Looking for an easy to do, non-damaging bun for the completely (b)un-experienced.

[Salmonberry]

So, I have a bit of a dilemma. I'm taking a dance class and we're going to be required to have long hair in a neat and tidy bun during class. I've never done one in my life, and will always wear my hair down unless I absolutely need to otherwise.

I looked through the styling articles and was completely overwhelmed by all of the complex buns and braids and combinations thereof. I'm a bit embarrassed that I'm 22 and have no idea how to do a simple bun.

I figured someone here could help me out. My hair is about 3" past shoulder length. I need it to be something I can do quickly and with minimal supplies.

(Oh, and I apologize for the pun in the title, I just had to ;))

[piffyanne]

I'd try the nauilus bun. It's a knot. A knot.

Then you wrap the remaining tail around the base, tuck in the ends, and pin/secure it into submission.

It also holds well on most hair.

It was a little tricky at first to get the hair through the loop to make the knot, but after trying it a few times I soon got the hang of it. :flower:

Best of “lock” (you make a pun, I make a WORSE pun. ;) )

[Alvrodul]

If your hair is long enough for it, I'd suggest a braided bun. Just braid your hair - start the braid where you want the bun - and twist into a bun. Tuck the tassel underneath. Fasten with good hairpins - Amish pins or bunheads pins, or hair scroos. The braiding makes it both easy to do and very secure.

[BlazingHeart]

With dancing, it's wise to get a small hairnet the color of your hair and wrap up the bun. You put it around the bun once, give it a half-twist and make another pass (kind of like wrapping a ponytail holder), keep doing that until you run out of hairnet. That helps prevent bits of hair poking out. The ballet and jazz dancers I've known did that. I always danced ballroom and latin, where having your hair down for practice is generally no big deal, you're just at your own risk for it getting caught and pulled.

~Blaze

[DancingQueen]

You can always try a sock bun, or a korean bun. I think that was the only ones I was able to do at that length (but my bunning skills have never been very good either :p )

[Salmonberry]

I never thought my hair was "short" until tonight :(

I can't do either one of those. I tried watching a tutorial on the nautilus bun and ran out of hair about halfway through.

I tried doing these two with pencils instead of sticks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb-CDSW1euU&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JhXxMY5CGY&feature=plcp

My hair just flops out with the slightest head movement. I'm thinking maybe these aren't working because my hair is too thick, as it's the same length as her's in the videos.

The class is just an introductory dance class and I haven't had a problem wearing it down until now. We're having a special guest lecturer on Wednesday from a ballet company, and the teacher want's us to look neat and professional. I'm at a loss of what to do :confused:

[battles]

I would definitely recommend a sock bun at that length. I was able to do a decent one at about shoulder.

[BlazingHeart]

When your hair is really too short to properly bun, a ponytail-anchored bun is usually the best bet. If you look through the styling articles (there's a link to articles up in the site header, and then there's a section labeled styling), there are several for short hair. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=205 was the one that immediately came to mind for me, but I know there are others if you poke around there.

Hope that helps!

~Blaze

[jacqueline101]

I do a traditional bun and cover with a snood.

[Natalia]

I too vote for the braided bun if you have the length for it. It sounds like you do but its hard to account for thickness. I danced for years and that was the most secure and kept the shorties from sticking out too much.

[Juliet's Silk]

My hair just flops out with the slightest head movement. I'm thinking maybe these aren't working because my hair is too thick, as it's the same length as her's in the videos.

It's more likely that you need more practice in anchoring the bun with sticks. It takes some time to get it right and in my experience, it's much easier done with proper hairsticks than with pencils or something. You need the stick to have an extremely smooth surface, because for a stable bun, there has to be a lot of pressure on the stick and if the surface isn't smooth enough, it will rip hairs out instead. I have never been able to use pens or anything in my hair, don't know how others do it.

For lack of practice, the easiest bun you can do is a claw clip bun. Do a ponytail, twist the hair around the base of the ponytail and secure with little claw clips all around. It's quite foolproof and secure. I still do it from time to time, when my hair is too sleek and refuses to cooperate.

ETA: For clarification: do a real ponytail base, with hair tie and all. At your length, I don't think it would be stable enough without. Same goes for buns - I'd do a ponytail for a base and then wrap the length around - makes for a much securer base.

