Ok, I will start out by saying that for many many years I have been a HUGE fan of "the bun". I have been putting my hair in a bun for quite some time and most of the time... this IS the state my hair is in. With that said, I have improved on it over the years.

There are many ways to get your hair into a bun, my favorite has always been a "hair stick". I was known for always having a "hair stick" on me, even back in my 20's....my friends have always kidded me about it, and have always been a little perplexed how I used it. When I first met my husband... it was the cutest thing, our first Christmas together he made me some hair sticks. He painted them and decorated them because he knew WHAT a big part of my life they were! HA HA! It was awesome. They were hard to come by though! I was always stealing chopsticks from sushi restaurants... but they weren't quite right because they were too long!! I'd buy plastic ones and those weren't quite right either because they'd break! I finally found the BEST hair stick... I get them on Amazon. They are 6" long and made of wood, rosewood actually! They are so inexpensive... $8.99 plus shipping for 10 of them. I stock up. If you want some, go to Amazon and search "6" wood hair sticks"... you should find them.

So, I used to put my hair into a tight, regular bun... it would look something like this. But it's small and not super flattering.

Well, ever since buns have become all the rage.... there have been many bun "implants" that you can buy to make you look like you have a "bigger bun" or more hair. I like the concept, and I've tried two different kinds of these "bun enhancers" and I have to say, I'm not a huge fan. They tend to make your bun look too perfect. I'm a fan of the "messy bun". When it's big AND perfect... you look like you should have a corsage to go along with it!! Not such a good look! So..... I found this technique that I like! This works for a high, big, messy "topknot"...

Here's the "tools of the trade", what you'll need...a hair tie, a hair "stick" (if you don't have one, that's okay...just pin more), and "screw pins" (you can find these at Target or any store like that)... they work WAY better than bobby pins. If you haven't tried these, they WILL change the game for you. :-) They come in two different lengths... I have some of both. For this bun I'm demonstrating, I only used one hair tie, one hair stick and two screw pins!

First, put your hair in a high ponytail. I like to pull on the front some to give it some volume, so it's not "tight on top of my head.

Next, hold the ponytail up, and loosen the hair tie a little....like this...

Next, put your index finger and your thumb through your hair and grab the tips of your hair... you're going to pull it through the hole you make with your fingers, under the hair tie....watch...

Next, tighten the hair tie again by pulling each side above the hair tie, like you would to "tighten" a ponytail. This will tighten it and make it more secure. Like this...I had to move my other hand to take the picture, but it was on the opposite side of this hand to tighten it.

Next, spread the hair around into a bun shape, around the circle....kind of like spreading it out and around....this is the top view.

Next, secure it with a hair stick: stick it in one side, dig down below the hair tie, and across to the come out the other side....and then start pinning it in place with the screw pins. Make sure to "anchor" them to your head...essentially "tacking" the bun in place to your head. This means connecting the bun hair with the hair on your head when you screw in the pin so the bun essentially gets closer to your head. Connect the circle at the bottom and pin in place with the screw pin. It should start to look like this...

Now, you'll have that little "tail" hanging down which you can pin up like this...

It's okay to have some pieces hanging... that's what makes it not so "perfect"... no prom dress needed please!! :-) Look in a hand mirror and see how you're doing and pin as needed...here's a few more pics...

Once you tack it down in just a couple of places, it's actually really secure because of the hair tie and pulling the hair through like you did. Much more so than just a regular bun! It makes it look like you threw it up quickly and it landed in this perfectly messy topknot! AND it looks like you have about three times as much hair as a regular bun!!

This might take some practice if you are new to this! Just keep trying, you'll get it. When I did the pics for this blog post, I did it ONCE. I didn't have to try and try... this is what I got the first try... so you can do it too! This is the one time I LOVE having BIG BUNS and love helping you get them too!!! :-)