HOW-TO: PONYTAIL HAIRSTYLES WITH CELEB STYLIST CHRIS APPLETON

It’s summer, which means it’s hot AF outside. So how do you stay cool? Rocking ponytail hairstyles of course. But don’t worry, you don’t need to settle for your less-than-polished gym pony. We compiled tips and tricks from celebrity stylist, Chris Appleton, so you can rock cute ponytail hairstyles that look super chic.

To make it easier to manipulate the hair always prep it with some product.

If you’re working with straight hair, to keep hair frizz-free, humidity-proof it with Dream Coat. The formula creates an invisible barrier that helps prevent frizz, even as temperatures skyrocket in the summer. Chris then recommends applying Brass Banned Mousse through the roots, and blow drying the hair in the direction of the ponytail to keep it super smooth.

If you’re working with curly hair, his go-to is One-Minute Transformation. Chris prefers a cream to a gel, because gel can turn curls crispy. Apply the cream starting at the root, and use your fingers to guide your hair into the ponytail.

Chris’ next tip is all about how you secure your style. He recommends first, following your cheekbones, to make sure the ponytail sits at the right height to compliment your face shape. Then he says to tie hair off as close to the scalp as possible, to keep the look super tight. His go-to tool is a bungee cord (a hair tie with two hooks at the end). Simply hook your first end underneath the ponytail, and wrap it around until it’s super tight, ideally hooking the second end underneath the ponytail as well.

If you want more height for your ponytail, Chris recommends taking a second elastic, and placing it on the ponytail, about an inch from the base for instant added lift. Then, once complete wrap a strand of hair around the base of your ponytail to hide the elastic, securing it in place with a pin.

One of Chris’ go to hair hacks is to load up a brush with hairspray (he loves Cult Favorite) before you begin slicking the hair back, as this helps minimize fly aways. But once your ponytail is secure, if you’re still dealing with fly aways, there are a few more tips you can try.

You can spray a tooth brush with hairspray, and use that to tame baby hairs around your face. If you’ve got any fly aways on the ponytail itself, you can also spray hairspray directly onto the pony, and then use a hot curling iron to push down the hairs and lock them into place.

Chris has go-to tricks for beefing up the look of your ponytail. Trick number one: add extensions. You can use clip ins before you even begin styling, or you can opt for a specific ponytail extension, that just wraps around the base of your natural ponytail. Just be sure to wrap a strand of hair around the base to hide the weft.

Trick number two: Use Color Wow’s Root Cover Up powder to fill in any gaps and to perfect your hairline. This makes it look like the hair is thicker by filling in any sparse spots and the end result is more polished.

Check out the below video from Elle: