Bunning w/o Breakage?

[davisbr88]

I have heard the pros and cons of bunning - how some people love it and how others hate it because it causes breakage. Does anyone know specifically what causes the breakage from bunning? I've heard it could be from wearing your bun in the same spot all the time, or from using a donut bun from the ends being constantly folded/bent.
Other than the Southern Tease bun, I don't know any other bun that can be made where the ends are not bent or folded. I was looking into getting a hairagami to make buns, but it seems as though that causes ends to be bent as well. What kind of buns are you ladies making that don't cause your ends to be bent/folded/rubbing against an elastic, etc?
I'm just confused as to what bun doesn't cause this.

 

[divachyk]

My bun regi is detailed within the lhcf blog.

Sent from my DROIDX using Long Hair Care Forum App

 

[Kamilla16]

Great questions OP!! My ends look horrible from bunning and I too have ponytail breakage. Hopefully someone has some tips.

 

[davisbr88]

Thanks for responding divachyk.
I tried to follow your regi but maybe I'm slow. I don't get how your ends don't end up being bent as well. I don't understand what you're saying after the peacock fan step.

 

[LovelyPiratess]

Great questions OP!! My ends look horrible from bunning and I too have ponytail breakage. Hopefully someone has some tips.

I was just going to start a thread on this topic. I've been doing a ponytail/bun for the past year and had to get 2 inches loped off due to extreme split ends and breakage. I'm now using a knock-off Hairzing but I wonder if that is doing any good.

 

[Rocky91]

Girrrllll....when you find out, let me know.
I've tried all the different ways in the book and I still can't get with it. I've tried wet buns, dry buns, loose pin-ups, southern tease, donut, no scrunchies, etc. etc.
i've concluded that having fine strands and a delicate hairline, there really is no way for me to bun consistently without stressing out my edges...low mani styles like twistouts and such are much better for my hair.
plus im vain and i like my hair out cause i look cute.

 

[An_gell]

I bun alot, and what helped me was I finally took the cotton donut that I use and put silk around it. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that my hair was breaking due to the cotton. I would probably be armpit by now if I would have done this a year ago. I also soak my elastics in some type of oil and I moisture and seal my ponytail before I bun it and make sure my ends are tucked deep down in the center. I don't move my bun around like I should, but I haven't noticed any negative effects in that area either. When I get home from work I take the bun out and re-moisturize my ends and seal them again and I don't re-bun until the next day. Since I have started doing the above my ponytail has blossomed from barely enough to bun to full nice thick bun.

 

[Triniwegian]

Well...I feel like I was born with a bun at this point..lol
I have been wearing it pretty much daily for 3 years (pure laziness) and I do not experience breakage at all.

Here is how I prevent breakage:

Always bun with a big fluffy scrunchy
Like this bad boy

I never make a ponytail first and then loop the hair to make a bun. I loop the hair and simply slip the scrunchy on to secure it, that way the bun is super loose but still in place.

 

[EllePixie]

I was wondering this as well, since someone told me that my bun if done constantly may cause damage since I tuck my ends in, and a donut bun was suggested...but I was looking at tuts today and that seemed to tuck the ends too, so I was super confused! I wonder if messy buns are also less damaging because you let the hair fall out like it wants to, and you'll have different hair tucked every time...?

 

[naturalmanenyc]

I'm a SouthernTease bun fan. The normal bun seems to leave my ends dry (using a covered donut bun). I am guessing the fact that my donut is covered with synthetic hair is the culprit?

 

[divachyk]

Thanks for responding @divachyk.
I tried to follow your regi but maybe I'm slow. I don't get how your ends don't end up being bent as well. I don't understand what you're saying after the peacock fan step.

After I peacock fan the hair (if your hair was numbers on a clock, you would have hair pointing in all directions to mimic the numbers found on a clock) to get my hair ready to bun. After the hair is positioned in a peacock fan, I then swirl the hair around in a cinnamon bun manner until all hair is in a bun. Put on a hair net, then pin the hair down. I don't tuck my ends under any type of pony makers.

Were you able to check out the yt vid located within the blog?

Here's a few others for a visual. They differ slightly but gives you a visual of somewhat how my swirl goes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO-lFiuOpak
http://www.hairliciousinc.com/2008/10/youtube-alert-my-bun.html

 

[divachyk]

I also donut bun occasionally. If I do, the donut is covered in satin cloth. I always make sure my ends have a little extra product before bunning to ensure they stay nice and healthy.

 

[havilland]

I have the same issues

Bunning really only helped me when my hair was soooooo damaged a broken that wearing it out wasn't an option. These were also times when my hair was so short that I didn't have any ends to "tuck". I would make a fake bun out of a sock.

I always get breakage at the bun base and chewy ends, now that my hair is long, with any extended bun wear.

 

[davisbr88]

@divachyk: Yeah, that's the part I'm confused on. If your hair is all fanned out, how can you then swirl it?
Sorry I'm so slow!

ETA: That YT vids you posted are really helpful, but neither of them do the fanning that you describe. So that's why I am lost.

 

[davisbr88]

Hi, ladies:
One of the ladies who is lurking the forum (you need to get on up in here girl!!! ) sent me this link to how she makes her buns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xyjJAFdbVo
I love it!

 

[tmhuggiebear]

Hi, ladies:
One of the ladies who is lurking the forum (you need to get on up in here girl!!! ) sent me this link to how she makes her buns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xyjJAFdbVo
I love it!

Yes, tell this girl its time for her to get in here. With hair that beautiful there is no reason for her to not be in here and be an inspiration to the rest of us on this hair care journey.

