How to make the perfect sock bun

Struggling with stragglers, fly-aways, and general hair calamities can cause a lot of stress for those special occasions. Everything has to look sleek and be combed into place. So, whether going to an intimidating job interview or a snazzy party, a classic bun is a cool way to dress your hair in case of up-do crisis.

The real question is how do you do a bun? We all know the sloppy buns, and the unfinished pony-tail buns, but the new way to go is the sleeker sock-bun. Once you get over the initial embarrassment of attaching a piece of footwear to your head…

What You Need:

  • one tube-sock (the longer the sock the bigger the bun)
  • two hair bands
  • five or so bobby pins.

Making the Perfect Sock Bun!

Step One

Grab a tube-sock that matches your hair color. It doesn’t have to be perfect but I would advise against choosing the bright pink and blue polka-dotted one if you’re a brunette. Cut a quarter sized hole in the toe, and role your sock until there’s nothing left to role. (It should resemble a swollen hair band with a small hole in the middle).

Step Two

Pull your hair back into a ponytail at the spot you want the center of your bun to be. Next pull your hair through the center of the rolled sock, and make sure you don’t leave any part of your ponytail behind.

Step Three

Spread your hair over the sock in all directions so that none of your sock shows. It helps if you lean forward so that your soon-to-be-bun is parallel to the ground and gravity is on your side. No need to mess with Mother Nature. Secure your hair with a hair-band around your hair and sock.

Step Four

Now your bun is almost perfect. The last step is to pin the ends of your hair after they’ve been wrapped around the outside of the bun. Then allow hair spray to become your best friend.

Mix It Up

To add some flavour to your bun and make it ready for crazy parties, or just a day out with your friends, you can add a braid  before you bring your hair into a pony-tail. Or, if you have nothing to do with your bangs, pin them back into a poof at the top of your head for that super-model “chic” look.

What Do You Think?

As strange as a sock in your hair might sound, will you give this look a try? Let us know how it turned out in a comment below!

Beauty

27 Comments

  1. avatar jessica says:

    good info, going to try it some times.

  2. avatar Haley says:

    I tried this and it didn’t work because the hair just kept falling out!!!!! It was really sad!!!:)

  3. avatar SYDNEY says:

    LOOKED AWESOME

  4. avatar Yasmin says:

    This is really not a great idea, no offence but you can do the same bun with out a sock or anything, plus the girl in the picture like really the bun is nothing like what you’ve written it …
    and just wanted to say that all you girls commenting i did it in 2 minutes or even one minute, like really.. this is shouldnt take you like 30 seconds, especially without a sock bun.
    And for the girls that say they’re hair is to long,i dont know what your whining about, the longer the hair, the better the bun..
    x

  5. avatar Alissa says:

    I have long hair aswell so there’s usually alot of hair left with mine aswell.
    I find if you pull the sock almost to the tip off the pony tail, spread hair over it then roll it down while rolling the hair with it, you get a fuller bun and less extra fly aways. can be tricky at first but easy after a couple of goes.
    there’s a couple of youtube vids demonstrating :)

  6. avatar Heyla says:

    I don’t even need bobby pins XD

    • avatar Alexis says:

      uhm alrigght, for the chik who said i don’t even need bobby pins.. Wtf do you like want a clap or some shit? You wanna brag about yourself do it to someone who cares :L thats not a commennt, thats called showing off.. x

    • avatar Alexis says:

      uhm alright like do you want a clap? or are you just showing off?
      wtf.. who does that.
      you just randomly comment saying ‘i dont even need bobby pins’ ..
      seriously wtf?
      i hate to brake this to you but thats not something to be proud of, and its not something that you go around posting, because it either, your hair isnt layered like an old hag, or your hair is way too oily that it all sticks back :L
      xx

      • avatar Della says:

        You have serious anger issues. Who cares if she’s happy that she doesn’t have to use bobby pins? You only succeeded in sounding crazy…congratuations.

  7. avatar Aria says:

    I love this! I can never get my hair in a perfect bun- but this works so well! I didn’t try it with the tube-sock, but other than that its AMAZING!

  8. avatar Amy says:

    Would never work for me. My hair goes past my butt.

    I have found that those slap-bracelet bun makers work really well, though–they even last all the way through karate class even if you’re constantly doing crazy things like high kicks or stretching on the floor. Normally, that stuff makes your hair come out of any restraints you attempt unless you do a very tight ponytail–but the slap bracelet thing works. It’s called… hairagami? I think. Google it.

    Buns aren’t just for looking pretty. It’s really nice to have your hair out of the way during karate (side effects may include Mulan jokes).

  9. avatar Larissa says:

    i cant do this it appears i have too much hair left afterwards what can i do?!!!

  10. avatar kayla says:

    SO helpful. just did it, i’d post a picture if i could. turned out great and took 2 minutes ( i even had a sock with a hole in it already haha)

  11. avatar faline says:

    very helpful!!!

  12. avatar pel says:

    this was really helpful, thaanks!

  13. avatar Kris says:

    Amazing! Super easy! I have thin, straight hair, and my bun looks smooth and perfect. Maybe it was my choice of sock, but the bun is a little flatter than I think I’d like. I may experiment with different socks, but this one works for now. Thanks so much!!

  14. avatar abd says:

    I want a low bun for dance pictures

  15. avatar Tiffany says:

    I have heard women in the Military use this. My hair is too short a bun now, but when it grows out I’ll try this!

  16. avatar Leslie says:

    We use this in the Army as a way to change things up every once and a while. I have really long hair, and I always seem to have too much hair to know what to do with after I put in the sock and secure it with the hair band. Any suggestions?

  17. avatar Megan says:

    When I was in high school, we used to use the ‘sock bun’ as our choice of hairstyle for marching band color guard performances. It really does work well, it was just good to have a friend to help & some hairspray to get all of those fly-aways.

  18. avatar Lois says:

    I’ve just done this and it took me like 30 seconds. It’s really easy!
    In lamence terms, you just put your hair up in a ponytail, then put a sock (with the end cut off) round the top of your ponytail, lean forwards so that your hair falls around it and then put a hair tie around it to hold it and fasten any stray bits with bobby pins.
    Thanks for this tip Kaleigh it looks really nice and is so quick! :)

  19. avatar Han says:

    This is an interesting article, but a proof-read is in order. I’ve never heard of putting a sock in my hair and I look forward to giving this a try.

  20. avatar Lesley says:

    I second the video tip!

  21. avatar Isabel says:

    Thanks for the tip! I can never get my hair in a bun properly and I’ve heard of models using this, but I never knew how.

  22. avatar Kaleigh says:

    Sari–I’ll talk to Tianna and see what we can do!

  23. avatar Sari says:

    This sounds promising, but are there any pictures or videos to show it step-by-step? I’m a visual learner, so this is a bit confusing. Interesting concept though!

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