The Cord Knot Bun Is About to Be Your Go-To Summer Hairstyle

It's a truth well known that just because something looks “effortless” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s effortless to do. The headache involved may be a different story entirely.

Looking the right amount of laid-back and breezy is truly an art form, but one hairstyle that keeps cropping up all over our Insta feeds is convincing us that a relaxed high-low vibe is easier to achieve than it might look.

The cord knot involves half-folding your low ponytail through the hair band to create a bun shape, then using the half that’s left out to wrap around the hairband and pin in place. Sounds confusing, but we’ve been mesmerized by how simple the steps are in practice.

Makeup artist and hair stylist Emma Chen has been showing us how it’s done with her videos of the style in action. “Seriously the best looking 2 minute up style,” she wrote on her Instagram.

As with all good things, though, the key is in the prep. “My biggest piece of advice when creating effortless updos is make sure you get the right amount of texture into the hair because then the hair pretty much styles itself,” she noted. Product-wise, she recommends a combo of Bondi Boosts Sea Salt Spray and Dry Shampoo + Texture Powder (not available in the U.S.) but we also love Ouai’s Wave Spray and Bumble & Bumble’s Pret A Powder Tres Invisible  to recreate the look. 

We’ve seen it styled on curly hair.

And super sleek.

We’ve even seen a spin-off of the knot technique, created by hair stylist Christian Wood for Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

So if you’re stuck for time and need something chic, try this. “I’ve even created this with one clear hair tie and zero bobby pins,” Chen admitted. Sounds like our kind of party.

This story originally appeared on Glamour U.K. 

Originally Appeared on Glamour