Bun troubles

[vampyyri]

Since I joined LHC, I have been seeing all of these beautiful buns, but I am having a hard time executing them. The best I can do is a twisted or braided cinnabun secured with a spin pin or chopstick (still need to get a proper stick).

I've tried following tutorials on Youtube for nautilus' and LWBs, but every time I secure it with a stick, my hair immediately falls when I let go. I've been trying to practice these techniques over the weekends when I have time, but I just get frustrated and toss it into a cinnabun. :undecided

I'm curious to know if this is either because I'm not pulling the hair tight enough, or if I'm just really bad at hairsticks? Or maybe it's my newly slippy/healthy hair texture (thanks LHC!)...? I'm so new to this, so I'm thinking it's user error somehow.

Do you guys have advice for a beginner to bunning?

[lapushka]

You might need even more length, especially for a nautilus. I'm classic length (layered) and a nautilus? Nope, can't do it. A LWB is about the only bun that works for me. Even a cinnabun still falls out for me!

[-Fern]

I'm at BSL (with layers near APL), and I can do a cinnabun, LWB & disc bun held by a single stick. So length may or may not be an issue.

Are you using the stick to grab scalp hair? That is what is going to anchor the bun to your head and keep tension on it.

Also, I just remembered, when I first started, I had a much easier time with forks than with sticks. I think it not only distributed the hold better, but it was easier to feel the tines against my scalp, so I had a better idea of how much scalp hair I was grabbing as I secured the bun. Now that I've had more practice I always reach for my sticks first. :o

[Hailwidis]

You might need even more length, especially for a nautilus. I'm classic length (layered) and a nautilus? Nope, can't do it. A LWB is about the only bun that works for me. Even a cinnabun still falls out for me!

That's strange for the nautilus. I'm at MBL+ which is waaayy shorter than you, and yet I wear a nautilus or twisted nautilus every day, and it's rock solid (several walks with my dog, etc.). BTW, in my experience the twisted nautilus holds the best of the two.

Of course I don't have enough hair to make the first loop around my whole hand like they do in video tutorials; instead, I loop it around 2 fingers (twisted) or 3 fingers (untwisted), and then it's nice and tight, just on a smaller scale. OP, have you tried that? At our length, if we make the first loop around our whole hand, that loop will later be way too lose to fit snuggly around the bun; and you won't have enough hair to wrap around the base. That results in a weak bun which will understandably unravel at the first opportunity. Making a smaller loop puts things back into proportion for your length, and for me it made the difference between a bun that held and a bun that did not.

[LongCurlyTress]

That's strange for the nautilus. I'm at MBL+ which is waaayy shorter than you, and yet I wear a nautilus or twisted nautilus every day, and it's rock solid (several walks with my dog, etc.). BTW, in my experience the twisted nautilus holds the best of the two.

Of course I don't have enough hair to make the first loop around my whole hand like they do in video tutorials; instead, I loop it around 2 fingers (twisted) or 3 fingers (untwisted), and then it's nice and tight, just on a smaller scale. OP, have you tried that? At our length, if we make the first loop around our whole hand, that loop will later be way too lose to fit snuggly around the bun; and you won't have enough hair to wrap around the base. That results in a weak bun which will understandably unravel at the first opportunity. Making a smaller loop puts things back into proportion for your length, and for me it made the difference between a bun that held and a bun that did not.

No, it's not so strange for a nautilus especially. Thicker haired gals sometimes have to have more length for a nautilus. At least this was my experience. I can finally do a pinless nautilus but I needed to wait until my hair length was 35 inches long due to its thickness. The thickness eats up the length as the length twists around the bun so the ends fall out of the twist and then it isn't long enough to hold the center part of the bun securely. Hope this makes sense...:/

[Nique1202]

At tailbone, or 35 inches (since everyone's milestones are different but inch-lengths behave more similarly) and with deep layers thinning out the ends, I still have trouble with the nautilus as often as not (though I have better luck with my double pointed knitting needle fork than a single stick) and the lazy wrap won't even hold on damp hair for me. I also can't get enough wraps on a cinnabun to make it stay in anything fancy, like the treble clef bun or an infinity/figure 8. The disc bun and the plain cinnabun are the only really reliable buns for me even now.

It does seem to be an issue of slipperiness as much as length in a lot of cases, though. The smoother your hair, the less likely it is to have the friction against itself that's necessary to hold a bun together. That can be made up for most of the time with extra length (to get extra wraps, which causes more friction overall) or by thinning out the whole mass of hair somehow (ii thickness can usually do buns earlier than iii, for example) but for now you may have to get by with just the disc bun, the cinnabun, and braid techniques.

[lapushka]

That's strange for the nautilus. I'm at MBL+ which is waaayy shorter than you, and yet I wear a nautilus or twisted nautilus every day, and it's rock solid (several walks with my dog, etc.). BTW, in my experience the twisted nautilus holds the best of the two.

Of course I don't have enough hair to make the first loop around my whole hand like they do in video tutorials; instead, I loop it around 2 fingers (twisted) or 3 fingers (untwisted), and then it's nice and tight, just on a smaller scale. OP, have you tried that? At our length, if we make the first loop around our whole hand, that loop will later be way too lose to fit snuggly around the bun; and you won't have enough hair to wrap around the base. That results in a weak bun which will understandably unravel at the first opportunity. Making a smaller loop puts things back into proportion for your length, and for me it made the difference between a bun that held and a bun that did not.

