While the beauty dos and don’ts of New York Fashion Week may seem extreme at a glance — ICYMI: electric eyeshadows, colored brows, down-to-there (and up-to-there) braids and *face* jewelry are all trending — there are also tons of basic tricks to be learned that can alter your everyday hair and makeup routines for the better. Our favorite real-girl beauty hack so far comes from French hairstylist Odile Gilbert, who revealed to The Cut where to buy “the best” hair elastics — you know, ones that actually don’t stretch out or snag. Surprise, they don’t come from your local drugstore, but they do ring in at drugstore prices.
Gilbert gets her stash of go-to hair ties exclusively from Japan, citing that they take top rank in her hair kit because “Japan is very perfectionist with details.” She used clear Blax brand elastics to create the knotted buns seen on models at Jason Wu (without any extra help from bobby pins), and we can only imagine the joy on the models’ faces while they took out those intricate twists with no tugging, pulling or yanking necessary (and all in one fell swoop). Not only are they easy on your strands, but their sheerness makes the twisted updos look like they’re floating since there’s no visible band in sight — a crucial detail if you’re going for an ultra minimalist look with your ponytail, buns or braids.
The Cut tracked down the same clear elastics on Amazon, and they retail for less than $5. You might just want to toss all the hair ties you own immediately, and in the meantime come up with a creative game plan to keep track of these near-invisible accessories.
Have you found the *perfect* hair ties? Tell us what brands you swear by in the comments below.
(h/t The Cut, photo via @almondavenueuk)