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View Full Version : Messy Buns--how exactly do they work?



kali_shey
March 26th, 2009, 10:33 AM
I can't for the life of me do a 'messy bun'. Most of my buns end up looking like something a cat spat up after awhile anyway or falling down completely because I've got a few layers and my hair is pretty heavy; however, I've seen some lovey messy buns around and about and I've no idea how to do them.

Somebody on a forum once said that she just shook her hair back, grabbed it at the ends in handfuls, piled it on top of her head and was good to go. Didn't mention how it was secured ...I tried a couple of different ways but it was a fail.
Kate Hudson can apparently do the same thing but, also, no instructions.

Apparently it's supposed to be a 'quick and easy' hairstyle but I can't figure it out. I'm sort of dim when it comes to hair.

Oh, and I live in the North Woods and I'm on dial-up so if there are any videos and I can't watch them.


Thanks in advance for the help! :)

LaurelSpring
March 26th, 2009, 11:10 AM
Im with you on this one! Messy buns are a mystery to me. I see these young girls all over the place with the cutest messy buns and I have idea how to do it. I was thinking about poking around youtube to get ideas but if someone could enlighten me about this I would appreciate it also!

amaiaisabella
March 26th, 2009, 11:12 AM
I have no clue how to do this, especially when it looks so effortlessly done, so I will be watching this thread :)

I do know one bun that sort of looks messy, but isn't really. You secure your hair in a ponytail with a very thin elastic tie. Then you take strands of hair, and, moving clockwise/counterclockwise, you twist upwards and secure with a pin slightly above the tie. The result is a twisty-looking bun, but very secure. It can actually look like a fancy updo if you use sparkly pins, too :)

Anje
March 26th, 2009, 11:34 AM
I haven't quite figured them out either. I suspect that it's easier with shorter hair, because most of the length can poof out, and you can have ends sticking up, while with longer hair, you need to have a few loops just to use up the length. I also suspect that they work better with hair that doesn't tend to look sleek and shiny....

ElenTikvah
March 26th, 2009, 11:58 AM
I've never figured these out either. Anytime that I try one, my ends just look retarded sitting there...though probably complicated by my taper and fairy ends now... <sighs>

~Tik

Islandgrrl
March 26th, 2009, 12:01 PM
Somebody on a forum once said that she just shook her hair back, grabbed it at the ends in handfuls, piled it on top of her head and was good to go. Didn't mention how it was secured ...I tried a couple of different ways but it was a fail.

Yeah, I tried that.

Looked like I had an electrocuted squirrel tied to the back of my head.

:bigeyes:

lora410
March 26th, 2009, 12:03 PM
I haven't been able to do one either; It just ends up looking retarded :shrug:

E.L.x 86
March 26th, 2009, 12:05 PM
I hear you. I've never been able to master the messy bun, which is a shame because all the up-dos I can do are a bit formal looking for the very casual dresscode at work. I think the previous poster is right, messy buns are probably better suited to short hair. I think the extra length and weight would make it difficult to keep the bun stable and still retain the took-five-seconds look. My hair needs maximum support when I wear it up otherwise it works itself loose after a couple hours.
Also, surely you'd have to be really careful not to just end up with a huge great tangle of hair when you try and take the thing down. I've had that happen a couple times.

Dreamernz
March 26th, 2009, 12:23 PM
All you do is basically pile the hair on top of your head as if scrunching then simply secure it with a scrunchy(lol), if you try too hard it doesn't work....Or you can try rolling the hair up then tying it, but don't use a hairstick , use a big hairband or scrunchie and tie it at the base of what you've scrunched as if tying a pony tail so that you've got a messy bobbly bit, I think it works better if it's higher up on the head, and actually it looks better I think with longer hair, but works wonders also with shorter hair, it was my life before I found out how to do proper hair styles lol :D:D:D hope that helps!

rhubarbarin
March 26th, 2009, 12:25 PM
I do them with bobby pins (the ones with 'grip' on the inner surface). Just grab it up - twist the base (with longer hair you can make a cinnabun underneath, then use the ends to make the messy part) - smush the rest of the hair on top of it - slide in 5-8 pins, one or two in the middle through the twisted base, the rest around the outside edges of the bun, anchoring it to the head - good for the day.

I have 2c, M, ii hair, only BSL, and it 'sticks' where I put it, and is light so it won't pull itself down. I think this style won't work for fine/slippery, thick/heavy, or very long hair.

