Posts Tagged ‘braided bun’

DOUBLE ROPE BRAID BUN

photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess

Some days you put your hair up in a ballerina bun or a sock bun and it just looks… blah. This tutorial shows us how to add volume + texture to a bun in order to make it a little more interesting. We’re basically using 2 rope braids to create the bun which still looks very simple + chic, but far from boring. Let’s get started:

  1. Put your hair in two ponytails using the thin ponytail holders, not the thick ones. The thin ones will be easier to hide. Be sure they’re as close to your hair color as possible.
  2. Make both ponytails into rope braids. (A rope braid, for those of  you who don’t know, is just 2 pieces of hair twisted around each other.) Tie them off with the small clear elastics.
  3. Loosen up the rope braids using your fingers. This will “fatten” up the braid and give the bun a lot more volume. If you find that little pieces start falling out, just twist them back in and spray your favorite strong hold hairspray.
  4. Take the rope braid from your back right (as you see in the photo), lay it “up and over” going counter-clockwise, securing it with strong-holding bobbypins as you go.
  5. Tuck the tail of that rope braid under the bottom of the next braid (as you see in the photo). This should completely conceal the tail of the first braid.
  6. Now bring the tail of the next braid counter-clockwise, coiling it into the center. You’re essentially making a “snail shape”. Be sure to pin as you go.
  7. Last, grab a hand mirror. Check the back to see if you need to loosen up any pieces to make it fuller– or maybe you’ll need to add bobbypins and tighten some pieces. Add an over all veil of hairspray to secure fly-aways.

Good luck! Tweet us a photo when you try it!

UPDO + BANGS

photos, graphic design + post by Kristin Ess

Girls with bangs (aka: fringe) seem to have some trouble finding updos. Here’s one that I think is super cute and pretty easy to do. It takes about 5-10 minutes and keeps your hair out of your way all day. It’s a great way to deal with second day hair if you just don’t feel like doing it in the morning but have to look prim + proper for work. Here’s how this bun is done…

  1. Start with dry hair. It doesn’t have to be perfectly clean– in fact 2nd day hair does better than clean hair when it comes to this look. If your hair is on day 2, spray a little DRY SHAMPOO at the root before you start.
  2. Use this type of thick rubberband or something similar to gather all of your hair on the top of your head. Don’t worry about it being perfect, just make sure it won’t move.
  3. Take about 1/4 of the whole ponytail (as you see Kamille doing in photo 3) and drop it off to the side. Note: try taking this piece from the side, not all the way from the back– that way the best/thickest part of the braid will show up in the front.
  4. Leave the 1/4 section out and create a regular ballerina bun on top using the other 3/4 of the ponytail. If you don’t know how to do a ballerina bun, CLICK HERE for our video.
  5. Once you’ve secured the bun, take the 1/4 section you left out and braid it. Fishtail, regular braid, whatever kind you want. Tie that off with a small clear elastic.
  6. Secure the braid using small bobbypins. I like to put a bobby pin in every inch and a half to make sure it really stays put.

You can accessorize this with a rosette for added texture as you see in the top photo. The one we used was from Forever 21 a long time ago, but we found some good ones HERE, HERE + HERE. Good luck! Show us your buns on twitter!!!