We've found the easiest, quickest—and most importantly, chicest—bun hack ever

This viral TikTok bun hack creates the perfect messy bun in literally five seconds

Woman with hair bun against yellow wall - stock photo
(Image credit: Getty Images / Westend61)

TikTok has become a go-to place for all things skin, beauty, and hair. You can find the best hacks on TikTok from eyeshadow hacks, eyeliner hacks, even how to find the expiring date on your make-up products—but this bun hack really is head and shoulders above the rest.

Bun envy is a real thing. It can be soul-destroying when you try to throw your hair up in that effortless, messy bun—very much channeling cool-French-Girl insouciance—only for your hairband to snap or, rather catastrophically, pieces of hair to fall out. 

Achieving a perfectly curled-up bun, but still having it look messy feels like it can only be achieved by pros—that is until we stumbled across this bun hack.

@quintymirjam

Antwoorden aan @maibou_ MESSY BUN TUTORIAL! | slow enough now? | ##hairtok ##messybuntutorial

♬ Beggin' - Måneskin

Tik Tok user @quintymirjam has answered our prayers and posted a video of how to achieve the bun of our dreams in no time at all.

With the help of only her hands and a hairband, she puts her hair through the band as if making a ponytail, then puts her hand through the band, twists her hair as you would, to create a bun. But instead of pulling the hair through and twisting it around the pony—she grabs the hair and twists it through, pulling the band then over to secure it. 

That sounds complicated so here’s a slowed-down version: 

@quintymirjam

Antwoorden aan @monikasood4 MESSY BUN TUTORIAL! | I HOPE slow enough now HAHA! | ##hairtok ##messybuntutorial

♬ Beggin' - Måneskin

It really is the ultimate hack to achieve that perfect “Oh I just rolled straight out of bed and threw my hair into this gorgeous bun” kind of look.

TikTok users have lost it over this hack, and the video has 9.6 million likes. One user wrote: “What kind of wizardry is this?”

“THANK YOU! This helped ALOT!“ said another.

“I tried this and got it on my first attempt. My new favorite hairstyle.”

Obviously, the outcome will depend on the length and thickness of your hair. If you’re struggling, try it with a scrunchie for thicker hair and a tighter hairband for thinner hair.

If you have shorter hair you may be better doing the bun a bit lower on your head, to avoid too many loose strands.

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Women's Lifestyle team, where she covers everything from entertainment to fashion and beauty, as well as TikTok trends for Woman&Home, after previously writing for My Imperfect Life and GoodTo. Interestingly though, Naomi actually has a background in design, having studied illustration at Plymouth University but lept into the media world in 2020, after always having a passion for writing and earned her Gold Standard diploma in Journalism with the NCTJ.

Before working for Future Publishing’s Lifestyle News team, she worked in the Ad production team. Here she wrote and designed adverts on all sorts of things, which then went into print magazines across all genres. Now, when she isn’t writing articles on celebs, fashion trends, or the newest shows on Netflix, you can find her drinking copious cups of coffee, drawing and probably online shopping.