6 Tips To Achieving A Slick and Sleek Natural Ponytail With Type 4 Hair

There’s nothing like an old school ponytail; it can be casual or elegant, sexy or flirty, or downright messy! Whatever the case may be, ponytails are one of the best go-to hairstyles for any occasion.

If you have a crazy multi-textured hair type like mine, then you know all about the occasional struggle to get your hair into a smooth and tamed ponytail. It can be a frustrating situation, but don’t fret! I have 6 tips to help you achieve a slick and sleek natural ponytail with your type 4 hair!

Wash/Cleanse Beforehand

Unless you just blow dried or flat ironed your hair, sleek ponytails won’t be as slick as possible on “old” hair because of potential buildup. Make sure you either wash your hair or cleanse your scalp beforehand.

If you don’t feel like going through a full blown wash day just to put your hair in a ponytail, do a quick root cleanse or scalp exfoliation.

Grab a water spray bottle, spritz your scalp and roots, lather in your favorite shampoo or cleanse, and rinse with a cup or saturated cloth; it’s a fast way to get all of the benefits of cleansing without having to go through the full routine.

Detangle and Stretch

Type 4 textured hair can have really defined curls to super tight coils, so often times it is prone to shrinkage more than any other texture. So if you want a nice, full and long ponytail, you’ll have to finger detangle and stretch.

Detangling is needed so you don’t run into any problems when applying gel or styling, but stretching is optional. I personally stretch my hair before ponytails because I have far too much shrinkage and I’d like to show off my length.

Other times, I stretch my hair because I’m going for a less defined and condensed ponytail and my blow drying method gives me the “poof” I’m looking for.

Moisturize, then Gel Down

Hair gel can get hard and it can be a little drying which isn’t going to work for any hair texture when trying to achieve a sleek hairstyle. If you are worrying about your hair getting crunchy or hard, mix a little bit of oil (like coconut* or olive oil*) into your gel or simply buy a styling product that already has oil in the formula.

Moisturizing your hair before slathering it in gel will not only keep your hair properly hydrated but it will actually aid in laying your hair down flatter. For the best results, use a heavy product like a moisturizing cream or butter.

Do not worry if your hair is super white or creamy looking after you put it in the ponytail, it’ll go away after your sets and dries!

Set Hair With A Scarf

The key to having a super slick ponytail is laying it down flat! And one of the oldest tricks in the book is setting our hair with a silk scarf* for as long as possible.

Take a large scarf, fold it in half, and wrap it around your head once or twice, and tie it in the front of your head. For the best results, sleep on it overnight; but if you’re pressed for time, 10-15 minutes will do the trick.

Make sure you don’t tie the scarf too tight or behind your hairline, or else it’ll leave oddly placed lines in your hair and not fully press down your edges.

Finish With A Shine Spray

Your hair may be super slicked back but it’s not sleek until it has that natural looking shine. Spraying a thin layer of non-mineral oil* hair sheen or rubbing a light oil/pomade between your hands and smoothing it over your ponytail will do the trick.

Don’t add too much shine or it’ll come off way more glossy than you intended. If you’re worried about going overboard, gradually add product to your hair until you reach your desired shine.

Try Clip Ons Or Kanekalon

Now that all that slicking and laying is done, you’re left with the actual ponytail. Depending on how you detangled or if you stretched, your ponytail may be super defined or in a puff.

Personally, I prefer my ponytails to be super straight but sometimes it’s a hassle because I am strictly anti-heat. So what’s the solution? Clip ons and Kankelon braid hair!

For a more natural look, I take perm or blow out textured clip ins* and clip them at the base of my ponytail–covering the clips with hair bands or scrunchies. If you’re worried about your hair showing, bobby pin it up into your scrunchie and it should be completely hidden.

If you use kanekalon or any other braid hair, put your real hair into a small bun, cuff the extensions* around the bun, place a sturdy hair tie around it, and then spread it out into a ponytail so it’ll conceal the bun.

Voila! You have your sexy, slick, and sleek ponytail!