Front Braid to Sock Bun

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and are enjoying the holidays!  We love this time of year, it really is the perfect season to try new looks!

Today we are going to mix it up and show you guys one of our favorite hair styles.  We are putting two trends together: the front braid and the the sock bun.  They compliment each other extremely well and it's a classic look.

First, we determined what kind of french braid we wanted.  Angela likes a thicker, loose braid, so we parted her hair a little further over than she usually does and picked up about a 3-inch wide and 1-inch thick section of hair and started an outside french braid. 

We continued the braid down the front but stopped the french style at the ear and finished a normal braid all the way to the end.  We fastened the braid with a small rubber band on the end and set aside.

Next, we "ratted" (or teased, some may say) the crown of her hair to get a little height.  For those of you scared of the rat-tail comb, don't be!  A little teasing of the hair can make such a difference to the face and hairstyle.  We then put the rest of her hair (not the braided piece) into a ponytail and got our nifty sock bun accessory!  You can use a regular sock by cutting the toe off and rolling it up, or you can get one of these doughnuts from any hair supply store, which we used:

We pulled the ponytail through the hole so all of the hair except the braid was in the sock or doughnut hole, bringing the doughnut/sock down towards the ends of her hair stopping before it fell out. Most of the time our hair is layered when we pull it back for a ponytail so be sure to watch for the shorter hair and not to go too far. Angela had about a 3 inch tail.  We tucked the remaining hair around the doughnut/sock so it was evenly spread around. I didn't do this step very well and that is why the bun isn't perfectly symmetrical. I don't think it's a huge deal though, it just adds character :) 

Then, we started to roll the doughnut/sock up towards her head. If the hair around the doughnut/sock starts to become loose or fall out, just pull the doughnut/sock down a little bit (don't unroll, just pull) to make the hair tighter or tuck the hair in.  We finished the roll so it was close and tight to Angela's head. If needed, secure the edges with a few bobby pins. I always secure it because it's better to be safe than sorry! :)

We took the braid and wrapped it under then around the bun so it was pulled tightly. If your braid is not long enough to reach all the way around just tuck it into or under the bun.  We secured all around the bun with bobby pins. Be sure to tuck the little elastic and hair ends in so they are not visible.

We then pulled the hair at the top of her crown and on the side just a little to give it more height and imperfection. You can also tug on the braided sections a little to loosen it up if it's too tight and make it more messy.

We finished with hairspray and VOILA! Who knew you could make a braid and a bun so stylish?!  Have fun with the placement of the bun or by adding a braid, twist, barrette, headband, etc.  This only took us about 10 minutes. 

 ~Angela and  Marianne