Tamara Jade
- Mar 25, 2021
- 4 min read

4 Ways to Style a Bun for Natural Hair

As most of you know, I had the time of my life as a contestant on The Voice last year! However, due to pandemic precautions, I had to style and maintain my own hair for the show’s duration. But never fear, SuperWoman Tam HERE! 🦸🏽‍♀️ With planning, CREATIVITY, and simple touch-ups with the key stylist & department head, I was able to find ways to flaunt the strength, versatility, and femininity of kinky hair -- namely, with my DIY bun updos!

Open up your notes and jot down these easy steps to style your own 4 bun updos! I promise you - anybody and everybody can do these. Check out my video tutorial below!

Things You Need:

Kanekalon Pre-Stretched Hair
Marley hair (Jamaican Twist is my go-to!)
2 Rubber Band Braids that have one adorned long braid and one plain long braid attached.
Pre-stretched braiding hair
Paddle or boar-bristle brush
Bobby pins
Hair ties
Hair Jewelry from Amazon or your local Beauty Supply Store
Edge tamer/ edge control (optional, if you want to catch the flyaways)

#1 - The “Good Luck Charm” Top Knot Bun

Pre-stretch your hair. Routinely keep your hair in plaits & sleep in a headwrap. Then, pass a blow dryer through your hair to get your hair nice & smooth.
Put your natural hair in a bun with a hair tie to get it all SNATCHED UP at the top of your head.
Apply edge control to catch the flyaways.
Grab your rubber banded braid (mine has two long braids) and tie it over your natural bun with its rubber band.
Hook a half- pack’s worth of Marley hair onto your natural bun with a hair tie.
Wrap and pin one end of the Marley hair clockwise and let the other side of the length hang.
Wrap and pin your second side of Marley hair clockwise. Shape the bun to your taste as your wrap the hair.
Wrap and pin one of your rubber band’s braids counterclockwise around your newly formed top knot bun. This helps to keep the bun secure while also giving the bun an edgy & messier appearance.
Wrap and pin your rubber band’s second braid clockwise.
Tie your hair down with a silk head scarf until you leave home.

PRO- TIP:

This braid is useful for all types of bun stylings, is easy to store, and lasts long! I made these braids 8 months ago. Now, I hang it on door knobs for storage when I'm doing these styles..

#2 - The “Good Luck Charm” Jumbo Bun

Pre-stretch your hair. Routinely keep your hair in plaits & sleep in a head wrap. then, pass a blow dryer through your hair to get your hair nice & smooth.
Apply edge control to catch the flyaways.
Put your natural hair in a bun with a hair tie to get it all SNATCHED UP at the top of your head.
Grab your rubber banded braid (mine has two long braids) and tie it over your natural bun with its rubber band.
Wrap and pin your long Kanekalon pre-stretched, pre-twisted hair clockwise onto your natural bun with a hair tie. This length provides ALL THE VOLUME and hides most of your natural hair (less edge control needed!) Also, its silkier texture makes the overall look elegant.
Wrap and pin both of your rubber band braids clockwise around your newly formed bun.
Attach another Rubber band braid extension to the jumbo bun and then wrap and pin one of the braids counterclockwise and the other counterclockwise. Adding this, secures the larger bun while also tucking your natural hair from the ponytail. However, rhinestone pins can replace the use of the second rubber band’s braid.
Tie your hair down with a silk head scarf until you leave home.

PRO-TIP:

Make sure to cover your natural bun with your Kanekalon hair so that your poof doesn’t peek through.

# 3 - Simple Jumbo Bun

Pre-stretch your hair. Routinely keep your hair in plaits & sleep in a headwrap. Then, pass a blow dryer through your hair to get your hair nice & smooth.
Apply edge control to catch the flyaways.
Put your natural hair in a bun that is a bit further back than the top of your head.
Hook a Full pack’s worth of Marley hair onto your natural bun with a hair tie. When styling it, you can pull and tease the hair to make it more bushy and to add that volume.
Wrap and pin one end of the Marley hair clockwise and let the other side of the length hang.
Wrap and pin your second side of Marley hair clockwise.
Tie your hair down with a silk head scarf until you leave home

PRO- TIP:

If you wanna ELEVATE the look:

Put a fancy headwrap around it.
Cornrow a single row going up the back of your head’s center to add a pop of fun!

This bun can be done in as quick as FIVE MINUTES! You can’t beat that!

# 4 - Simple Jumbo Bun with a Braided Twist

Pre-stretch your hair. Routinely keep your hair in plaits & sleep in a headwrap. Then, pass a blow dryer through your hair to get your hair nice & smooth.
Apply edge control to catch the flyaways.
Put your natural hair in a bun that is a bit further back than the top of your head.
Hook a full pack’s worth of Marley hair onto your natural bun with a hair tie. When styling it, you can pull and tease the hair to make it more bushy and to add that volume.
Wrap and pin one end of the Marley hair clockwise and let the other side of the length hang.
Wrap and pin your second side of Marley hair clockwise.
Wrap and pin your rubber band’s two braids clockwise over your newly formed bun.
Tie your hair down with a silk head scarf until you leave home

This one, especially, is a very easy slay for any day!

Stay tuned for more write-ups about how I maintained my mane with my favorite products, tools and companies.

If you want to snag some of my favorite hair accessories from Amazon, click HERE.

Peace,