Bridget Siegel’s book Domestic Affairs: A Campaign Novel debuts today (available here) and I am so excited about her guest post on MFC! 

Bun Intended

People ask me the best advice I can pass on to other workaholics. Exercise? Be true to who you are? Don’t compromise? Believe in yourself? All very important and I’m sure worth contemplating in depth but you know that stuff already and come on, you’re a workaholic — what you need is something tangible, useful and immediate. So here it is. Are you ready? Ladies, find your bun.

We’ve all been there- your hair is at a weird length, growing out the “I’ll just trim my hair myself” look, or my personal favorite, “it’s been 2 months of booking and canceling hair appointments and if it snows just a few inches my locks will indeed be sweeping the ground” look. It could even be a lesser offense- you haven’t had time to wash your hair this week or you were so distracted you washed it three times and now it’s looking dry and frazzled. Or hey, who’s kidding who, last night’s updo is still updone. The answer to any of these things? A good old fashion bun. And it’s as easy as making 3 simple choices.

1. Choose high or low
The bun in the middle of your head gives away your need for a quick fix. However, done very high or very low shows intent! I don’t really subscribe to wear this one if you have a round face, or this one if you’re a fire sign. You really only have 2 choices, so try them both and see which works for you. If they both work, work them both!



High: Ballerina goes runway
If you can pull it off, a bun on the top of your head can be the most glamorous look you do. It can be black tie but it can also dress up and make elegant anything you wear at any time. The trick: turn your head upside down to gather all your hair. Gather it as far up towards your forehead as you can. If it feels like you’ve gone too far forward, go a little further. If it’s not high enough, it won’t look good.

Nape-ster
A bun at the base of your neck is not just for librarians anymore. The trick with this one is to brush or pull your hair down against your head before sweeping it into a bun.

2. Choose messy or neat.
Once you’ve got your basic bun you can change it up by going for the messy, sexy look or the sleek and, well, also sexy look. For both you should use two rubberbands- put your hair in a ponytail with one and then wrap around the bun and secure it with the other one. I know you think you can do it all with one but I promise, you cant. Not well. Two rubberbands will make all the difference. I’ve learned it the hard way for you. And, don’t forget the bobbypins! I know, the last time you used them was for your sixth grade dance recital but they are worth bringing back! Add in 3 bobbypins where needed and throw 2 extra in your bag. That one piece of hair flying up is not going to be fixed the third time you try to get it in the rubberband. Take the easy, old-school route, bobbypin to perfection.

3. To braid or not to braid.
Who needs a $50 hairpiece when a braid is free?! (Don’t get me wrong, if you’ve already bought that gold beaded clip throw it up in your bun and look gorgeous!) A braid, however, is the perfect and free accessory to jazz up any bun. The easiest way to do it is to put your hair in a ponytail, braid the ponytail and wrap it around like you would any other bun. Admittedly though, that takes long and pretty plain hair. Don’t have that? No problem. Braid a tiny piece of hair and pull it into the ponytail before you make the bun. I fully support braid crazy. Do 1 or 10, the more the merrier. If you want a simpler look, once your hair is in a ponytail braid a few little pieces, tie them with those tiny black rubberbands and then continue with the bun making. You’ll be able to see just slivers of braid through your bun and it will look stealthily gorgeous.

And there you have it, 3 easy steps to perfect hair even when your hair isn’t perfect. A workaholic’s quick fix!

© 2013 Bridget Siegel, author of Domestic Affairs: A Campaign Novel

Bridget Siegel, author of Domestic Affairs: A Campaign Novel, has worked on political campaigns at the local, state, and national levels. A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, she is now an actor, writer, and political consultant. She lives in New York City.

For more information please visit http://www.bridgetsiegel.com, and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter