How to Do a Low Bun - Two Easy Methods for Long or Short Hair

Brush your hair fully smooth and dispense two or three pumps of a lightweight hair oil into your palm. Rub your hands together and work the oil through the mid-lengths and ends - skip the roots so the crown stays full instead of flat. The oil is what gives the finished bun its glossy, sleek look. Skip this step and you get a bun that reads casual instead of chic.

Watch the oil pass at 0:17.

This is the move that makes Method One. Gather all your hair at the nape and twist it around your index finger like you're making a tight rope. Bring the rope up and around toward the top of where the bun will sit, then push your fingers down through the middle of the loop you just made and grab the ends. Pull the ends all the way through the knot so the bun forms a hidden twist at the base.

The bun shape comes from the loop, not from wrapping the hair around itself. If your hair is medium length and the ends won't pull through cleanly, jump to Step 5 for the twist-and-pin method instead. See the twist demo at 0:43.

Once the knot is formed, press it flat against the back of your head so the bun sits low at the nape with no gap. Take the loose tail of hair, wrap it up and tuck it underneath the bun, then slide bobby pins in around the base to hold everything in place. Cross two pins in an X for the most secure hold - one pin alone tends to slip.

Keep the bun pressed flush against your head while you pin. Any air gap between the bun and your head will sag through the day. Watch the pinning at 1:35.

Look in a mirror for any short pieces poking out around the back of your head or near your ears. Twist each loose piece into a small rope and tuck it up underneath the bun, then slide a bobby pin through to lock it. Once everything is tucked, gently tug on the crown section of your hair to add a tiny bit of softness and volume on top. Just a little - you don't want it puffy.

That small tug at the crown is what separates a chic low bun from a tight school-uniform bun. See the tuck-and-tug at 1:50.

If your hair is too short to pull through the knot cleanly, switch to this method. Gather all your hair into a low ponytail at the nape and secure with a hair elastic. Split the ponytail into two equal sections, then twist both sections tightly around each other all the way down to the ends. You'll end up with one twisted rope hanging from the elastic.

Keep the twist tight as you work down. A loose twist falls apart when you try to wrap it. Watch the section-and-twist at 3:00.

Now wrap the twisted rope around the base of the elastic to form the bun. The key here is wrap-a-little, pin-it, wrap-a-little-more, pin-it again. If you try to coil the whole rope first and pin it after, the wraps slip and the bun loosens. Keep each wrap stacked close to the last one so the finished bun sits flat against your head instead of bulging out.

Watch the wrap-and-pin rhythm at 3:20.

When you reach the end of the twist, tuck the loose tail underneath the bun and slide in one or two final bobby pins to lock it down. Mist a light flexible-hold hairspray over the whole bun to set the shape and smooth any remaining flyaways. Run a fingertip around the edge of the bun to clean up the line where the bun meets your head.

The finished low bun should sit at the nape, feel secure when you gently tug it, and look smooth from every angle. See the finish at 3:40.