Hair Styling Advice

[BethyVic]

When styling pony hair, what kind of ties do you use?  I use those little plastic elastic bands, they work really well but after a while they dry out and fall off.  Regular hair binders are too big to use, especially on the tine G4's.  Any suggestions?

[aluke]

I use the ones that come with the ponies (I assume that's what you mean by little plastic elastic bands?).

To keep them from falling off, I just loop them around until they are snug: it takes a lot of patience and retries, though. It should help to use a needle or something to clasp the band rather than relying solely on your fingers.

Also, dependent on the hairstyle, it is possible to use the elastic like a hairband which is wrapped over the ponies head. It works well for loose buns and bangs.

[Aitsuki]

Well, I collect G4's, and just for me, so I do LOTS of fun things to their hair. I give them lots of different hair cuts, curls, pony tails, tons of things. I use the clips and the little rubber bands they bind their hair down with. If you're not going to be trading your ponies or something, feel free to do lots of fun things! I have show-accurate ponies, and ponies that all have their personalities because of their unique looks. It makes my herd more fun to look at, because there's variety in the profile. I can see more because it's not just a big wall of hair.

[InkyMilk]

I also use the tiny elastics that tend to dry out and crack. It's funny cause I didn't even notice that they had begun to fall off until the other day and I dread having to go and replace them all. But the reason I didn't catch it right away is because their hairstyles I gave them didn't simply fall or come out once the hair ties broke and I think it's because when I did their hair it was right after a spa day so their hair was still wet. Maybe when you're doing their hair it might help if it was wet first, that way even if the ties do break or slip off it might not ruin the style as much until you can replace them.

[hathorcat]

Most of them are designed to crack and fall off over time - it prevents them from gumming up and sticking to the hair instead. The little clear bands which come with the ponies, and that you can find in most hair dressers/pharmacy/chemists are the best idea for this reason. They cause the least damage - dont rot hair and dont colour hair.

Personally I only ever use ribbon on pony hair, I am not a fan of elastic bands on them at all. But ribbons are not going to work with every hair style so you may have to fall back on elastic bands.

[cleverLC]

I use those mini hair-rubber-bands for initial styling of pony hair, too. Once I have it the way I want, I usually dip it in just-boiled water (so it's really hot, but not hot enough to do damage) to help it hold the shape.  Once it dries, you don't need the rubber bands anymore!

Applejack's hair is tied with a piece of red embroidery floss.  A red rubber band just won't last as long as good embroidery floss will.  And at some point, I'm going to use a satiny ribbon on Apple Bloom as well, so she has her bow!  (I've seen one wearing a gros-grain ribbon, and somehow it just didn't look right.)

Embroidery floss or plastic barrettes like Hasbro provides are a much better idea than rubber-bands for long-term use.  Plus, both are really cheap and you can make them look super-nice!

If hair is all flyaway (like my poor RD was because of how short I cut her mane!), I highly recommend a gel or pomade to weigh the hair down and force it in the direction you need it to go.  You may have to overdo it a bit (resulting in "helmet hair") but it's the best thing I know of to fix a cute style that boil-perming didn't work for.

[phoenixsoul85]

I have been wondering the same thing.  I have left most of my g4 ponies' hair in the bindings that they came with but really want to start doing them after I finish with my g1s.