How to Make a Perfect Bun
Master the effortlessly elegant chignon by borrowing the graceful technique of a former ballerina.
Photo: Ben Goldstein/Studio D
How to Make a Perfect Bun
Having spent nine years dancing with the New York City Ballet, Sophie Flack has pulled her hair up into a sleek, sturdy bun thousands of times. (According to our calculations, 8,300 times, give or take a couple hundred buns.) Now a writer—her first novel, titled, yes,
Bunheads, came out this fall—she remains a master of the effortlessly elegant chignon.
Get her graceful 4-step technique
Photo: Ben Goldstein/Studio D
Step 1
Part your hair on the side and pull it all back into a low, tight ponytail. Twirl the length of the ponytail into a tight coil and then spin it clockwise around the base, tucking in the ends.
Photo: Ben Goldstein/Studio D
Step 2
Sick a pin into the edge of the coil toward your scalp. (Start wherever you like; here, Sophie has already inserted one pin on the right side of her bun.)
Photo: Ben Goldstein/Studio D
Step 3
Just before the tip of the pin hits your scalp, turn the pin in the opposite direction (180 degrees) and push it back down into the center of the bun. Four pins (one in each quadrant of the bun) should keep your bun secure.
Photo: Ben Goldstein/Studio D
Step 4
Apply hairspray. "This isn't a style you'll be running your fingers through, so use a strong formula," says Sophie, who likes Suave Rave 4X Mega Hairspray ($3;
Walgreens.com). "It flattens rogue pieces and flyaways.".
Photo: Ben Goldstein/Studio D
The Right Pins
Hairpins, not bobby pins, are key to a sleek chignon. They hold more hair, so you get a bun sturdy enough to withstand pirouettes (or a lively holiday party). Sophie uses Bunheads (no relation to her book) Hairpins ($4.50 for 12;
DanceDepot.com).
Next: Oprah's stylist shares his favorite easy party hairdo
From the
December 2011 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
