Messy Bun for Shoulder Length Hair

I recently posted a tutorial for a messy bun that is meant for longer hair but can be adapted for shorter hair. Within the video, I included written instructions for how to modify it for those with shorter hair styles. Sometimes seeing it written isn't quite as simple as seeing it being done, so today I'm showing you how I do the shorter-haired version.

This video is how I do my messy bun when it's anywhere from just below chin-length to just below my shoulders. Once it's long enough, I add back in the double bun featured in the other tutorial.

Basic Steps:

1. Pull hair up into low, small bun
2. Tug loose ends up and around ponytail holder, making the bun bigger and adding fun, messy spikes
3. Twist & tuck shorter pieces that fall out of bun into hair tie
4. Pull & tug crown to add volume

Is that a quick and easy messy bun or what? This is typically how I wear my hair to work during the week (because it's so fast and I get ready at the gym) and for a low-key style on the weekends. In fact, my hair is almost always up in one of these funky buns.

Style tip: This updo works best for me if my hair has some curl/wave/kink to it. Try curling your hair with this heat-free curling method or sleep in a French braid the night before—it makes a big difference and when you pull and tug to add volume, having either face-framing soft curls or waves really takes this style up a notch (as seen from a distance here—see the face-framing curls?)!

The little details: Eyes & Lips: Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes and Younique Lucrative Lip Gloss c/o my cousin & Younique Presenter Lindsay, Sterling Silver Wrap Ring: c/o The Vintage Pearl

Messy Bun Tutorial for Long or Short Hair

I'd like to preface this post by saying that I filmed this tutorial last year—the day before I whacked off 12-inches and donated my hair to charity. Looking back, I don't regret my decision to opt for a shorter 'do one bit, though this does make me miss my longer hair.

This messy bun is my go-to look for 2nd (or 3rd or 4th!) day hair. Though my hair is currently shoulder-length, I can still do a bun like this—I just have to modify the steps a little. My favorite part about this look? That it's a messy bun—it doesn't have to be perfect and will look different each time you do it.



Here are the basic steps:

1. Make a little bun
2. Double the bun
3. Twist and tuck loose ends into hair tie
4. Pull & tug bun to add volume
5. Secure loose & floppy bun pieces with bobby pins
6. Pull & tug crown to add volume

If you're trying this look on shorter hair, that's no problem! When you make your bun, skip step 2. Instead, twist and tuck the loose ends into your hair tie above your bun, creating what looks like a mini bun on top. It will give that "double bun" effect. And then, just like in the tutorial, pull & tug to add volume and secure loose pieces in place. I used this same method to create this bun and this bun on my much shorter hair.

Enjoy!

Messy Bun Updo

Since my hair has gotten longer, it's harder for me to get it into (and keep it in) a messy bun. My messy bun go-to these days is a triple-bun of sorts that—after adding a fancy hair clip c/o Lilla Rose by Rachel (win one here!)—turns into a pretty little updo.

I do this hairstyle by creating a ponytail at the nape of my neck. I then pull my ponytail through the hair-tie, stopping halfway down my ponytail to create a simple "poof" of hair. I then create another "poof" of hair with the rest of my ponytail. Then I tug and tug until it looks nice and a couple pieces fall out of the bottom poof, those of which I then tuck back into the hair-tie at the middle of the bun, hiding the hair-tie and creating a third "poof." Since that probably makes no sense at all, I plan on doing a video tutorial for this look so stay tuned for that to come soon.

Would you like to see a tutorial of this hairstyle? What's your messy-bun go-to?

Twists to a Bun

Bye Bye Beehive, is over in 

6 days.

Six days.

6-days until I can use a blow dryer.

6-days until I don't have to go to work with a wet mop of hair everyday.

6-days until I probably won't go back to the crazy teasing, hair spraying, and highlighting

I was so attached to before.

I think the coolest part about this year-long project

is all that I've learned about myself.

You'll hear more about it in... 6 days.

Anyway—one of my favorite things to add a little spunk to a 2nd-day hair style

is to create a couple of twists or braids and secure your hair into a messy bun.

It's adds texture, it catches the eye, and it totally hides the fact 

that your hair is dirty major (with some dry shampoo, of course).

Because sometimes, just sometimes, that extra 10 (or 40) minutes of sleep

is just oh-so worth-it.

3-Minute Messy Bun with a POP of Braided Fun

 

 

Ingredients for a messy bun with a POP of braided fun:

1. Dirty hair.
2. Dry shampoo.
3. Reverse French braid (a.k.a. cornrow or Dutch braid... French braid strands under each other instead of over).
4. Messy bun at the nape of your neck.

Prep time: 1 day to dirty-up your hair. Works best if ends have a slight curl to them.

Bake time: 3-minutes.

