers smooth, frizz-free locks and provides up to protection up to 230^oC, and then flat iron it from the roots to the ends to add even more smoothness.

Step 2: Separate out about half an inch of your hair right at your hair line, and backcomb the hair directly behind, right at your crown, to add some height and volume.

Steps for Creating Your Ponytail:

Step 1: Start combing your hair backwards, toward the nape of your neck where your ponytail will sit, being gentler with the part you teased so as not to flatten it too much. Lay the section near your hairline you left in front of it over the top of the teased section, smooth it down, and comb it backwards to meet the rest of your hair. To ensure all flyaways are smoothed down, sweep a bit of L’Oréal Paris Stylista #Sleek Smoothing Serum through strands.

Step 2: Gather your hair into a low ponytail and secure it with a clear elastic, or one that closely matches your hair colour. If it doesn’t look as sleek as you’d like it to, go back over your hair with the smoothing spray and with your comb.

Step 3: Gather a ¼ inch section of your ponytail and wrap it around the elastic to hide it, and then tuck the end of that section underneath the elastic to keep it in place.

Step 4: Spray your finished hairstyle with L'Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Extra Strong Hold Hairspray to keep everything in place.

Now that you’ve mastered this ponytail-based hairstyle, you’ll go back to it again and again when you have a formal event in your calendar. And if you feel like changing it up, try leaving texture through your ponytail, or adding in a soft wave with your flat iron. You could also braid a section of your hair along the side of your head and add that into your ponytail, or part your hair instead of bringing it straight back into the ponytail. Any way you modify it, you’ll be able to pull off the flawless, polished look in just a few minutes.