How to get the perfect chignon bun?

[tuxedosam]

My hair is rather sleek and smooth but no volume, hard to roll it into a bun. It can take me like 45 mins before I manage to do my hair before the comp which I find ridiculous. I heard it is important to show the neckline in standard. I have seen websites selling add on "fake hair bun" (honeycomb style). Do those stay or can they drop? I also see something called the Hairdini Wand. Anyone has experience with that? I am just hoping to speed up my process of tying the hair. By the way, are there any websites or books that teach you how to make great dancing hair? Some of the girls at competition has such great hairstyles! Thanks!

[Another Elizabeth]

The hairdini does not make a smooth enough bun for competition, in my opinion. It's not bad for practice, though.

The fake hair works fine if you use enough pins.

Do you use a hairnet? It helps a lot with keeping all the strays in place. Once you have wound the hair into the bun, then put a hairnet over it and wrap it around a few times (just keep twisting and looping around the stretchy edge of the net like it was a long ponytail holder). Then drive the hairpins through the net into the bun.

I like this book (http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Braiding-Styles-Scrunchies-Klutz/dp/1570540187/sr=8-2/qid=1163790933/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-6336331-5616056?ie=UTF8&s=books) for learning to do interesting hairstyles.

[latingal]

I know many people with fine or short hair use fake hair pieces to create their buns and it works well.

By the way, my hair is long and thick and to get it into a latin styled bun, it will take me about 25-30 minutes to get a well groomed, stable (read that as not going anywhere) look. For smooth it will take me about 35-45 minutes, if I get it right the first time (I use a more complicated style for smooth).

[Laura]

I don't like the Hairdini, either, I have a difficult time getting the foam completely covered with my own hair. The Harigami thing worked well for me, though, but I don't know if that is still on the market.

Revlon used to make great fake hair pieces, and one of their shades used to match my color exactly. It was a fake smooth chignon, I'd just slick my hair back into a stubby ponytale and pop the fake bun over the top. I'd pin everything down and then cover it all with a hair net, it worked great and was so easy! Try digging around wigs.com -- I'm looking there now and see a piece by Raquel Welch that looks really nice, too. It's a chignon wrapped with a braid, very pretty.

[RIdancer82]

The Harigami thing worked well for me, though, but I don't know if that is still on the market.

If you're talking about the thing that seems kinda similar to those "snap" bracelets (that were a fad way back when), I've seen it at most drug stores (CVS, Brooks, Walgreens) as well as places like Target and Walmart. I actually have one (but never use it since it doesn't work well w/ my hair). If it's something that you're curious about tuxedosam, I can toss mine in my bag when I head up your way next time and you can check it out before buying it if you want.

[Twilight_Elena]

So. Hairagami and Hairdini wouldn't work? I saw the videos and it looks really easy, and I'm assuming that if you cemented the bun afterwards with hairspray and secured it with hairpins and bobby pins it would be okay...?

[pnoisette]

The Harigami thing worked well for me, though, but I don't know if that is still on the market.

Yes it is on themarket at Amazon.com of all places. It is easy to use and always makes a nice doughnut looking chigon.

[waltzgirl]

I have used a Revlon curly bun with a hairnet over it (for Smooth). It's a mass of curls on a small scrunchie tht you put around your own bun, especially good if your hair is too short or thin to make a decent bun on its own. It's stable and tidy with a hairnet over it.

[Keelzorz]

When my hair was longer, I used a flexible plastic device that was something of the precursor to the Hairigami (somewhat rigid plastic loop, hair went in the middle, twisted it up and then attached end to end). While it does make the chignon style, often the hooks would be visible without hair covering them, and it was also very difficult to accurately place on my head.

My hair is a very tricky color to match to fake hair, so I just work with what I've got and make the best of it. Recently I've been having good luck with Katarzyna's trick of putting your ponytail into a hairnet, so you can then do somewhat more complex shaping with the hair without having to account for every last strand with your bobby pins. I'm out of practice (~10 months since my last comp), so I may resort to el classic twisty bun for DCDI, if all else fails. I've got two cards of trusty Conair bobby pins (best on the market, $1.89/90 @ Target), so I have the tools to brute force my hair to do what I want. Mwahaha.

[euchoreo]

Don't wash your hair for at least 3 days. Then it will be hugely easier.

--Euchoreo's partner *g*

[Katarzyna]

you guys are killing me, I am trying to figure out what it is, but have absolutely no clue

[BM]

Here's a gallery of 'em:

http://www.beauty-and-the-bath.com/Chignon-Bun-Hairstyle-Gallery.html

. . . And I am reminded of my own incompetance regarding hair. :oops:

[Katarzyna]

hm, thank you, still confused, so how are they different from regular competition buns... The photos look to me like typical comp buns in standard.. ??

[BM]

"A chignon, pronounced "sheen-yon,” is a popular type of bun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bun_%28hairstyle%29) style. The word “chignon” comes from the French phrase “chignon du cou,” which means nape of the neck. Chignons are generally achieved by pinning the hair into a knot at the nape of the neck, but there are many different variations of the style. They are frequently worn for special occasions, like weddings and formal dances, but the basic chignon is also worn for everyday casual wear." -Wikipedia via :google:

[Katarzyna]

Merci

[tanya_the_dancer]

So, any other tips on using a fake bun. I have a showcase this Sunday, and I want to try to go the fake bun route. My hair is just barely long enough to get into a stubby ponytail.

[waltzgirl]

I use a fake bun that is a bunch of curls on a scrunchie-like ring. It's Revlon and I got it at the drugstore. I put my hair in a low ponytail, leaving the hair caught up in the last loop of a rubber band, so it makes a little bun. Then I put the hairpiece around it and pin it in place. If I want a sleeker look, I use a hairnet over it to compact the curls.

[tanya_the_dancer]

OK, so how many bobby pins do you need to hold the scrunchie-like hairpiece in place?

[Rugby]

I think I have bought all of the above but what I found works best and easiest I came upon by chance. I found two scrunchies made of faux fur the same colour as my hair. All I do is make a ponytail put it through the two scrunchies. I then put my ponytail into four sections and just wrap each section around over and through the scrunchies twice. If you have shorter hair then do this only once. I pin it in place and put on the ever-important hair net. It can take you only 10 or 15 min. and I even do it on the way in the car.
With the plastic harigami type device put it into your hair where the ends meet at the bottom of your bun. When you put a hairnet on you don't see the ends. I also pull a bit of the hair loose to put around the ends.

[tanya_the_dancer]

Man, this is so frustrating. I tried to attach this bun and then I tried to do some tango steps, like link to promenade, and it just wiggled around. And I wasn't even doing them full-out! I think I'll give up on doing it myself and will make an appointment with my stylist on Saturday. I'll just sleep on it for one night, that's all.

[waltzgirl]

OK, so how many bobby pins do you need to hold the scrunchie-like hairpiece in place?

I have these pins, called chignon pins, I think. They are plastic, with a round head and two double legs, with the outside of each leg smooth and the inside serrated (hard to describe!). I use three or four of those to anchor the hairpiece and then regular hairpins around the edges to keep the shape.

[waltzgirl]

The pins I have are called Magic-Grip hair pins.