one-stick buns with staying power?

[nytquill]

I've just ordered a bunch of hairsticks from Etsy and I'm so excited! Up til now I have been using chopsticks that I cut to size, sharpened with a pencil sharpener and painted over the bare ends - the result being that everybody thinks I have a pencil in my hair, and I have been wanting something a bit more elegant-looking!

But now I have to find some good hairstyles to wear with them. I didn't get any matched sets for the time being so I'm looking for "one-stick wonders". I find that cinnabuns fall out pretty quickly. Have had some better luck with nautilus buns but I can only get them to look right about half the time! I work in a drugstore so I do a fair bit of moving around, mostly walking and climbing ladders. If I'm expecting a really vigourous day I do a braid instead of a bun but I wanna show off these new sticks as much as possible!

I love perusing the hairstyles articles but was just wondering based on personal experience what buns, twists, knots etc. do you find hold up well?

[Shellby]

My figure 8 or infinite ones last all day with one stick. I work a petty busy retail shift/position and it will last all day and still look decent when I take it down at night.

PS I am sooo jealous of your new purchases! Hoping to have extra cash soon for such purchases. I do expect pictures of your new dos and sticks. :)

[RubyEmpress]

ooo I'm looking at hairtoys right now. I currently don't own any hair sticks or forks and I'm looking at Baerreis. How do I know what size I should get? My hair is currently about 1" below APL and not too thick.

[bunzfan]

The first hairstyle i could get to hold with hair sticks was the lazy wrap bun have you tried that? here's a good tutorial.

http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk123/SkyDancer248/Hair/?action=view&current=j001.mp4

and this video of the nautilus helped me to get a solid bun that stayed all day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw1EsUPGY48

[rags]

My hair was at BSL before I cut it and I wore it up every day for 300 days straight. :D The best one for me honestly was a nautilus. Also the pencil bun. Those two would hold all day through anything!

[nytquill]

I had almost forgotten about figure 8s! They look a bit like a samurai knot on me I think but they are solid!

I'm so happy...I was browsing months ago and spotted this adorable pink one with a bunny topper. I'm not normally into "overcute" stuff but this was just too sweet and because I own a rabbit and am a mod on another forum for rabbit owners it was just too perfect. I even showed it to everybody on the bunny forum saying if I were buying hair stuff right now I would get this one. Well lo and behold it was STILL THERE when I bought my stuff today, so I had to get it! I will be taking pictures when it all gets here :)

For me I based my size on the chopstick I was already using. The original length was way too long so I kept trimming it down until I found a size that worked and didn't look like one of those arrow-through-the-head headbands. For me that turned out to be 6-6.5 inches. I don't know if there's a better method out there but since I already had done the work on the cheap sticks to figure out the best size for me then I just used that number while shopping.

Thanks for the videos; I will check those out! :)

[sparkle'n'bling]

A one-stick celtic knot has really good staying power - it will not move all day, no matter how much running I do.

[soobie]

I wear a lazy wrap almost every day, and it never moves from when I put it in until I take it out.

[nytquill]

Alright is there something I'm not understanding about the nautilus? I've watched a couple different videos and written instructions and I feel like I understand what to do, but...I've been practicing and practicing and it never looks the same twice! I gather it up into a pony, twist it, make a loop around my fingers, wrap the remaining tail around the base, and pull the loop down over the wrapped part. I've tried varying the tightness of the twist, I've tried either wrapping the tail or twisting the loop so the tail gets pulled in and wraps itself...is there something I'm missing?

[greentealeaf]

I'd suggest the Celtic Knot bun. Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxYcU5AUs7g) that shows it with a half up, but the same instructions work for using all of your hair as well.

[Rivanariko]

Celtic knot is my go-to all day bun. I work in a very busy cake department and it stays no problem. I also wear it out the barn often if I'm doing ground work with my horse, or when I'm walking my dogs, to church... it generally manages to hold through any and all of my activities :)

[frizzinator]

Alright is there something I'm not understanding about the nautilus? I've watched a couple different videos and written instructions and I feel like I understand what to do, but...I've been practicing and practicing and it never looks the same twice! I gather it up into a pony, twist it, make a loop around my fingers, wrap the remaining tail around the base, and pull the loop down over the wrapped part. I've tried varying the tightness of the twist, I've tried either wrapping the tail or twisting the loop so the tail gets pulled in and wraps itself...is there something I'm missing?


The nautilus can look different, because of the varieties you mentioned and also the way you hold the beginning loop or wrap. It probably doesn't make much sense to you now, but when the fingers of the hand that supports the loop are pointing in a position like 3 o'clock, the bun will ultimately look different than if the fingers are pointing at 12 o'clock, and likewise, at 6 o'clock. Just keep practicing, and just because it looks different, doesn't mean it's wrong.

[hippiechick1976]

ok I keep seeing mentions of a pencil bun....did i miss something? i see no article etc on it?

[nytquill]

Frizzinator: thanks! I feel a bit less frustrated knowing there are several variables. I will try to play with it some more and figure out what makes the difference. Are you describing the direction my fingers are pointing when I start to twist the loop, or the direction my fingers are pointing as I hold the loop while I'm wrapping the tail end?

