I have recently been noticing hair donuts here and there lately for some reason.
I’ve know about sock buns for awhile now which you do with a rolled up sock. But that always seemed too loose for me. Maybe it’s because my hair is just a little longer than shoulder length not mid-back and it’s not as thick as it used to be.
A hair donut is different. It doesn’t really seem to matter what brand it is as most look and feel pretty much the same. There might be some difference in size or lasting ability but for the most part what you are buying is a plastic mesh scrunchie thing.
Why this seems to work better: One reason in my opinion, it grabs/grips the hairs better because of the mesh than a sock does. Because it’s grabbing the hairs better, you end up with a tighter but still full looking bun. It’s easier to get a perfect bun. A ballerina style bun as many people have called it.
So usually hair donuts run around $5 at the drugstore. It’s not much but since I hadn’t had good success with the sock donut I didn’t give in and buy one. Then I saw a hair donut at the dollar store and I was like “just buy it, get it over, stop thinking about it and try it.” So I bought one. I tried it. I loved it. Should have bought one awhile ago at the drugstore.
It might take a few tries the first time you attempt this just to get used to it but after that, it’s really easy and fast to put your hair up. And it looks perfect almost every time. I remember being in dance class as a kid and we didn’t know about these or use these and I remember that buns tended to take awhile and TONS of bobby pins to do.
With this, I haven’t had to use a single bobby pin. I guess I could use a bobby pin if I miss a strand of hair and want to tuck it in but so far I’ve just started over and not missed a second time.
A hair donut bun is great for:
- a quick and easy
- polished looking and looks like you put in more effort than you did
- super secure bun – I’ve worn this three times now and it was still going strong at the end of the day
- great for disguising a bad hair day
- great for disguising second day hair when you didn’t have time to wash your hair
- great for disguising slightly damp hair when you don’t have time to dry it completely
- an updo that doesn’t give you a headache! If you’re using something like a twistband or other, this really can be a great updo that doesn’t pull too much
There are plenty of videos out on the internet of girls showing how to use these to put their hair up so I’m not going to be a klutz at the moment and try to show you. Just check youtube if you’re looking for a tutorial!
Will it work for your hair? I’m no expert but you probably need approximately shoulder length hair or longer. If you have layers, you may be doing a bit more tucking in of strands here and there. If you have trouble getting your hair in a pony tail, pass on this.
I’ve only seen hair donuts in dark brown, black, blond / beige. I’ve never seen any for redheads for some reason which would be the only drawback. You ARE covering the hair donut with your own hair but the main reason you want to pick something close-ish to your hair color is so it won’t be noticeable if a tiny amount shows through.
The hair donut is a really GREAT tool to add to your collection.
If you have shorter hair but enough to still make a bun or you want to do something a little different but still bun-like, I also recommend the Goody Spin Pins. I’ll probably do a post on those at some point. I really like those for creating secure buns as well but they take a little more time and you need at least 3 or 4 of the pins and they sell the longer ones in sets of 2. They last a lot longer than regular bobby pins you don’t have that issue of trying to pry them open to shove them into your bun. The Goody Spin Pins will also be a little more versatile than the hair donut and you can create more styles with them. 🙂