Rohele
March 26th, 2009, 12:26 PM
I wasn't sure what a messy bun was, so I had to google it (I didn't know it was considered a "style", lol).

All my updos look sort of like what came back on the image search. I think what someone said about shorter hair and hair texture is a factor - my updos never look smooth at any length (but I've never been at the lengths many have here). I think having layers makes it easier to get this look too (because the pieces stick out all over). Sometimes, I'll leave select bits hanging and then twirl them and pin them into an updo if I want a more controlled look, but again, i have shoulder length, wavy/curly hair, so maybe its easier for me at this length.

Katze
March 26th, 2009, 12:59 PM
The only buns (and they are more like loops) I can do are messy. :) My hair is frizzy, fine, and has lots of layers, and I could not ever get an orderly updo to work without looking really stupid.

That said, it is hard for me to 'try' to get a messy 'do. The best ones are when I just 'throw my hair up' for bed, shower, or after washing, then it actually looks good. But I can't actually *try*.

Rolling the sides, poofing the front, or just taking different sections at different times and adding them to my Ficcare all help. But like I said, my best updos (the messy ones that look like they are on purpose) are the ones that I don't try to make look any way.

I would love to learn how to do that half-bun-half-pony-thing that so many young women do, but it always looks stupid on me.

ajr
March 26th, 2009, 01:07 PM
I think messy bns work best if you have curly or at least wavy hair and if it's not much longer than bsl. Straight hair just doesn't seem to do that romantic messy look, instead you just have stright ends sticking out at awkward angles. If you look at messy updos in style magazines they usually involve lot of product and backcombing.

Farina
March 26th, 2009, 02:00 PM
it's the only bun i can do well haha

rach
March 26th, 2009, 02:08 PM
doing a messy bun is something i can do, probably the only positive side to my hairs layers which little miss stupid hair dresser stuck in my hair which i hate which merged with my hair loss which i had when pregnant with my youngest, didn't know till the hair started growing back after (which is about shoulder length now)

DelynofRhondda
March 26th, 2009, 02:22 PM
That said, it is hard for me to 'try' to get a messy 'do. The best ones are when I just 'throw my hair up' for bed, shower, or after washing, then it actually looks good. But I can't actually *try*.



Katze, I believe you summed it up perfectly!

Never knew a "messy bun" was a style until I saw an article in InStyle a couple of years ago. I always believed they were messy buns because they were put up fast with no forethought, just to get the hair out of the way. Like keeping it out of the bisket flour & lard :)

I do mine by flipping my body forward, gathering all of the hair onto the top of the head in a long "tail" wrapping with a "scrunchie", looping over hair, wrapping "scrunchie" again, then tucking random/escaping strands into said "scrunchie".

Sometimes I'll only wrap the main "tail" in the "scrunchie" and let the curls escape and crawl all over the place. But that isn't a messy bun. Lord & Lady only know what that is!

misstwist
March 26th, 2009, 02:31 PM
A link for a messy bun tutorial. Kasmira's hair is not quite apl and layered. I haven't tried it.

http://whatiwore2day.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-make-messy-bun.html

heidihug
March 26th, 2009, 02:38 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by kali_shey http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=519763#post519763)
Somebody on a forum once said that she just shook her hair back, grabbed it at the ends in handfuls, piled it on top of her head and was good to go. Didn't mention how it was secured ...I tried a couple of different ways but it was a fail.

Yeah, I tried that.

Looked like I had an electrocuted squirrel tied to the back of my head.

Oh, dear, Islandgrrl, you always bring the funny. I have not been able to do a "messy" bun since my hair was BSL.

Wait, not true, I did one with wet hair just the other day - flipped my just-washed, tangled-ish hair down and over my head, twisted the whole bunch of it slightly, stood up, plopped it on top of my head and haphazardly secured with a huge jaw clip. It was actually amazing looking, and quite sexy. Alas, we were home alone for the evening, and that jaw clip was removed in short order.:eyebrows:

Islandgrrl
March 26th, 2009, 02:55 PM
Oh, dear, Islandgrrl, you always bring the funny. I have not been able to do a "messy" bun since my hair was BSL.

