The Large Braided Bun

You know those days where no matter what you do, your hair won’t cooperate? It’s frizzy or tangled, and there seems to be no saving it. You could always hide under a rock and hope for better luck tomorrow, or you could try to work with it! The easiest fix when your hair is unruly is to pull it up and tuck it into a bun, but the basic ballerina style can get boring. To change things up a little, you can try a braided version! A four-strand braid can make your hair look extra thick, giving your bun even more oomph!

1. Start with your hair in a high ponytail. I like mine to be really tight, but you could definitely rock a looser, more bohemian style too!
2. Break your ponytail into 4 even sections. To make it easier to follow, I used a different color hair tie to mark each section.
3. Begin the braid by crossing the left-most (green) section over the adjacent (yellow) section. Next, cross the right-most (blue) section over the adjacent (red) section. Then, cross your middle sections, left (green) over right (blue).
4. Repeat this process, crossing the left-most strand (now yellow) over the adjacent (now blue) section.
5. Cross the right most section (now red) over the adjacent (now green) section.
6. Cross the middle sections, left (yellow) over right (red).
7. Repeat the process above, criss-crossing your strands all the way to the ends of your hair.
8. When you reach the end, secure your braid with a clear elastic, which will be easier to hide and give your bun a clean look. Then, pull the braid up, and wrap it around the base of your pony to create a bun, securing with bobby pins or hair pins as you go.
9. When you reach the ends, tuck them under the bun, and pin them in place. To make this part extra-secure, cross two bobby pins over one another to make them stay.
10. Finally, lock your hair in place and tame any fly-aways with a bit of hair spray, and be on your way!
11. Secure with a few more bobby pins, if necessary.

- MaryKate Smith