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Having curly hair texture can be a frustrating reality for hair styling and maintenance—it can often feel like there are no stylish options. Below, we’ll show you just how fashionable and flexible curly hair buns can be!
What Is a Curly Hair Bun?
Like many things in life, it turns out that curly hair can be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, curly hair requires lots of maintenance, and humid weather can ruin it.
But on the other hand, a style that embraces messiness like a curly hair bun takes advantage of your curly hair to create a casual yet stylish appearance.
Especially when you’re in a rush with no time for a more extravagant hairstyle, the curly hair bun comes to the rescue by giving you a simple yet beautiful way to put up your hair. Not only do these buns get your wild hair out of your face.
But they can also capture that controlled messiness that is so popular amongst hairstyles. And as a flexible style, you can even find versions of the curly hair bun that look neat and professional.
The main features of the curly hair bun include:
- It is a simple style that takes little time to accomplish.
- There is tons of flexibility with how you shape the bun.
- It embraces the messy reality of curly hair.
- Buns take hair out of your face.
- The right style of bun can look neat and professional.
Curly Hair Bun Inspiration: 30 Ways to Rock the Trend
Curly hair buns are not just an informal way to put up your hair—they are a stylish look with lots of flexibility. So let’s explore some of the fantastic styles for a curly hair bun!
1. Tall Bun
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If you have particularly long curly hair, don’t be afraid to shape your hair into a tall bun that can sit high on the head. Show off those curls!
2. Messy Bun
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One classic method of embracing your curly hair is to accept its messiness and find a style that doesn’t try to tame it. This messy bun is a perfect example of the curly hair bun being casual and stylish.
Read Next: Easy Everyday Hairstyles
3. Twisted Middle Bun
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Twisting your hair as you form the bun is a fantastic method to capture some casual messiness. In this example, the bun sits nicely in the middle of the head.
4. Multi-Twisted Bun
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In this example, the bun is a bit more complex because it has multiple twists coming together into a loosely structured bun.
5. Big and Neat Bun
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For those that want to avoid a messy/casual appearance, consider forming a neat bun like in this example. Even with long and wild curls, you can still manage to get a tight bun that stays together.
6. Loose Bun With Tendrils
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Not every style that embraces messiness has to be casual, and this example showcases a style that makes messiness look like art. The bun is high and loosely structured, and the tendrils do a great job of framing her face.
Read Next: Curtain Bangs Ideas
7. Messy High Bun
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This example showcases the messy version of a high bun. High buns are nice because people in front of you can still see your bun.
8. Messy Ponytail Bun
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This hairstyle blends the ponytail and the bun into a combined look that captures the best of both styles.
9. Messy Middle Bun
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If you like the idea of a messy/unstructured bun but don’t want to wear it too high on your head, consider giving yourself a messy middle bun. It still has style, but the messiness stays more on the back of your head.
10. Neat High Bun
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Here is an example of a neat bun high on the head. This woman probably has a more wavy texture of hair curling, so a style like this might not work for those battling with intense curls.
11. Messy Bun With Bangs
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Buns usually take hair off of your face, but if you like the look of bangs, nothing prevents you from incorporating them into your curly hair bun.
12. Neat and Small
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A neat and small bun can be the perfect way to get a stylish and functional look with minimal effort for those with medium-length hair.
13. Messy Bun With Scarf
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Don’t be afraid to incorporate fashion items into your bun hairstyles, such as clips, scrunchies, or scarfs. The scarf here looks great and also helps to keep the hair together.
14. Tight Bun With Side Bangs
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Just because you’re forming a curly hair bun, it does not mean that you have to put all of your hair up. These side bangs look comfortable and stylish.
15. Wild Bun
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You can think of this wild bun as the morning bun that makes it look like you just got out of bed. It looks great, even if you did just get out of bed!
16. Loose Middle Bun
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This middle bun isn’t necessarily messy, but it still embraces a more loose structure while mostly having a defined shape in the middle of her head.
