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Hi again Hairy People,
I recently read a few comments here that some of you don't know how to make a "manbun" for yourselves. It's actually quite easy! The longer your hair is, however, the more practice it will take to get fast at doing it. My hair length is just slightly past my belt-line; but if your hair is mid-back length or shorter, it won't be as involved as the tutorial I'm presenting here.
This pic shows the end result, the so-called "manbun" -- notice how I prefer to have this bun placed rather LOW on the back of my head, centered near the nape of the neck; but if you'd prefer to have your bun placed higher up on top of your head, no worries, as the technique is still the same.
Please click on "STEP 1: Twisting Your Hair..." in order to learn about how I've been doing my own interpretation of the now famous "manbun" successfully for many years now (long before hair-buns on a guy were very popular)... Happy bun-making!
- Ken
The first step (unless you have shoulder-length or shorter) is to gather your hair back AS IF making a ponytail; then twist... around and around, as if trying to style your hair like a terrifying Midwest tornado (think of "Dorothy" in the Wizard of Oz movie, running away from that scary Kansas twister - LOL)....
For guys with significantly shorter hair than mine, there are plenty of YouTube videos of much better-looking longhaired men doing their own interpretation of the "manbun"; so have fun checking those out! (I think there are even a few YouTube videos of bun-making showing guys with mega-long hair, too) Guys with shoulder-length or shorter don't usually bother with this twisting procedure; but for myself, I've found it helpful.
Please go to, "STEP 2: Centering and Coiling your Hair..."
The 2nd step of making this style of man-bun is simply to try your best at centering where you'd most like to locate the bun on your head. Don't worry if it's not "perfect" -- heck, men are usually pretty damn sloppy at all sorts of chores; so why suddenly become fussy over this? (LOL)
Once you've picked out where you'd like to center the bun (either high or low), with your remaining free hand, poke a finger or 2 approximately where you wish to coil your "tornado" around, then twist this twister into a "cinnamon bun" (omitting the sugar & cinnamon of course)
Please go to, "STEP 3: Coiling Your Twister into a Knot..."
The 3rd step is just a repeat of what you started in step #2, "ad nauseam" -- around and around your hair twister goes, and where it stops, only terminal-length knows!
As you get closer and closer to the end of your hair, you will find it just a case of common-sense, and the laws of gravity and natural hair physics, will probably dictate that you wrap the final coils as close to the head as possible (depending on your hair length). Don't worry if a small part of your hair ends stick out kind of funny-looking, as if a "mini-tail" of sorts. That's part of the "charm" of a genuine man-bun!
Please go to, "STEP 4: First Swipe of the Hair-tie..."
There is no Step 4 ??
Personally, I prefer using just a simple hair-tie in order to secure my man-bun in place. Believe it or not, normally I do NOT have to re-do this bun -- once you get the hang of doing it, the bun can often last all-day long! Only if I'm going out with friends or family to some nice restaurant or something similar, will I re-brush my hair and then re-do my manbun a little neater-looking.
The first swipe of your hair-tie just involves aiming and then tightening. Being a right-handed guy, I hold onto the tiny "tail" of hair with my left hand, then place the hair-tie with my right.
Please go to, "STEP 5: 2nd Swipe and Final Adjustments..."
Oops! Spoke too soon, here is Step 4.
This is the last step before I feel I can walk outside to face the world, confidently knowing I am wearing my hair in my version of a "manbun"...
The 5th and final step just involves a 2nd swipe of the hair-tie (in some cases, a 3rd swipe might be necessary; but this usually only happens for me when I have a very old stretched-out hair tie that has lost a lot of its elasticity). Place it wherever you'd like, although I prefer to NOT place the 2nd swipe in the exact same location as the first -- I get a better all-day hold if I place the 2nd swipe somewhere else.
The final adjustments for me usually simply involves a little loosening and lowering of the bun (I DON'T like it too tight). Again, "perfection" is NOT the goal here; practicality and comfort are!!
To see the final result of how this man-bun looks on me, please go back to the beginning post of this thread, titled "Man-bun Tutorial, simplified..."
Happy man-bunning!
- Ken
I forgot to mention one very important factor:
For me, this entire process of making a man-bun for myself (Steps 1-5) takes normally less than one minute. Seriously! Assuming I've already taken the time to brush my hair out, from beginning to end result can go VERY QUICKLY.
In fact, I just timed it by re-doing my bun as I type this...
It took me exactly 27 seconds to do a man-bun!!
Yours Truly,
"Fast-hands Ken"
(LOL)
Mine takes about 20 seconds, but it doesn't involve twisting or an elastic. I doubt I'd be under 30 seconds for anything involving twisting.
