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    A "No Hair Tie" Ponytail Hack Has Been All Over TikTok For Months, So I Had To Try It

    Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your ponytail.

    Kristen Harris
    by Kristen Harris

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Hi! I'm Kristen, and as you can see here, I have more hair than I know what to do with.

    My go-to hairstyle is usually the Ariana Grande ponytail or a low bun.

    Ariana Grande's sporting her iconic long ponytail and Meghan Markle with her hair in a neat bun with a middle part
    Getty

    Ariana is the only reason I keep my hair so long, tbh.

    However, when I saw a TikTok of @kimberlygrimes83 putting her hair into a ponytail without a hair tie, I instantly knew I had to try it.

    Since it was posted May 2, her original video has reached more than 1.5 million views and sparked a ton of re-creations.

    First she uses about a quarter of her hair to make a loop, which she pulls the rest of her hair through.

    @kimberlygrimes83 / Via vm.tiktok.com

    Then she twists the loop and pulls her hair through it a second time. Voilà, ponytail.

    @kimberlygrimes83 / Via vm.tiktok.com

    I thought it would be fairly easy, especially considering that fourth-grade Kristen used to secure her bun with a pencil.

    My hairstyling skills are pretty lackluster. The most I can do is a simple braid, so I figured that if I could do this hack, then anyone could.

    First I started with high hopes and my Elle Woods–as–a–Founding Father top.

    Kristen Harris / BuzzFeed

    My "auditioning for the part of King George in Hamilton" vibe really fit with the Thomas Jefferson–esque way I usually do low ponytails.

    Then began the looping and pulling...

    Kristen Harris / BuzzFeed / Via Giphy

    ...and my first attempt resulted in this knotted mess.

    my hair in one giant tangle
    Kristen Harris / BuzzFeed

    Not cute.

    Then I tried again, but my Jefferson-chic shirt collar kept getting in the way.

    So after a quick costume change — which was also an attempt to channel the King of Beautiful Hair, Harry Styles — I tried again.

    This time, I FINALLY made it work...sort of.

    my hair is not anywhere near the ideal ponytail placement
    Kristen Harris / BuzzFeed

    After a third failed attempt, I decided to try following a different TikTok from one of my favorite hair creators, @mattloveshair.

    @mattloveshair

    I’ve seen this all over #hairtiktok and I had to try! Can’t believe it worked! #ponytail #hairhack #hairtie

    ♬ Potential Breakup Song - Aly & AJ

    He did a high ponytail, which I was pretty excited to try.

    This went way better! It only took two tries to get it down...er, up.

    Here's a breakdown of what I did.

    I gathered my hair into a ponytail, made some of it into a loop, pulled my hair through the loop, then was very surprised and thought it looked good from the front, even though it was an unsightly mess in the back
    Kristen Harris / BuzzFeed

    (Dramatic reaction not necessary but highly encouraged.)

    The high ponytail stayed up a little longer, but after about 20 minutes of laundry folding, it looked like this.

    my hair fell back into a side ponytail
    Kristen Harris / BuzzFeed

    The ponytail continued to fall into more of a side pony as I walked around the farmers market.

    my hair looks like a knot on my shoulder
    Kristen Harris / BuzzFeed

    By the time I got to my favorite local café for a midday coffee break, it was basically one giant, Rapunzelly knot.

    Overall, I think this hack would come in handy in a worst-case scenario where there are no hair ties or writing utensils in sight. Otherwise, I think I'll stick to my tried-and-true fourth-grade method and use a pen.