Cute ponytails are usually our go-to style when we don’t have the time or energy to do our hair. It’s what we do when we try to stretch our hair into another day without washing it! This doesn’t mean, however, that ponytails should look blah and boring. In fact, we’ve got incredibly easy and cute ponytail ideas for your inspiration!
#1: Youthful & Sexy Ponytail
Ponytails with the right amount of being undone gives a more youthful and sexy look. Oval face shapes with hair that is medium in texture and in density will look best in this style.
How To Style:
- Apply a volumizing product on dry hair hair.
- With your fingers, blow dry your hair with your head upside down to create volume.
- Gather all your hair into a high ponytail by raking your fingers through the hair and secure with a clear elastic band.
- Set with a flexible hold finishing spray.
#2: Low Ponytail with Braids
A low ponytail with braids is a fun hairstyle for any event. I love mixing formal event styling with pony hairstyles. The contrast of a detailed braid mixed with a casual pony can be so beautiful. A helpful way to do this style is to section your hair, front to back. Be sure to focus on braiding your hair first, then pulling it apart and securing your pony last. This will be the most efficient way of achieving this.
#3: Effortlessly Put Together Cute Pony
My favorite thing about this look is how quick and simple it is to achieve but it looks like you put a lot more effort into it! This ponytail is the perfect combination of effortless while still maintaining a put together feel.
This look is great for second and third-day hair, or just when you don’t have too much time in the morning but those curls from the day before are still in tact! It’s a great way to dress up a regular ponytail. I recommend a flexible styling paste to smooth down flyaways and keep everything pliable, as well as a texture spray for the curls if needed.
#4: Messy Blonde Ponytail
This clean and messy ponytail is classic. It’s so simple yet chic and sophisticated. Oval face shapes with hair that is medium in texture and in density will look best in this style.
How To Style:
- Apply thermal protection to hair.
- Apply a serum to hair for shine.
- Gather all the hair into a clean and sleek ponytail.
- Secure with a clear elastic band.
- Tame any frizz and flyaways with a wet finishing spray.
#5: High Ponytail
A high ponytail goes with everything! It can be dressed up or dressed down depending on the outfit you wear or how you do your make-up. Oval face shapes with hair that is medium in texture and density will look best in this style.
How To Style:
- With your head upside down, gather hair with your hands into a high ponytail.
- Smooth the hair into your hands using a boar bristle dressing brush.
- Secure the ponytail using a clear elastic band.
- Take half-inch of hair from the ponytail, wrap it around its base, and secure with a bobby pin.
- Set the style with a flexible hold spray.
#6: Low Sleek Ponytail with Waves
This is a low ponytail that is tied sleek with minimal texture, yet left loose and waved on the ends.
How To Style:
- Apply a volumizing product on dry waved hair.
- With your fingers, blow dry your hair with your head upside down to create volume.
- Massage a volumizing powder into the hair to create texture and height.
- Lightly tease the hair at its roots to create volume.
- Gather all your hair into a high ponytail by raking fingers through the hair and secure with a clear elastic band.
- Set with a flexible hold finishing spray.
Recommended Products:
Pravana’s Lived In Powder Potion gives hair volume and texture.
Best Face Shape & Hair Type:
Oval face shapes with hair that is medium in texture and density will look best in this style.
#7: Loose Bubble Ash Blonde Ponytail
This wedding season, one of the most popular updos is a loose bubble ponytail. They’re not only elegant, but also versatile and comfortable to wear. Before you decide on your ponytail’s final look, be prepared to spend a little time dressing it up with loops, swoops, and bubbles to experiment until you discover the perfect style for your big day.
#8: Gorgeous Low Wrapped Ponytail for Long Hair
Did you know that the holidays are around the corner? It’s almost that time of year again to get dazzled up. A gorgeous low-wrapped ponytail for long hair would be beneficial in any element or style. It can be relaxed with a cozy sweater or elegant in a formal dress. Elevate your pony by using a strand of hair that is thick enough to wrap around and bend over the elastic to conceal it. Add a hair accessory like a comb or cute scrunchie to dress up the style from day to day.