Enjoy for 1 (or 2) days ♥

My Messy Bun As Of Late

 

 

I'm fairly certain I have emphasized that 

I LOVE HAIRSPRAY

before, haven't I?

It used to be my saving grace when it came to making anything stay put,

making hair huge and poofy,

and making sure my hair did what I wanted.

And... now that I don't have it... I've been improvising.

I create a messy bun,

and then pull and tug to make it really big and messy.

Once it's nice and big, I take pieces and bobby pin them where I want them.

I don't point the bobby pins toward my pony tail holder (because to many makes it hurt!)...

I simply take a loop of bun (that's usually droopy and gross), 

and slide the bobby pin right over the chuck of hair I want to stay put, securing it to my head.

I make sure and do it under the visible part of loop, so you can't see the bobby pins while looking at my hair.

I usually end up with 5 or 6 bobby pins throughout my bun holding hair in place

to make it look bigger.

If that's confusing, I can do a vlog...

but it may take some persuasion :)

NYE Hair.

I had absolutely the hardest time trying to figure out what to do with my hair for New Year's Eve. There was the Holiday Updo, the Braided Bun, the Headband Chignon... I just had too many ideas.
I resorted to asking Daniel and his family what they thought. They immediately said a messy bun with a braid up the back. Done. No hairspray, teasing or curling required.

As you can see, I switched it up this time. Last time I did a regular French braid up the back, but this time I opted for a reverse French braid. I loved it~!
Happy New Year!

Braid Up Your Bun.

Happy Day-After-Christmas!!

I totally already got my post-jingle-bell shopping in, and saved no money. But that's alright, it was at a consignment shop... so the prices were all drastically reduced anyway.

I'm constantly looking for new ways to mix up my bun, so today I tried a little trick that I saw on The Beauty Department. It's a ballerina bun with a French braid up the back. It's modeled after this style.

Now, you may be wondering how in the heck I did this on my own head. Simple. Kind of.

I pulled the top half of my hair into a ponytail. Then, I flipped my head upside down and French braided the bottom half away from my neck. I secured it with a clear plastic elastic and then included it in the ponytail on top of my head. For the ballerina bun, I simply twisted my ponytail around the ponytail holder and pinned it in place, just like they did at The Beauty Department.

Oh-- and if you're not the most skilled at French braiding... have a buddy help you out! That's why my braid is so messy... it was hard to braid upside down! It's a rockin' style that adds spunk and personality to any messy bun.

xoxo

Jazz Up Your Messy Bun.

If you're looking for that extra OOMPH to add to your messy bun, why not try a couple fun braids?

Lately, I've been letting my hair rock out in a loose, messy bun. It's so easy, yet sometimes it just looks a little too simple. Today I added some braids and it definitely gave it a little *pop*. Think about trying braids, flowers, twists... anything you can think of. And then rock the heck out of it.

One of those days.

... so I had to messy bun it out!

I think it was just one of those days. I actually did go home early last night and shower so I could air-dry my hair and curl it... but it just didn't happen. So instead, I did my hair in my car on the way to work (I was safe, I promise!). I did a little wrap, swoosh and twist and that was that!

Hmm... what's a new fun hairstyle I could try with my shorter hair? More braids? Twists? Let's see what we can come up with!

Convertible.

This past week while on vacation in Palm Desert, my brother and I were greatly deprived and only had the option to drive around my dad's convertible. Aww shucks, right?

I quickly found that the only option for convertible hair was a convertible style in itself. The hairstyle I came up with was none other than the Boho bun. It is convertible because not only does it look chic and fun, but it also stays securely in place during long convertible rides. I added a couple flowers to the 'do and voila! It stayed perfectly in place. I also opted for this hairstyle the day my family and I went golfing. 

See... it's a convertible convertible hairstyle!

P.S. I just love reading your comments... but I can't reply back if you don't "show your email" on your Blogger profile. All you need to do is go to your Blogger profile. Click "Edit." Check the box that says "show my email address," and you're good to go!  Then I will be able to respond to your comments. For a more detailed tutorial, check out this link from For the Love of Blogs. Success!!!

When in Doubt.

... Messy bun it out!

I am SUCH a huge fan of the messy bun. Why? Because you can do it any way that you want to. Mine usually finds itself perched at the nape of my neck or right on top of my head. I usually twist it in and out of the ponytail holder a couple of times and it ends up where it ends up. Simple!

That is why I love it. My sister always asks me how I do my messy buns. The thing is... they're just so easy because I don't even know what I do. I pull, twist, twist, wrap. Done. I might have to post a step-by-step eventually... but I'm sure you probably have your messy bun down like whoa.

How do you do yours? Any tips for me with mine? Any new ways I could learn?

French Braid a la Bun.

Welcome, welcome hair chefs (if that's what you would call them)! Today we have a recipe for a quick and easy French braid a la Bun!

