How To Make a Ballet Bun

For students who need to wear their hair in a ballet bun. Students will need a hairnet, bobby pins, and hairpins. We have included two video links below describing how to do this. If you are new to making buns, we highly recommend you glance at these videos. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Note:

  • Masculine presenting dancers should contact the studio.
  • Dancers with short hair should contact the studio. We still need the hair pulled back and secured back off the face using gel, hairspray, and clips that blend in with the color of the dancer’s hair.

Hair Video #1

Video #1: This first video was made by Miss Candice and Miss Jess – this is a complete hair video for dancers with long, fine hair that can use hairspray and gel. This video also has a description of the differences between “hairpins” and “bobby pins”. Hairpins are used for the bun, bobbly pins for anywhere else.

Hair Video #2

Video #2: This second video was made by the Houston Ballet Academy and describes how to make a ballet bun for 3 various hair types.  This video has a section for people with hair as mentioned in Video #1 as well as sections for dancers with thick textured hair and for dancers who cannot use hairspray and gel. Note: in the third section of this video, the instructor mistakenly uses the term “bobby pin” when pinning the bun – the instructor is actually using a “hairpin” and not a “bobby pin”.

General Hair Notes:

  • Hair Nets – You will need a hairnet for your bun. Hair nets can usually be obtained from drug stores. If you cannot find them, contact the studio .
  • Hair Pins – U-shaped hair pins come in at least three varieties of 2-inch and 3-inch pins. If the student’s hair is thick or long, 3-inch hair pins make putting hair up easier (these usually need to be obtained from a hair supply store or Amazon). 2-inch hair pins are fine for most buns; however, they come in two varieties. One 2-inch variety is very thin and is designed to be very bendable (they are not useful for buns). Regular 2-inch hair pins are thicker, not as bendable, and are good for buns.
  • Short Hair – If your hair is extremely short and cannot be put into a bun, use hairspray, bobby pins, clips, and/or hair product to secure the hair back off the face and clip the hair to the back of the head. Contact us if you have any questions. We have been successful creating tiny buns using a hairnet.
  • Bangs – Regardless of style, the bangs of all students must be pulled back and secured off their face.
  • Wispies – No wispies. All hair must be secured close to the head with bobby pins and/or hair product.
  • Hair Accessories – Please do not use fancy colored clips, beads, or other visible hair accessories. Just pull their hair straight back cleanly and neatly into a bun or a pony. The goal is to see the hairpiece (if one comes with the costume) and not the accessories needed to hold up the hair.
  • Hair Bun Donut – There are methods of putting hair into a bun using a “hair bun donut”. These methods have the benefit that if someone has short hair, they can still look like they have a bun. Important however: buns should lie flat to the head and not stick out like a ball (there is a technique to accomplish this using hairpins). A challenge with “hair bun donuts” is that if they are not secured properly with a hair net and hairpins (as the included videos show), they can look like a ball on the back of the student’s head. If you are using a hair bun donut, contact us if you have questions.
  • Masculine Presenting Students – Should contact the studio about hair.

Note: If you have any questions as to how to do hair, please contact us and we will show you. We have very simple and easy tricks using hairpins and a hairnet to make a ballet bun in a few minutes.