my hair is not only rather fine and very smooth (makes everything so more complicated!) it also has still layers in the last 4 to 5 inches which cause hairs to escape from under the bun near the ends grrrrr.

i tried aloe vera, doesn't work, so the only other thing i could try is an (invisible) bun net .

anyway, here's how i do my bun:

i don't put paonytail holder cuze i think it feels damn awful combined with hairsticks.
i coil (no kidding) and will not just tuck under the ends but put coil them really under the big coils while trying to keep the bigger ones as flat as possible.
then, i insert a sticks in the outer coil, pointing outwards, and flip the hairstick immediately while going under the hairs at the base of the bun. i don't sew the stick through the inner coils cuze i find it always traps hairs so i just go under the hair at the base and go again through the outer coil (can be done in one motion too ... soo lazy!).
this feels pretty comfy but the inner coil gets bulgy. i solved this by putting a few bobby pins at the base of the inner coil during the coiling. this makes it feel even more comfy and doesn't take additional time.

i've read about ways of putting the hair stick first through the middle of the bun ... i tried it but don't really get how one can change the direction of the stick  :o

you wrote:
*i've read about ways of putting the hair stick first through the middle of the bun ... i tried it but don't really get how one can change the direction of the stick *

This is one of the ways I wear my sticks, let me see if I can explain it w/out confusing any further!  You first want to twist your hair into a low bun at the base of your head (not using a hair tie, just twist and hold it), don't make it super tight or overly loose, just a little looser than normal.  Now, I think that this is the part you're not understanding, take a stick and you are going to come up with the pointed end thru the center of the bun, or just thru the bun somewhere basically.  So, you are actually going in the underside, the backside of the bun, the side that is closest to your neck, and the pointy end will be sticking out thru the front of the bun, it should be pointing up to the ceiling.  Now you swing the bottom of the stick so that IT is now pointing up to the ceiling (where the pointy end just was), and the pointy part is going to get pushed back down through your hair.  What this does is it flips the bun upside down and against your head, and if done right it holds very securely, I only need one stick to hold this for me.  And like you, I also have layers in the bottom part of my hair, so I think that this should work very well for you, You'll probably just need to practice with the tension so that it's not too tight against your head.  Hope this helps you!  ;)

ah thanks, finally someone who replies  :D

i think i'll reread your instructions ten times when i have less a hangover cuze right now it like totally escapes me  :-[

what i still don't get ... if you stick the stick from behind though the middle ... i dunno, the bulge in the centre seems to make it impossible to invert the direction of the stick then. how far does the point come through when you change direction?

wrote on Dec 1^st, 2004 at 3:16pm:

What this does is it flips the bun upside down and against your head, and if done right it holds very securely, I only need one stick to hold this for me.  And like you, I also have layers in the bottom part of my hair, so I think that this should work very well for you, You'll probably just need to practice with the tension so that it's not too tight against your head.  Hope this helps you!  ;)

Now why can't all the books explain it so clearly? :)
Thanks so much, I've never understood how to use hairsticks before. All I've ever done is make a bun with an elastic and bobby-pins and then used the sticks as decoration. I'm gonna try your instructions tomorrow morning!

If you set your bun, then you flip it over, don't you have ends going every which way?

Works pretty well with a ball point pen, too (he he).  ;D  Just practicing while reading your instructions but was too lazy to walk to the other end of the house and get my hair sticks.

Too funny, Brunette Texan..... !!!!!!

nightowl