For years now, Ariana Grande has had a signature look: a super-high ponytail, spaghetti-strapped dress/tank, some kind of jacket or blouse falling off one shoulder, lollipop in hand. She usually goes for cat-eye makeup, and she used to wear a little cat-ear headband all the time. But Ari is basically synonymous with the high pony at this point. Whenever I see anyone trying to do a very high pony, I think of Ari. What I’ve never really thought about is how painful that high pony must for her – having long hair is amazing, but the weight of your hair being pulled tight and high into a ponytail is actually somewhat excruciating. Camila Cabello figured that out when she attempted a somewhat high pony at the MTV EMAs on Sunday. She even tweeted @ Ariana about it:
I just did a high ponytail for the first time and it is literally pulling on my BRAIN ITS SO PAINFUL HOW DO YOU DO IT @ArianaGrande
— camila (@Camila_Cabello) November 4, 2018
well u actually have hair so that prolly makes it a lil more painful ….. nah jk i’m in constant pain always and don’t care at all
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 4, 2018
Camila was in so much pain from her regular-height pony that she had to take it out mid-EMAs. It’s true – by the time she was posing with her EMAs in the press room, her hair was down.
I had to take it off #thankunext 🙄💅💅💅💅💅 pic.twitter.com/TP5kKqU8KZ
— camila (@Camila_Cabello) November 4, 2018
Ari was happy that Camila still feels things:
awwww so happy for u, u still feel things 🖤🖤🖤
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 4, 2018
I actually have a theory? Maybe Ariana is so irritable about so many things because she’s constantly in physical pain for the sake of her signature pony? I understand sacrificing for a look, especially when it’s your signature look, but maybe Ariana actually needs to let the pony down more often?
Personal story: the only time I really do a pony at this point is when I’m in the gym. I honestly do get used to the tightness and hair-pulling, but then when I take it out when I get home, I’m like “God, I had been working out with that kind of irritation and pain the whole time, what is happening.” Ariana’s point is that she’s just gotten used to it by now. And maybe she’s a bit of masochist. Last thing: might I suggest that both ladies try a low pony? Low ponytails are surprisingly not-bad.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
High ponies look childish and unflattering IMO. I wish Ariana would let it go.
Disagree
Agree
She’d look better with waves or curls down to her shoulders. But she seems to have decided to make ponytails her signature thing.
Ariana had curly hair in some scenes for he Let Me Love You video. She looks GORGEOUS with curls!! I’ve always thought she should wear her hair like that more often. The high pony is tired
Disagree. It really suits her.
I’ve ditched all my elastics for invisibobbles. I have pretty long hair so I put it up in a ponytail at night so it doesn’t get all smushed for the next day. It doesn’t leave a big line in my hair, and it doesn’t feel super tight.
Oh, thanks for that tip! I have long hair too and wash it at night but it gets flat from me sleeping on it. How do you use it? It looks like a spiral thing. Do you just use it like a normal ponytail holder?
Yup! It’s like a phone cord almost? But it’s a fully closed circle so I just use it like a regular hair elastic. If you have curly hair, you have to just be a little more careful with putting your hair up and taking it down because I’ve definitely got it stuck in my hair for a second or two before when I had a lot of curls and a lot of product. But it’s been a huge help because I try to shower in the evening to avoid rushing around in the morning haha. There might be a SLIGHT line in my hair afterwards, but it’s waaaaaay less than a regular elastic and I can usually just brush it out or take a straightener to it for like 2 seconds.
Same. I also cut off all my hair though. The invisibobbles are way more comfortable.
How thick is your hair? My friend was raving about them to me a few months ago, but my hair is longer and thicker than hers, which makes me uncertain they would work. I’m more likely to do a bun than a ponytail, but if I could find something that would stop ponytail headache, I’d be all for it.
I have super thick curly long hair and use invisibobbles all the time. No more hair headaches! I can do a messy mom bun with them no problem. Just pull it out a bit slower in case any curls are caught!
Super thick and curly.
They have tougher ones. I have a ton of hair, but it’s relatively fine. I use the original ones but they have an “invisibobble power” one that’s for people with a lot of hair and or a more active lifestyle.
I have super long, curly, thick hair and they work for me. To give you an idea of how thick, I can wrap one twice around my hair comfortably, and if I really work at it, 3 times. I don’t sleep in them however, I sleep in a french braid. It keeps the curls mostly under control for the next day.
I’m coming back over here to tell you that after this conversation, I randomly saw an Instagram story ad about invisibobbles. I’ve never typed that word in my life until this post yesterday, nor have I ever seen an ad for them anywhere.
I’m spooked!
What I can see on the pictures looks like a regular not very tight ponytail to me. Something I do quickly when I’m working out. Am I missing something?
Meh… it couldve just been pulling in a funny way. I have thin and fine hair which weighs nothing but sometimes get a painful ponytail!
Also if hair is pulled in a direction an extended period it can get sore even if not tight
It depends on how much of hair you have. To achieve a ponytail in the same point of Camila’s is a hell of an effort to me, I even feel like a winner when it stays that way for more than 2 hours.
Tight Ponytails can cause traction alopecia which gives you bald spots. Pass.
Exactly! Doesn’t she know that? I can’t believe her hairline hasn’t receded at least some after years of that right hair pulling.
I remember when I was younger and had awesome thick wavy/curly hair that when I would take a pony down it would hurt. After four kids, general lack of attention to my hair and wearing it up almost daily it’s pretty thin and never hurts anymore. I don’t have it high and tight though either.
