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The Sleep Bun Tutorial ( << Fav Hair Tip )

The Skinny Confidential on YouTube.

Remember like five million years ago when I shared one of my favorite beauty tips ever AKA The Sleep Bun?

Well a lot of you guys asked me to make a video tutorial. So finnnnnnnallly, I pulled my head outta my ass because today I’m demo THE SLEEP BUN, Vana White-style.

If you don’t know what The Sleep Bun is, prepare for your life to change.

You know those moments in life where you have a total epiphany…? Well this is one of them. This is kind of better than discovering you had a long lost brother…for obvious reasons.

Introducing: the best way to attain soft, pretty, totally opposite of bridal ( because EW, not a fan ), kinda unwashed hair curls.

First off, it’s not my thing to wash my hair.

Hey, I’m being honest ( washing hair everyday is so 1994 ).

Sorry…but my hair looks way better washing it once or twice a week.

Yes I workout. Yes I sweat. Yes I reach for dry shampoo, Psssssst. & it works wonders.

But that’s a whole different blog post BECAUSE TODAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MY FAVORITE BEAUTY TIP ON THE PLANET. This bun encompasses all my hair goals & makes me happier than you could ever imagine.

The sleep bun creates that hippie, effortless, not too overdone, SWOON hair.

Because in my opinion, overly curled hair is OUCHHHHHH.

Here, lemme show ya:

Ok so, these pink clips are all over my house, in Michael’s pocket, in my office, bed, handbag, living room, car, & sometimes hidden in my rat’s nest of hair.

To read the wholllle entireeee Sleep Bun story, click here— but I’m sure after my video you get the drift.

Products used:

pink alligator clips

2 inch barrel curling iron

hair sunscreen ( << a total MUST! )

hair spray || dry shamps

♡ wearing: black crop, JNB choker, & nail polish

If you want to learn more about my beauty routine, check out The Skinny Confidential Book ( which also has A LOT of hair tips/tricks like this!! ).

YOUR TURN! What’s your best hair secret?

Ok so I really hope I’ve surpassed all your hair expectations with this one, because it’s definitely my best hair secret.

I know now you must be confused because you didn’t realize I was related to Paul Mitchell? Oh, well now you know.

– The Sleep Bun OG, xx

+ To subscribe to The Skinny Confidential YouTube channel, click here.

++ Check out last week’s tutorial on eyebrows here

What I’m Using:

What I’m Wearing:

  1. First of all, great tutorial. Like you I never wash my hair but I needed a way to keep it tidy when sleeping so when I woke up I don´t have to rewash it or put too much time into restyling it. (because when I braid it, I always end up with a crease from the ponytail holder) I think your system seems to work well and is pretty efficient (hey, we have to prioritize our time).

    And I know this is going to sound REALLY weird and you may block me from your blog after this, but I could not help but notice how smooth and flawless your armpits looked (they seriously looked as good as your skin!), so I have to ask, what are your tips for armpit upkeep? That´s right, I am asking you to talk about armpits!

    1. Thanks babe! And that’s not weird AT ALL. I have a bunch of tips for smooth arm pits. But my main two ( I’ll do a post on this ) tips are shave with coconut oil & use a men’s razor ( << makes all the difference ).

    2. See? I knew you would have something up your sleeve! Looking forward to trying out coconut oil and a men´s razor!

  2. I’m obsessed with alligator clips, too! I love using them at night when I don’t want my hair hanging everywhere, but I don’t want to use a hair tie. My husband gets a good chuckle from it, but admits it’s kinda cute.

    Connie | Sponsored by Coffee

  3. Ok seriously your teeth are so white… HOW?! Can’t wait to try this tutorial- looks too easy! I can’t stand “prom” hair either so I love this soft look.

    PS: the bottle of “hair sunscreen” you use in your video looks like a Biolage product and nothing like the one linked on this page (Paul Mitchell)?

  4. The sleep bun is one of my favorite hair secrets as well except I’ve never put it on the tippy top of my head. I will try that tonight.

  5. I need to try this. I always dread washing my hair. Lol. I use the same dry shampoo as you (drybar). I’m obsessed with the scent!

