How to Make a Chignon

The modern bun, or chignon, is a favorite hairstyle among fashionable women. It's surprisingly quick and easy, and it's sure to win you a few admiring glances. If you have at least semi-long hair this will be easier to do.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hair Pins, Headband, Hair Sticks
• Hairbrush
• Hair Spray, Hair Mousse
• Anti-frizz Hair Serum

1. Begin with clean, dry, tangle-free hair. You may opt to blow curly or wavy hair straight for a smoother look. Work a little mousse through your hair and tame any flyaway hair with a drop of anti-frizz serum before starting your chignon.

2. Brush your hair back into a low ponytail. Shorter side layers can be pinned back with jeweled hair pins or a head band. Get a firm grip around the base of the ponytail and use your other hand to twist the tail into a tight spiral.

3. Hold the base of the ponytail with one hand, then lift the tail straight up with the other. Begin to coil it clockwise around the base. When you've made half of a circle, release the hand holding the base and use it to hold the forming bun as you continue to coil the tail of the chignon.

4. Complete one rotation - a little more if you have longer hair - then tuck the end of the tail under the chignon. If your hair is long enough, you might be able to push the tail through the bun and make a knot.

5. Secure the chignon using a few prong-shaped bobby pins or a hair stick. Push one pin through at any outside edge, collecting a small amount of the bun as you make the insertion. Secure the opposite side with a second pin. If you're using a hair stick, push the tip up through the right corner of your chignon, so that a thin flat layer rests on top of the stick. Rotate the stick 180 degrees and push it gently through the base of the bun. As the stick begins to emerge, hook a small amount of hair on the underside of the left corner, then center the stick.

Tips & Warnings

• Let your fingers do the work. With a little practice they'll learn where to put all of the things you can't see. Look at the final results and let your fingers feel areas that might need an adjustment.
• Do not pull or twist your hair too hard - hairs might break or fall out.
• Take care not to poke your scalp when inserting pins and hair sticks. If you encounter any resistance, remove the fastener and begin again.

Who Can Help:

• Are you tired of cakey makeup? Try RawMinerals Free.

on 8/26/2006 Use a hair net that complements your hair color. Put your hair up into a ponytail, then put on the hair net. If you wrap the hair net around enough times, then your hair will automatically start to curl. Continue to wrap your hair around the base of the pony tail, secure with pins. Add a cute scrunchie, and you're ready to go!

on 8/26/2006 1. Put your hair in a pony tail at whatever hight you would feel comfortable (personally I would say high is the best).
2. Plait your hair about half way down (or 3 quarters) do not put a scrunchie at the end of your plait. If anything, make sure you put a hair elastic in it.
3. Wrap the plaited part of your pony tail around the bobble at the top of you ponytail and leave the unplaited part sticking out. Put a scrunchie around your bun.
4. With the little bit of tail that is left, put it around the bun and leave it. It makes a gorgeous competition bun.

If you have short layers, then think about pulling some bits out of the bun!

on 8/8/2006 I do competitive ballet 5 times a week so I have a few tips:

When making your bun, start by making a high ponytail, separate into 3 sections, make three little braids out of that, then twist around elastic to create the bun. You can use a bun cover to cover your bun to make it neater.

on 8/8/2006 1) Put hair in in ponytail.
2) Bring hair over ponytail and put a hair band on it!

on 8/8/2006 Do not use a sock. Use a full scrunchie instead. Pull hair on top of your head and use a full scrunchie to secure. Gather hair around scrunchie and wrap the second scrunchie around it. Pull hair out from the middle to make it full and tuck remaining pieces underneath. You will get a perfect bun that looks super thick.