17. Twisted High Bun
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This messy bun looks particularly disheveled because of the hair texture and the twisting. But it still has enough structure to sit high on her head.
18. Wedding Bun
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The wedding bun is proof that a curly hair bun can still be an elegant hairstyle, even with a few loose strands of hair, making it look natural. Overall, it is neat and compact with an elegant hair accessory that matches the occasion.
Read Next: Wedding Guest Hairstyles
19. Messy Low Wedding Bun
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The previous example showcased the neat version of a wedding bun, but this picture shows that even a messy style can look elegant.
20. Messy Middle Wedding Bun
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This picture is similar to the previous example—a messy yet elegant wedding bun—except it sits much more to the middle of her head
21. Neat Multi-Bun
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Despite the multiple buns in this example, they all come together into a neatly put-together single bun that sits low on her head.
22. Small Space Buns
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Space buns are a unique and creative way to style your hair into two buns in a way that looks cute and casual.
23. Casual High Bun
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It takes little to no effort to get your hair to hold its structure in a high bun for certain hair textures. Consider this style if you have a hair texture like in the example.
24. Cute Space Buns
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This example showcases that space buns can be an easy and cute look for younger girls.
25. Big Space Buns
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Even though space buns are a more youthful look, adults can also sport this hairstyle if they want to look fun and energetic.
26. High Bun With Headband
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As this example shows, a headband can be a great accessory to both look stylish and keep your high bun in place.
27. Spiral Bun
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This spiral bun will take you more time to complete, but it looks super elegant and works perfectly with a wavy hair texture.
28. Low Sock Bun
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A sock bun is a fantastic way to get stylish hair with little to no effort. This low sock bun will naturally stay in place.
29. High Sock Bun
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In this example, the sock bun neatly sits high on her head, and there are a few loose strands to help frame her face.
30. Wild High Bun
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This example showcases that a curly hair bun can still look great when it embraces the chaos of messy hair.
Frequently Asked Questions
As you can see, there are a ton of creative ways to style a curly hair bun. But before you find the right style for you, let’s round off your knowledge by answering some of the most common questions about curly hair buns:
Is it bad to put curly hair in a bun?
Generally, putting your curly hair into a bun is a great way to get your long and messy hair out of your face in style. But it can be bad if you pull your hair too tightly—tight hair can cause headaches—or if you’re generally too rough with your curls when shaping them into a bun.
How do you make a bun with curly hair?
To make a bun with curly hair, first, collect your hair as if you are making a ponytail and pull it through a scrunchy (scrunchies tend to work better for curly hair). Most often, you will want to pull your hair through a second time, but do not pull it through all the way—leave around two inches of curls out. After forming the bun like this, you can situate the bun however you like on your head.
How do you make a sock bun with curly hair?
A sock bun gets its name because it uses a sock to shape your hair into a bun, and to make a sock bun, cut the toe end off of your sock and roll it into a ring shape. After putting this ring over your ponytail, pull it to the tip of your hair and tuck hair into the center of the ring. Then you just have to roll the sock down to collect your hair into a bun.
How do you make a low bun with curly hair?
To make a low bun, you should follow the usual steps for making a bun with curly hair (pull through two times, use a scrunchie, etc.), but with a low bun, you also have to worry about stabilizing. So once you have secured the bun where you want it, stabilize it with a few hair clips on the inner side of the scrunchie.
How do you do a messy curly bun with straight hair?
If you like the messy look of a curly hair bun, but you happen to have straight hair, there is still a technique for you to capture this style. Split your ponytail into two sections, and twist the bottom section around two times before forming it into a bun. This technique will create the illusion of a curly/messy bun.
Is a Curly Hair Bun for You?
You don’t need anyone to tell you that curly hair can be difficult to work with, but the curly hair bun is a great way to embrace the messy look with style. Hopefully, one of these examples has inspired you to try out a curly hair bun yourself!