Sunday, March 15, 2009

How-to: Make a Hair Bun with the Sock Method

I want to thank C.L. and her daughter, E.L., for their help with this post.

My friend C.L. first introduced me to the sock method of doing hair in November. I'm terrible at hair, just terrible. But, if I can do this, I think almost anyone can be taught.

Photo one: Cut off the tube part of a large tube sock. Toss the foot part; keep the tube.













Photo two: Roll the sock into a donut shape.



















Photo three: Cut off the top part of a nylon trouser sock and use it to encase your tube sock donut. This makes the donut smooth and easier to work with.











Photo four: Make a ponytail. Look at E.L.'s gorgeous hair. *sigh* C.L. finger-combed this ponytail into E.L.'s hair. No brush and it still looks great.


























Photo five: Place the donut around the base of the ponytail.


























Photo six: I call this move the fountain. C.L. has asked her daughter to bend over so the ponytail falls over her head and neck. You can already see the bun taking shape. I use a hairnet at this point to wrangle everything into a bun and catch stray hairs. C.L. works without a net, though, and gets great results.















Photo seven: Trap the hair with a hair tie to create a bun.


















Photo eight: Industrial-strength hairspray needed - no bobby pins. Bobby pins, unless put in the hair so they cross, will fall out on the ice. You don't want to be the mom whose kid sprinkles bobby pins or coins on the ice. I know this from experience.





















Photo nine: No bobby pins! C.L. just blends in her daughter's stray hair with the hairspray. You can hardly tell! Me, I jab those bobby pins in (cross ways) to catch stray hairs, but I might try this instead. You can see the decorative scrunchie that C.L. has put around the bun in this photo, too.









Photo ten: The final look. Isn't E.L. cute? Look how well those blended stray hairs look - no bobby pins! And that hair color is natural.

Update: More on the sock bun method can be found here: http://icemom.blogspot.com/2009/06/sock-bun-part-two-creative-use-of.html







9 comments:

Angie said...

Great photos! That's a clever idea too! Too bad my daughter just had her hair cut into an a-line bob! The next time her hair is long, we will have to try this! Thanks!

RedShamrock said...

The timing of this post is perfect! G has her first basic skills test this weekend. I best start practicing tonight.

Thanks again for all the posts.

Anonymous said...

This technique is very easy and makes the perfect bun.

Angela said...

I have to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! for sharing this. I'm totally inept at doing hair. We tried this and it was beautiful the first try! My girl slept in it that night and begged me to fix it again in the morning for school. Love it! I think I'll try it out on myself.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone tried this with really long hair? What do you do with the long ends?

Ice Mom said...

Excellent question, Anony. I use a hair net. I toss it over the fountained hair and capture the loose ends. I twist them and the hair net holds all. I'll try to post some photos for you.

Anonymous said...

Re. long hair with a sock bun: my daughter's hair falls to mid-back. We take the "remnants", sweep them around the sock-bun, use a couple of pins and wrap everything up with a hairnet (wrapped around the bun). The hairnet will contain any remaining wispies and the bobby pins. For more decoration (and even more control), a scrunchie or other hair decoration can be an added around the outside (just like pics).

Also, using a roll of two socks (bigger donut) makes the amount of extra hair even less.

Good luck! I LOVE SOCK BUNS!

Peyton Lane said...

This is great, in the 90s there was a product sold at state fairs that actually worked just like this. The outer portion was netting and then there was an internal foam like core (similar to the tube sock). I actually still have mine and use it once in a while......

Anonymous said...

what a great way to make fine hair look thicker in a bun!!