Wait, not true, I did one with wet hair just the other day - flipped my just-washed, tangled-ish hair down and over my head, twisted the whole bunch of it slightly, stood up, plopped it on top of my head and haphazardly secured with a huge jaw clip. It was actually amazing looking, and quite sexy. Alas, we were home alone for the evening, and that jaw clip was removed in short order.:eyebrows:


I try. :cool:

Lucky you!!! :eyebrows:

enfys
March 26th, 2009, 05:02 PM
Now I pretty much only can do messy buns, so I will say it works best on BSLish hair with layers from collarbone down.

Firstly, brush it. Then put the brush down and step away. You won't need it again.

I scrape it back into a ponytail on the middle of the back of my head, and tie it. I then wrap the length around (untwisted) like a cinnamon bun, and fix it with a band. The odd ends splay out. I usually put the band around the base then around the middle, rather than securing the base twice.

To mix it up I sometimes pin a bit of poof in the front first, but usually just do it as is. I haven't noticed any damage, tangles or pulling through this style.

BranwenWolf
March 26th, 2009, 05:05 PM
I achieve a messy bun when I try my hardest to get a slick, neat bun.:D

My v-hemline gives some nice tendrils that sort of fall out here and there.

MotherConfessor
March 26th, 2009, 09:32 PM
I have to agree that this style is best suited to the curly/wavy's, but i see no reason others could not do it, you will just have a slightly more modern look, or you could just curl the hair (I could see how that kind of defeats the purpose of the messy but...). A major part of the messy bun is the front of the hair. It should not be smooth and even, it should be loose and... messy.
I do it this way. Start twisting like you are going to make a regular bun, but leave it loose (so you have play on the front of your hair). Then twist the bun - your hair should still be loose in the front- and lay it down where it should go. Then move the bun up on your head about and inch so you have a bit of a pompadour, not too much! When you make the bun dont tuck the ends under, leave them out and let some of them lay across the bun and some of them stick up. You can pin these in place but dont overdo it, it is a messy bun. Take your fingers and mess up the front of your hair, just shove them in and wiggle them around. Give your head a bit of a shake and stop worrying about that one weird looking piece, if you mess with it, its only going to get worse and odds are that piece is just you (or me, generally) being obsessive.

Oh, this hair style does work best with some pretty tendrils hanging out in the front. Just separate them before you start makeing the bun.

Hope this helps. :)

Calanthe
March 26th, 2009, 11:44 PM
Well, for me they don't work. I think as a stick-straight-hair there's not much you can do, really as the hair doesn't have "movement", with us it just hangs down and that's it. Even the "wrap it around all over the place" will end up rather formal. I tried something with the front of my hair but ended up looking vaguely like a Leningrad Cowboy so I didn't stick with this particular style.

I wish I could braid better on my own head - then I could at least incorporate some interesting braiding for the front and sides.

Masara
March 26th, 2009, 11:59 PM
Another one here who can't do "messy" (deliberately) I see other people with cute, casual hair styles, but when I try it, it just looks as though I got ready in the dark.
I think my hair is just too thin and not wavy enough.

sapphire-o
March 27th, 2009, 05:08 AM
I can do it, but it's very intentional and not the same kind of "messy" as most people's. :) Basically the majority of the hair is still bunned as usual, I leave a few inches of ends sticking up or down or out. If the waves don't look good I might use small claw clips to control it. Unfortunately long hair is usually too heavy for updos that are loose to hold up. Sometimes it feels unfair - I know those girls with messy scrunchie buns have shoulder lengthed layered hair that's probably thinner than mine, but their loose buns look bigger than my rock solid bun. :)

Here's a picture of my attempted messy French twist. I thought it's good enough and went out. It was pouring outside and humidity was 100%. Soon I couldn't stand it any more and took off the Ficcare and made a regular twist. :D

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/sapphire-o/Hair%20and%20Toys%20Photos/messyhair.jpg

shayly-fyanna
March 27th, 2009, 05:18 AM
I'm with those who cannot do this. every time i try, i either look like i escaped a mental institute or i'm a librarian on drugs. so just gave up trying, simply bun my hair at the nape of my neck and tie it with a crotched scrunchie and hope the ends of my hair don't end up sticking out everywhere.

**sigh** the difficulties of the length of hair i have.
can not do most buns and hair does not look particularly cute loose, ( loose hair is damaged hair for me.) and my braid looks weird let hanging down my back. so end up either bunning it however i can or braid it and then pull it up and hold it with a hairstick or claw.

