Now that summer is really and truly here, I’ve been looking for alternatives to my typical pony tail to keep cool. And that usually means a bun or top knot of some sort. I’ve been wearing this quick 3 step top knot updo quite a bit. Especially since my husband confessed how much he likes my hair up like this! Today I’m sharing the step by step pictures for this easy top knot tutorial.
To create this look, I need to add some texture to my hair! If my hair isn’t dirty, I spray a little sea salt spray to add the texture. Without it my hair is too silky to have much “grab” and the bun is guaranteed to fall out by lunch!
Great options:
Suave Professionals Sea Mineral Infusion Texturizing Sea Salt Spray
Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray
Oribe Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray
Once my hair has a little bit of texture, it’s time to pull up my hair! I always had a hard time getting buns and pony tails to look cute, until I discovered the trick of pulling back the top of my hair first. I use a small butterfly clip because it is easy to remove later if I want, without disrupting the rest of the style too much.
Here I’ve pulled back a small amount of hair at the top of my crown first, and then I’m pulling my hair up into a pony tail just behind the clip. Note that in this style I left the clip in place since you can’t see it in my bun, but I remove the clip when I am just leaving my hair in a ponytail.
When pulling the hair up into the pony tail, you can see that I don’t pull that last loop through the pony tail holder fully. Instead, I leave it as a loop. I’ve wrapped the end of my hair around the pony tail holder and tucked it in, but you could also just leave it loose.
Once my loop is in place, I flop the loop down on the top of my head and loosely pin it to my head. I limit myself to 5 bobby pins, simply because I hate feeling pins in my hair! It’s fine to have a few stragglers, and the hair loops can be a bit loose. You can see that the loops actually look quite a bit fancier than they really are when the pop up a bit. Don’t overthink it, just use your 5 pins to secure the hair down onto your head.
I’ve been wearing this look at home, out running errands and even to work! On the day I took these pictures, I went to my 4 year old’s swimming lessons, and the style definitely kept me cool in the hot and humid indoor pool.
What’s your go-to summer style?
More hair and makeup tutorials from the Red Carpet and Runway!
I’m a doctor, a mommy and a bit of a beauty addict. If you let me, I can take 2 hours to get ready in the morning. Really. I'm on a quest for faster beauty that works!
