

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Nails the Sleek Messy Bun
Best known for her stunning looks, impeccable dress sense, the Victoria’s Secret runway and luxurious Burberry campaigns, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley recently made another *perfect* style decision: a classic sleek-but-undone bun.
Part high glamour up do-part messy bun, this timeless look is everywhere right now and RHW is the master.
Usually wearing her long locks down, Rosie recently posted a gorgeous set of images on Instagram posing in a black Valentino gown with butterfly details and this bang on trend up do.
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And this wasn’t a one-off – oh no.
RHW also attended the Inaugural Mothers’ Ball presented by mothers2mothers in London on November 13, wearing a deep plunge-neck bodysuit with a lace dress overlayed and her hair piled up in a wispy bun – proving that the style is very much here to stay.
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This face-framing up do is also getting major play time from the likes of the Kardashian clan, Pammy Anderson, JLlo and Beyonce. Flattering on all face shapes, it’s definitely one style everyone can try out.
But since creating this ‘effortless effort’ style takes a bit of patience, some key products, and a bit of teasing (your hair, that is) to get it right, we’ve laid out a few different ways to easily get in on the glamorous messy bun look from home (even without hair skills).
Read on!
How to get Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s messy bun
This look has been getting some *serious* praise online and on social media, unsurprisingly, with loads of people commenting on the classic dress and hair combo.
Now, I’ve seen a lot of different tutorials on creating a similar bun, from twisting to plaiting and teasing to wrapping, but what are the *best* ways to create this up do without it taking a lot of time and product to achieve?
We’ve got 3 of the best step-by-step tutorials to show you exactly how to do it – no matter what the length of your hair is.
What you’ll need
- A brush
- A couple of bobbles
- Bobby pins to secure the bun
- Hairspray to hold the style in place
- Curling tongs for a more undone look (optional)
1. Rosie’s own tutorial
How ahead of the times was Rosie (or alternatively, how timeless is this look)? She created this tutorial showing how to recreate a classic up do alongside celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin (of Ouai haircare fame) over five years ago, gaining over 1 million views since.
Perfect for short hair types too, this classic look is almost an exact take on Rosie’s current favourite bun.
- Step 1: Brush your hair back into a half ponytail, making sure to leave out two sections of fringe at the front
- Step 2: Plait your loose hair upwards to meet your pony, before combing both the plaited section and the pony section into one ponytail
- Step 3: Twist your bun around itself, pinning with hair grips as you go. You can make this part as sleek or as messy as you want by choosing the amount of hair you leave loose outside the clips
- Step 4: Loosely curl the front two sections of your hair
- Step 5: Spritz liberally with hairspray to secure your look all day
PRO TIP: To update this look to Rosie’s most recent, sleeker messy bun, brush hair into place at every stage and finish with a shine spray across your whole head.
2. The wrap-around
Hair brand Amika shared this super simple tutorial on Instagram showing how to wrap long hair into a 90s up do.
So grab the bobby pins, because we’ve laid out a step-by-step guide through the look.
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- Step 1: Pull the top half of your hair into a high ponytail, securing it tightly at the crown, and leaving out some hair around the front of your face. You’ll want to make sure the ponytail is secure enough to hold the weight of your hair
- Step 2: Spray hairspray to the underneath of your ponytail before combing both the upper and lower parts of your hair into one pony
- Step 3: Wrap the left piece of hair around the front of the ponytail. Secure with a couple of bobby pins, leaving out some of the ends for a more relaxed look
- Step 4: Then, wrap the remaining hair from the ponytail around the bun you have just created. Secure with some more bobby pins, again leaving some of the ends out
- Step 5: Make sure the bun is secure enough, adding more bobby pins if needed and a spritz of hairspray
- Step 6: Loosely curl the front of your hair for an undone fringe look
3. The only-slightly-messy bun
Perfect for anyone who doesn’t own a curling tong- or has recurring nightmares about singeing their hair off using one- this slicked back, middle part bun is ridiculously easy to do and still manages to look chic.
One of the most effective messy buns around, it’s achievable for almost every hair length and also helps to hide that day 3 hair.
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- Step 1: Apply a hair serum or leave in conditioner throughout hair
- Step 2: Brush hair backwards and upwards towards the top of your head, making sure to maintain a slight central parting and to create a sleek, neat look
- Step 3: Next, tie hair into a ponytail
- Step 4: Tease the hair in your ponytail with a small comb, making it as fluffy as possible
- Step 5: Twist your pony around itself into a bun and secure with a hair tie. Loosely pull the hair out of the bun to increase its volume
The takeaway
The messy bun with dainty face-framing bangs will never go out of style, IMO, but getting it right can be a *little* bit fiddly.
With SO many hacks and tutorials out there, we’ve shown you 3 of the very best (and easiest!) so that you can go effortless glam to that Christmas party, look great even when your hair is 2 days past wash day, or even sport a stylish look while running errands in your joggers!
Have you tried any of these super simple tutorials? Let us know in the comments how you got on!