Ponytails and buns are styling go to's for many of us. While they are great for styling ease, they can also be damaging if we are not cautious with how we manage our ponytails and buns. Here are some simple tips and tricks to help reduce damaging effects from ponytails and buns! 

• Avoid wearing hair too tight in a ponytail or wrapping the hair around too tight to make a bun. This can be damaging to hairline, edges of hair, and bottom section of hair. Breakage can occur in all these areas. Too much tension can cause unnecessary stress.

• Use cloth or fabric hair ties, ouchless hair ties, even ring hair ties can help reduce the stress and snagging on hair when trying to put in a bun or ponytail. 
• Avoid putting hair in bun or ponytail when hair is wet. Wet hair is highly vulnerable to damage. Try to let hair dry up as much as possible before tossing it in a bun or ponytail and be very cautious when wrapping it into a bun. 

• Using a serum or hair oil can help the hair tie to glide over hair and will reduce the chances of snags. It can also help add a boost of shine to the hair. 
• Take it slow when taking hair out of the bun or ponytail. Sometimes when we rush we risk snagging or causing damage to hair strands. 
• If you wear your hair in a bun or ponytail at night, be mindful of the way you wrap it up. Some of us curly haired gals like to use a technique called the "pineapple" where you put the hair in a ponytail as close to the forehead as possible. This is should not be too tight and a fabric based hair tie is ideal to reduce friction and damage. Having a satin pillowcase is also helpful in case hair gets loose to help maintain hair moisture and shine. 
• Reduce how often you wear ponytails and buns or at least wear them differently; wear them low, mid, loose, try even leaving some hair out. 

Hopefully these tips are helpful. Happy healthy hair styling!