Mine won't keep barretts in, but I have finally gotten them to leave in bands. I got them use to to them by putting those soft little girl/baby ponytails in, the ones that kind of look like teri cloth(not the latex or rubber). I have found they are easier on the hair. When we go to shows or somewhere special I use latex. Anyway I put those little girl ones in and make them fairly tight so that they won't come off when they rub. After a little while they give up, then when you do go to put a bow in they are use to it and won't rub. I know you can't see this very well but Titan has one in here so you can kind of tell what they are(he's the one with a band on
).