LaurelSpring
March 27th, 2009, 10:30 AM
Youtube has several very do-able versions. I found this one particularly impressive but less messy looking and very easy to do. I wouldnt do all of the curling etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCVDoMb5AsA&feature=related

sahiba
March 27th, 2009, 11:13 AM
I too am not that good with messy buns , but my freshly washed hair do help to give a messy look to my buns .
And Sapphire-o, I loved your messy twist , though not messy enough :pinktongue: but a beauty :).

bttrfly857
March 27th, 2009, 11:21 AM
I'm not sure if I can explain this, or how long hair friendly it is, but here's what I always did:

Take a hair elastic, form a pony tail and pull the hair halfway through the elastic (to form a loop). Then just kinda smoosh the loop and fluff up the ends that haven't been pulled through and wrap the hair elastic around a few more times till it's the usual tightness.

Hope that makes sense!

Bluebell
March 27th, 2009, 12:05 PM
Another messy bun idea, I'll try to discribe it:

Make a ponytail, secure with an elastic band BUT: when you pull it through for the last time, twist the tail a bit first and leave it halfway in the elastic band. So don't pull it through completely. You now have a loop hanging. With longer hair you coil the tassel around the base.
Now you grab the loop and place it over the elastic band/bun and secure with two hairsticks.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot3-1.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot4-2.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot7-1.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot8-1.jpg

Trinka
March 27th, 2009, 12:50 PM
Yeah, I tried that.

Looked like I had an electrocuted squirrel tied to the back of my head.

:bigeyes:

YES! Exactly!!! Perfect description! :) Me too!

Carolyn
March 27th, 2009, 01:15 PM
Another messy bun idea, I'll try to discribe it:

Make a ponytail, secure with an elastic band BUT: when you pull it through for the last time, twist the tail a bit first and leave it halfway in the elastic band. So don't pull it through completely. You now have a loop hanging. With longer hair you coil the tassel around the base.
Now you grab the loop and place it over the elastic band/bun and secure with two hairsticks.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot3-1.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot4-2.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot7-1.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot8-1.jpgThanks for the pictures. I think I could do that. I love messiness but can't seem to accomplish it. This one looks do-able.

dolcevita
March 27th, 2009, 01:21 PM
I do really good messy buns... can't explain it really, but my friends are always saying how cute they look.

Only problem: when I take out the second hair elastic (I don't use bobby pins), it tends to tangle on my hair, so I don't think it's very hair-friendly :(

LaurelSpring
March 27th, 2009, 01:53 PM
Couple more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z720pqp8lK4

the scrunching method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da6Thzo5oSc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhlfxyDedbg&feature=PlayList&p=FBF3B75AA432A0D7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=14

misstwist
March 27th, 2009, 04:28 PM
Another messy bun idea, I'll try to discribe it:

Make a ponytail, secure with an elastic band BUT: when you pull it through for the last time, twist the tail a bit first and leave it halfway in the elastic band. So don't pull it through completely. You now have a loop hanging. With longer hair you coil the tassel around the base.
Now you grab the loop and place it over the elastic band/bun and secure with two hairsticks.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot3-1.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot4-2.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot7-1.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb60/Bluebell-hairsticks/lusknot8-1.jpg

Very cute! Thanks for the idea. I would try it right now but my french twist is currently perfect and I *ain't* takin' it down.

LaurelSpring
March 28th, 2009, 06:21 AM
I tried some of these last night. The one posted by bluebell worked nicely. Thank you for posting that!!

Amazingly enough the scrunch it all on top of my head worked great!! I was really surprised at how great it looked. I didnt think it would. Love it! :cheese:

The video that has the girl put it in a pony then take pieces and bring back through the pony band was a total disaster. Dont try this at home!! I had the biggest tangled mess and got totally freaked out and thought I was going to have to cut the bands out of my hair. It was a nightmare.

brok3nwings
March 28th, 2009, 06:48 AM
I dont know how to do a messy bun but i do messy updos. I take peaces of hair i roll it a bit then clip it somewhere high. i do it with many peaces and always change directions..it ends up looking really cool

kali_shey
March 28th, 2009, 10:20 AM
I tried some of these last night. The one posted by bluebell worked nicely. Thank you for posting that!!

Amazingly enough the scrunch it all on top of my head worked great!! I was really surprised at how great it looked. I didnt think it would. Love it! :cheese:

The video that has the girl put it in a pony then take pieces and bring back through the pony band was a total disaster. Dont try this at home!! I had the biggest tangled mess and got totally freaked out and thought I was going to have to cut the bands out of my hair. It was a nightmare.