#9: Hollywood-Inspired Bubble Ponytail
The Hollywood-inspired bubble ponytail looks so sleek yet voluminous. A few tricks to help achieve this look are to tease your hair at the crown to achieve some height. Using a boar hair, dressing brush, pay attention to the smoothness of your hair as you tie it back. Be aware of different sprays that you can use like heat protectant, silkening, and hold.
#10: Tight Ponytail with Volume
This ponytail for prom is swept back tightly on the sides and worn with the sexy volume on top.
How To Style:
- Apply a root lifter on the roots of dry hair on top of the head.
- Blow dry the hair with hair upside down until the product has dried.
- Pull all the hair into a tight ponytail except for the hair on top of the head.
- Secure it with an elastic band.
- Tease the hair on top of the head with a comb.
- Set the teasing with a firm hold spray.
- Gather all the hair into one ponytail, and secure with an elastic band.
- Set the hairstyle with a flexible hold spray.
Recommended Products:
Extra-Body Finishing Spray is a firm hold spray that is great for holding up teasing.
#11: Youthful Sexy Ponytail
Your hair tends to appear shorter when styled into a high ponytail. Here’s a cool way to avoid that!
How To Style cute ponytails:
- Gather and secure the top half of your hair into high half ponytail.
- Gather and secure the rest of the hair into a ponytail at the occipital bone.
- Set with a flexible hold spray.
Recommended Products:
Hold Me Tight gives hair a crunch-free, long-lasting hold.
Best Face Shape & Hair Type:
Oval face shapes with hair that is medium in texture and density will look best in this style.
#12: Brunette Bubble Ponytail
If you’re brunette and looking for an on-trend hairstyle, you should try a bubble ponytail! You can totally turn heads and change up your style by spending a few extra moments at home taking your standard party pony to a new level. But! Don’t forget to give your bubble pony an extra spritz of hairspray to keep your look holding all night long.
#13: Very Long Blonde Ponytail
Very long blonde ponytails are sleek and sophisticated. Ponytails are one of the best and underrated upstyles. If your hair is shorter or you want your point to be very long, you should consider extensions. Wrap a weft of hair around your ponytail, secure with bobby pins, then wrap a section of your hair around the base to hide the seams. This will give you all the length you desire. Add a shine serum like Eufora Pure Polish for added shine and sleekness.
#14: Tousled Pony
I would say the overall look is a fun, relaxed, undone ponytail! You can pull off this look. The softness of the finish is what’s key, the hair needs to be washed the previous day or use a matt-texture spray the day of.
It ideally suits straight or wavy hair. To make a wave in your hair to create movement, back brush the hair slightly at the roots. This will allow your hair to hold the volume and movement without it going flat. Then secure the pony, take a small section of hair to wrap around, straighten this out and apply a light layer of gel as you wrap the hair around the elastic. Put enough gel on your hair so that it sticks to its self, so no pins are needed. Finish by adding hairspray once you are happy with the overall result.
#15: Teased Ponytail with a Side Part
This ponytail is teased and parted in the front with just the right amount of hair left out to frame the face.
How To Style:
- Tease hair in the crown area and set with a firm hold spray.
- Gather hair into a ponytail leaving some hair out around the face.
- Set with a flexible hold spray.
Recommended Products:
Extra-Body Finishing Spray is a firm hold spray that holds teasing in place.
Best Face Shape & Hair Type:
Wider face shapes, especially square, with hair that is medium in texture and in density will look best in this style.
#16: Wrapped Pony
Switch up your go-to ponytail look by wrapping some pieces of hair around to hide your scrunchie for a tousled finish.
#17: Messy Ponytail with Blonde Balayage
An undone, textured blonde ponytail is the ideal style if you’re going for boho look. The beachy teased curls, paired with tousled twists, will give you the perfect amount of volume and take your ponytail to a more formal style. You can wear this look to any event as it will suit any outfit you choose.
#18: Lovely Braided Ponytail
Opt for a braided ponytail because it’s super versatile. You can wear a cocktail dress to a business Christmas party, and then go out and dance the night away and your hair fits both scenes! You do not have to worry about it falling.
