Here's the deal: Anytime you pull your hair straight back, it keeps people's focus at eye level.
But when you pull your hair up in a high ponytail, your hair is more on a diagonal in line with your cheekbones, drawing others' eyes upward and instantly creating the illusion of a different face shape.
Don't get me wrong, the "face lift" is subtle, but pulling your hair high up on top of your head (think right at the top of the crown of your head) does make a difference in how you look. The tighter and more severe you make the pony, the stronger the impact.
Garrett Markenson, hairstylist and owner of Reverie (a badass product line), helped Cosmopolitan.com execute these two looks above on seven different staffers. Here's how they looked with their hair pulled straight back and their hair high up:
1. Helin
2. Brooke
3. Danielle
4. Diandra
5. Becky
6. Rebecca
7. Me
See! Like I said, the results are subtle, but pulling your hair up does make your face look instantly thinner and sharper, especially from the profile. Bottom line: If you're not feeling so hot, pull your hair up in a high pony and watch your confidence skyrocket, Ariana Grande-style.
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Carly Cardellino was the beauty director at Cosmopolitan. If you follow her Instagram, then you know she'll try just about any beauty trend or treatment once (the pics of her purple hair are on IG to prove it). But her favorite part about being in beauty is finding the most effective products, and then sharing that intel with others—because who wants to spend money on stuff that doesn't work? No one, that's who. Her most recent discovery: De La Cruz Sulfur Ointment, which will change your blemish-clearing game! Hopefully through the beauty stories she writes—and the experiences she shares—you can see exactly why she's in this business.