[MinderMutsig]

At 20" all I could do bunwise was the sock bun. I could also do a peacock twist but that was pretty much it. Of those I'd go for the sock bun for your purpose. Loepsie has a youtube video of doing a rolled sockbun where you'll have no remaining hair. It looks very neat.

[torrilin]

I never thought my hair was "short" until tonight :(

I can't do either one of those. I tried watching a tutorial on the nautilus bun and ran out of hair about halfway through.

I tried doing these two with pencils instead of sticks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb-CDSW1euU&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JhXxMY5CGY&feature=plcp

My hair just flops out with the slightest head movement. I'm thinking maybe these aren't working because my hair is too thick, as it's the same length as her's in the videos.

The class is just an introductory dance class and I haven't had a problem wearing it down until now. We're having a special guest lecturer on Wednesday from a ballet company, and the teacher want's us to look neat and professional. I'm at a loss of what to do :confused:

I've never had a ballet instructor get pissy about the lack of bun when your hair is THAT short. Hell, the local university's ballet prof will happily allow ladies with classic-ish hair to wear a ponytail for class. The point where having your hair up gets super important is things like learning partnering, and I'm guessing you're nowhere near that level :).

If you're dead set on having a bun anyway, I'd try a sock bun and cover it with a hairnet. My thickness isn't all that different than yours, and I can't get a bun to stay at all without a good bit more hair than you have. I'd usually figure on another 2-4" for a secure one. The classic "ballerina bun" is usually called a cinnamon bun on here since it looks like a cinnamon roll, and it's not a super hard style... but it isn't doable on short hair. The sock bun gives a similar look, and is more short hair friendly. In your position tho, I wouldn't do a sock bun and I'd instead do a tucked French braid, mostly because I like French braids and I do them kinda often.

For a nautilus or knot bun, I'd need about 6-8" longer hair than you've got. At my current 33ish inches, I can sometimes manage a braided bun, but it doesn't look nice enough that I'd want to use it for ballet class. A lot of shorter "braided buns" are more similar to a folded braid... if you're comfy with braiding, those sorts of hairstyles can work well for a ballet class.

I would not do a hairstick bun for a ballet class. Poky things are BAD if you're doing certain floor exercises, or if you're working with a crowded barre. Plain u shaped hairpins, bobby pins (if you must - bobby pins don't work all that well for putting hair up), tiny claw clips, or Goody Spin pins tend to work better at not poking you or anyone else. The point of having your hair up for class is safety... they don't want you having accidents because you weren't aware of where your hair was, and they don't want anyone else getting startled or caught either. So putting your hair up in a way that isn't secure and will lead to poky things scattered on the dance floor can end up being worse than having your hair loose.

[Vanilla]

I'd say ponytailed cinnabun with a hairnet should work for your length. After ponytailing, coil the hair around the base of the ponytail (you may need to twist) and pin. Then place hair net over it and pin some more.

Hope this helps!

[Mindy]

My hair is a little longer yours. I still can't manage much more than a rolled sock bun. I use one of those black donut-like things from sally's. I'm sorry I can't think of what they're called right now. It takes a bit of practice, but looks very nice once you get the hang of it. An added benefit is that it can make your hair appear longer than it really is.

[Tabitha]

Take a look at the pencil bun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0k3dD4qX34

You may have enough length for it, depending on your thickness. It worked for me from about APL to waist+ but now I'm back at shoulder, I don't have enough length for it yet. It works with forks, better than with sticks actually & more secure. Something like a plain Quattro fork works well & barely shows.

[Salmonberry]

Wow, thanks for all the help everyone :)

I've got all day today to practice. Again I have no experience with buns, braids or anything really. I had my hair braided by someone else once as a kid. That's it. Everything's completely new to me.

I appreciate the quick responses from everyone.

[Perididdle]

I have hair just barely past my shoulders, and thick too. When I need to just get my hair up and sturdy, can't really do most of the buns people with longer hair can do...so I just made one up. xD

I put my hair up in a ponytail, then separate the length in two. I take one section and twist it so it starts to coil, and then just sort of wrap it around the ponytail -- sometimes I go away from the other section, sometimes I loop around it, but I haven't found one to work better than the other. I hold that in place and do the same with the other section, but either go in the opposite direction (e.g., clockwise if the other was wrapped counter-clockwise), or start the twist on the other side of the ponytail (e.g., if the first section wrapped starting at the top/12 o'clock, I twist the second section so it starts at the bottom/6 o'clock). Once everything is wrapped, I wrap another elastic around the middle/bottom. It'll mostly catch the ends and hold everything in place.

