Trying Out Bunning As A Long Term Protective Styling Strategy

Today I am doing the more ‘traditional’ blog post format instead of the ‘talking head’ videos I have been doing for the last few weeks. Although videos are easier to do, they require me to get my thoughts organized before I hit the record button which can sometimes feel like a lot of work.

On the other hand with written posts, I can ramble on for a few paragraphs, delete the parts that don’t make sense and all you end up seeing is a polished (kind off) post.

See the thing about doing a video is that the language one uses to communicate thoughts is way different from writing. For instance most of my videos, you may notice, contain many pauses filled with ummmmmm’s & errrrr while my mouth tries to connect to the server (my brain) to get my point across. It’s certainly doesn’t make for scintillating viewing I’m sure!

Another foible of speech is that you don’t get to use words like “astonished” or “amiable” which would be more commonly found in written text.

Speaking of which I also find it weird when lines that would be more comfortable being read in a book find their way into spoken dialogue on TV. Picture the scene, the handsome jock type guy finally asks our heroine out on a date and her response is……….. “I’d like that”.

I mean really!! Nobody speaks like that do they? I would imagine that the more common spoken response in that scenario would be “Sure” or “Ok” or “Sounds good” but “I’d like that” just sounds weird and out of place.

Annnnnyway… for the next few weeks I want to take buns out for a test drive (that line sounds so wrong but I’m not changing it) as a long term protective styling option. When I say long term, I mean like 3-4 weeks at a time. I am looking to really cut down on my manipulation for the last two months of the year so my washes will be chopped down to once a month only.

I have to say that it feels totally wrong to intentionally not wash my hair every weekend but right now the idea of washing and stretching this beast weekly makes me want to come out in hives. It was so much easier when my hair was shorter. I’m still considering cutting back to mid back length at the end of the year.

Since my adventures with the inversion method I discovered that massaging my scalp is actually the best way to get rid of itchiness as excess oil is transferred from my scalp to my hair where it belongs. Not to mention that even after a full 3 weeks of no washing during my last stint, I had no dandruff to speak of which for me was a huge first.

After my last wash I tension blow dried my hair and impromptu flat ironed it very lightly at 150 (celcius). It was stretched but not completely straight.

flat ironed lightly and ponytail

I love how my hair feels after flat ironing. It is smoother and it actually retains moisture better. Combined with the fact that my ends will be tucked away in the bun anyway, I may not need to moisturize more than once a week.

I fully intended to add some braiding hair to my bun to turn it into a mega bun earlier this week but very quickly Jasmine reminded me why I don’t use hair extension any more.

I had completely forgotten that I’m not supposed to let her see me applying the extensions and as soon as I took the hair out of the packet she bounded up and demanded “Mummy is that for my hair?”.

After cursing under my breath and explaining to her that it was for mummy’s hair, she got royally pissed off and started crying. In the end I had to make a big show of throwing the hair in the bin and telling her that nobody was going to use it, not even mummy.  Sigh.

It weird that she doesn’t care much when I do my sister Tasha’s hair with extensions but if I even hint that I will put them on myself she instantly wants them too.

In the end I opted for a simple donut bun with just my own hair. As you see I left a bit of hair out at the front to frame my face but after a few hours, the loose hair got on my nerves and it was pinned out of the way too (ignore the loofah in the background & maybe one day I will do something about the sideburns lol).

Donut bun updo

Well that’s the plan for the next few weeks, until I am ready to do the inversion method again. The success of this bun regimen depends on me actually following through but because I can be very finickety with my hair in that I prefer to wear it down all the time, I really hope that I can.

Yet with length retention being the end goal, bunning for a few weeks is a very small price to pay so I will make a real go of it.

Have a nice week all!





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  • MsCurlyKat

    Try a sock bun, we used to do them when I was a kid-make the ponytail then wrap a clean sock close to your haircolor around it, arrange your hair over it into a bun, add your hairpins, done! They also sell bun foundations at teh beauty supply, or if you crochet, crochetdynamite.com has a free pattern.

