One elastic and one clip can take you from a basic ponytail to a polished bun in under thirty seconds. Here are the toddler hair hacks South African moms use to upgrade a simple style fast.
The bun is the school hairstyle that holds the best, looks the most polished, and takes the longest to do — unless you know the shortcuts. Here's how to go from a basic ponytail to a bun using one clip, in under thirty seconds, on a toddler who isn't going to cooperate for much longer.
The Ponytail-Flip Bun
Make a low ponytail with an elastic, but don't pull the last pass all the way through — leave a loop. Fold the loose tail down and tuck it back through the loop. Secure the whole thing with your clip. What you have is a smooth little bun at the nape of the neck, held by both the elastic and the clip, that will stay in all day. This is one of those techniques that takes longer to describe than to do.
The Twist Bun
Make a ponytail. Twist the tail tightly until it starts to coil on itself. Continue twisting until it forms a neat coil against the head. Hold it flat and clip through it — the clip goes through the coil and anchors it to the base of the ponytail. This gives you a neat, tight bun with visible clip detail. Looks completely different from the flip bun with the same materials and the same amount of time.
Why Buns Hold Better Than Ponytails
A bun distributes the weight of the hair differently from a hanging ponytail. There's less swing, less movement, and less opportunity for the elastic and clip to slide. For particularly active children — the climbers, the runners, the ones who do cartwheels at break — a bun is almost always more reliable through a school day than a ponytail of the same size.
A high bun holds less reliably on young fine hair than a low or mid-height bun. The weight of the hair works against the elastic when the bun is very high on the head. A bun at the mid-height crown or low at the nape of the neck will hold significantly better through a school day.
Clips that hold buns in place all day
Strong enough to anchor a bun, gentle enough for toddler hair. Free delivery across South Africa.
Shop now →
