7 Types of Man Bun Hairstyles

Throughout the seasons, we’ve seen several hairstyles come into fashion that reflect the retro trends of yesteryear. The undercut, side part, and comb over hairstyles are all inspired by the dapper, vintage look of men from the 50s. But there’s one hairstyle that defiantly breaks all of these rules and stands on its own –– the man bun.

This man bun trend is either loved or hated with some people going around cutting off man buns). But despite all of the glamor surrounding it, the man bun has stayed around, and it doesn’t show any sign of going away anytime soon.

What Is A Man Bun?

The man bun can be confusing to some. What exactly is a man bun? Is it different from the “top knot” hairstyle that everyone’s talking about? Simply put, a man bun is the gathering of one’s hair into a bun. Seems straightforward, right? Well, not really.

Its simple appearance is deceiving; there are specific techniques for tidying up the hair into different sorts of buns, and that’s where the confusion lay. For example, the phrase “man bun” generally refers to a more rounded knot of hair. By contrast, the phrase “top knot” refers to a small knot of hair that usually rests at the crown of the head. Still with us? Great. Let’s dive into the types of man buns (because of course there are categories).

What Do I Need To Create A Man Bun?

If you’re going after this look, you’ll need two things: hair ties and patience. If you don’t already have long hair, we recommend growing out your locks so they’re at least 6 inches long. That’s the minimum amount needed for a good man bun, otherwise you won’t be able to tie up all your hair.

For medium-sized man buns, you’ll want somewhere between 10 and 16 inches. You can go longer if you wish, but keep in mind that the more hair you have, the more difficult it will be to organize. At 14-16 inches, your hair will be past your shoulders and could be difficult to handle.

How To Get The Man Bun

Got those hair ties? The first step is to identify the spot where you’re going to form the man bun. For most man bun hairstyles, this is the crown of the head. Most guys have a cowlick in this spot. Avoid forming the bun too high on the head. The top area of the back of your head is a good spot for the man bun.

Start by gathering all of your hair up into one ponytail-like fistful. Make sure to get any stray hairs that may be sticking out the sides or bottom. While holding this hair together, pass the hair through the hair tie once with your free hand. On the second pass, stop halfway through to get a bun. This is because the hair doubles up inside the tie or band, creating the man bun. (Alternatively, you can pass the hair through the band twice and make the bun on the third pass if the hair tie is extra stretchy.)

You might have to experiment with the bun formation, especially if you’re new to tying up your hair. This is a technique where watching someone else do it will help, and YouTube is clutch here.

How To Style & Maintain The Man Bun

The man bun is a simple hairstyle to get, but it requires regular maintenance to make sure it doesn’t get too greasy or unhealthy. Most hair experts recommend washing your hair a maximum of two or three times a week because shampoos strip your hair of its natural oils. To have the healthiest hair possible, only shampoo your hair every few days.

So what do you do on the other days, you ask? Two words: dry shampoo. This stuff will be your new best friend…literally. For those of you new to hair product, dry shampoo is a powder – usually in the form of a spray – that works as a “shampoo” but preserves your hair’s oils. Basically, the powder sucks the grease from your roots leaving the natural oils in the rest of your locks while simultaneously giving you volume and making you look like you just washed your hair. Mind blowing, we know.

Types of Man Buns

There are 7 major – and most popular – types of man

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Infinity Man Bun

Looking for a style out of the ordinary to make your man bun pop? Search no further, we at Haircuts Inspiration like to call this an Infinity Man Bun because of its shape but you can experiment as much as your hair allows you to. Add in a couple of extra twists for an eye-catching bun and you’re good to go!

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Full Messy Man Bun

All hair is tied into one single man bun that is situated at the crown of the head, but to get the messy feeling of this look instead of locking all strands of hair neatly, let a few overflow outwards and you’ll have a different and wittier look for yourself.

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Semi man bun

Uses only the hair on top of the head to create a mini man bun that is situated at the crown of the head.

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Low man bun

Similar to the full man bun with the exception that it is situated lower on the head.

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High man bun

A semi bun that is situated at the very top of the h

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Man Bun Undercut Fade

A semi man bun that is paired with an undercut fade in the back and on the sides of the head.

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The Lumberjack

The pairing of a beard with a man bun.

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Bun with Undercut Taper Fade

This is what we call equilibrium, the top has thin hair but has dense volume with undercut taper on sides. That being said the bun sitting on top has so much panache. Don’t forget the sideburns blending into beard, making all of this very balanced and organized

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Messy Bun and Highlights

This is a long-stranded frizzy man bun with an open-ended bun. These types of bun usually don’t require much maintenance, all it needs good enough length and boom there ya go. This one, in particular, has golden dyed highlights with a silky texture, usually, that’s for thick hair.