    • I used a sock bun I made myself actually but I think my sock was small so I didn’t get the massive volume I wanted. I am buying a regular bun maker from amazon now, hoping to get the big mega bun I want 🙂

      • MsCurlyKat

        they come in different sizes, so if it is too small don’t be discouraged, just keep shopping. I made one once, believe it or not, from several pantyhose legs, with toes and panty cut off: I rolled the first one, then wrapped a few around the ‘donut’ I formed, then took the last 2 or 3 and wrapped them around thru the hole to secure the others-it turned out so big I had to wait til my hair grew a little more to be able to bring it all the way around to cover it up! 😀

        • Ah yes, that makes sense, it increases the size of the donut. I may just do that to my humble sock while waiting for the professional one to arrive.

  • LOL at your intro about blog posts vs videos. I find blogging much easier & faster plus I do a much more thorough job explaining whatever I”m talking about in written form. As for bunning…I’ve never had too much success. I think non-manipulation protective styles where my hair is being left alone for weeks at a time work best for me. I’m actually considering hiding my hair until I’m beyond BSL because I’ve been toying with reaching it for so long. No trims, limited styles just braids, wigs and weaves. Iono tho, cause it sounds good but I start missing my hair like crazy after a while! lol

    • Thanks chick. I’m actually going to attempt to do bunning the same way I do my braids. Basically except for moisturizing the ends at the weekend, no more manipulation/combs for 3 weeks at a time. I miss my hair like crazy too when it’s weaved up or whatever so I figured that I could try and make this work. We’ll see…

  • Tiffany M

    I love this post and your daughter is amazing!!!!!! She’s giving me life! 🙂 I love how she’s you accountability partner in a sense. Even though I do not like weaves, in order to do my bun, I had to incorporate some braiding hair (my bun looks like a little baby bun lol) but once my daughter gets around 2 yrs old, I will stop wearing weave entirely (even with the bun). I feel that my hair will be long enough to wear my own hair in a full bun. Like you, I don’t want my daughter to feel the need to feel pretty in store bought hair. I want her to love her own hair for what it is. I loved this entire post!

    • Cheers hunny. Your little one is an absolute angel too! Oh Jasmine totally keeps me in check when it comes to hair but I can’t complain really. At this point I wouldn’t say that I need extensions any more anyway (it’s just the WANT that’s difficult to let go of).

  • F Williams

    Sorry if this is a silly question, but will you keep the bun in without taking it down for the entire three weeks, or do you have it put it up in the bun every day or so to keep it neat?

    • Not a silly question at all. Actually I apply a scarf over the bun at night to keep it neat so that I don’t have to re-do it but because it loosens, I’m finding that I have to redo it every 4-5 days. I’m not using any combs, just my fingers!

  • I’m such a serial bunner that I always get a twinge of happiness when someone joins my imaginary superhero bunning team, as if our mission statement is to save ladies from breakage and over-manipulation one bun at a time lol. Clearly, in my head, you’re now part of this special group. I’m a nutcase I know haha.

    • LOL, I agree you are crazy but I’m totally glad to be in the bunning group! I’m actually surprised at how easy it is compared to braiding and such.

      • Robyn

        I’m kind of joining the bunning group – I’ll be alternating my doughnut buns with french braids, but my main goal is – decrease manipulation from twice a day (gasp!!) to two to three times a week. I’m chasing that APL! Gotta get serious!

        • Twice a day? Naughty naughty! lol

          • Robyn

            Lol! I grew up with the regimen of “comb your hair in the morning and again before bed”. Kinda hard to get out of that one! But I am trying!

  • Showmans_wifey

    Now that my hair has gotten longer and thicker (partly due to this site) I am now an official member of the bunning group. Check out my blog as well for some great tips: http://hardworkingncmomma.blogspot.com/

  • Joclyn Brigette Murdock

    Okay, so now I’m wearing a bun. I’m in the Staggered Protective Styling Challenge for 2014 and think this is going to be my go to for awhile. I’m kind of burned out on everything twist LOL. I loved them when I first did them with extention and with only my hair but I think I did it too many times.

    If I’m wearing a bun for 3 weeks how do I do wash day each week. Do I just leave in the bun and just untuck the ends and let water run over it in the shower and put conditioner in with out combing/finger combing????

    Thanks for any answers anyone may have. I’m going to check out Showmans_wifey’s blog in a few

    • Actually I didn’t wash my hair while bunning. If memory serves I actually managed the 3 weeks without a wash (not very easy). Because I’m natural, the hassle of washing, detangling and then re-stretching weekly didn’t seem worth it to me. My ‘wash’ day as a result consisted of me taking down my bun and thoroughly moisturizing and sealing my hair.