The $1 Tool That Makes Every Ponytail Better

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Call it the fashion-week paradox: whenever I pull my hair back, a few flyaway strands manage to escape. Yet on the runways, models saunter along in ponytails and braids that look sleek and chic. What do they have that I don’t have? Aside from unusually good genes, youth, symmetrical facial features, a lucrative gig that involves jetting around the world…

Oh, right: the best hairstylists in the business. Backstage at Donna Karan Wednesday, lead stylist Eugene Souleiman misted Wella Stay Firm Finishing Spray on a clean makeup brush before gliding it over models’ hair. “The bristles lay on top of the hair, so it distributes a fine amount of product,” he explained. “The technique locked every flyaway in place without weighing it down, ensuring a smooth finish for a four-strand braid.”

(You can use any hairspray, the magic's in the makeup brush.)

Then, once the hair was styled, Souleiman clipped paper napkins around the braid to protect strands while models were in makeup. By the time the models, including Kendall Jenner, hit the runway, not a hair was out of place. I’m picking up an inexpensive face brush (like this one from e.l.f., which is only a dollar) immediately. I may not have a modeling contract, but an even ponytail? Now that will be mine.