How To Make A Ballet Bun
How To Make A Perfect Ballet Bun - 10 Step Guide And Video
In this video Kimberley shares her 10 top tips to make a perfect ballet bun. This easy to follow step by step video shows you exactly how to make a ballet bun including...
- Tips on what height to make the pony tail for your ballet bun
- The best type of hairnet to use
- Top tips for how to use your pins to secure your ballet bun
- And more...
This ballet bun is ideal for ballet classes, ballet exams, auditions and performances.
All you need to make a perfect ballet bun is a hair band, hair net (not a bun net as Kimberley explains in the ballet bun video below!), hair pins and hair grips.
We hope you enjoy watching the video. If you prefer to follow along with our 10 step guide to making a ballet bun, complete with pictures and extra tips, then scroll down below the video...
Don't forget to check out our hair accessories for dancers, our ballet bun kits and our Ballet BUN-dle too!
How To Make A Perfect Ballet Bun - Ballet Bun Tips
You Will Need:
Step 1: Make The Pony Tail
To make the perfect ballet bun you need to start with a perfect pony-tail! Begin by brushing back the hair, and gather it into a tight pony tail with a single hair band.
For a classical ballet bun it’s important that the bun isn’t too high or too low, so you need to make sure that the pony tail sits in the middle of the head and just above the top of the ear line:
Top Tips:
- For very wispy hair, you way want to slightly wet the hair before brushing it back into the pony tail.
- For a nice neat ballet bun, you want a tight pony-tail! Wrap the hair band around a few times to keep the pony-tail secure.
Step 2: Choose The Right Net For Your Ballet Bun
It’s important that you choose the right type of net for your ballet bun:
We highly recommend that you use a hair net rather than a bun net. You’ll find out why in step 5...
Step 3: Make The Ballet Bun
Start by taking the pony tail and loosely wrapping it around in a circle. It doesn’t need to be too tight at all, it can just be really loose at this stage:
Top Tip:
- Apply a slight twist to the pony tail as you wrap it around in a circle. This will help your ballet bun to keep its shape.
Step 4: Gather The Bun In Your Hairnet
Next you need to take the hair net and wrap one end of it it around the whole of the bottom of your ballet bun:
Then pull the other end of the hairnet upwards towards the forehead:
Don’t worry about all of the loose bits of hair - this is why you use a hair net, as you'll see in the next step...
Step 5: Twist, Wrap, Repeat!
Now you need to twist the hair net before bringing it back down to the bottom of the bun, catching all of the loose bits of hair:
Then you start the process again - wrap the hairnet around the bottom of the bun, pull the hair net up towards the forehead, twist and come back down to the bottom of the bun again.
The hair net is nice and big so after you have wrapped it around the bun once you can repeat this process 3 or 4 more times (depending on the thickness and volume of hair you are working with) ensuring that you catch all of the wispy bits of hair to make a neat ballet bun.
Step 6: Shape Your Ballet Bun
Now you need to begin to shape your ballet bun by teasing the hair into a nice symmetrical round shape, ensuring that there is no hole in the middle:
Step 7: Add The Hairpins To Your Ballet Bun
Next you need to add the hair pins to your ballet bun to hold it securely in place. Take a little bit of the bun, with the pin pointing outwards away from the centre of the bun:
Then, go up and over before pushing the pin back in towards the centre of the bun:
Repeat this process, working your way around the ballet bun in a circle, using 6 to 8 pins, depending on how big the bun is.
Top Tip:
- Try the ‘Super Pins’ for ballet buns by Tendu. Available in 3 colours to match your hair, these sturdy pins will keep your bun in place and you only need one 'Super Pin' for every 2 or 3 normal pins..
Step 8: Secure Any Wispy Bits With Hairgrips
If you want to you can add hair grips to each side of the head. This can help to secure any fly-away wispy bits of hair, keeping your ballet bun looking neat and tidy.
Step 9: Add A Bow To Your Ballet Bun (Optional)
You may wish to add a bow to your ballet bun. There are many styles and colours available and most will easily clip onto the hair, just above the bun.
Top Tip:
- For a traditional classical ballet bun, you’ll want to keep the accessories to a minimum.
Step 10: Add A Band And Grips To Your Ballet Bun (Optional)
You may wish to add a band and grips to your ballet bun:
Top Tips:
- Don’t forget to check with your dance teacher to find out what extra hair accessories (if any) are allowed in your dance classes.
- There may be specific requirements on how to wear your bun for dance exams, depending on which dance syllabus you are studying so remember to check with your dance teacher.
Donut Buns
How To Do A Bun With A Donut
In April 2019, we conducted an online poll of more than 1,800 dancers, parents and dance teachers. Over 1,300 of them preferred classical ballet buns, without a donut:
Although making a classical ballet bun without a donut is the traditional method, many people prefer to use a hair donut (over 25% of those we surveyed). If you prefer to make your bun using a donut, take a look at our 10 step guide here: How To Make A Donut Bun
