5 Tools to Easily Remove Hair Elastics | Hair Hack

Today’s tutorial is actually more of a “hair hack” or hair tip.  We’re sharing several different ways to get elastics out of your hair.  Years back, after I’d posted our Rubber Band Wraps hairstyle, and more recently with the Side Swept Faux-Hawk I had people comment on how hard or painful it is to remove elastics.  Because of that they tended to shy away from styles requiring lots of elastics.

So because of those concerns, I’ve put together a little video showing different ways you can remove elastics easily and that will cut down on the knots and hassle that can accompany “yanking” elastics out of hair.

 Obviously – use caution when using any of these because the goal here is just to cut the elastic out … not hair!  When using any of these tools, be sure you are only cutting the elastic and that all hair is out of the way.  That’s why I find, pulling one piece of the elastic up and out of the way works best, then I can slide my tool around that one section and snap it.  Below we talk about each tool briefly and there are links if you need to purchase one.

Baby Nail Clippers

First up, is the one I probably use the most, and that’s our baby nail clippers.  These came in a little hair & nail care kit that I got when the girls were infants.  They are just the perfect size and I love them.  I suppose regular nail clippers work, but I’ve always used the baby ones.  If you want some of these handy baby nail clippers you can buy some HERE.

Cutter Comb

Second is a “Cutter Comb” from Gimme Clips.  I’d actually shared a post about these Cutter Combs years back.  It’s got a built in razor that is great for snapping elastics.  Buy a Gimme Styles Cutter Comb (that even comes with elastics) HERE.

Nail Cutting Scissors

Third are nail cutting scissors.  If I have to use scissors, I prefer these because they aren’t pointed on the end and don’t have as much area that could accidentally cut hair.  You can get these in a little nail kit, that comes with the baby nail clippers as well as these type of nail scissors HERE.

Seam Ripper

Fourth is a seam ripper.  If you sew you likely have one of these on hand.  Obviously, exercise caution when using around small children due to the pointy end.  But just slip that pointed end under the elastic and just like when you’re unpicking something you’ve sewed, you can snap the elastic with this.  If you don’t have one, mine is a Dritz seam ripper and you can get one HERE.

Cuticle Cutter/Pusher

I’m not sure if that’s the correct name of these it is pictured below.  I used to have one of these, but it’s gone missing, so I don’t show how to use it in the video.  However, the idea is the same, in that, you’d take the elastic and put it in the little groove on the silver end to get it to cut the elastic.  You can find   cuticle cutter/pushers HERE.

So we hope that knowing that there are better ways than yanking and unwinding elastics to get them out of your hair that you’ll be able to do more hairstyles that use elastics.  These different tools will come in handy especially if you’re working on toddler that has a more tender head or if you’ve got a style that requires a lot of elastics.

Try some of our fun Rubber Band Wrap Styles HERE

Or one of our latest styles requiring plenty of elastics – the Messy Side Swept Faux-Hawk.  Then use one of the above tools to snap those elastics out quickly and easily!

We hope this post helps and that you’ll share it with your other hair loving friends!  Be sure to click on the social media buttons below to share!  Have other “tools” or ways to get elastics out of hair?  Please comment below and let us know!