TikTok's Double Ponytail Hack Helped Me Perfect the Slick Bun on Fine Hair

I know I can't be alone in thinking that slick-back buns are really hard to do. Yes, I have a TikTok account and I see how easy it is for some people online, but whenever I get myself in front of the mirror and try it, it's always a struggle. I'm not sure if it's because I have fine hair or if my head just wasn't made for the popular style, but something always goes awry. I can never fully get the bumps out and the look is never snatched enough. Five minutes into styling it, I feel like I just did a 45-minute Tracy Anderson arm workout.

I've tested countless hair hacks and tried hundreds of different products, but my hair just never looks as good as the examples I see online. That is, until I stumbled across TikTok's viral double ponytail hack.

I first saw the hack when scrolling my FYP, as one does late at night when they can't sleep. User Leslie Catherine showcased how to get the perfect slick-back hairstyle using two ponytails instead of one. It essentially involved putting your hair in what looked like two pigtails, which seemed easy enough, but all of the examples I found online were on thick hair. Still, I decided to give it a shot on my thin hair to see if it would work.

I started by making my hair a little bit damp. From there, I added in a little bit of the Biotera Styling Mousse ($12). I love this product because it isn't too heavy or sticky, and it smells amazing. From there, I divided my hair into two parts straight down the middle and used my Amazon Diane Boar Bristle Brush ($7) to brush everything back.

Biotera Styling Mousse

From

$12

$12 at Amazon

Amazon Diane Boar Bristle Brush

From

$7

$7 at Amazon

Pro tip: I recently got this brush, and it's made a huge difference in styling my hair. I had my hair done by Andrew Fitzsimons last year, and he told me that if I wanted it to be smooth, I needed to use a brush with dense bristles that were all the same length. Unsurprisingly, he was right!

I started out by focusing on the right side of my hair and getting that half into a smooth ponytail without any bumps. Working with a smaller section of hair made it a lot easier, and I was shocked to find that I really didn't have any issue pulling everything back. After securing one section with an elastic, I started working on the left side of my hair, which was just as easy. After both sides were secure, I moved on to the next step of the hack: tying both of those ponytails into a knot and twisting the hair around.

I won't lie — I didn't love the way my hair looked twisted in the knot initially, and it took a little finessing to get it right, but in the end, I was happy with how it looked after securing it with another thin hair tie. To finish, I used my Emi Jay Angelstick ($38) to lay down any flyaways.

Emi Jay Angelstick

From

$38

$38 at Sephora

The final verdict? TikTok's double ponytail slick-back hack is a win in my book. Ever since testing it for the first time, it's been my go-to hack for whenever my hair is dirty and needs to be put up. If you've been struggling with nailing the perfect slick-back bun, give this a try. It's only one extra step, and the results are completely worth it.

Renee Rodriguez (she/her) is a staff writer and social producer for PS. She writes across all verticals, but her main areas of expertise focus on fashion and beauty content with an emphasis on reviews and editor experiments. She also produces social content for the PS TikTok and Instagram accounts.