SHORTENED PONYTAIL
This post will describe how to create a short looking pony tail that conceals your actual length. Useful when you are feeling a bit bored with your length!
I've been enjoying variations of this style quite a bit lately. It all starts with a very wide elastic headband folded in half and used to secure a partial coiled bun with the ends of the hair pulled through one of the coils.
Here is a photo of the wide headband/scrunchies I like to use. (available at "Dots" in the USA for about $2.50 - they have a website - I believe its www.dots.com , although at this time there is no shopping cart or online purchasing for items).
I like the wide scrunchies because they hold my hair securely and do not cause [i]any[/i] damage to my fine hair.
This is the length of my pony tail before it is coiled:
BEE BUT BUN
I must pay tribute to the coiled bun (known as the bee but bun) & more importantly, it's creator, Karen Marie, as this has become the base for most of the updos I wear and is the base for the styles shown below. Even though I have [i]very[/i] fine, lightweight hair, most other updo's tend to create too much uneven tension on my scalp due to the weight of my hair pulling, so I find the bee but bun quite useful. I am so thankful to Karen Marie for sharing the details of how to create a bee but bun with ones hair because this protective updo has become the style I wear my hair in about 80% of the time now (remember when I used to say I wore my hair down most of the time? Not anymore. Now it's in a bee but bun much of the time).
To create a bee but bun, you gather your hair as if you were about to secure a ponytail, however instead of securing it, you start twisting the length starting at the point you would secure it, near your roots. As you twist your length, coil it low on the back of your head. As you create each new coil, place/wrap it beneath the previous coil against your scalp. When you are done, tuck the ends inside or underneath the last coil, near your scalp.
It is helpful to comb your length a few times as you coil if you want your hair to look extra-smooth.
It's also important to twist the length continuously as you are coiling it, so that you don't have any "flat spots" where the hair has been wrapped/coiled but [i]not[/i] twisted.
While I coil my hair gently, I do coil it snugly enough so that I have to tuck the newest coil behind the previous one - there isn't room for the new coil until I sort of push it into place behind the previous coil.
This shows a bee but bun from the side:
Here's a bee but bun from the back:
COILED KNOT BUN
Since I'm posting a bunch of photos, here's another style I've been wearing a lot...
It's a (sloppy
) Coiled Knot Bun. It usually does look a bit sloppy, as it tends to slide out and loosen up a bit.
I created it by first creating an almost complete bee but bun, then I pulled the ends of my length through one of coils in the middle of the bee but bun:
SHORTENED PONY TAIL
To finally get to the point of this post, I'll explain how to create a shortened pony tail. First, start by creating a partial bee but bun.
Once you have coiled your hair to the point that you have the desired amount of loose ends remaining, reach your fingers through one of the coils and pull the remaining length of your hair through one of the coils. You can pull your hair through the last coil or whichever coil feels most secure.
If you pull your hair through the first coil near the top of the bee but bun (nearest your scalp) with the hair pulled in going [i]towards[/i] your scalp/head (and fan your ends out to conceal the partial bee but bun underneath), you'll get a short pony tail look as shown below in the photo labeled "Short length shortened pony tail".
If you pull your hair through one of the middle coils, pulling your hair through going [i]away[/i] from your head/scalp, you'll get a little pony tail that has a circle of twisted hair (the coils) around the base of it, as shown in the photo labeled "Medium length shortened pony tail".
I imagine one of those topsy-tail-puller-though-er things would be quite handy for pulling the hair through coils (I must find one of those...). Because I use my fingers to pull the length through a coil, the coils tend to loosen up and I tighten them by gently pulling on the length that has been pulled through.
It's important to twist the hair [i]evenly[/i] and comb your length as you are twisting & coiling to keep the hair pulled evenly.
It also helps to pull the hair through the coil at such an angle to allow the hair to stick out [i]behind[/i] you, rather than to one side or the other. Then adjust the twisted hair so that your ends fall behind the coils so that you can fan them out to either side to conceal the coiled hair.
This is a Medium length shortened pony tail:
This is a Short length shortened pony tail from the back:
Below is the short length shortened pony tail with my ends fanned out to hide the bee but bun, viewed from the side.
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Equestrian 24/37+/38
Toffee Blonde Straight Hair With Slight Unnoticeable Waves, Of Medium Overall Thickness With Very Fine Individual Hairs.
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