How do I do a REALLY tight bun?

StayClassy

StayClassy

Hot Ghetto Mess
Nov 30, 2009
78
0
#1
I'm Asian with very straight and VERY thick hair. I've just recently joined the Air Force and I need to learn how to tie my hair in a really tight bun to prevent any hairs from falling when I'm in boot camp. My hair is long (a few inches past my shoulders) and I've tried following videos on YouTube but it never feels secure unless I use more elastics which is time-consuming.

I also tried the sock bun, but what do I do with the excess hair? Pinning it down with bobby pins have only stretched them out to the point that I have to discard them after just one use, and even when I do use them the hair is never secure.

Any suggestions? Perhaps a site with a thorough tutorial, or preferably a video? I'd like to be able to do a bun that's quick and easy, considering there's very little time to get ready in boot camp.
 
#2
i actually use hair sticks, which is the only way my hair will stay up at all - hair elastics just slide out of my hair b/c it's too slippery . . . with the hair sticks i've gone to the gym and run on the treadmill & my hair was fine afterwards (^(oo)^)v
 
#3
PIggy - chopsticks aren't allowed while wearing her uniform

StayClassy - first, congrats on joining the Air Force. I was in the Air Force for 10 years and went in with long hair (little past bra strap). Had a hell of a time getting yelled at because no matter what I tried it always slipped - uggghhh! So I started doing the ponytail in the shower (wet), braiding it and then twirling to secure with No Clip Grip hair clips (http://www.walgreens.com/store/cata...=G&ec=frgl_&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=sku3907389). Used a little gel before braiding for extra hold.

Another style I would do that never caused any problems, was a french braid and tucking the extra hair under, securing with pins or clips.

the last ditch effort, I just cut it. Hated to do it, but it was becoming a pain every morning doing the bun:pout:

Again, CONGRATS & much success in your Air Force career. AIM HIGH!
 
#5
I agree with DC-cutie, the only way for me to get my hair to stay in a bun all day is to do it when it's wet, for some reason that gives it better hold. That's a great idea to put a bit of gel in it when it's wet too, I'll have to try that! (This is coming from someone who had to do a bun for ballet class and not the Air Force, but I guess it's the same idea). Good luck, and congratulations!
 
#8
tie a half pony, then re-tie the rest of the hair into a ponytail. i saw it in youtube and the lady claims it will help the ponytail/bun stay better. then GEL your hair and then tightly make a bun and secure with a hair tie. then use multiple HAIR PINS to keep it anchored in your hair. hair pins are just the curved ones, not the closed bobby pins so you don't have to worry about them being stretched.

oh and if you're not against it, wrap a hair net around the bun to keep everything inside. i believe they're available in walgreens or some other drug store, and you just keep wrapping it around your bun and pin them to anchor them. they are thin and you should be able to find something colored black so it won't be noticeable.
 
#9
Excellent posts ladies, thank you! I had my last haircut about a month ago and the stylist did mention gelling up my hair; I'll pack up/purchase some before I ship out and apply it when wet. That sounds like a really good idea. :smile:

I'll practice and report back!


DC-Cutie: I'm SO glad to hear this coming from someone with first-hand experience in the military, especially the Air Force :smile:. I've been to DC twice by the way, I'm hoping to be stationed out there or at least other east coast bases nearby.


oddinary said:
Grab your hair as if a ponytail, twist until tight, wrap into a bun and secure everything with an elastic?
Click to expand...
Trust me, that won't work with how super thick my hair is. It's also multi-layered after two years of growing it out long from a short bob cut, so there are shorter layers in the back that tend to fall out.
 
#10
Asian ballerina here!!!

Wet hair will help and lots of hair gel applied when hair is wet- then it will dry and hold.

I used to tie it in a tight ponytail and then do the bun in 2 sections. You need to do the sections simultaneously and it takes practice. I'll try to explain. You start twisting one half and try to create a cinnamon bun spiral with that portion of hair. Before you get all the way around, start twisting the other half and lead it around the outside of the cinnamon bun spiral you made with the other half. Then you keep going around. If I find a youtube video, I'll let you know! I know this method helps with thick hair because the smaller sections hold better.

It also helps to get good quality bobby pins. I've gotten cheap ones and they definitely don't hold as well.
 
#12
I'm blonde, but my hair is very slippery so I feel your pain. The only hope I have of getting it to stay in a bun is if I twist it when it's wet, and use a thicker hair elastic, not the super skinny ones. Another thing that might work would be to put it in a ponytail, braid the ponytail, then twist that into a bun, because you'd have less chance of the layered pieces slipping out. Good luck and congratulations on joining the Air Force!
 
#13
I'll be honest - I never learned how to braid my own hair, and after watching a couple videos on YouTube I tried it. And I failed miserably. I thought I was creating a braid until I tied it up and looked and realized it was all bunched up. I know practice makes perfect, but this is getting so damn frustrating. Braiding isn't working and neither is a sock bun. I tried pinning down the excess hair hanging out with hairpins (not bobbypins this time) but it only main the sock bun more loose.

I'm beginning to hate my hair. I don't know if it's because of the thickness or the uneven lengths in the back from growing it out of a short bob cut, my lack of hairstyling skills or a combination of all that, but I'm now considering just cutting it real short. This is so effing frustrating. I wish I just knew how to do it right like other girls.
 
#14
My hair is also thick and to be honest, I had no idea how to put my hair into a bun until about three years ago. I'd wake up in the morning, run gel through my hair, brush it back into a ponytail, twist it as tight as I could get it, and then twist it into a bun--and then using a hair tie to secure it. Baby hairs were either secured off the nape of my neck with hair pins or hair spray was used (usually both).

My personal opinion is that it's next to impossible to maintain a 'perfect' bun throughout training and I've had to put more hair ties into my hair to keep it back too--sometimes I have up to twelve hair ties in my hair at once.
 
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