Orthodontic Elastics (Used in Place of Rubber Bands) REVIEW

Orthodontic Elastics 1/4" Medium

I had bought these from Doctored Locks online and this is what i would call an accidental find and then a curious buy. 

Product Description

These clear little beauties are just the ticket for finishing double ended dreadlocks or open ended braids.

• 100 to a pack
• Super stretchy design

Ortho Bands are very hard to break, unlike most of the clear bands on the market!! They are slightly smaller than dime size when un-stretched. They have a slight yellow color to them because of the high tech polymers that give them a power packed stretch.

Our Review

Color: Transparent yellow
Elasticity/size: Medium amount of stretch, would fit perfect with no stretch around a pencil
Cost: $1.95 per 100 in a pack

I bet your wondering if these are the same as the bands for braces and YES they are. Back a while ago i was browsing you tube for some St. Patricks day styles and i found this video tutorial and she used these to complete the style. I was intrigued because before i seen this video i had no idea that these were used or could be used in hair.  I had wanted to get these for a while but i was near positive i couldn't find them locally...




I used to have braces years ago so i knew all about these and the tight stretch and the smallness of them. I must note right off bat that these are NOT dime size in diameter they are actually quite a bit smaller. 

Please excuse the blurry pic, i just cant seem to ever buy a good camera! GRR But you get the idea and clearly the bands are not dime size. I don't see the wording being a problem nor would it deter me from buying these again. I am a picky buyer and strangely i didn't even look at the description prior to buying like i usually do. I was browsing the net before i wrote this review and i seen that lots of people were commenting on the size of the bands being "exaggerated".

These bands are said to be wonderful for braids, dreads, and teeth... Ive read that these are also great for maintaining long dread's and keeping the hair locked tightly. I started using these right away and my first style idea that i attempted using these in were pig tails. this was an epic fail, because yes Diva R has thin hair BUT not thin enough for a band to hold half of her hair in it. So the band didn't snap, strangely, as i was trying to stretch it over three times. I thought hmmmm OK so obviously the hair amount has to be smaller per band.

I reviewed that You Tube video and seen that she used a smaller amount of hair and it worked perfect and she could even wrap it around multiple times. So i tried it on the ends of Diva R's most recent freestyle cornrow style... I was hoping these would secure beads nicely...

So i started stretching these for kicks sake to see how much play i could get out of them and i found that i couldn't stretch them more than 3 inches. BUT I wrapped each end braid with beads secured on and was amazed at the amount of wrapping i was able to do on each braid. These seriously have a great hold and a decent stretch i was able to securely hold 9 beads on each braid with NONE falling, snapping or coming loose due to rubber band failure... I was so surprised and utterly thrilled with the fact that these NEVER snap and there is no such thing as stretching these beyond their limits unless you use scissors of course or brutal force. Usually i have to replace beads on her braids throughout the day because the rubber bands will snap... So i ALWAYS have a beader and rubber bands in my purse just in case!

I may have to put the beader back in our hair case at home though! Because these have lasted through even Little Bro Z ever so fiercely pulling on sister Diva R's hair as i catch him trying to do from time to time sneekily! I don't know what it is but he must be fascinated with the beads, he don't understand THAT HURTS! ;p Its all a learning process.

These have worked wonders for us! I LOVE these! They aren't to be used as ponytail substitutes though because they will not wrap lots of times and the thicker the hair the less they will wrap around it. So in case you have thicker hair and are thinking on getting these make sure you use smaller groups of hair per band.

These are HAIR friendly as far as we can tell. Ive used these in many ways many times and they've passed every test and NOTHING can break these out of the hair, not even natural hair products which snap EVERY other kind of band.

I am very pleased with these and i will be buying more in place of the normal rubber bands that we have been using for years. They are a little more pricey but you can buy them in bigger quantities from other sites.

I have to shout out Doctored Locks because the personal customer service i received was amazing! I called to ask some questions (LOTS OF QUESTIONS) because i was searching for 5 specific colors and texture of synthetic hair and i was having NO luck until i found their website.  The employee was amazingly nice and even hand picked all of the specificKanekalon hair and get one Braid Now brand and then a Black N Gold brand of the SAME type of hair they will ALWAYS BE DIFFERENT no matter what the package says the hair will always be different in either texture, length, capabilities or overall quality.

With this all being said i had ordered after 5:00p and it arrived from Washington to my door step two days later! Shipping was very reasonable and i was impressed that i actually received EXACTLY the type of hair i requested and whats better yet the persons who answered spoke English and had hair knowledge! I LOVE Doctored Locks! YAY for a great experience!


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Diva R's Mommy-Kim