Well, considering your hair is almost double the length of mine, I'm amazed that you can make a bun in 20 seconds!
You've started something now. I just timed myself 15.94 seconds.
I do a couple of twists to get it started then add a half twist like you do when coiling a rope as I wind the hair round into the bun and then secure with two turns of a hair tie.
Nice.
WOW, now that's what I call FAST!!!!!!! Looks great, too!!!!
Thanks. To be honest, I've never really thought about how long it takes, but I'm usually in a hurry if I'm putting my hair up in a bun, so I'm just looking to get it out of the way and into a secure style as quickly as possible.
I've been doing a man bun for years now, long before it became popular. I just use the quick and dirty method, i'll just take
the whole bunch of hair, wrap it around my hand several times, remove the hand, and slap a hair tie around the hair. Probably not the right way to do it but, heck, i've been doing it for years now. It keeps the hair from getting damaged. Also comes in handy at the gym. As popular as the man bun is, I prefer it to be down and loose. The bottom line: at the age of 61 i've got long hair and prefer not to hide it.
Hey, "quick and dirty method" sounds just fine to me!
Thanks for the tutorial, Ken. My hair is too short at this point to even attempt a bun, but now I have something else to look forward to. And there is nothing so fine as sweet anticipation.
I appreciate your feedback, Marx! Yes, anticipation is definitely something that keeps us all going.
I had an interesting experience when I was growing my hair out the 2nd time around (after my devastating impulsive short haircut in Y2K): during the "awkward stages", even though I was familiar with that aspect of the growing-out experience from the early '90s, once I could put a large section of my hair back into a tiny little bun (pitiful-looking as it was), it made me feel suddenly relaxed -- as if I was "home" again... Kind of hard to explain; but basically, since all during the mid to late '90s I had gotten accustomed to wearing a "man-bun", the sudden short haircut in Y2K was a shock to my system. So, reaching that milestone again of being able to bun it a bit (even though totally pointless) somehow reassured me that my long hair was indeed coming back.
We all have little "milestones" to look forward to. In your case, since you've had long hair before, even if a bun isn't a familiar feeling from your younger longhaired years, maybe some other aspect of hair growth might do the reassurance trick for you.
Happy hair-farming!
- Ken
Hey Ken,
It is so interesting that you mention the little milestones along the path, because I have recently experienced that myself. When I was wearing my hair long back in my youth (that could be punctuated either "wearing my hair long, back in my youth", or "wearing my hair, long back in my youth" - has it really been that long ago?), I would often wear it in a ponytail. Recently, I was able to get all of my (remaining) hair tied back in a ponytail and it was a similar experience to what you describe. I also had an experience like that recently when I felt my hair brushing the top of my shoulders and it was like - wow, I remember how that felt, so long ago, and it was a wonderful feeling. It is so interesting how sensations can evoke memories or feelings from the past.
I'll share a little story about that type of experience. It involved a smell. It evoked a feeling from the past that impressed me more than any similar experience I have had. I was in my late 30s, working hard, doing well financially. I became interested in some of the finer enjoyments of life, subscribing to the Wine Spectator and enjoying fine (not expensive) wines. I discovered Cigar Aficionado magazine and decided to buy some fine, hand rolled cigars.
One day, while sitting outdoors on my deck on a beautiful South Florida winter day I decided to enjoy a cigar. As I began smoking, a most unexpected feeling came over me. The distinctive aroma of the cigar brought forth in me an intense feeling of security. I was enveloped in a sensation of being safe and loved. I knew that the feeling was somehow directly related to the cigar smoke, but I could not explain it. I struggled to understand why I was suddenly feeling such a strong emotion. On this occasion I could not identify the source of the emotion, but it happened again a few days later when I was by myself smoking a cigar. As I was floating in this wonderful sensation of love and safety the memories suddenly flooded into my mind from the distant past of my early childhood and I remembered. I remembered visiting my grandparents on holidays. I remembered how they doted on me and how special they made me feel. I remembered how loved and safe I felt there. I was being embraced by those feelings once again. And I remembered that my grandfather smoked cigars.
I've heard it said that the sense of smell can bring back fond nostalgic memories more than any of the other 5 senses. I had a favorite uncle who I haven't seen since my early teenage years who smoked a pipe -- and even though my dad was extremely anti-smoking, even he never spoke a word when this cousin of his lit up that pipe. It was an amazingly delicious fragrance, I haven't smelled it in years; but I remember it as if that uncle was smoking his pipe just yesterday!
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and memories, Marx, always a pleasure hearing from you!!
- Ken