Ask yourself these questions – “Do I like how I look with my hair back?”, “Would I be comfortable rocking a pony to this event?”, “Would I be okay with leaving face-framing pieces out?” If those answers are yes, then go for it!
#19: Topsy Tail Waves
Waves are an easy upgrade for your normal long pony hair. They’re sexy, give you volume and structure, and make you feel pretty all day long!
#20: Chignon Ponytail
This look is simple but elegant.
This look would be great for straight long hair of any color. It would be ideal for those who want to spend little time for maximum effect. I think the most interesting thing about this twisted ponytail is that without a ribbon it can be even daily hairstyle but this small accessory add some chic to it. As for styling products, only hairspray and sparkler can be used to fix it but I love to add some serum Control Freak by TIGI to remove frizz.
#21: Cute Braid Ponytail
Go for a lace braid ponytail. It’s tousled, but has a put-together look. The cutest things about this ponytail are the tiny details like the face-framing strands pulled out in the front and the hair wrapped around the ponytail holders. These are simple ways to make your hair look a little more interesting and add a little extra touch.
I think adding a simple lace braid is such a great way to take your basic pony to the next level.
In order to achieve this look, use a light hold texture spray, a root lifting powder, and a smoothing serum on the ends to add that extra shine and glow that we all want.
#22: Double Pony
Festival chic! It’s carefree and fun. This style is great for when you’re going to be outdoors and still want to look cute.
Texture spray will help fluff the twists. Wrapping a little piece of hair around the rubber bands will make this style look nicer and more mature.
#23: Knot Your Average Ponytail
This is as a knotted pony. What I love about it is how simple and beautiful it is. My favorite hairstyles are the least complicated. I also love that it picks up the color we just did.
I would recommend having a boatload of texture spray/dry shampoo on hand. Having fairly long hair helps.
Simply spray a texture spray/dry shampoo, hold hair at the base with one hand and twist/knot with the other like you are knotting the end of a shoestring. Place a hair tie at the base and tighten. Spray again. It is great for a night out when you want to look great but you don’t want hair in your face. It is a great style for lazy girls like me who want a fresh, easy look.
#24: Power Pony
My favorite thing about this modern ponytail is that it’s different than your traditional french or dutch braid.
This look is an easy, quick hairstyle for someone with long hair looking to add a little more fun to their everyday ponytail.
This style can be polished smooth for work or loose and messy for an evening out or special occasion. I love to use KMS add volume texture creme to blow dry in, then KMS playable texture to set and adjust the style.
#25: Twist of Glam
I would describe this look as a bohemian ponytail with a twist of glam! My favorite thing about this look is how wearable it is. You can totally wear this look to a wedding or a dinner. I think it’s different and really fun!
If a client was considering this look, I would tell them it’s for someone with a lot of hair that is definitely on the longer side. It is also for the girl who wants to make a fashion statement!
#26: Intricate But Simple
This look is something that seems intricate but is super simple. That’s the trick here…make everyone think it took you forever to style your hair, but in reality, it took ten minutes! My favorite part is how this look can easily go from a lunch date with girlfriends to a night out! All you need are a couple of rubber bands, some bobby pins, and a curling iron. Honestly, I think anyone with any hair type could make this work!
Start by loosely curling your hair to give it some texture. Then take half of your hair, leaving a little out on the sides, and make a ponytail. Open the top part up and flip that ponytail through the opening to create a “topsy tail.” Take the remaining hair from the sides into two braids and pull those out as much as you can to make them appear larger, then pin them across to the opposite side underneath the topsy tail. Once you pin everything into place, grab the remaining hair, gather it into a low pony, and hide the rubber band by wrapping hair around it and pinning. Finish off with a little texture spray through the ponytail and light hairspray all over.
#27: Effortless & Organic
A ponytail look is extremely simple and lets you look put together in only a few minutes! No precise partings or instructions were used. You want this to look effortless and organic! This style is great for any hair type, personality, and lifestyle. You can add a cute hair piece like I did or leave it plain. Either way looks fabulous. From start to finish, this look took me about five minutes!
