Beauty / A Desi Ponytail

A Desi Ponytail

Beauty Dec 25, 2014

by Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

Get The Perfect Ponytail

As the owner of a full head of long, South Asian hair that is coarse, thick, wavy and heavy, I know that a mere dab of gel or a squirt of spray are ineffective when I'm styling a party ponytail, which requires volume at the roots and curly ends.

However, with 40 minutes, duckbill clips, elastic hair ribbon, hair products, a hairdryer, a curling iron and a round brush, this ponytail is a refreshing change from the ubiquitous flat-ironed look.

Coarse hair tends to be dry, so a hydrating shampoo and conditioner such as Matrix Biolage Hydrasource are ideal. Squirt a nickel-sized amount of shampoo onto the palms and massage it through the hair. After rinsing, squirt a quarter-sized dollop of conditioner and massage it though the lower half of the hair (midpoint to tip), as it's older, drier and frizzier. Rinse, and then pat the hair with a towel to avoid disturbing the cuticles, which must lie flat to make hair shiny.

To create the party ponytail:

1. Massage a loonie-sized dollop of Shu Uemura Fiber Lift Protective Volumizer, a protectant that volumizes, throughout the hair.

2. Flip hair upside-down and pull a section of hair taut with a round brush.

3. Using a hairdryer affixed with a nozzle, dry each section (remaining flipped), adding extra heat to the roots.

4. Plug in the curling iron, set the temperature, and store rest it one a safe surface.

5. Separate the hair into eight sections, fastening each one with a duckbill clip.

6. Remove one duckbill clip and separate the hair into two sub-sections.

7. Take one sub-section and wrap the lower half around the iron.

8. Clamp down, wait for 15–20 seconds, slowly remove the iron, and let the curl cool.

9. Repeat steps 6 through 8 for the second subsection.

10. When completed, attach the section with the duckbill clip on the upper part of the hair.

11. Repeat steps 6 through 10 for the remaining sections.

12. Apply several squirts of Kérastase Spray à Porter to the curls to keep their shape and to create a tousled effect.

13. Gather hair, section by section, pulling the sections loosely together behind the head (the part that hits the pillow first).

14. Attach the hair with an elastic ribbon, making sure to neither crush the curls as you pull them through nor flatten the crown when you give the ponytail a final tug.

15. Hold a lightweight spray such as Aveda Air Control, which creates a workable hold, 30 centimetres away from the crown and spray generously.

16. Use pads of fingers to tap down fly-aways and re-apply Spray à Porter to the curls.

17. If you have bangs, pin them back with black bobby pins and set with Air Control.

The party ponytail is not about sleekness. It's about playful glamour. It relies on specialized sprays to keep it in place, but given the heavy nature of South Asian hair, they are necessary to hold rather than encase the hairstyle.

^{_{Aveda image courtesy of Aveda Canada

Biolage image courtesy of 1 Milk 2 Sugars Public Relations

Kérastase and Shu Uemura images courtesy of Bicom Comminications}}

Meena Khan | Features Editor - Beauty

Author

Meena (@meenalaregina) always loved the idea of exploring the non-conventional idea of beauty. Having grown up as a pimply chubby teenager, she wanted to see the change in the world that best reflected your uniqueness as well. Her well-received collection of blogs where she tries on various beauty p...

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