When you walk around a city as densely populated and as fashionably diverse as Manhattan, certain micro-trends can’t help but register into your idle, walking-focused brain. Today’s is the quirky, but still inexplicably polished mini-bun.
Seen on the likes of everyone from over-the-hill hippies, to many a college student, the mini-bun can be worn in either a half-up half-down fashion (how most of the chic, urban coeds sport it), or with one on each side a la Miley Cyrus (a risk, but can be the epitome of quirky nineties cool if done properly). So why does the mini-bun seem to only be regarded as the go-to hairstyle for second graders worldwide?
Maybe women are worried of being compared to just that. Or maybe they don’t know how to style it without ending up like a surfer-dude body double. Follow these tips for ensuring that neither of these things happens, and so that you look and feel cute (but not in a Care Bears way, that is just wrong).
1. Run comb glossing cream, like Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Crème, through your hair before making the bun. You can really use any frizz tamer, but glossing cream will make your hair shiny, without the weighed-down feel of an oily serum. It may help if you braid your hair at night for some added texture, but second-day hair is always great when styling.
2. Part your hair either down the center for two mini-buns, or half-up for one.
3. Now make your mini-buns! Too big will be sloppy, and too small will leave you looking like (everyone’s favorite Orange is the New Black criminal) Crazy Eyes (and unless it’s Halloween, we’d advise against that hairstyle). Go for whatever feels right with your face shape, you have good instincts.
4. To finish the look, mist your entire head with medium-hold hairspray, like runway staple L’Oreal Paris Elnett—a few stray hairs means you’ll look more “bedhead” than “helmet head”.
So the next time your ponytail looks tired and boring, try the mini-bun. It might just be your new favorite hairstyle (if the second graders don’t ruin it for everyone).
