My chapstix arrived yesterday and they are magnificent little works of art! The dark colors and simple styling are perfect for me.  I wouldn't hesitate to wear these with a suit-and-tie but I think they are going to get a lot of jeans-and-tee shirt duty.

Pictures will be forthcoming. I just need a bit of practice.

I am able to make a bun using my chapstix with no other fasteners. The bun is very secure but just a bit ratty (haggard) because I have so many different length hairs in my ponytail. When I make a regular bun these hairs are held smooth with the elastic. For daily wear it doesn't matter one bit but when I take the pictures I wonder if I should try to make the bun look more perfect with an elastic? Or is that contrary to the philosophy of using hairstix? I'm interested to know peoples opinions on this question.

While the two-stick bun was no problem I am finding the one-stick 'ponytail' challenging (I did invent an interesting self-destructing hairstyle that launches the hairstix when released). I've read the directions "wrap your hair around the stick, lever it over... etc". There is something fundamental I'm missing. Could someone baby-talk me through it? Something like "hold the stick behind your head in the 3 o'clock position (looking at the back of the head)", "Wrap the hair around the bottom and over the top", etc. Thanks!

Congratulations!  I look forward to seeing pictures of your hair in a bun with your new Chapstix.

Many people will use an elastic to hold their shorter layers and keep the bun neater.  Once all the hair is long enough to be twisted into the bun, the elastic is not necessary.  Just make sure the ponytail is not too tight - you don't want to lose any of those precious little hairs!

I'm not sure which style it is you are looking for help with.  The basic bun is described in the Hairstyles Gallery.  Or were you looking for something else?

He's talking about my one-stick style that I described somewhere on the boards, though can't remember where at the moment.  I don't know how to describe it much clearer than I did the first time, except that maybe you might want to try doing it on the top left side of your head like in the instructions, just so you can get some idea of how the levering of the stick and pushing it back through securely holds your hair.  Essentially what you are doing by levering it to the opposite side after you wrap the hair around is making the loop tight enough so that when you push the stick through it can easily hold itself.  Also, if you want the ponytail to be smack in the middle of the back of your head, you will want to start a little further to the side that is originally holding the stick.  Mine always comes out on the left-hand side of my head even though I start just slightly to the left of center (with the stick in my right hand).  Keep messin' with it, you'll get it!  :D

Thanks for the help BB and Susan. I've figured out the 'why' behind the various hairstick bun instructions and this has helped a lot. Until last week I was limited to a bee-butt bun because I never learned how to use pins to hold a regular bun in place. Using the hairsticks I can now make a regular bun. The hairsticks really help shape the bun and hold it flat to the head. I'm very happy with all the new style possibilities  ;D and the prospect of saving a lot of wear-and-tear on my hair by getting away from elastics. I took photos but there were some technical issues  :'( that I couldn't fix in Photoshop so I will try again tomorrow.

Yea!  I look forward to seeing your pics!