How To Use a Hair Donut To Make a Bun

woman wearing a donut bun

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All thanks to hair donuts, gone are the days of spending hours perfecting hair buns. These clever tools are the must-have tool for creating immaculately shaped updos, even if you’re a complete styling newbie!

Favoured by ballerinas and athletes alike, the donut bun is a tidy, chic and classic style, not to mention that it’s super easy to create. Don’t believe us? Well, we’re here to persuade you with our uber simple step-by-step guide to getting the perfect hair bun (you can thank us later!).

1

Create a ponytail.

Begin with freshly washed and dried hair. We like to use the Dove Daily Moisture 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner that cleanses and conditions in one quick step.

After drying your hair, gather and secure it in a high ponytail, using a fine-tooth comb to help smooth any flyaways.

 

hair donut. model with long brown hair securing in high ponytail
2

Apply the hair donut.

Now loop your ponytail through the hole of your hair donut and slide it up until it reaches the base.

If you have thin or fine hair, you may want to lightly tease it to help create the effect of a fuller bun. If you already have thick hair, and want your donut bun to look sleek and smooth, simply comb through your strands.

 

hair donut. model with long brown hair with hair donut at base of ponytail
3

Wrap your hair around.

Working in stages, smooth your strands clockwise around the hair donut, tucking the hair under and securing with bobby pins as you go.

The most important thing, is to ensure that you’ve covered the whole donut with your hair so that it’s completely concealed. Tell-tale signs are a no-no!

hair donut. Model wrapping brunette hair around bun
4

Set it with spray.

To finish, set your chic donut bun with an strong-hold hairspray, like the TRESemmé Extra Hold Hairspray, to help it stay put all day.

If your bun begins to feel loose throughout the day, just top it up with some more hairspray or secure with a few more bobby pins – these little slides are your new BFF!

 

Hair donut- model spraying high bun with hairspray
5

Final look.

And there you have it: a modern donut bun that’s perfect for work or play. Now go forth and work your new style to the max!

Hair donout - brunette model with high donut bun

 

Now that you’ve mastered the classic donut bun style, it’s time to step things up a notch. To really impress your friends, colleagues and significant other,  try your hand at the effortlessly chic low bun, below!

 The elegant low donut bun

1

Brush hair.

Start by brushing through your hair to remove any tangles, then smooth into a low ponytail and secure with a band.

Hair donut: Model brushing long brown hair into low ponytail
2

Add hair donut.

Place the hair donut at the base of your ponytail then begin taking small to medium sections of hair and wrap them around the donut.

Continue this process until all the hair is wrapped around the donut.

Hair donut: model with long straight brown hair adding donut to base of ponytail
3

Secure.

Fan out your hair so you don’t see any gaps exposing the donut.

When you’re happy with the result, use bobby pins to secure the hair donut in place. Apply as many as needed for the donut to feel secure.

Hair donut. Model with long straight brown hair securing hair donut with pins
4

Seal your look.

Tame any flyaways and unruly hair with a generous spritz of the hairspray, as this will lock in your style for extra staying power.

 

Hair donut. Model with brown hair in low donut updo spraying hairspray
5

Final look:

There you have it. An elegant low donut bun that any ballerina will be envious of!

Hair donut. Model with hair donut at nape of neck final look

If this hair donut how-to has inspired you to wear your hair up more often, why not head on over to our Updos page? It’s bursting with video tutorials and catwalk looks, all of which will give you a major style boost!

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