There are a couple ingredients that go into this French braid recipe:

1. A single French braid going down the back of your head.
2. A hairband to create a messy bun at the bottom of the braid.
3. Bobby pins if you have short pieces that you want to keep held back.

This recipe takes approximately 2-3 minutes to prepare and is ready to wear all day long! Enjoy!

The Twisted Step-Sister.

Surprise, surprise... I got up late today. It seems like this is becoming a regular occurrence for me. I think, "Gee, now that I don't have to "do" my hair, I can get up late!" The only problem with that thought is that... well, I can't keep getting up late. Because then, I don't have time to "do" my hair that I'm not supposed to "do." Does any of that make sense?

No? Okay then.

Despite my tardy awakening today, I had a cool hair idea in mind. I was going to attempt The Beauty Department's Twisted Sister. Needless to say... I'll inform you right now that it DID NOT WORK. But I know how to fix it for next time. I think...

Anyway-- I followed the Twisted Sister tutorial almost to a T, except for I forgot one minor detail. I didn't have the how-to photos in front of me while I did my hair this morning, and I totally spaced that you were supposed to "loosely twist" the hair before you pin it into the bun. Instead, I twisted it tightly. Oops. But to be quite honest, I kind of like how it turned out. Plus, since this was 3rd day hair (eww), I kind of had to make it a little bit tighter since it was quite oily (sorry, I know... that's gross). It may not be an elegant updo, but it will suffice for work, play and the gym. Awesome.

One other variation I added was that I pinned the front of my hair up into a bump. Since I'm not allowed to tease my hair to give the crown volume, as the tutorial suggests, I instead opted for some volume in the front that didn't require any back-combing.

Since step-sisters in fairy tales always seem to be less cool, shabby-looking, and always jealous of the princess, I give you my version of Twisted Sister, which is not quite as fancy, a little more homely, and therefore, the Twisted Step-Sister.

Boho Braid.

Sometimes, it is just not convenient to wash your hair. Especially if you really just don't feel like it. I'm sorry if this grosses anyone out... but I'm a huge fan of second-day hair. I would also be a fan of third-day hair... but I can never make it that far. My hair is just a tad too greasy for that.

After yesterday's hot mess of a hairdo, I still had a fair amount of volume left over and it wasn't too dirty. I decided to attempt a look I had seen on the website The Beauty Department. It's called the Boho Braid. There is a whole tutorial about how to do this look on that site.

Basically, the hairdo called for wavy hair... and since mine was still pretty kinky and all over the place, I figured I would give it a go. Since my hair is just a bit too short for the long, messy ponytail, I opted for a bun instead.

Now, this was my first attempt at a reverse French braid, and it was just so easy! I think it might even be more manageable than a regular French braid.

The cool thing about this 'do is that it can be very messy/funky or you can create a very elegant look with it. I'm so thankful I stumbled upon The Beauty Department's website. I have already read each and every one of their posts, and they have given me a lot of ideas for the upcoming year. Also-- they seem to love braids just as much as I do... BONUS!

Day 1.

Last night, I had nightmares about accidently using hairspray and ruining the BBB Challenge before I even had a chance to begin. And I mean I literally had nightmares. I woke up covered in sweat, grinding my teeth, and totally freaked out. This whole thing isn't even supposed to be that big of a deal. I mean, IT'S JUST HAIR, people!

This morning, my nightmares became a reality when I attempted to do my hair and remembered I wasn't allowed to tease it. See, my go-to wake-up-late hairstyle is a teased, messy bun. This morning, there was no teasing involved. It was a disaster. I wasn't able to create any volume, and the hair that was in place had fallen out within just a few short minutes of me styling it since I had no hairspray. Boo.

Even though my hair is haphazard today, I still thought I'd share a photo or two:

You know what makes this photo sexy? The toilet paper. Oh, and my name badge. OOH yeah.

To create this hair look, these are the steps I followed:

1. Take a small section of hair from one side of your part. Separate that little section into two pieces and twist them to create the "twists" look. Pin that twist under your hair at the back of your head by your occipital bone (or the bone in the back of your head). 
2. Repeat step 1 with another section behind the first, and again with another section on the other side of your part. 
3. Gather your hair to form a low ponytail at the nape of your neck. 
4. Using a hair tie, create a messy bun. Mine never look the same and are created by just pulling the hair through the tie and looping it into mini buns (if that even makes sense).
5. Pull on certain pieces to mess the look up a little and to create a bigger hair look (if desired). I'm never a fan of hair in my face, but if you want to pull out some face-framing pieces that would be cool, too.
6. The Secret... My hair would never do this if it had just been washed. Dirty (or second-day) hair is key for a look like this!

Overall, it really doesn't look that bad... but I'm miserable already. I miss my big hair! Actually... it's not so horrible. It did make getting ready a heck-of-a-lot easier. I just feel bad for all the people who have to look at me :)