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How To: The Messy Undone Bun

BeautyGuidesHair
Apr 2, 201818 Comments

Happy Monday guys! I’ve been wanting to do more hair tutorials lately, as I often get requests for them. Doing my own hair for all of our photoshoots for Sea of Shoes over the last twelve years, I’ve learned a lot of styling tricks along the way. One of the things I always wanted to master was the perfect messy bun. As simple as it may seem, I think anyone who has attempted one for the first time knows it isn’t as easy as it looks. The messy bun I do when I wash my face in the evening, for instance, is not at all similar to the perfectly disheveled buns you see on Pinterest or street style stars. It takes some finessing to achieve the artfully undone messy bun.

Let me start off my saying that this hairstyle is best on dirty hair. Great news, right? Slightly dirty hair will give you much better texture, hold, and volume for this style. I started with hair that was washed two days prior. I used Bumble and Bumble’s Pret a Powder Dry Shampoo to refresh my hair and absorb oil before starting this hairstyle.

You will need:
A hairbrush (I use a Tangle Teezer), a hairclip, bobby pins, an elastic, and a texturizing spray (I use IGK’s texturizing spray but I also love Shu Uemura’s texture wave)

So, to begin: section off the top half of your, as shown. It doesn’t have to be neat. Lightly backcomb the roots of the bottom half of your hair. This will give your hair some grip, and help create that messy volume at the nape of your neck.

Next, flip your hair upside down and pull it into a ponytail at your crown, but don’t secure it yet! With your free hand, pull out some baby hairs around your face, some loose strands by your ears, and a few loose pieces at the nape of your neck. We will style these later and these loose strands will really give your style that cute “messy” look.

Now that you’ve pulled the baby hairs, pull the ponytail halfway through an elastic (I use these). As you can see, I’ve left the ends of the ponytail hanging loose. Next, you’ll want to loosen the bun by gently pulling the roots of the ponytail. You can see how I’m loosening the bottom of my bun by pulling my hair while I hold the bun in place.

Using bobby pins, secure the bun to your liking, pulling and adjusting the bun for shape and volume. It doesn’t have to be neat! Next, we need to style the baby hairs. I use a flatiron and use a gentle wave motion as I move down the strand to create bend (not curl!). Do this on all of the baby strands you pulled out.

Next, grab your texturizing spray, and gently spritz the baby hairs. This is going to make them fluffy and lived-in. Rub the strands between your fingers after spritzing them. Play with the baby hairs until they are to your liking.

Spritz your bun and roots with the texture spray, and gentle massage your scalp to loosen the style and create flyaways. This style is ALL about looseness, texture, and the flyaways, so don’t be afraid to really mess it up!

To finish my style, I added a cute hairclip. This is optional obviously! I like a little accessory to make an otherwise undone look a little bit more polished.

I hope this guide helps! Let me know if you try it, I’d love to see your looks.

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bun hairstyle messy tutorials

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kate says

    April 2, 2018 at 2:50 pm

    Dear very beautiful.

    Reply
  2. Kate says

    April 2, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    Gorgeous.

    Reply
  3. Mireia says

    April 2, 2018 at 3:58 pm

    Absolutely love it!

    Mireia from TGL
    https://thegoldlipstick.com/

    Reply
  4. Fatou says

    April 2, 2018 at 10:38 pm

    This hairstyle is perfect !! You look beautiful, babe!
    xx
    https://closettostreet.com

    Reply
  5. Supal // @chevronseclairs says

    April 3, 2018 at 3:27 am

    anddddd pinning this!

    chevrons & éclairs

    Reply
  6. Michaela says

    April 3, 2018 at 10:22 am

    Lovely ~ as soon as my hair grows about two or three more inches this’ll probably be my favorite daytime look!

    Reply
  7. Kathrin says

    April 3, 2018 at 11:19 am

    I had no idea creating a messy bun was such an involved process. I have a new appreciation for them now…

    Kathrin | Polar Bear Style

    Reply
  8. sara says

    April 3, 2018 at 11:32 am

    the bun is super nice, but let’s talk about the make up…soooooooo great

    http://7-sevendays.blogspot.it/

    Reply
  9. YZ Chan says

    April 3, 2018 at 1:32 pm

    Thanks for the tutorial! Will attempt this soon. x

    http://www.yzwears.com

    Reply
  10. Jess Barnes says

    April 3, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    Love this look it suits you well!

    Jess | http://www.beautythroughthespecs.co.uk

    Reply
  11. bonjourchiara says

    April 4, 2018 at 1:25 am

    It’s so simple but yet super chic! xx
    http://www.bonjourchiara.com

    Reply
    • seaofshoes says

      April 4, 2018 at 9:20 am

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  12. Jae says

    April 4, 2018 at 6:56 am

    Such a great tutorial! I am definitely trying this first thing in the morning!
    Jae
    http://www.allthatjae.com

    Reply
    • seaofshoes says

      April 4, 2018 at 9:20 am

      Let me know how it goes!

      Reply
  13. Olaru Gabriela says

    April 13, 2018 at 4:17 am

    how beautiful can you be

    Reply
  14. Linda says

    May 15, 2018 at 7:15 am

    This is amazing! I love this!
    xx
    Thanks for sharing
    http://bestwalletreview.com

    Reply
  15. Jessie says

    May 28, 2018 at 7:34 pm

    Such a cute look on you <3
    All about trendy hats

    Reply
  16. Bebespearls says

    June 25, 2018 at 3:47 am

    You are terrific, talented and beautiful! I would have never discovered Sea of Shoes if it hadn’t been for rediscovering my grandmother’s (yes, I am old) mother-of-pearl compact last week. When it was opened, she directed me to you from another site. Magic!

    Reply

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Jane Aldridge became one of the earliest pioneers of style blogging when she launched her Sea of Shoes in 2007. For the past decade, Jane has appeared in and worked with dozens of leading fashion publications and brands all over the world.

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