Easy bun for straight, fine hair?

[ian]

Hello all,

My wife's hair is dead straight, quite fine, and about to the bottom of her shoulderblades. I plait (braid) it for her successfully but whenever I try buns, they just fall out. :-(

So out of the multitude of buns out there, can someone suggest one that would be most suitable for her hair type? I guess that the most important thing is that it's easy to learn to make one that will stay secure for most of the day. If there are some instructions from the point of view of doing it on someone else, that would be a bonus.

Oh yes, and what would be the best thing to secure with? And how do you secure it? I'm completely mystified as to how you all manage to hold up a bun with a stick....

Thanks,

Ian

[burns_erin]

I have straight fine hair and the easiest way for me to make a bun is by using 2 scrunchies (The elastics covered with a bigger "pouf" of fabric). I put my hair in a ponytail with one scrunchy. Then I twist the ponytail and wrap it around and under the scrunchy. Then I take the second scrunchy and wrap it around the whole thing, trying to do so at least twice, but I have a ton of hair so some scrunchies will only go once.

[Periwinkle]

Well, probably the easiest place to start is a cinnabun: gather the hair into a ponytail and twist it. It'll eventually want to start twisting into a spiral; let it. When it's all twisted round into a bun, secure it however you like.

To start with, you'll find it makes things a lot easier to ponytail her hair first. It gives it a lot of extra hold and will make it far easier to use things like hairsticks too.

Ideas for securing it:

-Another scrunchie or elastic. Once you've made the bun, just keep wrapping the elastic/scrunchie over it. A bit like securing a ponytail, only with a bun. It'll hold fine like that, but if she feels like it's unstable or if it sticks out a lot, you might want to use some pins (I like wavelength pins for this) to hold it flatter to her head. She's not so likely to have that problem with finer hair, though.

-Tiny little claw clips. Make the bun, then stick them all round the edges, making sure you grab some of the bun and some of the hair at the scalp as well. It should hold quite well: I use 6 little clips to hold up my ultra-thick BSL-length hair and it stays all day.

-Hairsticks! They're actually very easy once you get the hang of them.

First of all, I really recommend ponytailing first when you just start using sticks.

Twist the hair into a bun like I described. You might be able to secure it straight away, but I always flatten the ends of the hair underneath the bun, between the bun and my head. This makes it much easier to secure. You could use clips/pins to hold the ends instead - I do that quite a lot too.

Take the stick and point it directly at your wife's head, as if you're going to stab her with it (!). Go to one side of the bun (I tuck the ends underneath the right-hand side, so I always pierce the stick on the right because it holds better) and push the stick through the bun until you reach the scalp. At that point, rotate it a bit so that it's now pointing towards her ear (if you put it through the right-hand side, it'll now be pointing towards her right ear, with the other end aiming over your left shoulder). Make sure you grab some scalp hair. Then flip it round (so it's horizontal) and push it through the whole bun. I like to pull down the other side of the bun when the stick reaches it and then push the stick through that side too for extra hold. Having a ponytail first makes it easier as if you slide the stick underneath the elastic when it goes through the bun, it makes it far harder for it to slip out and your bun is much more likely to hold.

You can also use hairpins (again, I use wavelength pins) to secure the bun: just slide then in, grabbing both scalp hair and bun.

Good luck - you have a lucky wife!

[Melisande]

I find it dificult to make buns for my daughters. It's easier to make a braided bun. After you make the braid, coil it around itself, and fix it with hair scroos or pins.

The Lazy Wrap Bun (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=72) is also quite easy to make for somebody else, and it gives you a feeling for the hair stick.

[burns_erin]

Well, probably the easiest place to start is a cinnabun: gather the hair into a ponytail and twist it. It'll eventually want to start twisting into a spiral; let it. When it's all twisted round into a bun, secure it however you like.


Sounds like what i was trying to explain, I just use two scrunchies, and periwinkle does a better job of explaining.

[Anje]

Another easy trick is to braid her hair, then wrap it in a spiral to form a cinnamon bun. One of these pinned in place will often stay a bit more securely than a twisted bun.

[Magdalene]

I second (third? fourth?) starting with a braid, or even a braided ponytail. I have very slippery hair and braiding makes everything so much more secure!

[ian]

Thank you all for your answers. I guess I tried the cinnabun already, but without securing the ponytail first. I'll try that I wonder if using a scrunchie for the ponytail (as burns erin suggests) works better than an elastic.....

I'd never heard of "wavelength pins" (I was imagining things shaped like the greek letter lambda, for the scientists among you...) so I googled them and the first hit was this thread! It does seems to be a term used exclusively on here, but I did find a post descibing them as double-ended knitting needles bent into a U-shape. I wonder if my Mum's got any spare. I'll probably get a very strange look when I ask though... :-)

Claw clips sound good. We have some of those, but they're pink and purple and sparkly (actually our 3YO daughters) I'm sure my wife wouldn't go out in public like that, but she might let me practise with them. :-)

I don't think her hair's long enough for the Lazy Wrap, but it looks lovely. I didn't understand the instructions, either. Perhaps the video would help.

