9 Half Bun Hair Tutorials for Every Occasion

These polished takes on the hip hair trend show us how to pull off a half bun like a grownup

Oh, the half bun. You’ve seen it. It’s that hairstyle all the girls on Pinterest are wearing – the one that looks like you tried to throw your hair up into a top knot, but forgot most of it? Over the past two years, we’ve seen the half bun everywhere – on celebrities from Ariana Grande to the Olsen Twins. But how did the half bun first come to be?

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“Over the past two years we’ve seen all different types of buns: man buns, ballerina buns, chignons on the red carpet,” explains Los Angeles stylist Melissa Hoyle. “What’s also been trending is natural texture and ‘I woke up like this’ waves. When you mix long loose waves with a mini bun on top – ta-da! You get your half bun.”

The half bun is actually a very flattering hairstyle on most people, according to Hoyle. “When you pull hair up and away from the face you bring attention to what’s left,” she says. “This accentuates the eyes and cheekbones, and the hair left down gives a nice frame to your face."

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Most of us have seen the messy "hipster” version of the half bun, but the look is surprisingly customizable. Depending on how you style the rest of your hair, you can alter the half bun to take it from weekend errands to a formal affair. The best part is that no matter what, a half bun hairstyle takes less than ten minutes to execute.

Still skeptical? Check out our roundup of half bun hairstyles for grownups – proof that this hip, new trend is totally worth trying.

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For Date Night

How to:
1. Curl your hair lightly with a 1 ½-inch barrel iron, starting with the hair at eye-level. Mist with a flexible hold hairspray.
2. Using a paddle brush, brush all of the hair above your ears back into a high, tight ponytail. Make sure to smooth out any bumps on top of your head.
3. Holding your ponytail at the base with one hand, use the other hand to twist the ponytail around itself, creating a small knot at the top of your head. Secure the bun in place with a hair elastic. (The shape doesn’t need to be perfect.)
4. Gently tug at the bun in different directions to create a fuller, messier look. When you have the shape you like, use two or three bobby pins to secure it to your head.
5. Pull out a few pieces of hair in the front to create a softer look. Now, get out there and break some hearts.

For Second-Day Hair

How to:
1. Starting with second- (or third-, or fourth-) day hair, spray a dry texture spray, such as Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, $42, throughout hair to create a messy undone look.
2. Use a paddle brush to brush all the hair above your ears up into a superhigh ponytail. Secure with an elastic.
3. Twist the ponytail around itself into a small bun, and secure with a small, clear elastic. Pin the bun to your head with two to four bobby pins.
4. Finish off the style by misting with a strong hold hairspray (plus a shine spray, like Bumble and bumble Shine On Finishing Spray, $15, for extra oomph). Rock it with a menswear-inspired ensemble, and don’t tell anyone about the unruly mess you woke up with.

For Dinner With the Family

How to:
1. Elegant? Yes. Time consuming? Nope. Start by blow-drying hair with a small round brush, leaving sections of hair wrapped around the brush for ten seconds at a time and locking in each wave with a cool shot.
2. Gather the hair above your ears into a half ponytail at the crown of your head, using a paddle brush to smooth any bumps on top. Secure with a ponytail holder.
3. Twist the ponytail around itself to create your bun, making sure to hide the ponytail holder. Use a small, clear elastic and a few bobby pins the same color as your hair to secure it to your noggin.
4. Mist all over with a shine-enhancing hairspray, and prepare to impress your grumpy Aunt Barb.

For When You’re Late to Brunch

How to:
1. Start with unwashed hair. Don’t bother brushing it. This isn’t one of those days.
-Separate hair into a middle part.
2. Leaving a half-inch of hair above the ears, collect the hair on top of your head into a small high ponytail, and secure with an elastic. There should still be a few strands of hair draping over your ears.
3. Grab handfuls of hair from your ponytail and pile them on top of the elastic to create a messy bun. Secure the bun with a mini clear elastic.
4. Pin any crazy pieces sticking out to your head with bobby pins. You probably won’t need more than three.

For Short Hair

How to:
1. Yep, short-haired ladies can rock a half bun too. We swear – your hair won’t look flat. Just start by curling large sections of hair with a 2-inch barrel curling iron, alternating the direction in which you wrap the hair around the iron as you go.
2. Create a center part, and gather all of the hair from your temples up into a ponytail at the crown of the head. Secure with a ponytail holder.
3. Roll the ponytail under itself to create your bun and secure to your head with bobby pins.
4. Mist all over with a medium-hold hairspray.

For a Girls’ Night Out

How to:
1. Boys do not understand this superfun hairstyle, but they don’t understand a lot of things. Prepare for the girls’ night of your life by starting with dry hair. Apply a dry volumizing spray for body and texture, focusing on the roots (try Sachajuan Volume Powder, $35).
2. Gather all of the hair above your ears into a superhigh ponytail on the very top of your head. Secure with a ponytail holder.
3. Twist the ponytail around itself into a bun, making sure to cover the ponytail holder with hair. Secure the bun with a mini clear elastic.
4. Gently yank at the bun in all directions to create more volume. Then, secure it to your head with a few bobby pins.

For the Office

How to:
1. Start with clean, blow-dried, straightened hair. This is the workplace, ladies. Time to get our sh*t together.
2. Using a soft-bristle brush, brush hair back into a mid-height ponytail. The hair on either side of your head should sweep over just the very top of each ear. If you have bangs, feel free to leave them loose in the front.
3. Secure the ponytail in the back of your head with a mini clear elastic. Then twist the ponytail, curling it around itself to create a tight bun. Secure it to the back of your head with a few bobby pins the same color as your hair.
4. Mist the bun with a medium-hold hairspray, and whip out your spreadsheets.

For a Black Tie Affair

How to:
1. This is a formal occasion, gals. Which means this look is going to take a little extra work. Deal. Start by curling hair with a 1 ½ inch iron, starting from mid-shaft down. Add volume and hold by applying a dry finishing spray, such as Kevin Murphy Doo.Over Dry Powder Finishing Hairspray, $27.50, evenly throughout hair, focusing on the roots.

2. Using a rat tail comb, section off the hair on the top off the head into a nice clean rectangle section. Do this by creating three straight parts: one on either side of the head (in line with each temple) and one connecting them in back.
3. Comb the hair in your rectangle section back into a ponytail at the crown of the head, and secure with an elastic.
4. Turn the ponytail into a basic fishtail braid. (Fishtail tutorial here.) Secure the end with an elastic.
5. Gently pull sections from the fishtail braid outwards and upwards to make it fuller and more voluminous. Spray the braid with your dry finishing spray from before to add texture and hold.
6. To create your bun, wrap the fishtail braid around the elastic on top of your head, and pin it into place with a few bobby pins. Now go turn some heads.

For Natural Hair

How to:
1. Working with an old wash and go hairstyle, use your fingers to part off hair in the front of your head, from the ears up. With this top front section parted off, loosely wrap a hair elastic around your hair in back to get it temporarily out of your way.
2. Dampen the hair in front around your forehead with a little bit of water, then apply a sculpting wax in the same place. (Try Garnier Fructis Style Pure Clean Finishing Paste, $4.29.) Work the wax into your hair with a soft bristle brush.
3. Pull that top front section into a superhigh ponytail right on top of your head, and secure with an elastic.
4. Divide the ponytail into two sections and wrap the sections around each other, coiling the hair into a polished bun. Pin the bun to your head with a few bobby pins.
5. Take the hair in back out from the elastic, and you’re good to go.