Ponytails
High, low, side and bubble ponytails, and the pigtails. 3 hairstyles on EveryHairstyle so far.
A ponytail gathers the hair and ties it so the length hangs free behind, like the tail of a pony. It is one of the quickest and most practical hairstyles, worn for sport, work and school, and the basis of many buns and updos. Pigtails split the hair into two. Long tails also have a history as rules: the Manchu queue of Qing China and the clubbed tails of 18th-century soldiers.
High, low and in between
The height of a ponytail changes its look. A high ponytail at the crown is sporty and lifts the face; a low ponytail at the nape is quiet and formal; a side ponytail falls over one shoulder. The sleek ponytail is brushed flat with gel. The bubble ponytail adds bands down the length so the hair puffs out between them. Pigtails, called bunches in Britain and twintails in Japan, are worn by children and in pop fashion.
Tails in history
Men in 18th-century Europe often tied their hair, or their wig, in a queue at the back of the neck, and many armies required soldiers to wear powdered, tied hair until the early 19th century; the British Army dropped the queue in 1808. In China the Qing ordered Han men to wear the Manchu queue, a long braid behind a shaved forehead, from 1645 until 1912. The word ponytail came into wide use in the 1950s.
Famous ponytail hairstyles
Still to be written: Croydon facelift.
Further reading
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Queue: Lai Afong, Public domain, source
- Pigtails: Ykstyyppi123, CC BY-SA 4.0, source