I have iii hair, that might be it. I need more length for most updos anyway. ;)

[vampyyri]

Are you using the stick to grab scalp hair? That is what is going to anchor the bun to your head and keep tension on it.

I have. I usually insert it, wiggle it around to catch as much scalp hair as possible, and ease it out the other side.


Of course I don't have enough hair to make the first loop around my whole hand like they do in video tutorials; instead, I loop it around 2 fingers (twisted) or 3 fingers (untwisted), and then it's nice and tight, just on a smaller scale. OP, have you tried that? At our length, if we make the first loop around our whole hand, that loop will later be way too lose to fit snuggly around the bun; and you won't have enough hair to wrap around the base. That results in a weak bun which will understandably unravel at the first opportunity. Making a smaller loop puts things back into proportion for your length, and for me it made the difference between a bun that held and a bun that did not.

I have tried it with two or three fingers because I thought the same thing, and it held quite weakly and proceeded to fall. I actually have trouble manipulating the loop around the wrapped part of the bun. I feel like I'm pulling/manipulating the hair too much which makes me nervous. Or sometimes I end up doing wrapping it the wrong way or not twisting the loop enough. I'm having trouble finding a tutorial that has a walkthrough with someone speaking, I'm an audio/visual learner.

[endersworld]

Have you tried using pins to help hold things down? I recently came into possession of some amish pins, and they make literally everything hold like a rock.

Braiding can also help things to hold better; if your hair is too short to braid and then bun, a paranda can add a bit of length and help your hair to be a little more grabby! I've never known a braided cinnabun with a paranda to fall out, and I have a lot of hair.

Otherwise, it sometimes just takes a bit to get the hang of hairsticks, and to learn what works best for your hair! I found that natural wood was good when I was learning, since those were smooth enough to not rip out my hair, but generally a bit grabbier than your average metal or acrylic hairstick.

[vampyyri]

Have you tried using pins to help hold things down? I recently came into possession of some amish pins, and they make literally everything hold like a rock.

Braiding can also help things to hold better; if your hair is too short to braid and then bun, a paranda can add a bit of length and help your hair to be a little more grabby! I've never known a braided cinnabun with a paranda to fall out, and I have a lot of hair.

Otherwise, it sometimes just takes a bit to get the hang of hairsticks, and to learn what works best for your hair! I found that natural wood was good when I was learning, since those were smooth enough to not rip out my hair, but generally a bit grabbier than your average metal or acrylic hairstick.

I have a couple of spin-pins that I love to use, but I am not sure if those work with different kinds of buns. I've never heard of amish pins, I'll have to look those up!

I do braided cinnabuns when I can (when I get my husband to braid my hair, I think he regrets having told me he knows how :lol:), those hold like no one's business with a stick or a spin-pin! I suppose I am just really eager to have the beautiful buns that I see on here, they're all just so lovely!

[Complexity]

I'm having trouble finding a tutorial that has a walkthrough with someone speaking, I'm an audio/visual learner.

Have you tried looking up TorrinPage? She speaks throughout her videos and IINM, she has a nautilus tutorial. I'll see if I can get you a link :)

EDIT: Found it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b86ZH0J7xtE

Hope this helps :)

[EdG]

There is nothing wrong with the cinnabun. You can alternate between clockwise and counter-clockwise to have twice as many possibilities. Pro-tip: using two sticks will reduce the need for weaving.

You likely need more length for a nautilus. I can make a nautilus by forming the loop around two fingers and part of my palm, but that leaves only my thin ends to wrap.
Ed

[vampyyri]

Have you tried looking up TorrinPage? She speaks throughout her videos and IINM, she has a nautilus tutorial. I'll see if I can get you a link :)

EDIT: Found it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b86ZH0J7xtE

Hope this helps :)

Oh my god, thank you!! I did it!!! :happydance: I just subscribed to her, she has so many tutorials!

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac27/Nyssa_Gomez/bun_zpsk14car35.jpg

My first nautilus!!

Seems all I needed was a walk-through tutorial in the end, thank you everyone! :flower:

[dansyl]

I'm only at APL and I can do a disc bun even when my hair is clean. It's my go to when nothing else will stay.

[EdG]

My first nautilus!!

Seems all I needed was a walk-through tutorial in the end, thank you everyone! :flower:That is a very good first nautilus. :thud:
Ed

[vampyyri]

That is a very good first nautilus. :thud:
Ed

Thank you!! & also, my first thud! :grin:

[Shepherdess]

Yay, congrats on the nautilus!!! :cheer: It looks lovely too! :thumbsup: Torrin has some wonderful tutorials, I haven't been on her page in a while, so I should try out some more of her tutorials too sometime. :D

I did not realize that nautilus buns do not work out for every hair type. I bet it must relate some to the hair smoothness and slip, like someone else mentioned. I know my hair tends towards frizziness in texture, so most buns hold well for me, though I have a terrible time making them look neat and professional sometimes because of this, and I also can't really do higher buns, since the pulling on my scalp is too much. I wonder if a braided nautilus bun might hold better for some people? I think that the longer the hair gets, the more buns and styles you will be able to do too. :)

[Complexity]

Seems all I needed was a walk-through tutorial in the end, thank you everyone! :flower:

Glad it worked out for you :) It looks fantastic!