Ok so far Celtic Knot bun is a winner...I can't always get it to look just right but the important thing for now is that it stays. And it's really comfortable and doesn't pull! And the "twist on a stick" also seems pretty secure and comfortable.

I have had the experience waaay too many times at work of my cinnabun coming undone and slithering down my neck like a snake - very unpleasant! And customers look at you funny when you start making weird faces as it unwraps itself, haha.

[Alcenaia]

I'll second the lazy wrap bun. I've also had good luck with Spidermom's bun (IIRC) and the Gibraltar bun.


Alright is there something I'm not understanding about the nautilus? I've watched a couple different videos and written instructions and I feel like I understand what to do, but...I've been practicing and practicing and it never looks the same twice! I gather it up into a pony, twist it, make a loop around my fingers, wrap the remaining tail around the base, and pull the loop down over the wrapped part. I've tried varying the tightness of the twist, I've tried either wrapping the tail or twisting the loop so the tail gets pulled in and wraps itself...is there something I'm missing?

I find that my nautilus holds a lot better if I put the stick in before I wrap the tail.

[luluj]

My favorite is the Wrapped Hairstick Bun.........
http://frannyslonghair.blogspot.com/search/label/wrapped%20hairstick%20bun (http://frannyslonghair.blogspot.com/search/label/wrapped%20hairstick%20bun)

[Capybara]

I need two sticks for most buns, but my favourite one stick buns for staying power are the hypno-bun (unfortunately, I have to do a sort of hybrid at my length, it's still not long enough to do a proper one! :eek:) and the split bun. I'm wearing a split bun with a single stick as I type this.

ETA:

I find that my nautilus holds a lot better if I put the stick in before I wrap the tail.

How do you do this? Do you pull the loop around the hairstick afterwards (sort of like a hair-made slide)? Or am I pictureing it wrong :) I've always had problems with my nautilus's not holding - I have to redo them 5 or 6 times in the course of the day.

[ErinM]

I find the pencil/lazy wrap hybrid I do is my solid go-to these days, and only requires one stick. I'm a kindergarten teacher, on my feet and moving, jumping, chasing after kids all day, and I never even have to redo it. Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1R1QTYSlkM) I made about how I do it, and a few people have tried it and said it worked.

I can sometimes get a Nautilus to stay, but my really thick hair makes it hard, at my length, to get the loop over without ends coming loose all over the place. Cinnamon buns absolutely won't work with just a stick for me, and I haven't had any luck with a celtic knot bun. I need to try that one again.

[frizzinator]

....
Are you describing the direction my fingers are pointing when I start to twist the loop, or the direction my fingers are pointing as I hold the loop while I'm wrapping the tail end?


I was describing the direction your fingers are pointing when holding the loop while wrapping the tail end. This variance also somewhat determines where the hair accessory is inserted.

Try making the nautilus while holding your hand in a different direction.

Try it with reversed hands (holding the loop with your other hand).

Try different hair accessories. Try inserting the hair accessory in different ways.

I think it's fun but maybe it's actually an obsession.

[Madora]

For what it's worth, until this past week I've had no experience using chopsticks.

However, I decided to try a kind of figure 8 braid using one chopstick (from Sally's Beauty Supply store) and anchored it with 5 3" hair pins.

It held very well. I was very surprised. Even better, it felt secure and did not pull at my scalp.

You can see a picture of it in the "Hair Polls and Project" forum, the thread named "How are You Wearing Your Hair Today".

[teela1978]

The pencil bun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0k3dD4qX34
stays best for me. Its another variation on the nautilus/lazywrap kinda thing, very close to eadwine's 10 second quickbun... but the pencil bun works better on my hair. I don't think we have an actual tutorial, everyone just links to the youtube.

And I have to say that i'm happy to hear that the twisty hairstick thing that works on shoulder length hair has a name :) Wrapped hairstick bun huh?

[bunzfan]

I'd suggest the Celtic Knot bun. Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxYcU5AUs7g) that shows it with a half up, but the same instructions work for using all of your hair as well.

Thanks for this link i thought my BSL hair was to short to do a Celtic Knot but i can just about do one now :disco:

[Angeletti]

Thanks for posting that link for the lazy wrap bun bunzfan, I'm usually bun challenged but managed to figure out how to do it from that video and now love it, such a comfortable bun and I only need one stick. : )

[Khiwanean]

My go-to bun is the hypno bun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFeNYl-OK6Q). I can shake my head vigorously and it does not budge. No other single-stick bun I've tried has come close to that staying power.

You mentioned doing a cinnabun with one stick. I've never been able to get one to stay well without two.

[bunzfan]

Thanks for posting that link for the lazy wrap bun bunzfan, I'm usually bun challenged but managed to figure out how to do it from that video and now love it, such a comfortable bun and I only need one stick. : )

Your very welcome :D thats the best tutorial i have found so far. It was the first bun that i could do with hair sticks i have since found that hair forks hold better for APL-BSL hair.