How To Style A Chignon: A Super Easy Step-By-Step Guide

Of all of the hairstyles we’ve come to know and love over the years, the chignon has to be one of our favorites. The deceptively simple style is one of the most versatile hairstyles around. A chignon looks just as good with elegant gowns as it does paired with gym clothes when you need to keep your hair out of your face.

The thing about chignons is that they’re so simple, few people have bothered to describe how to create one. Because while chignons are fairly easy to pull off, they’re a bit more complicated to create than your run-of-the-mill bun. Lucky for you, we’ve created the ultimate, super easy, step-by-step guide on how to style a chignon.

 

What is a chignon?

Most simply put, a chignon is a style of bun. However, there is one thing that separate chignons from, say, a ballerina bun: Chignons are typically placed at the nape of the neck as opposed to the crown of the head.

 

What you’ll need:

Chignons may look simple to pull off and they are—as long as you have to right tools. To easily pull off this classic style, you’ll need a few hair staples including a brush, a hair elastic, a clear hair elastic, a pack of bobby pins, and Redken’s Wax Blast 10 Finishing Hair Spray.

 

Prep Your Hair

For this look, it doesn’t matter if you begin with freshly washed hair or day three hair. While your freshly washed hair may appear to have more shine, day three hair can make your style appear more textured Choose the style that works best for you.

Whether you go with clean locks or decide to style your day three blowout, you need to make sure your hair is smooth and detangled before you begin styling. After you brush and comb all of the knots out of your mane, gather your hair at the nape of your neck and secure it into a ponytail with a hair elastic.
 

Perfect Your Ponytail

The key to an impeccable chignon is to find the perfect balance between undone glamour and structure. While chignons are often thought of as stuffy, no-nonsense styles, a few strategically placed strands can take your chignon from the classroom to the red carpet. Ensuring your chignon is perfectly undone starts before you even begin to craft your bun.

After securing a ponytail at the nape of your neck, gently pull your ponytail loose to create volume at the crown of your head. Then, pull a few strands near the front of your face out of your ponytail.
Next, take a clear hair elastic and secure it 2 inches above the end of your ponytail. Spray your ponytail with Redken Wax Blast 10 Finishing Hair Spray to give your ponytail texture before styling it into a chignon.  

Create Your Chignon

Take the end of your ponytail and lift it up, wrapping the ponytail around itself to create the chignon. Use a few bobby pins to begin to secure the chignon in place.  

Secure The Chignon

Continue placing bobby pins into your chignon to secure it to the back of your head. Once you’ve secure the chignon to the back of your head, take the hair from the top of the chignon and fan it over the entire bun to create a seamless look. Use several more bobby pins to secure the hair in place. Then, gently pull out a few strands of hair from the chignon to continue the undone look.  

Finishing Touches

Once the chignon is secured, add the finishing touches to the rest of your hair. Allow your hair to loosely fan over your ear and style a few strands to frame both sides of your face. Set your look with a medium hold hairspray wax like Redken Wax Blast 10 Finishing Hair Spray.

Take your chignon to the next level.

While this tutorial is for an undone chignon style, once you master the basic of the chignon you can use it to create any style. Create a more structured chignon for your next dinner party or incorporate a few braids for an unexpected textural element.

Accessorize your chignon.

If you've created the chignon of your dreams and you can’t help but shake the feeling that something is missing, consider a hair accessory. Chignons have the benefit of being a fairly simple hairstyle, making them the perfect candidate for just about any accessory. 

Looking for something a little tropical? Place a flower in your hair. Need something a bit more glamorous? Consider securing your strands in place with a dazzling brooch. No matter what you decide, you can be confident no one will ever call your chignon anything but absolutely stunning.

Interested in a professional updo for your next big occasion? Use our salon locator to book an appointment with a stylist near you.