How To Make A Donut Bun
Donut Bun
Why Use A Donut To Make A Bun?
Making a ballet bun or dance bun with a hair donut is super quick and easy. Although it's not the traditional way to make a classical ballet bun, many people prefer to use a hair bun donut (also known as a bun shaper)
In fact, in April 2019, we conducted an online poll of more than 1,800 dance teachers, parents and dancers. Over 500 people (more than 25%) preferred using a hair donut to make their ballet buns:
How To Do A Bun With A Donut
To make a ballet bun or dance bun using a hair donut you will need:
- Hair donut
- Hair brush
- Hair band
- Hair net (optional)
- Hair pins
- Hair grips
Step 1: Make The Pony Tail
To make a donut bun, you need to start with a pony-tail. Begin by neatly brushing your hair and gathering it into a tight pony tail. Secure the pony tail with a single hair band.
How high you make the pony tail will determine how high your donut bun will be on your head. For a middle height bun, aim for making your pony tail just above the ear line. Some dancers prefer to have their bun much higher on their head and so need to make a higher pony tail.
Top Tips:
- For very thick or wispy hair, you may want to use a water spray to slightly wet your hair before brushing it.
- Wrap the hair band around a few times to keep the pony-tail secure. This will give you a nice neat pony tail, setting you up for a nice neat ballet bun!
Step 2: Choose The Right Net For Your Donut 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. These tend to be a bit bigger and will fit more easily around the larger bun that's created when you use a hair donut.
Step 3: Slip your pony tail though the hair donut
Slip you pony tail through the hair donut and ensure that the donut sits nice and tight at the top of the pony tail.
Top Tip:
- Hair bun donuts are available in a variety of colours so choose one that closely matches the colour of your hair. The idea is to cover all of the hair donut with your hair when making your bun. However a close colour match will make it less obvious if you do miss any spots!
Step 4: Cover The Hair Donut
Next you need to take the pony tail and place it all over the donut. You're aiming to completely cover the donut and you'll need to use your hands to hold the hair in place as you go.
Step 5: Secure The Hair Donut
Now you need to use another hair band. Place the hair band over the bun and make sure that it is as close as possible to the head and nice and tight.
Top Tip:
- Don' worry about all of the loose bits of hair that will now be sticking out the sides of your ballet bun... we'll cover what to do with this in the next step.
Step 6: Hide The Loose Hair
Now you need to take any loose bits of hair at the sides of your bun and tuck them in. You might find this easier if you twist the hair as you go.
Step 7: Add A Hairnet (Optional)
Some people like to add a hairnet over the donut to make it extra secure. If you're going to use a net, go for a hair net rather than a bun net. Hair nets tend to be bigger and will cover the donut more easily.
Step 8: Add The Hairpins To Your Donut Bun
Next you need to add the hair pins to your ballet bun to hold the hair and the donut securely in place. Make sure that you work your way all around the bun to avoid leaving any loose bits of hair sticking out.
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 9: Keep the sides tidy with hair grips
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 donut bun looking neat and tidy.
Step 10: Hair Spray
To help you ballet bun look neater for longer, you might want to add hairspray. This will help to stop any hair from coming loose and spoiling the look of your ballet bun.
Top Tips:
- Don’t forget to check with your dance teacher to find out which kind of bun they prefer you to wear for your dance classes.
- If you need to make a more classical ballet bun without a donut, take a look at our follow along video and guide: How To Do A Ballet Bun.