This is a very simple style that doesn’t need much time or product. To prep for this style, I did some fast, loose waves with the Babyliss Pro 1 1/4-inch curling iron. I didn’t section before curling. To set the curls, I used a light hold hairspray and a spray dry shampoo for added texture. From there, I loosely gathered the hair at the nape of the neck and secured it with a hair tie. To finish, I pulled some pieces out near the face to frame her features and used my fingers to lift a few pieces in the back for added texture and volume.
#28: Dressy Casual Ponytail
I would describe this look as sleek, classy, and effortless. My favorite thing about this look is that it can be worn both dressy and casually. It will dress up any outfit with barely any effort! This is a wearable style, but as a client looking for this style, having some length is key. I only used two products to create this style. I used a strong hairspray and some of L’Oréal’s Super Dust, which is amazing for creating volume and stiffness in the hair.
#29: Fun & Sassy Ponytail
Opt for a fun sassy and cute ponytail. I love how it creates movement and a whole new look from day to night.
My favorite product to use is the working texture spray from SHOW Beauty. From start to finish, I used this product to achieve this look. I finished off with finishing spray and a dry oil for a soft sheen.
Personally, I think anyone can rock this look. It is ideal for someone that is trendy and into exploring different looks.
I did this on one of my clients that wanted something good for lunch with friends that would take her to looking glamorous that evening in a very sassy and elegant dress. She looked amazing for both occasions!
#30: Modernized Dutch Braid
Go for a modern twist on a classic look. It combines the romantic feeling of swept away hair with a fun little braided detail.
My favorite things about this braid are the loosely swept pieces that pull together in the Dutch part!
I strongly recommend Bumble and bumble Pret-a-Powder. It is a life saver! It brings just enough grip and texture to the hair to help it all stay put.
I think this is a pretty versatile look for many face shapes and hair types. This client was attending a wedding and was pairing the braided pony with an evening gown. It would work just as well for a music festival or night on the town.
It can easily be modified for girls who have fine hair by swapping the Dutch braid for a French braid.
#31: Boho Chic Pony
This is a boho chic messy low ponytail. My favorite thing about it is it’s simplicity and softness.
I always prep the hair with White Sand’s medium hold prepping spray to help the style hold all day.
I used a large barrel wand to curl, then brushed out the curls to create a soft beachy wave. Before tying the hair up into a ponytail, I teased a little through the crown to give natural body.
I finished by using Schwarzkopf Dust It powder through the ends to create that lived-in texture.
The beauty of this look is that it suits all face shapes because of the softness around the face. It works well with medium to long hair lengths.
This is a great hairstyle for a dressed up day look, for a special event, or for an understated boho bridal look.
#32: Ponytail Updo
This ponytail is perfectly imperfect. It is loose, soft, feminine and effortlessly beautiful. Oval face shapes with hair that is medium in texture and density will look best in this style. Hold Me Tight by Paul Mitchell gives hairstyles a long lasting flexible hold.
#33: Twisted Ponytail
Flip your normal ponytail inside out and use hair straightener to even out hair. Now you’re ready for a glam day event!
#34: Wrapped Pony
Adding a wrap to a ponytail is a super easy way to dress it up, especially if you don’t know how to braid. Oval face shapes with hair that is medium in texture and density will look best in this style.
How To Style:
- Part your hair down the middle.
- Starting at the parting, twisting hair backward, and adding more hair as you reach the back.
- Temporarily secure it with a clip.
- Do the same to the other side.
- Once both sides have been twisted, gather the two and secure them with a clear elastic band.
- Set with a flexible hold spray.
#35: Selena
There is something so Hollywood chic about a sleek ponytail that is parted down the middle! Soft Spray by Paul Mitchell is a wet spray that holds down any frizz and flyaways. Wider face shapes with hair that are medium in texture and density will look best in this style. Don’t limit yourself to these looks. Mix and match these cute ponytail ideas! Experiment and create different looks that are unique to you.