Did Zeniba's hair tie help Chihiro in any way?


Nearing the end of _Spirited Away_ , Zeniba weaves and gifts Chihiro a hair
tie and claims that it will protect her.

![A screenshot of Zeniba giving Chihiro a hair
tie](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2h510l.jpg)

Is there any indication that this (presumably magical) hair tie played any
useful role during the rest of the movie?




There is a scene towards the end where Haku warns Chihiro to never look back
until she reaches the outer end of the tunnel. When she's about to enter the
tunnel, she stopped for a while and started turning her head around but
stopped at the very last moment. At the same time the hair tie sparkled. Its a
very subtle scene.

[![turn head
gif](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HRvhw.gif)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HRvhw.gif)

Now Haku did not tell her the reason why. But if you are familiar with Asian
cultures, looking back would have trapped Chihiro in the spirit world forever.

Yes, the hair tie did save her. At least in my interpretation.

