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MimiKeki
August 20th, 2011, 07:44 AM
Hey everyone! Need some help.
I was in work the other day, when my boss commented how long my ponytail had become. She asked if I could style it in a way that would shorten the length.

I work in a coffeeshop, so she's totally got a point.

Can you guys teach me any BUN styles that only use hair elastics and bobby pins??
I'm desperate to know some for work.

I saw a mature lady with a bun the other day. It was tied in a pony, and the hair was divided into sections, rolled and clipped into a sort of flower shape on the head, i.e the sections looked like petals of a flower on her head. Anybody know the bun i am describing?
She had told me her hair was past waist when down.

Really need some styles, 'cause I'm not cutting my hair for my job.
Thanks guys!! :)

Madora
August 20th, 2011, 08:32 AM
Hey everyone! Need some help.
I was in work the other day, when my boss commented how long my ponytail had become. She asked if I could style it in a way that would shorten the length.

I work in a coffeeshop, so she's totally got a point.

Can you guys teach me any BUN styles that only use hair elastics and bobby pins??
I'm desperate to know some for work.

I saw a mature lady with a bun the other day. It was tied in a pony, and the hair was divided into sections, rolled and clipped into a sort of flower shape on the head, i.e the sections looked like petals of a flower on her head. Anybody know the bun i am describing?
She had told me her hair was past waist when down.

Really need some styles, 'cause I'm not cutting my hair for my job.
Thanks guys!! :)

First of all, bobby pins are meant for short hair. You'll need long, crimped hairpins to hold a bun securely.

For a simple BUN here's what you might try. Mind...I don't advocate ponytails as a base for a bun, but since buns are new to you, it's probably the easiest way to start.

1) Detangle all your hair with a wide tooth comb and place into a ponytail. Comb out the tail so that it smooth with no tangles.

2) Take a SMALL section of hair and wrap it around the ponytail base to hide the elastic. Secure the ends with tiny hairpins

3) Divide the ponytail hair horizontally so that you have a top section and a bottom section. Put a soft scrunchie around the bottom section to keep it contained.

4) Take the hair in the top section, and gently twist it in one direction, all the way down the strands. Then take the coil in your hand, and wind it around the ponytail base, pinning with hairpins as you go (pin the coil at the top, bottom, and on each side). Tuck in the tassle under the bun you have just made.

5) Take the remaining hair out of the scrunchie, and twist as in step number 4 and repeat.

If you want, instead of twisting this section, you can BRAID the section and pin it around the bun already in place.

Other variations of this style:

2 braids bun
1 rose bun
2 twisted bun
1 cameo bun

The secret to successful buns is sectioning them in two parts, rather than trying to put all the hair in one large bun.

Sectioned buns are also more comfortable to wear as the hair is distributed more evenly over the head.

Lastly, for the sake of your hair follicles, do NOT pull that ponytail tightly! You should be able to get at least ONE finger under the ponytail holder.

If you check out the Articles section (see grey Menu bar), the Hairstyling section has several interesting bun possibilities.

Good luck!

Honestwitness
August 20th, 2011, 08:49 AM
Madora, your posts are always so clear and full of valuable details. I appreciate you so much.

However, for some people, bobby pins work better than hairpins. I can't get hairpins to hold my hair in a bun, but bobby pins work just fine. Now, mind you, my hair is very fine and has a pretty dramatic taper. So even though my longest bits are waist length, my bun is still pretty small. It's only in the last couple of months that I've been able to get a hairstick to hold my buns, also. I'm so happy to be able to use something other than bobby pins, but hairpins just don't work for me.

katienoonan
August 20th, 2011, 09:09 AM
A lady on here posted this rose-bun video very recently... I can't remember her username but it may be on her vimeo site...!

http://vimeo.com/14688883

Kelikea
August 20th, 2011, 09:17 AM
I have the same issue at work, and we wear hats, so buns don't always fit. I braid or rope braid my pony or do a simple braid with no pony. My boss is fine with the braids. Sometimes, depending on the hat, I wear buns. I use bunheads hair pins, they are my fave. Usually I do a cinnabun or a nautilus bun that I learned on youtube, that one gets a hair stick. Wrapping hair around the pony and fastening with a jaw clip is super easy. Or you can just do a pony braid and then tuck the braid under into your pony band so its half the length. When my hair was hip length I used to just do multiple pony bands down the length of my pony, about 1-2 inches between each. It doesn't shorten the length, but controls the hair. My boss has always been fine with any of these options.

