Military Bun Tutorial

Not much of a fan of the ever-popular "sock bun" trend, when I joined the Air National Guard, I told myself, "I will never be caught DEAD wearing a sock bun!" You know, because it seems like every photo you ever see of anyone in the military shows them wearing a sock bun—and I was not going to do it!

Let me tell you what, after being at Basic Military Training for about two weeks with short hair that would just not stay up in any kind of bun and having an MTI come up to me and say, "Get it together, Rowe! Your hair looks like a hot mess!" it was then that I decided to embrace the dreaded sock bun. And I decided to call it the "donut bun" instead, because that just sounds better—I suppose. After about three successful buns created with my small, brown mesh donut, I was sold. I don't care what anyone has to say about the donut bun, it's quick, it's easy, it works for almost any hair length that can be put up, and it's the only way to put your hair up in less than a minute as Reveille is going off and 46 girls are scrambling around you to get their beds made.

So whether you're researching how best to wear your hair while at BMT or just wanting to try a new updo, here's my tutorial for the military version of the sock bun.



Basic Steps:

1. Pull hair up into low ponytail (it has to be low enough to put your ABU cap on)
2. String ponytail through mesh donut, bringing donut all the way up to base of hair tie
3. Fan ponytail over mesh donut, making sure to evenly cover mesh with hair
4. Wrap second hair tie around mesh donut
5. Secure loose ends with bobby pins
6. (Optional) Pull & tug hair around mesh donut to create a fuller, more voluminous bun
7. Finish with a light (or heavy—if you're at BMT) mist of hairspray

My favorite step and trick to the whole process is Step 6, where you give your bun that added bit of volume. I know the slicked-down look is so popular in the military, but I think a nice, full bun (especially if your hair is fine like mine) looks so much better and really elevates the whole look.

Also, if your hair is longer—at Step 5, you can either braid or twist the loose ends (try making 3-4 small braids/twists) before pinning them to give your bun a really chic, polished look. Unfortunately, my hair is still far too short to attempt any of those neat tricks, but the other girls at Basic Training looked so nice when they added little braided accents to their buns.

Below, I've included the exact products that I bought and used while down at BMT to achieve this style.

Do you rock the donut bun? I know several women who wear it out and about and I think it looks really nice—especially when it's not totally slicked down!

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

Sock Bun: The Style.

If you saw my post about the sock bun, you may remember that I made fun of the way I looked with it in. Because in fact, it was pretty funny looking. 

This past weekend, my sister was in town. You know my sister, right? I posted about her last week. She's my inspiration for this whole thing. So, when she suggested I try a bun on the top of my head with the front pieces pulled out into a faux bump, I just couldn't resist her suggestion. Except, there was one problem; she wanted me to twirl my hair up into a ballerina bun, and my hair isn't quite long enough for that. So-- what did I think of? Sock bun, of course!

I put my hair into a high ponytail, wrapped a white sock donut around it, and rolled my hair over the sock like normal. I added about 3 bobby pins to keep my shorter hairs in place.

OOps! I see a little bit of white sock donut!!

You guys, THIS STYLE STAYED ALL DAY. I used no hairspray (duh), and even was walking to and from the movies and battling gusts of wind. It didn't even budge. I love love love this look for a quick hairstyle or if you need to get your 2nd-day hair out of your face.

Also, look at the sweet colors that this style shows off! If you have lighter hair on top and darker hair on bottom, or even just highlights, this style really brings out each and every color. It's just awesome! I mean, take a look at the bun shot below:

 

Color city! I just love this style. It is so feminine and ultra-popular right now. Thanks, sister!!!

Yes, I'm a nerd.

Sock Bun.

Yes. I did it. I curled my hair with a sock.

If you're not familiar with this method, you're probably thinking, "What the heck is she talking about?"

Well, it's quite simple, actually. In fact, there's a whole YouTube tutorial by a really cute girl who will teach you how to do it. Oh, and bonus... she has an adorable accent and it sounds like she calls it a "sook bun." It's so precious.

Basically, you just perform the following steps:

1. Grab a regular old tube sock. I used an old single sock that had been stashed away in a drawer.
2. Cut off the toe portion of the sock.
3. Roll the sock into itself so it forms a donut.
4. Put your DRY (or only very slightly damp) hair in a ponytail right on the top of your head.
5. Put your ponytail through the sock donut.
6. Pull the sock donut to the tips of your ponytail, and just as you rolled the sock into the donut, proceed to roll your hair into the sock by just rolling and scrunching the sock into itself.
7. Voila. Sock bun.

It was super-de-duper easy to do. The only problem is that my shoulder-length hair wasn't quite long enough so the back pieces kept falling out of the ponytail. Also, the top part of my hair that was rolled in the sock was falling out, too. To fix that, I simply wrapped the sock bun in a silk scarf so I could sleep soundly and not worry about my hair unraveling all night.

Attractive, I know. If nothing great happens to you today, at least you know that you look better than I did last night. I will allow you to mock me at my expense. Go ahead.

This morning when I woke up, the scarf and sock were still in place. Just a couple more chunks of hair had fallen down the back of my neck, but that was no big deal. I unravelled the sock and was left with this:

Not too bad, but definitely not as great as the girl in the YouTube video. Bummer. I think I will try a different sock next time. Also, I think my hair will do much better when it is longer.

To make up for my drooping, falling out waves (which was pretty much just straight hair with a flip on the end), I added a fun headband that I bought at Burlington Coat Factory for $3.99 yesterday (um... steal!).

Burlington has so many hidden treasures. They are just wonderful. In fact... what do you think of my fun outfit? The top, socks and headband are all from Burlington, and cost me less than $20. Bada-boom-bada-bang.

Think you'll give the sock bun a go? My waves really fell out throughout the day, but it still gave my tresses a nice amount of volume to work with. If I ever want my hair to have a slight flip at the ends, I will definitely opt to sleep in the sock bun the night before. It is just so easy!

So, yes. I curled my hair with a sock. You can bet your buns it's one more trick of the trade I am adding to my hairstyle arsenal.