I think it *is* receding. I’ve seen some photos where it looks like there’s some significant hair loss. I think she has a lot of fake hair and colors in her hairline (or whatever it is people do).
Old person here. If you say “high pony tail” I think of J Lo first 🙂
Me, too. JLo (to me) is synonymous with the pony tail look.
I have a lot of thick hair; it’s heavy. It’s always down, or in a low ponytail…. not just due to the weight but it feels like there’s always one group of hair I can’t undo that’s pulling so so tight my scalp its coming off. And i can’t feel most things with my hair – not heat, brushing, pulling from styling tools… but that one constant pull all day drives me so crazy.
Yeah, my hair is on the thicker side and getting long enough that even buns are starting to feel tight, which means I’ve had to switch to braids and lower ponytails. I’m in my thirties and can actually see tiny touches of recession in the hair line from wearing it up all the time in my twenties while working in clean rooms, combined with losing some hair (not much, thankfully) to thyroid disease, so I’ve gotten more careful about letting it down more often. It’s completely unnoticeable to anybody who isn’t me, but it did scare me “straight” so to speak on being more aware of how much the weight of your hair pulls at the roots.
I thought it was extensions? I thought I remember her having hair loss from the tight pony tails and dying it red from her Sam& Cat Days?
Surely the damage ends at some point, once your hair grows out?!
I remember that too. I assume she keeps some of the extensions to get the same full ponytail effect- but I’m going to guess that at this point she’s reversed at least a chunk of the damage she had
It is
^^^ THIS is exactly why she said “well your hair is real…” because she DOES wear extensions. There were pics of Ari out with whats-his-name in NYC and she has two tiny buns on her head of her real hair, it isn’t even shoulder length barely. So – Ariana isn’t actually in so much pain probably, that thing is attached to her head.
I sometimes wear my hair in a high ponytail. And I wear it with extensions like she does (not nearly as long). It’s the extensions that make it so painful. It feels as though they’re digging into your scalp.
I’ve thought about trying extensions. How do you like them? Do you have them all the time or just occasionally? Are they sewed in?
First off, Ariana doesn’t really have much hair. She’s spoken about it in public and those ponytails are all fake. Secondly, Ariana is grumpy because she doesn’t eat. And thirdly, maybe if she ate she might grow more hair!
oh snap, all these things are true.
Growing up in my native country I used to live in a tropical humid weather. If you have long hair there are days when ponytail is a must to survive the day without killing anybody. Especially since I have extremely active sweat glands since I was a child. But I was careful never to do it with weat hair and to give a rest at night and never use super tight bands. Until this day and thanks to this caution I have a head full of lucious and thick hair.
Weird, my hair bugs me when it’s down! I come home from work and off comes the underwire bra and up goes my hair! Usually a mess bun (not the cute type) so maybe that’s why it doesn’t hurt? A tight bun will make my head a little sore by the end of the day.
Ari already discussed how she has no choice but to wear ponytails since her hair was significantly damaged. But I LOL at camilla because it reminded me of the wigs i wear. Like when i get home i can’t wait to take that sh*t off! lol
I wear my hair up all the time because I don’t have the emotional strength to blow dry and straighten it. I have to wear a high pony b/c if I don’t I get massive headaches. First world problems, man.
This is such a funny story.
I have lots of curly hair and straight or curly, I did high ponytails and buns as my hairstyle of choice for years and years. I chopped off 12 inches a couple years ago and wirh hair to just at my shoulders, it looks like a troll doll in a high pony. Plus now I’m not used to it so tight ponytails hurt my head these days! I do miss it for working out though. It was almost a security thing, knowing all my hair was tightly contained.
I really think Ariana needs a break. Other pop stars have taken time. Just relax, let your hair down (literally), and figure out what makes you happy in life. I feel like she’s spread too thin and has had too much trauma.
Maybe it’s because my hair isn’t that long (it’s just about boob length) but high ponytails don’t hurt my head unless I pull it super tight. Maybe they would if I had more hair, I dunno. Even regular ponytails don’t hurt my head, you guys must be pulling your hair super tight against your scalp if it’s hurting that much (and I have thick, wavy hair so I have a lot of hair). I’m the kind of person who doesn’t really care if there are a few bumps on my hair from the high ponytail (since the whole point is to pull it back high and make it look sleek) so it’s usually a looser high ponytail. The only time my head has ached was for ballet recitals when I was younger when my hair was pulled back super tight for a high bun. My hair would be pulled taut with hairspray to keep it in place and that’s when it would ache.
Ariana’s hair is pulled back super tight for the high ponytail so it wouldn’t surprise me if she endured headaches. Most of that hair is super heavy extensions. I know her hair suffered damage from dying it pink on that show but that was years ago. I’m assuming her hair has grown back in at this point. I’m guessing she’s still super self conscious about it because I’m not sure why she’d keep wearing so many extensions so many years later.
I wear high ponies occasionally as they are high enough to pull my hair out of the way so I can sit down without sitting on it. This is usually only on work days that are insane because I don’t want to have to touch it when I am out and about. Due to the insanity that is my hair, they come out the minute I am not at work. My hair weights close to 2 pounds, so it’s not something I want pulling on my head all day, every day. High ponies are hard on your hair and your neck, so maybe someone who wears them all the time should take a break from them.