Eek! Thanks for the advice! I have a hard enough time getting stuff out of my hair to begin with. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's a hairpin that's been living in there for several days now haha.


I dont know how to do a messy bun but i do messy updos. I take peaces of hair i roll it a bit then clip it somewhere high. i do it with many peaces and always change directions..it ends up looking really cool

Hey, thanks, that's an idea! I have to admit I'm a bit ...style-challenged? That's why I keep bothering all you nice people...


Im with you on this one! Messy buns are a mystery to me. I see these young girls all over the place with the cutest messy buns and I have idea how to do it. I was thinking about poking around youtube to get ideas but if someone could enlighten me about this I would appreciate it also!

YouTube doesn't work for me but I must admit I'm starting to loathe Kate Hudson (lol) for her 'I-do-this-when-my-hair-needs-washing' style. It's not fair.


I do them with bobby pins (the ones with 'grip' on the inner surface). Just grab it up - twist the base (with longer hair you can make a cinnabun underneath, then use the ends to make the messy part) - smush the rest of the hair on top of it - slide in 5-8 pins, one or two in the middle through the twisted base, the rest around the outside edges of the bun, anchoring it to the head - good for the day.

I have 2c, M, ii hair, only BSL, and it 'sticks' where I put it, and is light so it won't pull itself down. I think this style won't work for fine/slippery, thick/heavy, or very long hair.

Cool! I mean, my buns end up looking slightly disaster-ish anyway, but that sounds like something to try that might actually work. For some reason the stuff that normal people can do just don't work for me. I think my hair secretly hates me.


Yeah, I tried that.

Looked like I had an electrocuted squirrel tied to the back of my head.

:bigeyes:

Hahahahaha...!!!! OMGLOL. My hair usually ends up looking like something a cat sicked up, if it makes you feel any better... :D

kali_shey
March 28th, 2009, 10:52 AM
I wasn't sure what a messy bun was, so I had to google it (I didn't know it was considered a "style", lol).

All my updos look sort of like what came back on the image search. I think what someone said about shorter hair and hair texture is a factor - my updos never look smooth at any length (but I've never been at the lengths many have here). I think having layers makes it easier to get this look too (because the pieces stick out all over). Sometimes, I'll leave select bits hanging and then twirl them and pin them into an updo if I want a more controlled look, but again, i have shoulder length, wavy/curly hair, so maybe its easier for me at this length.

Thanks :) Yeah, my hair is just wavy enough to be annoying; not wavy enough to be pretty, which may very well have something to do with it--wrong texture, too coarse, or something. It probably works much better for the curlies out there.


Now I pretty much only can do messy buns, so I will say it works best on BSLish hair with layers from collarbone down.

Firstly, brush it. Then put the brush down and step away. You won't need it again.

I scrape it back into a ponytail on the middle of the back of my head, and tie it. I then wrap the length around (untwisted) like a cinnamon bun, and fix it with a band. The odd ends splay out. I usually put the band around the base then around the middle, rather than securing the base twice.

To mix it up I sometimes pin a bit of poof in the front first, but usually just do it as is. I haven't noticed any damage, tangles or pulling through this style.

That sounds like a great idea--the less time I spend on my hair, the happier I am. Elastics don't seem to bother it too much, either, so I'll be giving this a try as well. I'm glad everybody has such great ideas--I'm a total idiot when it comes to hairstyles. I'm so sick of my perma-braid it's not even funny anymore.

kali_shey
March 28th, 2009, 10:56 AM
A link for a messy bun tutorial. Kasmira's hair is not quite apl and layered. I haven't tried it.

http://whatiwore2day.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-make-messy-bun.html

Ooh, thanks. I'll definitely have a look ... yay!

kali_shey
March 28th, 2009, 11:02 AM
Oh, dear, Islandgrrl, you always bring the funny. I have not been able to do a "messy" bun since my hair was BSL.