It's not pretty, but it won't go anywhere. It might take a try or two, but it works for me! I hope the directions made sense at all...

[Salmonberry]

Update: So I tried the sock bun and it's ridiculously difficult to do. She makes it look so easy in that video. My hair literally springs out in bits. I guess I just realized this, but my hair is really smooth and springy, it doesn't like being put into any kind of shape.

I'm going to try perididdle's method and report back.

[thatcrazychick]

Here's the bun I always did at horse shows, which also required tidy little buns (works great for shoulder length hair):

You will need
1 hair elastic
1 flat hair barrette
1 hair net

1. Pull your hair back in a smooth, low ponytail. If you have flyaways, use hairspray, aloe gel, whatever your preference to tame them.

2. Grab the ponytail and lift it up and over your head. To give you an idea, if you did it right the ends of your hair will be at the front of your hair like bangs.

3. Just above the elastic, clip the ponytail to the hair against your head, using the barrette. I normally leave the clip 1.5-2" above the elastic, but you might want it closer. Release the rest of your hair, and smooth it down to fold neatly over the barrette.

4. Take the hair net out of its package and untangle it. Twist to form an 8, and fold the hair net in half. Place the hair net around the hair and barrette, starting at the top of the bun.

5. What should happen is as you pull the hair net down and around, the ends of your hair will flip under to form a neat, square bun. Use bobby pins to secure as needed.



Another option, do a cinnamon bun where you just twist your hair til it coils round the base. Hold the bun with one hand, have the end flat against your head and pull the elastic around, twist, then bring back but not all the way. Let the 1/2 twist of the elastic cross the bun, kinda "strapping" it all together. Not quite as pretty as other buns, but it definitely holds.

Otherwise, a nice french braid is always good.

[torrilin]

Update: So I tried the sock bun and it's ridiculously difficult to do. She makes it look so easy in that video. My hair literally springs out in bits. I guess I just realized this, but my hair is really smooth and springy, it doesn't like being put into any kind of shape.

I'm going to try perididdle's method and report back.

I haven't tried a rolled sock bun, but the "regular" kind involves smoothing your hair over the donut shape, then trapping the ends. It should be relatively easy to get it smooth with the help of a hairnet... the point of the hairnet is to trap the hairs that stick out. Hair gel may also help, if you're being super OCD about sticky-outy bits.

Don't feel bad too, this is *not* something most of us learnt in a day. I've literally braided my hair and done buns thousands and thousands of times (face it, I'm 34 years old, and I've been able to braid and bun my own hair since about 17... and I haven't had hair too short to put up for more than about 2 years out of that time...). I usually figure on it taking 10-20 tries before I get a new hairstyle down, and it can take a lot more than that.

[Vrindi]

After a decade of classical ballet, I can tell you with certainty that all it takes is a little practice. Hair nets are AWESOME, as are the U-shaped hair pins, not bobby pins. Never dance with hair sticks. They're not secure and not safe. If your hair is too thick for a cinnamon bun, then split it into sections. Or you could try something super cute and do two pig-tail buns. Those are acceptable for class too. If you're still totally lost, ask one of the other girls in your class for help. There is bound to be someone who can walk you through it. Also, don't stress too much over the hair. Just enjoy the dancing! ;)

[Salmonberry]

I haven't tried a rolled sock bun, but the "regular" kind involves smoothing your hair over the donut shape, then trapping the ends. It should be relatively easy to get it smooth with the help of a hairnet... the point of the hairnet is to trap the hairs that stick out. Hair gel may also help, if you're being super OCD about sticky-outy bits.

I just tried this and I think this is the way I'm going to go. I dealt with the bits sticking out with bobby pins. Fortunately I'm only going to have to do this 3 times. That's how many classes we're having this special guest lecturer. I think the teacher just wants us to look perfect and not embarrass her. Otherwise it's been pretty laid back until now. I was able to have my hair down and everything.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

[tiny squirrel]

How about a simple braided tuck? or a braided bun with a claw clip? Just do a simple low braid, and then either tuck the end under or finagle into a ballish type thing. Then clip it with a medium claw clip (be sure to use the more roundish ones because the extra depth means you can grab more bun and scalp hair for better hold). I usually french braid, but if you don't know how to do that, a regular three strand english braid will work.