Miss Messy: Messy Buns for Different Hair Lengths

A messy bun tutorial for all lengths—short, medium, and long!

Thanks to the new Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, the messy bun has become even more popular as of late, and it’s easy to see why—it’s the perfect hairstyle to do when your locks are sort of misbehaving or when you don’t have time to wash your hair just yet. Yes, you read that right. The messy bun is actually a lot easier to achieve when hair has a bit of grit, and this is usually the case with second-day hair or even third!

Grit gives hair a bit of texture, and ensures that hair isn’t slippery and is easier to style into place. To do the messy bun, you need to learn these three steps, and use the following products—depending on the length of your hair.

Step 1. Pull your hair into a loose ponytail, as high or as low as you’d like it. Try not to use a comb or brush—your fingers will do. You want this to look effortless, not contrived.

Step 2. Separate the hair in your ponytail into two or three sections and tease. Teasing helps give you volume and texture so that you get a messy bun, and not a perfect, slicked back ballerina-style bun.

Step 3. Separate your teased hair into two sections and wrap the hair in opposite directions, as you would when creating a topknot. But, instead of pinning your hair neatly in, secure your hair with a bobby pin about an inch from the bottom of your strands, leaving the ends to fray around your bun, creating a messy effect. If you’d like loose tendrils to frame your face, grab small random sections out of place, and voila!

Short Hair

Toni & Guy High Definition Spray Wax, P750
“A spray wax will help you grab shorter layers better.“

Medium Hair

Toni & Guy Body Amplify Creation Hairspray, P960
“Keep your messy bun in place with this hair spray that still manages to make your mane look soft.“

Long Hair

Dove Refresh+Care Volume & Fullness Dry Shampoo, P299
“Long locks are difficult to maintain and cleanse every single day. Use this in between shampoos.“