Wait, not true, I did one with wet hair just the other day - flipped my just-washed, tangled-ish hair down and over my head, twisted the whole bunch of it slightly, stood up, plopped it on top of my head and haphazardly secured with a huge jaw clip. It was actually amazing looking, and quite sexy. Alas, we were home alone for the evening, and that jaw clip was removed in short order.:eyebrows:

Hee. I'll have to give that a whirl. Another Wisconsinite! I'm on the Lake Michigan side so my hair is pretty much damp all year-round anyway XD

kali_shey
March 28th, 2009, 11:14 AM
I can do it, but it's very intentional and not the same kind of "messy" as most people's. :) Basically the majority of the hair is still bunned as usual, I leave a few inches of ends sticking up or down or out. If the waves don't look good I might use small claw clips to control it. Unfortunately long hair is usually too heavy for updos that are loose to hold up. Sometimes it feels unfair - I know those girls with messy scrunchie buns have shoulder lengthed layered hair that's probably thinner than mine, but their loose buns look bigger than my rock solid bun. :)

Here's a picture of my attempted messy French twist. I thought it's good enough and went out. It was pouring outside and humidity was 100%. Soon I couldn't stand it any more and took off the Ficcare and made a regular twist. :D

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n39/sapphire-o/Hair%20and%20Toys%20Photos/messyhair.jpg

Oh, that's lovely.



Never knew a "messy bun" was a style until I saw an article in InStyle a couple of years ago. I always believed they were messy buns because they were put up fast with no forethought, just to get the hair out of the way. Like keeping it out of the bisket flour & lard :)

Exactly. All their (magazines) 'easy' styles involve hot rollers and products and hairdryers and I've always thought--five minute hairstyle!? Hah! That's a good one. Apparently those people have no concept of what 'five minutes' actually is....

Anyway, thanks for the advice! :D


I have to agree that this style is best suited to the curly/wavy's, but i see no reason others could not do it, you will just have a slightly more modern look, or you could just curl the hair (I could see how that kind of defeats the purpose of the messy but...). A major part of the messy bun is the front of the hair. It should not be smooth and even, it should be loose and... messy.
I do it this way. Start twisting like you are going to make a regular bun, but leave it loose (so you have play on the front of your hair). Then twist the bun - your hair should still be loose in the front- and lay it down where it should go. Then move the bun up on your head about and inch so you have a bit of a pompadour, not too much! When you make the bun dont tuck the ends under, leave them out and let some of them lay across the bun and some of them stick up. You can pin these in place but dont overdo it, it is a messy bun. Take your fingers and mess up the front of your hair, just shove them in and wiggle them around. Give your head a bit of a shake and stop worrying about that one weird looking piece, if you mess with it, its only going to get worse and odds are that piece is just you (or me, generally) being obsessive.

Oh, this hair style does work best with some pretty tendrils hanging out in the front. Just separate them before you start makeing the bun.

Hope this helps. :)

Wow, that's a huuuge help! Thanks so much. None of that would ever have occurred to me. I wish there was a Long Hair for Dummies book. Hee. Maybe there is; I should go check.


I'm with those who cannot do this. every time i try, i either look like i escaped a mental institute or i'm a librarian on drugs. so just gave up trying, simply bun my hair at the nape of my neck and tie it with a crotched scrunchie and hope the ends of my hair don't end up sticking out everywhere.

Hahahaha...!!! That's what I'm afraid of looking like. My mother's told me a few times that my hair looks 'drunk'. I never tried those styles (a slightly listing Ficcare French twist for e.g.) again.

I'll see if I can dig up a scrunchie from somewhere. I haven't used one since I was a figure-skater decades ago. Maybe they've improved since then...?


I'm not sure if I can explain this, or how long hair friendly it is, but here's what I always did:

Take a hair elastic, form a pony tail and pull the hair halfway through the elastic (to form a loop). Then just kinda smoosh the loop and fluff up the ends that haven't been pulled through and wrap the hair elastic around a few more times till it's the usual tightness.

Thanks! I'm trying to figure that one out as well. I think I need to loop more because there's always a good six inches of hair left hanging in the breeze. And then it falls down. I'll have to keep trying... :D


Another messy bun idea, I'll try to discribe it:

Make a ponytail, secure with an elastic band BUT: when you pull it through for the last time, twist the tail a bit first and leave it halfway in the elastic band. So don't pull it through completely. You now have a loop hanging. With longer hair you coil the tassel around the base.
Now you grab the loop and place it over the elastic band/bun and secure with two hairsticks.

Oh, wow, that's lovely! Even my 'tidy' buns don't look that good. Thanks for the info. and the photos ...gorgeous style. :)

kali_shey
March 28th, 2009, 11:20 AM
I do really good messy buns... can't explain it really, but my friends are always saying how cute they look.

