Help for thickening braided buns?

[CrunchyMama]

I attempted to do a French braid into a little braided "rose" bun at the nape of my neck today. It looks cute enough, but I really hate how tiny the bun looks compared to the volume of the French braid. My hair is WL, but never looks like it when pulled up into tight buns because of its massive taper--starts about BSL right now, resulting in very wispy ends and skinny braids, even when done as a single braid...

I'm wondering if anyone has any tricks for making the volume of a braided bun bigger? I was trying to think if I could wrap it around something, like a sock bun, but couldn't think how to get that to work. Or maybe the solution is just to wrap it around a hairstick somehow? Anyway, I know many of you out there have the same problem as me, and I'm hoping somebody has come up with a genius idea!! :D

[Madora]

Only thing that comes to mind is to braid loosely to give the appearance of greater thickness.

[white.chocolate]

I've never tried to make my bun thicker before, but my ideas are: you can braid loose, braid with a scarf, or tug at the sides of the braid.

[spidermom]

You could braid a long, thin scarf into your hair. I used to do that when I wanted to feel what a longer braid was like.

[Scarlet_Heart]

You could braid a long, thin scarf into your hair. I used to do that when I wanted to feel what a longer braid was like.

I like that idea! I was going to say that when I try to braid loose, when I go to coil the braid into a bun, pieces fall out. So instead of braiding loosely, braid normally and then when you coil, coil it loosely if possible. That's what I do. And I find that starting as low as possible (when coiling) helps. So start at the very bottom of your hairline and wrap loosely counter clockwise. That's how I did the one in my avatar.

[jacqueline101]

The scarf idea is all that comes to mind unless you want to do monistat and grow out your taper.

[Long_hair_bear]

You could do a sock bun if it was unbraided. :D

[heidihug]

I have the exact same issue as you. I sometimes insert a hairstick behind my braided ponytail, and then wind the braid around behind the hairstick relatively loosely - looks bigger then. That, or the Chinese bun made with two braids looks really cute, too. Take a bit longer to do, but worth the effort in my book.

[LadyLongLocks]

Make braid waves the day before and then re-braid it the next day. Keep the braid more loose the second day.

[heidi w.]

Only thing that comes to mind is to braid loosely to give the appearance of greater thickness.

That was my suggestion also. Just don't weave so tightly.

Inserting a ribbon in the weaving can thicken things up a bit. But it can make pinning up a bit more challenging.

heidi w.

[ravenreed]

Some folks save shed hair and make braids or whatnot that could be used to fill out a hairstyle.

[QMacrocarpa]

French braids make taper more severe for me, making my braid tail noticeably skinnier. You might try starting your French braid lower on your head to reduce this effect, or maybe use an English braid (or a Faux French braid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kOyGD_KOoA)) for bunning. The scarf (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1ylR8NHde0) idea also sounds promising.

[battles]

I was also going to suggest adding a scarf into your braid. You could also add some fun color that way.

[HintOfMint]

Maybe a clip in extension or a ponytail extension could add some bulk to the taper. Kind of how a "rat" is supposed to work, just something that would work for a braid (and less effort than separating your shed hairs into a ponytail like thing)

[CrunchyMama]

You know, I don't hate the "rat" braid idea... My DH will think I've totally lost my mind if I start collecting shed hairs, though. ;) the faux French would work for a day-to-day thing... But not the specific "low-do" I was practicing today for an upcoming wedding. I think I will have to rethink it for now, or find a scarf/thick ribbon to match my dress. :) thanks for the suggestions!!!!

[MissManda]

What I would do is make braidwaves in my hair the previous day, then French braid as usual. Once at the nape of the neck, split the remaining hair into two braids instead of one as if making a Dutch Flutterby (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAm5ezMmsrM), making sure to keep the braids loose. Then just wrap them into a bun as usual. :) I wonder if using a scrunchie(s) as a hair rat would work if you would like to add even more volume.

I hope that makes sense! I like the scarf idea, too.

[young&reckless]

I like to braid each section first to get a bigger braid. It eats up a lot of length though.

[Loviatar]

Cheat like heck :D

When I was in a theatre show recently (pre-pixie, when my hair was 21 inches long) and had to have enough hair for a large Edwardian updo, I braided in a ton of fake hair. I have one real human hairpiece which is a drawstring ponytail, and one large braid which is just synthetic. I got both at an Asian hair store called Pak's in London, and the braid was just a bunch of hair with an elastic holding it all together, but Sally Beauty or similar should have proper extensions and hairpieces.

As soon as my hair's long enough to put in a pony-stub, I'm breaking out the fakes again, and I'll bun or braid it every day and wear my hairsticks as often as I like even though my hair's short. I'll wear the 'real' hair ponytail loose for special occasions. The good thing about the human hair ponytail is I can even henna it if I want to as it's an exact match for my current hair colour.

[papera]

I would loosen up the braid once your done with it. it gives more volume than just braiding loosely. So basically you just pull on the sides of the braid to make it more voluminous.
Then pin it in place with hair needles. IMO they are better than spin pins, as you can pin the braid a bit "broader".

If you're afraid that the braid won't stay put, make the first coil/ twist very tight and pin well in place. Then you can pin the rest more loosely and voluminous around the inner coil/ twist.

This video also shows a 4-strand braid with a scarf, maybe instead of doing it on the side you can do it on the back and then just pin in place? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gITbd33n9_Q

Good luck!

[Terra]

My hair gets more volume, when I add Aloe Vera Gel to it.
Just apply it to the dry hair, wait until it's dry again and loosen the hair with your fingers and go on with your routine...

Dunno if it works for your hair, but you could try... :)

[spike316]

What about something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ozFoyqo4aE and then just putting it into a bun after you've fluffed the braid?

[LissaJane]

You could braid a long, thin scarf into your hair. I used to do that when I wanted to feel what a longer braid was like.

I used to braid small strands of my hair together with wool to see what longer hair was like. It would take FOREVER and I'd end up taking them all out within a day or two. They came out like faux dreadlocks, but they were fun for a while.

[spike316]

I used to braid small strands of my hair together with wool to see what longer hair was like. It would take FOREVER and I'd end up taking them all out within a day or two. They came out like faux dreadlocks, but they were fun for a while.

Lol like a dreadlock weave! That'd be awesome for a rave. ^_^ I wonder if there's uv light reactive wool out there? =D

[LissaJane]

Lol like a dreadlock weave! That'd be awesome for a rave. ^_^ I wonder if there's uv light reactive wool out there? =D

Hahah that would be awesome!
I used to use the brightest colors I could find :p

[spike316]

Hahah that would be awesome!
I used to use the brightest colors I could find :p

http://www.etsy.com/listing/89849583/fuzzy-caterpillar-black-light-yarn-ooak?ref=v1_other_2 Ok, I may have to do this for my next anime convention! :cheese:

[CrunchyMama]

Here's the French Braided Bun hairstyle in question:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9205&pictureid=124140

So you can see how tiny my little bun was. I think I'm going to try 2 things... First, tying the French braid off, then dividing it into 2 or more braids and twisting them into a bun. Second, tying the French braid off, creating a basic sock bun, and then braiding the leftover ends and wrapping that around the sock bun...

[LissaJane]

http://www.etsy.com/listing/89849583/fuzzy-caterpillar-black-light-yarn-ooak?ref=v1_other_2 Ok, I may have to do this for my next anime convention! :cheese:
Haha that's amazing. Let me know if you do and how it went :D

CrunchyMama, I think that'd look quite nice with like a pink ribbon braided in, like someone else mentioned. Let us know how your experiments go? I'm quite interested, it's such a unique & pretty looking hairstyle :)