The Art of the Ballerina Bun

Lauren Conrad

photo courtesy of The Beauty Department

I've been seeing ballerina buns everywhere - magazines, New York Fashion Week, Pinterest - and I wanted one toooo!  That said, there is nothing that I hate more than a hairstyle that always feels like it is on the verge of collapse.  (Ok, that's not entirely true, but man is it annoying when you can feel your updo start to slip.  Hence the reason why I wear my straight hair in a trusty side part every single day.)  My hair is layered and slips right out of bobby pins.  It seemed that beautiful ballerina buns and high-fashion top knots simply were not an option for me.

That's when I heard about the sock bun.  Simply cut the curved end off of a sock, roll the remaining tube into a donut, and roll your hair up in the sock donut.  Brilliant, right?!  

Wrong.  Instead my layers went berserk, and I was left with was a spiky mess of hair and a ruined sock.

Then I had a thought: I bet my Hairagami would come in handy!  90's kids, you know what I'm talking about.  Who would have thought that I'd ever have two consecutive days of fashion inspiration from the 90's?!  Mom dug my Hairagami out of my desk drawer (see, it pays to be a hoarder) and mailed it to me at school.  That's when the fun began.

Hairagami

photo courtesy of Google

Start with a ponytail at the desired height of your bun.

Place ponytail inside Hairagami and slide Hairagami down the ponytail, 

stopping at the ends of the shortest layers.

Fold Hairagami upwards toward your head, tucking in ends of hair and any 

sneaky layers as you continue to roll the Hairagami upwards.

Gently slide the hair around the Hairagami so that it is completely hidden inside the bun.  

You can loosen some pieces of the bun so that it doesn't look too perfect.

Ta da!  A beautiful ballerina bun.

Create a top knot by beginning with a ponytail on the top of your head.

The Hairagami is the solution to my ballerina bun-craving.  The bun feels secure against my head, and all of my layers are hidden within the bun.  And don't worry - if you threw your Hairagami out in 2002, you can still buy them online and in stores.  

Now if you see me out on the street rocking a top knot, do me a favor and pretend you don't know that there's a crazy snap-bracelet contraption hidden inside.  Mmkay?