Only problem: when I take out the second hair elastic (I don't use bobby pins), it tends to tangle on my hair, so I don't think it's very hair-friendly :(


Thanks ...yeah, I have a big problem getting things out of my hair sometimes, too. It has a tendency to go nest-y on me, which you'd think would be ideal for this kind of style but, alas, no.
Some days I feel like hacking my braid off with the garden shears :rolleyes:


Couple more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z720pqp8lK4

the scrunching method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da6Thzo5oSc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whlfx...om=PL&index=14 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhlfxyDedbg&feature=PlayList&p=FBF3B75AA432A0D7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=14)
__________________

Cheers for that! Someday when I've got access to a computer with faster hamsters I'll give those a watch! I'm much better with learning from visuals :)


I take peaces of hair i roll it a bit then clip it somewhere high. i do it with many peaces and always change directions..it ends up looking really coo

Thanks! I like that idea! I've always felt like my hair owns me, rather than the other way around, and since I've got a few layers things seem to unravel for me ...a solution! Yippee! Maybe I can make the monsters work for me. That would be good :D

lacereza
March 28th, 2009, 01:18 PM
I have taken to twisting the hair up the back of my head as if I was doing a peacock twist, securing it with two pins (I use the scunci ones, they're very secure, but it doesn't matter if it's not held tight because you'll put in more later), then grabbing one half of the hair coming out and sort of loosely looping around to the left of my crown, leaving the end free. Same with the other piece of hair, looping round the right of the crown. to hold, I just randomly stick pins in. All together I usually use five or six, including the original two (may hair is thick and past BSL) At the end I look in the mirror and see where it would be best to pin the loose ends. Hope that makes some sense... I should do a tutorial.

UncommonTart
March 28th, 2009, 01:34 PM
Messy buns with pastel velvet scrunchies were the only thing to do with your hair when I was in middle school, and I used to feel so upset with myself that I just couldn't get them to work. (It was just one more way that I didn't "fit in," I suppose.) I was sure that I was the only person in the world who couldn't do it. I still think that they're cute, and I'm going to have fun trying some of the tips I've read here.

enfys
March 28th, 2009, 01:36 PM
Bluebell, that's really pretty! I'll have ago at that one.

When I've washed my hair today or tomorrow I'll try and get a few photos of how I do mine. Not clever enough to make a video I'm afraid haha.

spidermom
March 28th, 2009, 03:34 PM
I can do the neatest bun in the world, but it's generally messy after about an hour.

Tangles
March 28th, 2009, 03:36 PM
Clarify, don't condition or oil just this once. Then put your hair in braid waves or bun curls until it's about 2/3 dry. Finally, put your hair up, squishing it together rather than coiling or looping. Try that.

Heidi_234
May 25th, 2009, 12:07 PM
While looking into Furiana's messy bun article (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=129) I come up with my own messy bun, which uses a hairstick and one bobby pin instead of elastics, so I'm bumping this thread to share.
I based it on Spidermom's bun (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=123), tweaked it a little and messed it up too. :)
1. Divide hair as you're to do a half up (leave the bottom half alone).
2. Twist it around 2 fingers (like here (http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/bun2.jpg), but with half of the hair). Don't do it too high, it determines where the bun will end up being.
3. Now that all the hair is in one bulk again, take everything, and wrap it clockwise around the base once (around your fingers too) and let the rest of the length hang loose. This time make it looser, for the messy bun effect.
4. Take a hairstick and insert it near the tips of the 2 fingers, under the base and to the other coil which goes around the base of your 2 fingers (just like spidermom's bun really, she explains it better probably).
5. Now, after securing the bun with a stick, it should look something like this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3036&pictureid=39920). Take the leftover length that is hanging under the bun and bring over it/around it and secure with a bobby pin, letting the ends stick out and complete the messiness.
It holds very well, and made my hair look extra thick. I felt like a iii with this monster bun!
Heidi.:blossom:

AlisaB
May 26th, 2009, 02:04 PM
I just make a standard bun by twisting the hair, and then bringing it around itself to form a little circle. Then I pin it down, and fluff it up a bit. I always get compliments on it but it's so easy. Also a good way to give your hair some wave!

curls2grow
May 26th, 2009, 02:36 PM
I can't do a messy bun either. I have got to mess around with my hair more to try to figure this out.

Spidermom, your new sig pic is gorgeous! :D