Half-Up Bun DIY
This Is the Fashion-Girl Summer Hairstyle Absolutely Anyone Can Do
Remember those haphazard buns you used to create during gym class? Turns out they're back in style — they're just a bit smaller. Ladies (and long-haired gents!), we would like to formally introduce you to Spring's biggest hairstyle trend: the half bun. Many claim it was inspired by the man bun (ahem, Jared Leto), but no matter who or what it's attributed to, it has taken over Pinterest, your Instagram feed, and editorial spreads.
Admittedly, this style is a bit odd. It's like your hair had an identity crisis: it's not a ponytail, yet it's also not a full-fledged bun. Some people might think you forgot to put the rest of your hair up or that you're going through a '90s Summer camp phase. Regardless, it's fun and easy to do, so why not get in on the look yourself?
Here are the tricks to the half-bun trade — as demonstrated on every hair length. Note: we didn't have anyone on staff with an undercut, so apologies to all of the short-haired men and women out there!
Starting clockwise from the left:
1. For midlength hair, start with second-day hair, or add dry shampoo for texture. (I prepped all the girls' hair with Kevin Murphy's Fresh.Hair ($25), which smells like heaven.)
2. Grab a section of hair from the top of your head. For thick hair, don't pull hair from below your eyeline — or else you'll have too much for the bun. If you have fine hair, you can add more to fill up the thickness of the bun.
3. Using an elastic band that's the same color as your hair, act like you're going to do a ponytail. But before you pull the hair all the way through, create a bun. Pull the pieces of hair apart to create a fanlike look.
Voilà!
If you have shorter layers, you'll notice a lot of hair wants to peek out of the bun.
1. Prep the hair with a dry shampoo. This will give it the texture needed to keep strands from sliding out of place.
2. Then go into the ponytail method, but when you twist the hair, make sure you're twisting as you wrap the hair around the base of the ponytail. Alternatively, you can skip the band and wrap your hair around your finger. For this bun, the tighter, the better. It should actually look like a knot.
3. Pin and add more dry shampoo to the hair that was left out for even messier texture.
For long hair, this look can be tricky. As most long-haired babes know, too much hair can equate with saggy buns (hah)!
The key is to secure your hair into a ponytail with a thick elastic. Then twist the hair so it molds into a nest or a cinnamon bun, and pin it in place.
The bun should sit nicely on the crown of your head. Sarah took a little more hair from the sides, since her hair is fine.
Similar to the Band Method, shorter hair will also require an elastic.
1. Flip your hair over, create a section of hair that sits above your eyebrows, and pull it through an elastic, but not all the way.
2. Loosen the hair toward the front of your head to add volume.
3. Apply a shine spray with a shimmer to it to add dimension to your mane.
Note: this technique would work with even shorter hair, like an undercut.
We found that the best method for this hairstyle was not giving a . . . well, you know what we mean. When the ladies did their hairstyle without a mirror, it looked 100 percent better!
POPSUGAR Style Director Meg Cun rocked the most effortless look.
1. Shake your hair out like you're Taylor Swift on tour.
2. Instead of putting your hair in an elastic, create the ponytail, and then wad up your hair into a big bush.
3. Once you've created your bun shape with your hand, take the elastic, and start wrapping it around the hair to secure it to the head.
4. You can zhush the bun after, but it will probably look perfect as is.
Bangs can be tricky . . . but you can help conceal them by pushing your hairstyle to the side.
1. Create a deep side part.
2. Grab a section of hair that sweeps up the bangs, but doesn't go below your eyebrows.
3. Pull one loop through the elastic band, and wrap it around the hair until it's secure.
4. Play with the leftover hair so it sits the way you like.
Once the bun is finished, take your hands and shake them through your hair so your bangs naturally fall.