Ruka Hair review: We tried the sustainable ponytails for afro hair

Dec 08, 2023

The net in these drawstring ponytails is about the size of a child's fist, so, if you have thick, long hair, you’re likely going to have to tuck your natural hair into a bun before applying the drawstring. We were pleasantly surprised to feel how soft the texture of this synthetic hair was. At first touch and when we ran our fingers through the hair, it did not shed. And the blow-dried texture matched our natural stretched-out hair.

The drawstring is very well designed – we were able to tightly secure it to a comfortable level, and when we fervently flipped our hair to test for security, it did not shift position. However, the length of this hair (22in) meant it is more prone to get tangled but only ever so slightly – when we took off the ponytail, it was easy to untangle with our fingers alone, with only minor shedding.

After this, we applied jojoba oil to add extra shine to the ponytail and, although, by the end of the day, it had evaporated a little, there was still some shine left.

When washing/rinsing the hair (with water alone), we were impressed with how much it felt like human hair – it didn't feel stiff or hard. We did notice the hair was a little easier to shed when wet, which is understandable, as it is in a more delicate state, but this was only minor.

We then applied heat protection spray on the hair before blow drying it. Once again, it acted like human hair and absorbed the heat well, reverting back to the soft blow-dried state in which it arrived.