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The pineapple bun hair style for curly girls is the easiest way to wake up with frizz-free, defined, voluminous curls. By loosely securing your curls on top of your head like a pineapple while you sleep, you can sidestep tangles and flattened curls.
Learn how to pineapple your hair at night to get beautiful curls the next day and see 10 different ways to do it in our style guide!
The Easy Pineapple Bun Hair Guide for CGs
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Curly girls, we know that wrangling and styling your curls can be both a blessing and a daily struggle. We’re always looking for new ways to manage and style curls without damaging heat or chemicals, but not every heatless curl method we’ve tested has been a winner.
So when we learned about the pineapple bun hair trend for curly hair, we weren’t really expecting it to be a life-changing technique. But that’s exactly what it turned out to be.
And if you haven’t yet tried the pineapple bun hair hack, you’ve been missing out, sister!
Pineappling – putting curly hair into a high, loose pony overnight – is supposed to help with frizz, curl definition, tangles, and curl pattern.
It’s going to give you a touchably soft, tumbling cascade of curls without the frizz, tangles, and misshapen bits you’re used to battling. This quick and easy overnight style is one of the best techniques for curly-haired women (and men!) who want to wake up with perfect curls.
And if you do it the right way (yes, there’s a proper way to pineapple), you can achieve curls that need nothing more than a shake or a spritz of curl refresher to be ready for the day.
We’ll explain what a pineapple bun is, the benefits of trying this curly girl style, and how to do it step-by-step to wake up to pretty, defined curls with minimal frizz and tons of volume.
Are you ready to fall in love with your curls all over again? Then it’s time to get familiar with the pineapple bun hair style!
What Is the Pineapple Bun Hair Style?
The pineapple bun hair style is an overnight styling technique for curly hair that involves piling your curls on top of your head and securing loosely while you sleep. The name comes from the finished look, which resembles a pineapple crown – you’re the pineapple here, and your curls are the proud, lush crown on top.
Sometimes referred to as “pineappling,” this loose, messy updo keeps your curls on top of your head while you sleep to avoid flat, frizzy, tangled curls in the morning.
When you create a pineapple bun, you aren’t actually making a bun at all. Instead, you gather your hair into a super-high, loose ponytail that is situated close to your front hairline.
Pineappling Benefits for Curly Hair
Pineappling your hair on top of your head overnight serves 3 important purposes:
- Reduces hair tie kinks and relieves curl tension
- Gives you maximum curl volume and definition
- Ensures frizz-free, perfectly air-dried curls overnight
First, placing the pony close to the front hairline helps you avoid kinks and dents in your hair that could prevent you from wearing your pretty curls down the next day.
The closer to the hairline that you place your pineapple bun/ponytail, the more volume you’ll get in front and the less noticeable any kinks will be.
Second, placing your pineapple bun close to the hairline helps you avoid flattening and slicking any part of the hair back and putting extra volume-reducing strain on your curls.
When you style a low, midi, or high ponytail somewhere between the nape of your neck and your crown, the front and top of your hair gets slicked back. Tie it loosely further up – as close to the front hairline as possible – and you remove that problem easily!
Finally, placing the pony so close to the front hairline helps stagger the curl groups in your hair to keep them separated and bouncy.
When you gather a ponytail further back, all of the hair hangs downward in a single clump. When you tie the ponytail further up, the curls are able to fan out and take up more space.
They dry separately and retain their volume and bounce all through the night so you wake up with defined, voluminous curls!
Women all over the world are using the pineapple bun hair style to make styling natural curls easier. It’s even useful for heat-styled curls that you want to rock for an extra day! Learn how to style a pineapple bun for perfect next-day curls below.
How to Style a Pineapple Bun
Learning how to style a pineapple bun is so easy. It takes a little practice to find the perfect placement to avoid kinks and get the most lively curls, but you’ll get the hang of the technique quickly.
Keep reading to learn how to style a pineapple bun to perfectly air-dry your natural curls!
If you have naturally curly hair, you need to start your pineapple bun hair style with prepped-and-ready wet hair. Don’t skip the prep steps – they are key to getting your curls to look their best with this method!
Here’s a look at the products and supplies you’ll need to make it happen:
What You’ll Need
- Leave-in conditioner or moisturizer
- Curl-enhancing gel or mousse
- Wide-toothed comb
- Large hair tie or scrunchy
- Scarf or bonnet (optional)
1. Prep Your Hair
Start with sopping wet, freshly washed hair for the best results. The strict silicone-, sulfate-, and alcohol-free Curly Girl Method (CGM) isn’t for everyone, but we can all take a page out the CGM book when it comes to styling curly hair!
Using CGM principles to prep your hair for a pineapple bun will give you the best results with the least amount of frizz. Follow these steps to prep your wet and freshly washed hair before pineappling.
- Apply your favorite leave-in conditioner, moisturizer, or oil to your hair while it’s soaking wet.
- Gently detangle your curls with a wide-toothed comb to avoid disturbing your natural curl groups.
- Apply your gel or mousse with your favorite method – scrunching, rake and shake, or shingling are the most effective.