Madora
August 20th, 2011, 09:21 AM
Madora, your posts are always so clear and full of valuable details. I appreciate you so much.

However, for some people, bobby pins work better than hairpins. I can't get hairpins to hold my hair in a bun, but bobby pins work just fine. Now, mind you, my hair is very fine and has a pretty dramatic taper. So even though my longest bits are waist length, my bun is still pretty small. It's only in the last couple of months that I've been able to get a hairstick to hold my buns, also. I'm so happy to be able to use something other than bobby pins, but hairpins just don't work for me.

Thanks, Honestwitness.

If bobby pins work for you, that's terrific!

My preference for crimped hairpins is based on their length being able to penetrate the bun securely (which, of course, depends on how you insert them!).

I know several members here have great results with Good Days Pins as well.

Even the crimped hairpins can vary in quality, however, as I've found out over the years!

In2wishin
August 20th, 2011, 09:27 AM
A basic cinnabun is really easy to do, with or without elastics. Since you have not done buns, you might want to start with using an elastic to hold the pony.

1) Gather hair into a ponytail
2) Loosely twist the pony 1-2 times
3)Lay one hand flat on start of the pony (this keeps the bun more flat)
4) wrap the hair in a spiral, loosely twisting another time or two as you go
5) tuck the ends under to hide them
6) secure with pin of your choice. I prefer the super-size (3") bobby pins or spin pins. I originally used standard bobby pins.

I don't have a tutorial but here is a photo of the finished bun secured with decorative spin pins:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk315/eclctcmnd/scroo.jpg

Anje
August 20th, 2011, 10:22 AM
My personal preference is for U-shaped hairpins like Amish pins. I don't care if they're crimped, but they need to be stiff. Some that you can buy from Scunci and Goody are really wimpy and bend.

The real, secret key to using U pins effectively is that you treat them like little hair forks rather than trying to sandwich hair between the tines like it's a bobby pin.

You've got some good suggestions for buns already, so I won't add much there. Cinnamon buns and braided cinnamon buns are really easy and hold well with some pins. You can pin most buns, though.

Panth
August 20th, 2011, 10:35 AM
For if/when you want to try out some other buns, there's a whole wealth of styles in the Articles section.

For basic styles with the ingredients you mention, I suggest a cinnabun (pin whilst twisting the coils, not just once all the hair is coiled up, for maximum security if using small pins). Nice variations on that theme are plaited cinnabuns (usually using a simple english plait as the base, though I found for a while a french plait base was better as it gave a more secure back to pin the bun onto ... of course you can vary things by trying more complex plaits as the base, e.g. 4 stranded box braids, etc.). A favourite seems to be the rose bun, which is a cinnabun done with a 2 strand rope braid. You can get different effects by coiling the bun in the same / the opposite direction as the coils of the rope braid.

Hope that helps get you started!

Oh! Another one you might like is the 'odango bun': http://www.youtube.com/user/pinkbunnyjrocker#p/u/3/C-y9fkJiQ3U
Pinkbunny uses wide, clear combs but (especially with your shorter hair) you could adapt it and use bobby pins instead. Also, if your hair is too short you could just make the first 'poof' of hair, not two. There's plenty of other tutorials for odango buns on Youtube but I thought I'd give you one from an LHC member since it's likely to involve less nasty stuff like teasing.

QMacrocarpa
August 20th, 2011, 11:50 AM
MimiKeki, what you describe sounds something like the first bun shown in this tutorial (http://www.youtube.com/user/lilithedarkmoon#p/u/9/qzej58RC-AU).

And also like the bun described in this article (http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=143).

I hope that helps! :)

MissManda
August 20th, 2011, 01:47 PM
A lady on here posted this rose-bun video very recently... I can't remember her username but it may be on her vimeo site...!

http://vimeo.com/14688883

That's the style in my avatar. I really like how quick and easy it is once you get the hang of doing the rolls and pinning them down. You could also try a fully-rolled sock bun since it doesn't require bobby pins and you just need an elastic and a hair donut, which you can make at home.

