Wearing a Simple High Pony
Give your hair volume. Put some dry shampoo or hairspray in your hair, and tease the front section of your hair. You can also use volumizing mousse on dry hair and blow dry it to add some volume. Teasing is the method of creating texture where you use a teasing brush or flat oval brush to comb small sections of your hair backward. Start in the center of a section of hair and draw your brush back in quick strokes toward your head. This knots your hair slightly, and creates volume. To blowdry your hair, don't part it. Instead, lift it up in sections at the roots and brush back to establish the direction of your style. Use your fingers or a round brush to control the sections as you dry them.
Add hair extensions. You don’t need hair extensions for a high pony, especially if you have thick hair. However, Ariana Grande’s hair always features a really big style that is sleek and flowing, which is achieved with extensions. Create an anchor (a small section of hair) where the center of the ponytail will be at the top of your head. Clip your extensions in a circle around that anchor. If your hair is significantly shorter than the length you want, pull it all into a ponytail first. Then wrap your extensions around the outside of the ponytail.
Sweep your hair into the ponytail. Gather your hair and pull it to the back of your head, securing it in an elastic. Opt for a fiber-wrapped elastic for the tightest ponytail. For the Ariana Grande style, you will want to put your hair more towards the top of the crown of your head. When you gather your hair, pull it up to avoid creating bumps.
Use a section of hair to hide the ponytail holder. Pull out a small section of hair from the ponytail or loose extension and wrap it around the elastic. Secure it with a bobby pin. You may want to use some hairspray to keep spiky extra hairs in check-- sometimes your hair may not be long enough to create a smooth disguise for the hair tie.
Adding Fun Variations
Give yourself sideswept bangs. Before you start your ponytail, part your hair dramatically to one side. If you have bangs, only part your bangs. If you don’t have bangs, just part a two inch section at the front of your head. Follow the steps for the basic pony, and then secure your bangs at the end. If you don’t have bangs, pull your parted front section of hair across your forehead, creating a draped line to the side. Then wrap the ends behind your ear. Pin it in the back of your head. If you have bangs, spray them with hairspray and brush them to the side. Try to keep them above your hairline to complete the look. There are two options for bangs if you are using long hair rather than actual bangs. You can let them hang low over your eye, or you can pull them taut to the side.
Create a half-up ponytail. This is a little bit less traditional, but it is in the spirit of the high-ponytail, big hair look. To begin, separate the top portion of your hair into a bun. Then add volume to the back of your hair. The half-up look requires a great deal of hair, so you will need to add hair extensions to the back sections of your hair. Do a little bit of teasing as well, and curl your hair in large sections. If you’re going to go big, go big! Use a few long extensions that go up the back of your head. Curl your hair by starting three inches from the root, wrapping your hair around the curling iron, and holding it for ten to twenty seconds.
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