I didn't recognise the term 'hair scroos' either, but having googled them, they look very cool.

Braiding might work well too. I can't quite imagine coiling a braid starting at the nape, but a higher up, ponytailed first one seems like a good idea. Do you tuck the tassel underneath? And does everyone use wavelength pins? or 'ordinary' hairpins? Are there good and bad pins?

Finally, can anyone suggest where to get scroos, or 'good' pins in the UK?

Thanks again,

ian.

[Loviatar]

Ian, Boots sell ordinary hairpins (like 'wavelength pins' - they are just a bent pin in a u shape) as well as the usual bobby pin style 'kirby grips'. I'd avoid the latter and get some of the former. I have never seen scroos in the Uk though.

I get my pins on ebay - mine are called Amish pins and I just did a search for 3 inch long Amish hair pins.

HTH,
Lovi

[Dolly]

I don't think her hair's long enough for the Lazy Wrap, but it looks lovely. I didn't understand the instructions, either. Perhaps the video would help.



Definitely watch the video. The lazy bun is the first one I learned to do. It is VERY easy (I couldn't do it by reading it, though.....I'm not that bright, so I had to see it to clearly understand what to do).

[ImmortaLamia]

I learned to do the lazy bun also now :eyebrows: i have fine hair also and slippery.

[ian]

Definitely watch the video. The lazy bun is the first one I learned to do. It is VERY easy (I couldn't do it by reading it, though.....I'm not that bright, so I had to see it to clearly understand what to do).


I learned to do the lazy bun also now :eyebrows: i have fine hair also and slippery.

OK, I'll look at the video then. How long do you think hair needs to be for this (Or how long was yours when you first did it?)

ian

[ImmortaLamia]

mine is waist now :)

[Akiko]

My hair is not fine, but quite straight and rather slippery. 24 inch/61 cm long, 2.75 inch/7 cm in circumference. For me, my current length is the minimum length to securely make a lazy bun. Maybe it can be a little shorter. If your wife has thicker hair, she might need more length to make a lazy bun.

It is not really a bun. But how about Gibson braids (http://www.intimelyfashion.com/hair/gibsonbraid.htm)? It looks pretty complicated, but not so. It will take a little more time than a lazy bun, but quite secure and can be done with shorter hair.

[ian]

Yes, the gibson braids look nice. But maybe for a 'dressed up' occasion, rather than everyday. Another thing to try. :) Just need some time to practise now....

Cheers,

ian

[DarkChocolate]

I have straight fine hair too and I am going to try those gibson braids:)

[Anje]

I'd never heard of "wavelength pins" (I was imagining things shaped like the greek letter lambda, for the scientists among you...) so I googled them and the first hit was this thread! It does seems to be a term used exclusively on here, but I did find a post descibing them as double-ended knitting needles bent into a U-shape. I wonder if my Mum's got any spare. I'll probably get a very strange look when I ask though... :-)

Ah, that would be because one of our members, who goes by the name of Wavelength, invented them.

If your mum doesn't want hers destroyed, I recommend going to a craft store and getting some aluminum ones. They're quite cheap, at least around here. I think about size 0 to 2 work well (American knitting needle sizes). My set of 0s are a bit flexible, but they work nicely if bent into a V shape, then flexed so that the points are parallel when inserted. My larger sizes are just U-shaped, with more-or-less parallel times.

[kschr2004]

I have fine, very straight hair, and I find the best buns for me are ones where I have something securing most of the hair, such as flexi-8s or ficcares/fakarres. As long as I ponytail and twist really well, these types of buns tend to stay up all day without me having to redo them, and without a lot of pulling on my head like multiple hairpins would do.

[arylkin]

The Lazy Wrap Bun (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=72) is also quite easy to make for somebody else, and it gives you a feeling for the hair stick.

The lazy bun is FANTASTIC! It's super easy and very comfortable. :)

Edited to say- I'm sure it will work on your wife's hair- I think shoulder blade length hair is plenty long for a lazy bun. Also- for a bit of variety- the nautilus bun is kind of like a backwards lazy bun- there's a video of how to do it here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=466690622319220011&hl=en

[ian]

Thank you all again. :) Sadly, we managed to get through the whole weekend without finding any time to try any of these ideas, :( but I do appreciate all the suggestions!

I've now watched the video for the Lazy Wrap, and it makes more sense. I bet it isn't as easy as she makes it look though.... I guess I need a hairstick for this? And presumably securing the ponytail first would make it easier / more secure, at least for the first few times?

Cheers,

ian