This past weekend I was a bridesmaid in a good friend’s wedding and, as is seemingly customary these days, the bridesmaids had their hair did for the walk down the aisle as well as for the endless photo sessions. I decided, Hey, it’s a wind tunnel out there; do I really want to fight with my hair all day/night? Why don’t I go for an updo? (And it’s not like I don’t spend my days talking about updos ad nauseum on The Frisky anyway—so it was time to start really living what I’ve been preaching!) As is always my problem, I had trouble explaining exactly what I wanted. I did manage to communicate that I wanted a bun but not a super-tight one and I wanted it to look like I did it myself. Basically, I wanted nothing to do with one of those intense, huge, tight, donut-shaped Jennifer Lopez hairdos. One of the other bridesmaids so perfectly described the size I wanted: “Less Cinnabon, more Dunkin Donuts.” Great. And as Jenn, my stylist, was soaking in all my wants/needs/crazy talk, she passed on one amazing nugget of a hair trick …When you are getting a bun done in a salon and want it to feel organic, don’t use an elastic. (This was sort of mind-blowing advice, I must say.) Instead, pull pieces back and pin them with large bobby pins in the same vicinity on your head. This way your hair will not only look more substantial (it’s not smushed into a tight elastic after all) but also less “done up.” Basically, she pulled the top bits of hair back to where the bun would be and pinned. Then pin one side of hair in the same area, followed by the other side and finally the bottom strands. After, she took the pieces and twisted, folded and pinned them in place randomly but neatly. The result was elegant chaos. And loads of compliments.
