How To: Style your hair in a perfect ponytail

Pulling off the perfect ponytail is easy once you know a few tricks.

You Will Need
* Hair that hasn't been washed in 24 hours
* Hair creme
* A natural-bristle brush
* An elastic ponytail holder
* A hair dryer or flat iron
* Hair spray

Step 1: Start with day-old hair
The perfect ponytail starts with hair that hasn't been washed in the past 24 hours. Freshly shampooed hair is more difficult to control.

Step 2: Moisten the ends
Moisten the ends with a leave-in conditioning creme.

Step 3: Brush your hair
Brush your hair to the back of your head with a natural-bristle brush.

Tip
For a high ponytail, brush the hair up toward the crown of your head. For a low ponytail, brush the hair down and over your ears, gathering it at the nape of your neck.

Step 4: Secure the hair
Wrap an elastic ponytail holder around the gathered hair. For a polished finish, remove a small section of hair from beneath the ponytail and wrap it around the holder a few times before tucking the end into the holder.

Tip
Tilt your head back before you tie the ponytail to prevent bunching.

Step 5: Smooth the tail
Smooth the tail by running a flat iron over it once or twice, or wrapping it around a round brush and blasting it with your hair dryer on hot for 20 seconds.

Step 6: Prevent flyaway hair
Holding a can of hair spray about 12 inches from your head, mist your entire hairdo.

Step 7: Pull out some pieces
If you'd like some locks to frame your face, gently pull out a few front pieces of hair.

Fact
An Indian man pulled a 39-ton train 33 feet with his 12-inch ponytail in April 2008.