How To Do a Man Bun + 4 Best Styles For Beginners
The man bun, some people love it, others hate it. The man bun gets a lot of hate, but maybe that's because some people wear it wrong. When done right, it looks super masculine and is one of the best hairstyles you can rock.
In this guide, we will show you the correct way to get a man bun and four variations of the man bun so you can find the perfect fit for your style. Let's get to it!
How Long Does my Hair Have To Be For A Man Bun?
The minimum length for a man bun is six inches. Some guys try to rock a man bun with shorter hair than that, and well, we all know how that looks. So go for a minimum of 6 inches, and the ideal length would be between 10 and 16 inches.
You will need some patients to get longer than 10 inches of hair because it could take around 10 - 18 months, depending on your hair growth rate.
Can Any Hair type Get a Man Bun?
A man bun can be styled with any hair type. Now, if you have thicker or coarser hair, your man bun might be a little fussier than others, but you can reduce this with texturizing cream.
How To Do a Basic Man Bun For Beginners
Now we will show you how to make a basic man bun. This is perfect for beginners and is honestly the most common style you see guys rocking.
What You Will Need
hair brush
Shampoo
Elastic Band
Texturizing cream (optional)
1. Wash and Brush Your Hair
Before you start styling, be sure to wash your hair and give it a quick comb-through just to remove any loose hair and ensure the hair is nice and straight.
2. Apply Texturizing Cream
If you have very thick or fuzzy hair, then go ahead and apply some texturizing cream, this will reduce the fuzziness and help hold the hair in place.
3. Place Elastic Band On Wrist
Take one of your elastic bands and place it o the wrist, this is a hack that will make things easier in the next steps because you can pull the elastic band off the wrist and onto the hair while still holding your hair.
4. Grab Hair and Bunch It Up In The Back
Ok so now it's time to start styling. Using both hands, run your fingers through the top and sides of your hair to create a big clump right in the back of your head.
You might miss some hair in the back of your head, so be sure to look in the mirror, grab one hand, and push them up into the clump using a sweeping motion.
5. Pull Elastic Band Around Hair
Ok, now that you have all your hair in your hands, take all the hair and transfer it to the hand that has the elastic band on the wrist. With the other hand, grab the elastic band and pull it off your hand onto the hair where you are holding all the hair.
The band is now on the hair, but it's probably loose. Take your free hand and make one twist to tighten it around the hair; this will tighten things up a bit.
6. Make The Bun
The next step is a bit tricky, but what you will do to make that bun appearance is to bring the band across the man bun. As your hair passes through, stop about half way, so the hair gets caught in the elastic band. So it will only go through some of the way. Release the band and you will have that iconic man bun appearance.
That's it! You are now rocking a basic man bun!
How To Do A Man Bun With Short Hair
Ok, now we are going to show you how to do a man bun with short hair, the process is just about the same, but there are a few differences. Unless you are in an in-between phase of trying to grow your hair longer, we recommend going with an undercut hairstyle. It will make your man bun pop more and look more distinct.
What You Will Need
hair brush
Shampoo
Elastic Band
Texturizing cream (optional)
1. Wash and Brush Your Hair
It's best to style your man bun right after you get out of the shower to ensure you have nice and clean hair. Before you style, give your hair a nice brush to remove any knots and ensure everything is straight.
2. Apply Texturizing Cream
This step is optional, but applying some texturizing cream reduces fuzziness and gives your hair a nice sheen. It also helps hold your hair in place and is a bit easier to work with.
3. Put Elastic Band On Wrist
before you start styling, put an elastic band on your wrist. This will make placing it on your hair much easier in the following steps.
4. Grab All Hair In The Back
Ok, now it's time to start styling. For a short man bun, don't worry about the hair on the sides of the head. We will just focus on the hair at the top of your head.
You want to use both hands to run your fingers through your hair until you have all the strands of hair held together in the back of your head. This can be tricky with short hair, so keep the bun towards the top back of the head.
5. Pull Elastic Around Hair
Once you are happy, take one hand off the clump of hair and pull the elastic band down from the wrist onto the hair. Once the band is on the hair and in the same area as your hand, you want to loop the elastic band around the hair.