I really liked how she did that bun. I might have to try that.

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

Goodness! She reminded me so much of my sister!! Mannerisms and all.

That was very sweet for her to make this video. Beautiful lady and I love the bun! That's really creative! Add some really pretty hair candy and that would be so awesome. You can rock it casually or tweak it for a corporate/party/etc event.

 

[janda]

I've been bunning almost everyday since June. I cowash and turbo twist my hair. Apply leave-ins and seal. I then bun with a seamless elastic or a piece from knee hi's. I usually apply oil to the elastic before I secure my hair. I try to move my bun around. I then wrap a weave weft around my ponytail ( mine would look anorexic without it) and bun. I let my bun down when I get home.

 

[davisbr88]

Does anyone keep their hair in a bun for like 3-4 days or so?

 

[cch24]

I have been bunning every day since January 09, and I have had nothing but excellent retention in the past 2 years. I simply cowash every morning, detangle in the shower, apply my leave-in, and seal with oil. After that I put my hair in a ponytail (I alternate high and low buns every day), twist my hair, apply more oil to the ends, and wrap my twist around, tucking the ends under. I use Amish hair pins. I love buns.

ETA: I think it's important that my hair is very conditioned when I put my hair in the bun, and this helps me not have any breakage. When I take my bun down at night, my hair is still moist, I re-moisturize, seal with more oil, and put my hair in two twists under a plastic bag. This alleviates the pressure on my hair from being in a bun all day, and ensures that my hair stays moist.

 

[anartist4u2001]

ugh, my ends be lookin' a FOOL girl!

 

[divachyk]

@divachyk: Yeah, that's the part I'm confused on. If your hair is all fanned out, how can you then swirl it?
Sorry I'm so slow!

ETA: That YT vids you posted are really helpful, but neither of them do the fanning that you describe. So that's why I am lost.

I'm sorry, I'm kinda stumped on how to better explain it. I just swril the hair around and around; guess that doesn't help much. Sorry. I don't do vids since I'm a college teacher and much rather not have my face other there.

Does anyone keep their hair in a bun for like 3-4 days or so?

I tried it while on vacay but my hair prefers to breathe at night after the day is done so I take mine down nightly.

 

[davisbr88]

divachyk:
You probably think I am the dumbest person alive.
I swear I have a Bachelors degree!!!
Okay, so let me try to make it easier for you to kind of get where I'm coming from:

If your hair is going in all different directions, meaning your ends are like the clock, like you said previously, do you like grab the end at say, 6:00, and wrap it around to 12:00? And then grab the end at 3:00 and wrap it around to 9:00? Is that what you mean by swirl?

 

[TLC1020]

I bun w/o breakage!

I just make a ponytail with hair ball, twist the excess hair and wrap it around the ball then wrap schrunchie around hair.. Leave it like that for a week, when my hair is dry I take down the excess hair moisturize then twist the hair back up.

 

[divachyk]

@divachyk:
You probably think I am the dumbest person alive.
I swear I have a Bachelors degree!!!
Okay, so let me try to make it easier for you to kind of get where I'm coming from:

If your hair is going in all different directions, meaning your ends are like the clock, like you said previously, do you like grab the end at say, 6:00, and wrap it around to 12:00? And then grab the end at 3:00 and wrap it around to 9:00? Is that what you mean by swirl?

you are too funny.

We'll keep trying until we get it -- I start at 12:00 and grab all of the fanned hairs as I go by at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 etc. By the time I'm back at 12:00, I have no hairs peacock fanned out anymore. I have one swirl and some remaining hair sticking from the tail that needs to be swirled until I make it to the ends. So basically, all peacock fanned hairs are now a part of the first swirl. Because I'm roughly APL, I have to continue swirling until I reach the end so the remaining hairs is used to make the second swirl on the second pass. On the second pass, in essence, I'm swirling the remaining length around the first swirl I made on the first pass. Swirling the hair around each other on each pass plumps it up. Are we getting warmer? Hopefully I didn't further confuse you.

 

[davisbr88]

divachyk: Yes! That made perfect sense! I get it!
And I also was imagining this on short hair, that after twirling, would just need to be pinned, not continuously swirled, which is where I think I was confused.
Thanks for your patience!!!

 

[SuchaLady]

Bunning does help me retain length! 3 years ago I had an awful allergic reaction to something (still dont know what it is. SMH) and all my mommy did was wash my hair and grease my hair with Vaseline and brush it back into a bun with a scrunchie and when I finally could get a perm ,my hair had grown noticably! Even my stylist noticed. But recently when I tried bunning It wasnt as good most of my hair had grown but the main thing that upset me was the front, the back, and a spot in the middle. It actually broke off but the rest of my hair grew! Do yall know how pissed off I was I also noticed while my hair does retain length it does not aid in keeping my ends thick. An actual ponytail works fine for me. I just dab an extra bit of oil on the ends

 

[Napp]

I bun w/o breakage!

I just make a ponytail with hair ball, twist the excess hair and wrap it around the ball then wrap schrunchie around hair.. Leave it like that for a week, when my hair is dry I take down the excess hair moisturize then twist the hair back up.

wait,what is a hair ball? erplexeddoes that make a small bun?

i like my buns as big as possible to balance out the largeness of my head

 

[divachyk]

davisbr88 -- exactly. On shorter hair, you might only get one full twirl/swirl. I actually get about two. I also swirl very loosely to make it appear plumper. The tighter you swirl, the tinier the bun. The looser you swirl, the fuller the bun.

 

[davisbr88]

Got it! Thank you again.