Scrunching your curls involves applying gel or mousse to your hands, then grasping sections of hair as you slowly squeeze your hand around the curls and push them upward. This is the fastest method, but it can encourage tangles.
The rake and shake method is where you add product to your hands, then rake your product-coated fingers through from root to tip, section by section.
When you reach the ends, wiggle or shake your hand to re-activate your curl texture and pattern. This method cuts down on tangles and frizz for a smoother texture. Shingling is another great method to apply product without disturbing your curl pattern, but it takes a little longer to do.
Just allow your wet hair to clump into its natural curl groups, then apply a small amount of product to each curl group to get the most bounce and definition.
2. Gather and Secure Hair Into a Pineapple Bun
Once you’ve washed, conditioned, and prepped your hair with the moisturizing and curl-enhancing products of your choice, you’re ready to pineapple!
Start by leaning forward or bending over so your hair hangs downward. Loosely gather your hair close to the front hairline – as close as you can get without dropping the shorter layers in the back.
Secure the pineapple bun/ponytail with a large elastic, scrunchy, spiral hair tie, or even a scarf or ribbon. The important thing is that you don’t secure your ponytail too tightly. It should be tight enough to stay put overnight, but not tight enough to put tension on your curls or create kinks.
Once your hair is loosely secured in a pineapple bun, you can polish it up a bit by situating your curls in the directions you’d like them to go.
Try splitting your ponytail down the middle and letting each side hang freely on either side of your head. Or let your curls cascade down in front over your forehead. Just make sure your pineapple bun won’t be squished by your head when you lay down to sleep!
You can also pop on a scarf or bonnet to keep your curls covered and protected overnight. This is totally optional, but some women find covering their curls helps a lot.
At this point, you should avoid touching or messing with your hair any further. Keeping your hands out of your hair will help it dry to a frizz-free, smooth finish and better retain your curl pattern.
3. Take the Pineapple Bun Down the Next Morning
Rise and shine! When you wake up the next morning, it’s time to take your pineapple bun hair style down to see the beautiful results. But it’s very important that you take your pineapple pony down the right way to avoid creating frizz and fluff in the last leg of this overnight hairstyle marathon.
With your head upside down, carefully remove the elastic, scrunchy, or scarf you’ve secured your pineapple bun with. Stretch the elastic or hair tie wide enough to pull your hair through without disturbing it too much.
If you used a scarf to secure your bun, you can simply untie and remove it. Once you’ve released your hair from the pineapple bun, you have a few options to touch up your “pineappled” curls.
This is where your specific hair type and characteristics come into play. You should experiment with the following ways to refresh your curls once you take down your pineapple bun:
- Shake your hair to fluff and separate curls without touching
- Shake your hair, spritz with water or curl refresher, and scrunch lightly
- Rake through your curls and fluff with your fingers
Choose the takedown method that works best for your specific curl type. The coilier/kinkier your hair is, the less you’ll want to touch and manipulate your curls after pineappling. If you have super-coarse, coily or kinky hair, you should use the shake and separate method.
If your curls respond better to a little encouragement, try shaking and spritzing a little water or your favorite curl-activating product into your hair after taking it down. Scrunch the water or product in gently to cut down on frizz.
If you’re going for a “bigger is better” curly look, you can rake through your curls with your fingers while you’re bent over to get tons of volume and fluffiness. It’s all about choosing the method that works best for you!
10 Overnight Pineapple Bun Hair Styles for Perfect Air-Dried Curls
Not yet convinced that the pineapple bun hair technique is the miracle curl-styling method you’ve been missing out on? Take a look at some of the different ways women of all curl types are using the pineapple bun hair hack to achieve bouncier, frizz-free curls with more definition!
1. Kinky Pineapple Bun With Headband
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Kinky-textured hair is a perfect candidate for the pineapple bun hair style. When you’ve got kinky strands with Z-shaped “curls,” your main focus isn’t definition – it’s minimizing frizz and tangles.
That’s exactly what a pineapple bun can do for kinky hair overnight! Add a headband to keep your shorter hairs in front slicked back and minimize frizz around the hairline.
2. Fanned-Out Pineapple Bun
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Let your curls and coils be free while you sleep to keep the definition and avoid frizz overnight. Cinching your hair into a super-high ponytail close to the hairline will keep your curls intact while protecting them from tangles and frizz!
3. Quick Overnight Pineapple Bun
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Your mouth is going to drop open like this when you realize how simple it is to style and protect your curls overnight with a quick pineapple bun hair style!
Tilt forward and loosely gather your curls in one hand before standing upright as shown. Secure loosely with a scrunchy or large elastic to keep your curls stacked and defined with room to breathe overnight.
4. Tight Pineapple Bun
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If you plan on wearing your hair up the next day, you can try a tight pineapple bun overnight instead of the traditional loose version. This will leave some kinks and dents in your hair from the elastic, so don’t make your pineapple pony/bun tight unless you’re wearing a ponytail tomorrow!
Loosen it up if you plan to wear your hair down the next day. This will allow your curls to come to life. Add a dab of gel around the hairline and brush back to keep frizz at bay.