You will have to loop it multiple times until it is tight or until you know you can only make one more loop.
6. Make The Bun
With that last loop you want to pull the ponytail halfway through that last loop. When the hair is halfway through the loop, you can release the band. You don't want the hair to go all the way through, only half way. That's what creates the man bun appearance.
How To Make A Messy Man Bun
So you want a more casual man bun. To get this look, you really do need to have longer hair. If you have short hair, it's always much tighter and doesn't really looked relaxed or messy. But if you have long hair, you can make the man bun look more casual and relaxed. We will show you how to pull this off without it looking terrible.
What You Will Need
hair brush
Shampoo
Elastic Band
Texturizing cream (optional)
1. Wash and Comb Your Hair
before we get into the styling, wash and comb your hair to remove any loose hair or knots. You want nice straight hair to start with.
2. Apply Texturizing Cream
This step is optional, but we recommend using a little texturizing cream. This will make it easier to work with your hair and reduce any potential frizziness.
3. Put Elastic Band On Wrist
A little hack is to put the elastic band on one of your wrists like a bracelet. This will make it easier to apply to your hair later on, especially for guys with long hair.
4. Pull Hair To The Back
Ok, now take both hands and run them through your hair, pulling all the hair to the back. If you have hair at the lower neck, you can take one and slowly scoop it up into your other hand. Remember, we want a messy and casual look, so don't worry about the hair being too perfect, and it's okay to leave some hair out if you think it looks good.
5. Pull Elastic Around The Hair
Once you are happy with the hair in the back of your head, pull the elastic band off the wrist and wrap it around the hair. You will probably only need to do this twice.
6. Make The Messy Bun
Now it's time to make the bun. Take the elastic band and pull your hair through it one last time. At about the halfway point, you can stop. You don't want all the hair to pull through this time, that's what gives you that bun.
make sure it's not too tight. You can tug on the loop of the hair a bit to pull it out and make it look more messy and relaxed, but don't overdo it either. You want to get that nice balance.
You can finish styling by pulling some hair down out of the bun around the ears, if you like that style.
There you go! You should have a trendy and slightly messy man bun!
How To Make A Half-Up Man Bun
Ok, Now we will show you how to get a half-up man bun. A half-up man bun is when men with long hair only use the upper half in a bun and the lower hair hangs down. It has a Viking look to it. It's straightforward to style, so let's get into the process.
What You Will Need
hair brush
Shampoo
Elastic Band
Texturizing cream (optional)
1. Wash and Comb Your Hair
First, make sure you have washed your hair and given it a quick comb. It's a good idea to style your hair right out of the shower. You want it to be clean and straight with no knots.
2. Apply Texturizing Cream
This is optional, but applying texturizing cream will help you control your hair better while reducing fuzziness at the same time. It also gives your hair a nice sheen to it.
3. Put An Elastic Band On Your Wrist
You’re going to need to use an elastic band to hold the hair in place. Sometimes it's difficult to get this on the hair, but an easy trick is to put the band on your dominant wrist like a bracelet, then pull it over the wrist onto the hair. We will show you how to do this in later steps.
4. Pull Top Hair To The Back
Now we can start styling your hair. You will run your hands through your hair and pull the top half of your hair back into a bunch. Make sure not to grab all of your hair because that would be a classic man bun. We are doing a half-up, so only grab the top half of the hair and let the lower half fall nicely down.
5. Pull Elastic Band Around The Hair
You should have the general style you want, now, take the other hand that doesn't have the elastic band and use it to grab the elastic bang down the wrist onto the hair. It should be nice and easy. Once you have the band on the hair, you can tie it about two times to keep it tight, but leave at least one twist for the bun styling.
5. Make The Bun
The last step is to make the bun. Twist the elastic band one last time around the hair, but this time only allow the hair to pass halfway through, and not all the way though, then release. This is what creates that bun look.
There you go! You should have an excellent half-up man bun!
Conclusion
That's our guide to the man bun! There are many different ways to rock a man bun, even if you have short hair. We hope you found this article helpful and feel free to let us know how things go for you in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
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