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My New Braided Ponytail Is Proof Of The Power Of Protective Styles

A drastic hair change isn't limited to a big chop or dyeing your strands platinum blonde. Protective styles are a great option if you want to test a new look while taking a break from having to style your hair daily. In the latest Hair Me Out episode, Angelique Waller was reminded of the power of protective styles with a cute braided ponytail.

"When I was younger, my mom used to braid my hair. Unfortunately, she passed away when I was 13," Waller explains. "Once I became an adult, I stopped getting my hair cornrowed or plaited, and so being able to get that again as an adult would be so dope."

Waller sat in pro stylist Sabrina Porsche's chair to help bring her protective style wishes to life. Porsche, who specializes in various styles from editorial to red carpet and braids, decided to give Waller a side-parted braided ponytail.

Porsche started by lightly blowing out Waller's natural curls to stretch them for braiding. "I am braiding to the back of her head and clamping [the hair] it before starting the next braid," she explains. To keep her client's hair neat and shiny, Porsche used Shine N' Jam Magic Fingers gel throughout her hair. Once all of her braids met at the nape of her neck, Waller gathered the braids into a ponytail, then proceeded to merge them into one larger plait that extended down to Waller's waist (think Sasha Fierce). Porsche used foam wrapping mousse to keep the braids neat and shiny.

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How to Nail the Bubble Ponytail Trend

We got some expert tips for how to pull off the style, even if your hair isn't naturally voluminous.

The best kind of TikTok beauty trend is one that's easy to recreate, and the platform's obsession with bubble ponytails fits the bill. Now, the bubble ponytail has been around for a while, but lately, all the folks on #hairtok seem to have rediscovered the style, flooding our "For You" pages with different versions. If you ask us, the reason why people love the look so much is not only because it's easy to do, but it's also something that works on a wide variety of hair textures. Even some of our editors have tried the look on for size.

You can get the look using your own hair or grabbing some extensions of any texture. If you've got fine, straighter hair, come armed with some products that will give your strands a bit more grit. "The secret to getting the perfect bubble without it looking flat is texturizing or volumizing sprays," says Daniel Koye, New Jersey-based hairstylist and wig maker. You can start by grabbing your favorite dry shampoo or one of Koye's picks, Schwarzkopf OSiS+ Texture Craft. We like to use the Best of Beauty-winning Redken Deep Clean Dry Shampoo. 

After you've applied your texturizing products to the lengths of your hair, Pull your hair into a high ponytail and spray it. Then, using a brush, tease your loose hair. The brush makes the tease bigger and softer than if you were to use a comb, according to Koye. "Go down a couple of inches [from the base of the ponytail] and tease with your brush and hairspray so it holds, then gently smooth over the teasing and put another elastic underneath the teased section," he explains. "You can gently pull some pieces up to make the bubble bigger and give it a piecey look." If you've got a kinkier hair texture, hairstylist Susy Oludele previously suggested to Allure to start by grabbing your favorite gel to slick down the base. She favors Shine N' Jam Edge Magic, but a product like African Pride's Black Castor Miracle Extra Hold Gel, which won a 2019 Best of Beauty award, works too.

Another super popular way to create a bubble ponytail is with the help of extensions. (Kinky-coily textures will want to achieve this with Marley hair.) Spread out your pony like a fan, then take the extensions and secure in the middle with an elastic. Once your hair is in place, you can start creating the bubbles.