The pin roll flower bun is the only bun style that I can do with bobby pins, though, since they do not hold enough of my hair, so I intend to get some U-shaped or spin pins in the future.

CurlyMopTop
August 20th, 2011, 01:57 PM
Lazy wrap bun with hairsticks would work. I can't use bobby pins. I'm just bobby pin inept I guess. I can however use there majic hair pins sold at Sally's Beauty Supply. They are plastic and seem to hold very well. I use them to make a French Twist with my hair. Spin Pins are another favorite of mine and they can hold just about any type of bun that regular bobby pins do, only with 1 or 2 pins instead of 20. Good luck. :)

Curly Hermione
August 20th, 2011, 02:38 PM
OK, i'm not a bun guru like the other lovely ladies here, and my hair is just barely shoulderlength, but i did manage a simple bun using one bobby pin for a job interview.

Melanie Marie
August 20th, 2011, 08:45 PM
My hair is about as long as yours, and the buns that hold like cement for me are:

1) Vortex buns
2) pinned up box braid
3) a ponytail split into two sections, box braided, and pinned up

I don't know what it is with me, but I have a much easier time pinning up box braids than any other braid (inexperienced as I am).

longcurlygirl<3
August 20th, 2011, 08:47 PM
twirl it around and then secure with a pony tail or a jaw clip? That's what I do.

Sundial
August 20th, 2011, 09:30 PM
MimiKeki, what you describe sounds something like the first bun shown in this tutorial (http://www.youtube.com/user/lilithedarkmoon#p/u/9/qzej58RC-AU).

And also like the bun described in this article (http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=143).

I hope that helps! :)

QMacrocarpa I think that's the bun she was referring to as well! That YouTube video is really informative and I like how she taught another messy version of the bun for a different look. I remember MissManda did this bun recently and had it on her avatar too. It was a looser, lower look so you can check that one out too

racrane
August 20th, 2011, 09:33 PM
Personally, I like french braiding. It keeps things tidy. :D

selderon
August 20th, 2011, 09:54 PM
Here are some ideas in the very easy to pretty easy range:
Bun 411 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ywgUDBpnX0)
Rose bun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHKNEULYwdg)
Fully rolled sock bun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I13J7ArHTkM&feature=related)
Habioku's hairstyle tutorials (http://sites.google.com/site/habioku/hairstyles/hairstyle-tutorials)

Macaroni
August 20th, 2011, 11:00 PM
And also like the bun described in this article (http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=143).

I hope that helps! :)

That's exactly what I do! After pinning the sections down, I spread them out a little more so it looks like one big smooth chignon.

hototogisu
August 21st, 2011, 01:24 AM
It turns out I've been doing a cinnamon bun for years! I have bra strap length hair and I twist it into a rope, wrap it into a bun, then secure it with one or two large open French pins that I 'stitch' in from one of the top layers of the bun into the scalp hair. It's very comfortable and very secure. I actually like to let my hair down when I get in to work, but wear it up when I'm outside so it doesn't whip around and get tangled, so I always keep a few French pins in my pocket or bag to put my hair back when I need to.

I also like what I call a halo braid (a French braid around the entire head) but I'm (a) an LHC n00b so I probably have the name wrong, and (b) a braid idiot. The halo braid is comfortable and gets all my annoying layers out of the way, and if I can do it anyone can!

Immera
August 21st, 2011, 04:21 PM
If I do a gibraltar bun (cinnamon bun with the inner coil pulled outside of the center) with my ends kind of tucked in and out of the last coil, it's stable enough to hold itself. If I add a good days pin or a spin pin, it's secure all day. Rope or English braid, first, it's rock solid.

Kricket
August 22nd, 2011, 10:52 AM
This a quick tutorial on how to do a cute short pony-tail for us long-haired folks!

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/faux-short-pony-tail/

Hope it helps!

Lianna
August 22nd, 2011, 03:00 PM
Something very simple:

Make a looped ponytail using an elastic, wrap the rest of the hair around and secure the ends with bobby pins.