I did this yesterday, realizing that the standard method for constructing a figure 8 bun is to flip up the top loop of a double-loop bun, which is the only way my hair seems to bun up lately.

http://www.katherinesweet.org/images/fig8nice.jpg

This is the first time I tried it in a long time, and the first time it worked. It stayed up for 16 hours perfectly.

You'll notice that the lower left-hand quadrant seems to be thicker. This is the most recently-grown section of my hair, which is getting much thicker as the well cared-for part grows in. It is taking some adjusting of updos.

that's really pretty - i keep meaning to try doing one but i kept forgetting to try - i'm not sure if it will work - it looks really neat though

How pretty!Your hairstyles always look so neat,eKatherine! :D  My figure8 buns (and other styles too) are always qite messy,with lots of hair sticking out ::)

EXCELLENT! ::clap, clap, clap::

That 's a perfect example of a figure 8.  You hair is growing in quite thick - congrats.

That looks really pretty, eKatherine!

How exactly do you make figure-8 buns?  ??? I've never been able to figure it out.

A figure 8 bun is quite easy when your hair is long enough to make at least 2 complete wraps/buns.  Twist your hair for putting into a bun and stack the second bun/turn on top of the first one.  Then take that bun and flip it up or to the side (for an infinity bun), then secure with pins or hair sticks.  

Actually, what I do when making a regular bun is to coil the tail around the center, but somehow one coil always migrates to the top. So if I fasten my bun in place with hairpins, the top coil is still free to be flipped, as it is held in place by the tension of the twist. But when I flip it and position it up, this adds more tension, so it takes only a couple of small hairpins to fasten it in place.

If I want to have one flat bun, I have to go to great lengths to prevent that coil from rising.

I can't imagine what I'd do if my hair was classic length. Where would the extra hair go?

I've found that I let the twists stay a bit looser, so they take up more of the length.  My ends are rather thin, so I can make a few wraps under the base bun without it being noticable.

Great bun, eKatherine! Where are you hiding all the pins in this picture? I've never figured out how to secure a bun.

Do you ever wear this style as an infinity-bun?

/Kate

Bikerbraid,

I think maybe you're able to leave the loops a little loose because you're a wavy. If I didn't have it completely and evenly tight, the whole thing would be loose, and the weight would make it flop around and pull it down quickly.

Kate,

This is the first time I've done this. I'll probably try an infinity bun in the future, but I think it might take some doing to get it centered. I might have to start the bun off-center in order for the middle of the bun to be in the middle, and I wouldn't want to wear it starting in the middle and pinned up next to my ear.  :-* That would be too weird, and I have an image to maintain.  8)

The deal with the hairpins is that the styles I make need very little strategic pinning to convince them to stay up, as they're pretty snug already. So when I make a bun, I twist the tail tight, wrap around the center, and wind. The ends get forcibly tucked under the bottom coil, and I anchor the coil over the ends to hold them in place by using 4 small hairpins, which catch the surface coil near my scalp, weave through the scalp hair, and go right back into the coil. I also will use one or more very large hairpins to reinforce the stability of a regular bun, and I have to do this first if I'm going to be trying to keep it flat, rather than double-layered.

In this case, I constructed the double-layer bun right up to the point where I would have inserted pins to finish, but instead of pinning, I flipped the top loop up. As I said, this added a little tension to the structure. Actually, it was a little like bending a wire, so the upper half of the 8 wanted to stay, and I only had to use a couple of pins there to keep it close to my scalp.

Hairsticks are very attractive, but they aren't secure enough for my hair without additional hairpins to keep the ends in place and distribute the weight evenly. So when I get rich, I'll buy some, but even then I'll be using hairpins to invisibly complete any style.

Do you use bobby pins or the u-shaped hairpins? Hairpins always bend on me. I'm such a newbie to long hairstyles.

/Kate

Here's a picture of the hairpins I use:
http://www.katherinesweet.org/images/Hairpins.jpg

The top ones are by Bunheads, the dance people. You can buy them at a dance store. You can see that these are curved, which is very useful, as you follow the curve of your head with them while pinning.

The next two down are from a black hair website. The ends aren't smooth, so I don't use them so much. You have to put them in carefully to keep from catching on your hair.

The ones at the bottom are the kind you get at the supermarket or drugstore. The one at the bottom is very fine. I don't find them too useful, as they do bend easily. The one above it is heavier. I use these so much that I need to run out and buy more right now.

The smallest ones are about 1-1/2", the largest are about 3".

Hairpins are used for fastening together two levels of hair by weaving between the two. There actually is no tension going on that would pull the pin out, all the tension is perpendicular to it.

Bobby pins are only useful for securing a small, errant strand of hair. Otherwise, the tension from using them will pop them right out of your hair.

Hmmm, ok thanks.

But for example, if I wanted to just take locks of hair and pin them up loosely so the ends build curls on the crown/back of the head, how would I use the regular hairpins? I did my friend's hair like this the other day, using bobby pins. I was able to hide them all with her hair. I tried with the hair pins but they were possibly too thin as they kept twisting around themselves.

(feeling ignorant)

/Kate

EKatherine, your hair is beautiful!

My hair isn't nearly long enough to do anything like that yet. (In fact, if I attempted it, I would more that likely get a figure 6 bun...with the top part of the "6" being poky-out bits. LOL)

You inspire me to keep on growing!!

wrote on Sep 19^th, 2004 at 6:46pm:

Hmmm, ok thanks. But for example, if I wanted to just take locks of hair and pin them up loosely so the ends build curls on the crown/back of the head, how would I use the regular hairpins? I did my friend's hair like this the other day, using bobby pins. I was able to hide them all with her hair. I tried with the hair pins but they were possibly too thin as they kept twisting around themselves. (feeling ignorant) /Kate

Kate,

You're trying to do something very different from what I was writing about. You want to pin up strands to show off the curls. My hair could never do that. You do want either bobby pins or some other clips to do that.

Hair pins hold together coils and braids structurally.

Ok, thanks eKatherine.

I think I'd better practice using hairpins on my grandma's hair when I go for a visit in October. Her hair is classic length and she always wears it up. It's fun to play with hair!  ;D

/Kate