  6. I wish I could find a dry shampoo that works for my curly hair. I always have products in my hair to get my curls just the way I want them to so dry shampoo just doesn’t seem to work. I hate having to wash my hair everyday after my workouts. I would love tips or a future tutorial.

  7. Loveeee the sleep bun! I’ve been doing it since your last post. We don’t have a dry bar type thing around here ): #rhodeislandproblems hahah so sometimes I’ll just get a blow out and do it right after! Not washing my hair has helped soooo much since I play with color! Just rinse and condition (;
    Xo m

  8. Thank you for this tutorial! I am going to try this out. What lip color are you wearing? It’s really pretty. Do you wear lip liner? I’m looking forward to more tutorials from you!

  9. i live for the sleep bun! it saves my hair when it needs to still look good the next day 🙂 puts the perfect wave in. and yay for more videos! so fun!

    cheshirekatblog.com

  10. Do you have to curl it with a curler before you sleep on it? I have ethnic cuban hair and I am trying to cut down on using straighteners and curlers, so I’ve been braiding for nice waves when I go to sleep. Will it compromise the quality of the hair if I just scrunch it instead with some curl cream? Love the tutorial, I’m headed to sephora ASAP to get those clips!!

  11. I love a sleep bun, I normally do it with a sock bun, but this looks less damaging! Also weird question, but you have GORGEOUS eyelashes! Are those just natural + mascara or do you use falsies? Really want to know for my wedding! Thanks!

    Cynthia

  12. So I tried this, and oh my gawwwd. Amazing (like everything else on your blog). Thanks again for yet another SUPER useful/amazing/well-done tutorial, you never disappoint! <3

  13. I love how your curls turned out! I just have a question though, if you do the sleep bun multiple times a week, do you need to recurl your hair before you do the sleep bun every night? Thanks!!

  14. Love the tutorial – I went out and bough alligator clips after your post on these and they are life changers, seriously my sister and mum have been stealing them from me! And I’m training my hair to wash it less – painful process atm but I’m getting there! xx

  15. So i workout like everyday and sweat kind of a lot but i HATE washing my hair too! Do you just not wash your hair after you workout and spray a lot of dry shampoo? Ive also heard of washing your hair with just conditioner after you workout as well.

    thanks!

  16. I’m way late on commenting on this but seriously people, the sleep bun changed my life! I put it to use especially when I travel for work and it saves me so much time when I’m getting ready to run from meeting to meeting.

    And my hair feels so much healthier since I stopped washing it so much.

    Thank You Lauryn!

    Laura
    Surf & Hydrangeas

  17. Super random, but I didn’t think that’s how you would sound in real life/in person/on video! There’s nothing bad or wrong with your voice.. but you ever see someone or read something by them and you have this voice in your head of how you think they’ll sound in person? LOL Anyways… I love your video editing on this tutorial.

    xo, chekara | shadesofchekara.com

  18. Could be the dumbest question ever.. If you say curl your hair away so it’s going back then when you put it in the sleep bun it’s supposed to go all the same way, how is that possible. There are two sides on the head and if both are curling back they are technically going opposite ways, how do you put it up??

  19. I’m trying to use less heat on my hair and let it dry into its natural waves in order to help it grow – I’ve been trying to do this sleep bun, but when my hair is already in its natural waves, it always seems to screw them up and turn it into an afro instead of loosening them up to be more boho-y like yours. Am I wrapping the bun the wrong way or something? How do you know which way to wrap your bun? (I’m hoping that this question makes any sense at all haha)

  20. Thank you indeed for the helpful post. For me this is one of the most useful posts I have ever read on this topic “the sleeping bun”. I am not as expert as you in this domain but I think that practice came handy here . Your illustration inside each post will helps any curling girl achieve that goal, “the skinny confidential”. YOUR TURN! What’s your best hair secret? is a wake up statement in sharing our best hair in the industry.I WILL ALSO LIKE TO HAVE A TUTORIAL ON the bottle of “hair sunscreen” you use in your video which looks like a Biolage product and nothing like the one linked on this page (Paul Mitchell)?

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