someone asked me how I style my ponies’ hair, and the opportunity to talk about my hobby is a godsend to my adhd so here we go! (long post)
first things first, you’re going to want your pony’s hair to be smooth, combed, and tangle & frizz-free. see my tutorial here on how to de-frizz.
Silver Lining before and after a de-frizzing session.
I have a few different simple & easy styles anyone can do with at most a few cheap supplies. some of these you won’t need anything but a regular comb for, but some helpful supplies are:
-combs in varying sizes (metal combs and flea combs work the best for me, but mlp brushes are also helpful!)
-scissors (to cut the straws)
-bobby pins (CAREFUL— some bobby pins will rust when wet and that can leave residue on your pony!!)
the different hair styles we will be exploring in ascending complexity are:
-fix up as much frizz and tangles as possible before styling! if your pony has stubborn frizz, curls are a good option to help hide it.
-styling works best with wetted hair. you may need to re-wet the hair several times as you work. be careful around the base of the tail— if water gets on the metal washer inside the butt, it can rust which is a big hassle to clean.
-I like to use a flat iron on the roots of my ponies’ hair, even if I’m not straightening it, because it helps it lay flat once dry. ALWAYS be cautious when using heat instruments with nylon hair. too hot and it can MELT! test out different heats on a pony you don’t care too much about before moving on to more important projects.
-once your pony is styled, I suggest leaving them to dry overnight or, if it’s cold or humid out, for 24 hours.
-reuse your supplies! you will be cutting up single-use plastics and disposable paper towels for this that you ABSOLUTELY can use over and over again once dry. I hardly use new paper towels for my ponies because I save the strips from previous styles!
Using a flat iron to press down Silver Lining’s roots so they lay flat once dry.
this one is super duper simple and is especially great for ponies posed with their head cocked to the side, like the G3 Diva or Sunny Daze poses. all you do is separate the hair into two sections at the ear, combing one part over the ear and on one side of the face with the other part behind the ear on the other side. We’ll also use this two-part separation in the rest of these styles.
Rainbow Swirl and Cotton Candy both with split parts. Rainbow Swirl has the large part behind her body, and Cotton Candy has the large part in front of her body.
you can also combine this with any of the other methods; as you can see, I used the leg curl for rainbow swirl’s larger section, while I left cotton candy’s hair straight.
Rainbow Swirl, Pursey Pink, Waterfire
This style is simple but graceful, and is my favorite ‘lazy’ hairstyle. It works great for any pony with long enough hair. You can technically do this with nothing but a comb if your pony’s legs are close enough together, but it helps to have paper towels and hairbands or clips for ponies with a wider stance.
Part the hair at the ears and lay one piece in front, one piece behind. Comb the hair smooth and wrap it around the far front leg, curling towards the face.
Top view of G3 Fluttershy with her hair parted, and a non-display side view of the hair wrapped around her leg. Since there is no paper towel around it, the ends of the hair stick out straight.
Fluttershy’s legs are close enough together that the hair stays wrapped, but as you can see the ends stick out. Luckily we can use paper towels to keep the hair in place.
For the tail, comb it smooth and wrap around the display-side hind leg curling towards the face. You may also choose to use a paper towel here, and you may need to use a hairband or a clip to keep the towel in place. I did not need a paper towel because her legs held the tail firmly in place without any hair sticking out.
Fluttershy with her mane wrapped around her non-display front leg, secured with a strip of paper towel, and her tail wrapped around her display leg. The tail is held in place by her legs.
Twilight Twinkle, Bon Bon, Rarity
This style can look REALLY cute! I find it works best on small ponies, like G4s, as on larger ponies the scale can look a bit off and too stiff. You will need plastic drinking straws, scissors, paper towels, and a fastener like bobby pins, hair ties, or clips. This and the large curl may take some patience to keep the hair smooth and in place before you fasten it, but it is well worth it.
Part the hair at the ear. I prefer to curl the mane in two sections and the tail in one. Which direction you curl it is up to you.
One section at a time, wrap the hair around a plastic straw. Holding it in place, snip the excess straw length, leaving a little more than you need. Take extra care to make sure you aren’t snipping any pony hair. Keep the hair steady, and wrap a strip of paper towel around the hair, making sure to follow the direction of the curl. Fasten with your preferred method, but if you use anything metal, like bobby pins, don’t let them touch the hair directly. Repeat with each section and you’re done!
Berry Cherry with her hair curled around plastic straws and wrapped in paper towel strips. The mane curls are secured with bobby pins, and the tail is secured with a plastic hair clip.
(Use as much of the straw as possible— one straw makes for two to three curlers depending on your pony’s hair length.)
Starlight Glimmer, Aurora Mist, Berries ‘N Cherries
Want a curl that isn’t so tight for your larger ponies? Have a SLH with locks for days? The solution is: boba straws! These work just like the mini curls on a larger scale, so almost all you need to do is follow the previous instructions with your large straw.
Wrapping Silver Lining’s tail around a boba straw.
Since boba straws are so big, they may be longer than your pony’s legs. You can work with this by either propping your pony atop something so the straws can dangle, or by angling them at a slant. Hair ties are great for holding hair in more precise positions!
Front and back views of Silver Lining with her long hair curled around three sections of boba straw, wrapped in paper towel strips, and secured with a mixture of bobby pins and hair ties.
This is actually my first time trying boba straws, so I don’t have other examples to show, but I am BEYOND happy with the result!!!! I’m going to use this look on my Styling Size Cadance so keep an eye out for that!
Here are all of the finished looks!
Front and back views of Fluttershy, Cotton Candy, Berry Cherry, and Silver Lining displaying the Leg Curl, Split Part, Mini Curl, and Large Curl styles respectively.
And there you have it! Four simple hairstyles for your ponies. I also encourage experimentation with mixtures of these and your own styles. I hope this guide is a helpful reference!
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