It’s Day One of my 30 days – 30 ways hair challenge, and while I won’t be posting every day about “all things hair,” I thought I would ease us into a very simple style that has fabulous options.

My goal for this month is to encourage us to get out of our hair rut. Many of you shared that you just can’t get away from rocking the ponytail, and that it’s just so easy to fall back on it every day. (Raising my hand right here.)

Guess what, in less than 30 seconds, we can invert our traditional pony tail and then even take it a step further to achieve a more glamorous look if we choose.

Yes, I am channeling my inner 1990’s when a product came out called the Topsy Tail. It was one of those products everyone assumed they needed, when in actuality, for these styles; all that is necessary is our pointer finger. (Although for $5, I may see if they still sell them. 🙂

Let’s start with the easiest five second hair do ever.

An inverted pony tail works well for long hair, but it is also a great option for shorter hair that can squeak out a ponytail of any length.

Begin with a traditional ponytail. We all know how to do that. I choose to do a low pony tail since it seems a bit more chic. Create a small opening at the crown and then  pull the hair through the hole. Voila, you are finished.

You may remember doing that as a child and just forgot about it, but I love to change my pony tail up. I walked around my moms group this week and started inverting my friends’ pony tails. (Yes, I was being weird like that. ;))

It’s easy to cover the pony tail holder with your hair, but this is also a great look to add a fun hair accessory to accent the back.
There’s no need to ever wear a regular pony tail,  when in literally a few seconds you can put a fun twist on the traditional look.


A more glamorous twist to the inverted pony tail is to pull the low pony to the side before you invert it.

My daughter came in from outside with a fun messy bun in her hair, and I told her she needed to give me 30 seconds of her time. 🙂

Without a comb or brush, I just pulled her hair into a side pony tail and pulled the hair through, as shown above.

Isn’t it beautiful?  Anyone with bobbed/shoulder length hair can do this. If I was wearing this for a more formal event, I would take a few additional minutes and add some ringlet curls to the hair that is left hanging down.

With just a touch of the curling iron, it would create a polished and elegant look in just minutes.

Since I had a “semi” willing subject, I decided to see what else I could do in thirty seconds with a partial ponytail and it was so fun.

The first time I pulled it all the way through for a cute twist (top photos) and in the second look, I pulled it through only part way and created a semi bun look. This is a casual summer style that I am going to enjoy.

Once we get our creative juices going, I think we’ll realize that fixing our hair in fun, yet easy styles is going to make this 30 Day – 30 Way Hair Challenge something we won’t forget.

And yes, we’re starting really basic, so step away from the computer and go try it out. 🙂

Let me know how it turned out.