5. Pineapple Bun for Loose Coils
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Even if you don’t have ultra-tight curls, pineappling overnight can help you wake up with less frizz and more natural definition. By keeping your loose curls contained in a high pony while you sleep, you won’t flatten them out by laying on them or create unnecessary tangles when you toss and turn.
6. Crown Pineapple Bun With Tight Curls
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Ultra-tight curls can really benefit from the pineapple bun hair style as a way to cut down on frizz and reduce the need for heat styling.
When you protect your curls from frizz and tangles while you sleep, you also keep your natural volume and avoid weighing your curls down when you lay down at night. When you wake up, your pineappled curls can be quickly touched up with heat if needed, then you’re ready to go!
7. Wear-Out-Worthy Pineapple Bun
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Most pineapple buns are situated close to the front hairline, making the curls fan out and lay over your forehead. It’s a cute look in its own way, but most of us don’t want to wear this style out in public.
Try this version if you want to wear your pineapple bun when you go out – just secure the ponytail a bit further back at the crown. This will still give you curl-boosting benefits, and it’s a style that you can honestly say “I woke up like this” when you wear it!
8. Pineapple Bun for Heat-Styled Curls
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Pineappling isn’t just great for naturally curly hair. It also works perfectly on heat-styled curls so you can get next-day hair with all the volume and definition from the previous days’ curls!
After all the work you’ve put in heat-styling perfect ringlets, you owe it to yourself to pineapple your hair that night to get second-day curls that don’t look flat, frizzy, or tangled. Keep it loose and close to the hairline for the best results.
9. Styled Pineapple Bun With Bangs
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Here’s another great option if you want to be able to wear your pineapple bun out and about! You can style a really cute pineapple bun with bangs by securing the bun loosely with a large elastic and adding a few bobby pins for extra stability.
Leave your bangs down and split them into your normal part. Add a scarf or headband if you love accessories – it would be a perfect fit for this easy-breezy style!
10. Easiest Overnight Pineapple Bun
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Prefer the simple version? No worries! You can throw your hair into this super-simple pineapple bun in seconds and still reap all the benefits. Bend over and gather your hair loosely into a bundle without raking your fingers through or trying to make it neat.
Secure with a scrunchy or large elastic and try to limit yourself to wrapping no more than twice to keep it loose. Let your curls fan out and scrunch again to get frizz-free, defined ringlets in the morning!
Things to Consider
Pineappling may become your new go-to overnight method for waking up with gorgeous, defined curls. But if you want the best results, make sure you’re following these tips!
- Adopt a “no touching” policy for your curls. Okay, maybe we’re slightly exaggerating, but you really should try to touch your curls as little as possible to get the best results from your pineapple bun. The more you touch your hair during the process, the more your curl groups will come apart and frizz. That’s the opposite of what you want, so keep your hands out of your hair to get frizz-free, more defined results!
- Keep your pineapple bun loose. Keeping the bun loose is key to avoiding kinks and dents in your hair that will need to be touched up. Try not to wrap your elastic or scrunchy more than twice to ensure it’s loose enough. The only time you should tightly secure a pineapple bun is if you’re planning on wearing your hair up the next day.
- Tie your bun with a scarf to avoid kinks. If you’ve experimented with pineappling before and ended up with kinks or dents from the hair tie, try a scarf instead. Toss your head upside down and lay the scarf on your back hairline. Wrap the scarf around the front and tie the ends together, slowly tightening until the ponytail feels pretty secure. Knot the ends to keep it in place and take it down in the morning to reveal kink-free curls!
- Try the method on heat-styled curls. Spent hours perfectly crafting curls with a curling iron or wand? Don’t let them go to waste by sleeping on them! Lean forward to gather your dry curls into a high pineapple ponytail close to your front hairline. Take it down in the morning and touch up the pieces in front to sport gorgeous second-day curls!
- Don’t let the back fall down. If you have short or medium-length hair, you may find it hard to get all of your hair to stay in the pineapple ponytail when you gather it at your front hairline. If the back falls down, you’ll get flat and frizzy curls in the fallen section. Don’t let that happen! If you need to situate your pineapple bun a little further back, that’s okay. You may get some kinks and dents in the front, but you can easily touch those up in the morning.
- You can touch curls up with heat if needed. Heat styling can be damaging in excess (and this is one of the reasons we look to methods like the pineapple bun as an alternative). But a little heat won’t hurt if you just need a few quick touch-ups the next morning. You can always touch up a curl here and there with a curling iron the next morning after pineappling if needed – it’s a lot better than heat-styling your whole head!
It honestly couldn’t be easier to do the pineapple bun hair style – just prep, gather, and loosely secure your curls on top of your head after washing and conditioning.
By plopping your curls high up on your head overnight, you allow them to cascade freely while they air-dry without being squished on your pillow while you sleep. If less frizz, more definition, and ethereal volume are what you’re looking for, this is the overnight curl-styling method you need to try.
Just remember to keep your hands out of your curls and use the right products for curly hair to get the best results!