Tying up your hair may save you time when you’re rushed in the morning... but it certainly puts your hair to the test! Avoid these five mistakes and spare your hair.

USING HAIR ELASTICS WITH METAL FASTENERS

The worst thing that can happen is that your hair gets tangled around the elastic and you have to spend a long time trying to remove it (unless you resign yourself to cutting it!). The culprit is often the metal portion that some elastics include: it tends to get stuck in your hair, damaging it. Another enemy is the rubber band. Never, never, use one of your rubber office elastics to tie your hair, even if there’s nothing else available. They can stick to the hair fibre or get tangled up the strands and break them. Instead, use a hair tie made of fabric, they’re much gentler. (Now’s the time: they’re making a comeback!) And if you don’t have one, use a headband, scarf, hair clips, etc.

NOT DRYING YOUR HAIR BEFORE TYING IT

Even worse than a hair elastic that’s too tight is a wet ponytail: damp hair stretches and is frail, and therefore, more brittle. What’s more, wet hair gets tangled much more easily around an elastic.

ALWAYS WEARING THE SAME HAIR-STYLE

Avoid tying your hair up in the same way every day because this can cause fraying on the same spot. A simple solution is to change the way you tie it: try a braid, ponytail, bun or half-bun, etc. You can also change the height of your ponytail, either tying your hair low on your neck or (why not?) off to one side.

REMOVING YOUR ELASTIC IN ONE MOVE WHEN UNDOING YOUR PONYTAIL

We’ve all made the mistake of yanking out our hair elastics, usually pulling some strands of hair right along with them. Obviously, this technique causes a lot of damage. When it’s time to let your hair down, do it gently, undoing it one twist of the elastic at a time.