This legacy post has been given a facelift! Content and opinions are the same; I still use this product!
Ah, the sock bun – the easy, lazy way of pretending you’re a put-together person on days where you roll out of bed twenty minutes late. (Read: Every day of my life.) Or, even when you get up on time and:
- don’t want your hair in your face
- don’t want to wear a ponytail
- can’t do a french twist and…
For being a lazy fix and something that is trendy, I actually think sock buns are cute. Sky, falling, etc. This sock bun ring is similar to the As Seen on TV Product, “Hot Buns,” but I haven’t tried that specific one.
Sock Bun Maker
My hair does not naturally come into a nice bun. Layers don’t tend to like that nonsense. Even when my hair is a uniform length, I just can’t create a neat bun on my own. I tried to do a sock bun with an actual sock and failed spectacularly. I sought help, but…not too hard. I can’t for the life of me recall what brand this one is, but I can tell you I picked it up at on a whim TJ Maxx for all of $2. Yeah, not a typo, two dollars. I figured it could either be an excellent $2 investment–or, if not, I paid what a vending machine at work charges for an energy drink!
As you can see, this is not one of those regular sock bun donuts. I can’t quite figure out how to use those properly (just like a real sock) because I’m hair inept. THIS, however, held promise despite its goofy name. In the top center of the above photo, there’s a metal snap. Instead of slipping the donut over your ponytail and playing Houdini for ten minutes, you unsnap this so it looks like this:
Wow, this looks promising…
My apologies for the awesome over-exposed photo here, but you can see here that each end is outfitted with either side of a metal snap. I was a little concerned because the snap isn’t super easy (though it isn’t the worst). To my surprise, I got a good result from my second attempt on my first use.
How to Use a Sock Bun Ring:
1. Whip your hair into a ponytail. I usually put one at about mid height – high ponytails look weird for this (or so I think), and with as much hair as I have, the bun is too huge to be worn low. Secure it as you see fit.
2. Unsnap this foam contraption.
3. Place contraption at the end of your ponytail, perpendicular to it (so unless you’re in space, hold the foam piece horizontally to your vertical ponytail) on the outside of it (facing away from your back, not between your hair and your back).
4. Roll it upwards towards your scalp, being sure to roll in any hairs that might try to mutiny. This will be weird the first time or two, but you’ll start doing it without thinking.
5. Once rolled all the way up, snap the two ends together. Check to ensure it is secure. If it feels like it is going to dance around, redo it, being careful with tucking your hair in.
6. Spread your hair (which is likely collected in one section around the sock bun) around it evenly.
7. Pin in place so that the hair you just spread to hide the sock bun maker does not migrate and reveal your secret.
8. Successfully wear for 12+ hours without hairspray or styling products. You can use them if you want, I’m just saying you won’t need them for pure hold.
Learning Curve
The first time, I made the mistake of placing the foam in between my hair and back and rolling inwards instead of “outside” the hair and rolling outwards. It was difficult and didn’t hold for jack, but the steps outlined above SHOULD net you a pretty decent result.
You may need to practice with distributing the hair around the foam piece for even and natural-ish (c’mon, no one can create a natural bun this way) coverage, but it is pretty quick, two minutes tops.
When it is time to take out, remove your pins, unsnap it, and roll it out – very simple. It is like removing a roller.
The Bottom Line
I’ve tried to find the brand I purchased, here, but I can’t unfortunately. I did find this one that looks very similar on Amazon, but it may be best to go to a brick-and-mortar TJ Maxx or Marshalls to look for this. Alternatively there is an As Seen on TV product called Hot Buns that is in essence the same thing – but I hear it has velcro-esque pieces and … nope. Velcro and hair don’t mix. Try it if you must, but it is overpriced and may under-perform.