Sock Bun Tutorial

This is a super easy hair style that will stay up all day! 

Whether you need the perfect hairstyle for a ballet recital, an easy up-do for your Tinker Bell costume, or you just need a bun that you can count on, this is it. And all you need is a sock, two hair ties, and a few bobby pins

 I first learned how to do this at a birthday party when I was about 15 years old. My friend (the birthday girl) had a woman over to do henna tattoos on us. This woman used to be in the military and she told us that in the military women have to either cut their hair short or get it to stay up and out of the way. She showed us with an old sock how she had been taught to keep her hair up.. I (thinking this technique seemed very interesting) was voted her model... so, even though I ended up having a fantastic up-do, I had no idea how she had done it because I don't have eyes on the back of my head. When I got home that night (yes she let me keep her old sock) I took it down in front of the mirror so I could see how it was done and just reversed the process to put it back up. 

As you see, between being in the military and dancing on stage, this is the perfect bun! 

This past New Year's Eve Costume Party  my sister Mary was Princess Leia and I put her hair up using this same technique only with two side ponytails. And (as promised on that post) I will now give you the tutorial! 

Start by cutting the toes off of a sock. The sock should be a similar color to your hair just in case any of it peeks through, although if your hair is really thick that shouldn't be a problem. 

The thicker/bigger the sock you use, the bigger the bun will be. My sister (my model)  has long, thick hair, and, looking at the picture, you can see there is almost two sections to the bun. If your hair is medium length, and/or you use a bigger sock, the lower part (the part that wraps around the bun) will not be as prominent. 

Now, take your sock at the bottom (where you have just cut it) and hold it in both of your hands so that your thumbs are inside the sock and the rest of your fingers are supporting the outside. Start rolling it outward. Once you have rolled up the entire sock it should resemble a doughnut. 

There are actually things you can buy that do the same thing as this sock. They are called Hair Donuts and you can buy them on Amazon HERE. I have never used one of these, but the way I see it is if you have a sock, why buy one of these donuts? If you have ever used one, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of it? Is it any different than using a sock? 

Put your hair (or whoever's hair) up into a high pony-tail. The higher the pony, the higher the bun. If you want a bun right on top of the head, that's where the pony-tail should be. 

Put the hair through your sock so the sock sits around the hair-tie at the base of the pony-tail.

Spread the hair over the sock so that you have a nice hair fountain spewing out of the center of the sock. Put a hair-tie over the hair and the sock so that it rests beneath the sock. This creates the bun.

Gather up all the hair that comes out from around the sock and gently twist it all together.

Wrap the twisted hair around the hair-tie, at the base of the bun, and secure with bobby pins. For extra fun add a decorative scrunchie, some silk flowers, wrap a string of beads around it... and Bippity Boppity Boo! Just like that you're ready for the ball! 

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Thank you Mary for being a very patient model!