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Dye Hard Bun with Mid Fade

Wow! Looking at it one can tell there is so much life in this bun. First of all, having dense curly hair is difficult to curl here we are. The bun is dyed with matte blonde dye while the top is tightly braided with sides being taper faded. The lower temple is skin faded which brings all the attention to the top. Intense style alert.

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Man Bun for Long Hair

This is what silky hair gets you, long strands with a cool tied bun. That being said, the sides are just long enough to tie it at the back of the head. Moreover, the hair is dyed in the ends to add an extra style flair. Keeping it loosely tied gives it life, try that next time!

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Messy Top Bun and Beard

This hairstyle steals the attention in the room, the straight and thick hair strands stay still tied in the bun. Plus, the loose strands on the side make it look a tad casual, that’s all it is about. Not too strict and letting some loose hair by themselves.

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Braided Man Bun With Undercut

Here is where all the styles and trends fail, braids + undercut + fade, can you possibly ask for any other better combination. The undercut skin fade pulls all the attention to the top while the beard makes all the balance. Cannot beat this panache!

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Braids with Lined Up Skin Fade

Tied buns have totally another level which is unparalleled. The one here features afro hair or very thin hair with tied braids to make up a bun. That layered with undercut taper fade which is a rare combination. The line up has been craved with a razor to show how vivid each detail matters. This is what the bulls eye is to darts.

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Dreads Bun

This is a very spiritual man bun as it has the famous chant “Om” with a dreaded bun. How can this be any more stylish? The dreads are dyed and taper faded on the sides and around the temple. The Om is made by tapering and shaving slits around. Very interesting, isn’t it?

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Bun Fun with Skin Fade

Thick, rusty and dry textured hair is everyone’s favorite plus if you see that gradual taper fade, it blows any other style in the town. The line ups and sleek mid fade is so clean that eyes land directly on top where the loosely tied bun sits. Remember, shave all the angles nicely so that it looks pitch-perfect.

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Loosely Knit Bun

Is that what women call macho-man? Yes! The receding hairline does look good when it is conditioned properly without any loose ends. The hair is so thin that it turns silky with the dye on the ends of it make it look perfectly loose yet firmly tied. Keep the sides tied for an even look and boom there ya go!

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Super Curly Bun with Undercut Taper

Wow, where do we start with this bowl of amazingness? The top is for sure a curly top with bun while sides are slightly tapered and mostly faded. That being said the line up is skin faded with temple fade and descending taper in the back. The top is actually the bun itself and not in the back.

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Afro Bun with Rusty Dye

Afro hair is a tad difficult to bun up but when done right it looks like a charm. Here is a totally different scene, it also has some sleek taper fade but with shaved hairline design. Plus the bun is dyed to rusty iron color which compliments the whole look. How not to like this amazing style?

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Open Ended Curly Back Man Bun

Is this what classic French style looks like? The turtle neck somehow blends in with the frizzy and loose hair, that being said the thick texture of hair makes it settle perfectly without flying in the wind. The sides are slightly decreased in volume to balance it out.

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Top Bun and Undercut

This one comes from the hood or the military. The classic undercut with tapered sides with side-swept style. Lastly, there is a small bun in the back which tells a lot about the style. The temple and sideburns blend in with a beard to make it more versatile.

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Highlighted Man Bun

This one is a very common man bun you’ll see, don’t get fooled though it needs equally a lot of efforts. The volume has to be kept comparatively equal around the head with strands of highlights to make it pop. The hairline is still done where it looks all equal and no hair is flying here and there

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Thin Long Haired Bun

Thin hair doesn’t mean that you cannot do any style, you sure can just tweak it a bit! Like here, the volume is increased and the length is longer so that bun knot can be several folds. Moreover, thin the hair looks silky, which also feels managed and not too all over the place.

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Dreaded Bun with Faded Sides

We have seen dreadlocked buns but this triumphs all. The sides are undercut faded with the bun being massively open-ended. The dreads are even dyed to add another layer of panache to it.

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Thick Haired Dense Beard with Oiled Bun

This is what a dense thick hair with a perfectly sculpted beard does to a man. The hair is thick and more volume is added for a more dense look, moreover, the sides are blended into a beard which gives a very unified look, can one ever be this perfect?

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Casual Tied Bun

Make no mistake, this looks casual but a lot of work has gone into it to look this way. For example, the hair products are used to make it stay still with the sides are slightly tapered for better control. The being said the bun is still very casual to keep it look cool,

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Loose Open Ended Frizzly Man Bun

Can we ever say enough about this macho of a style? The bun on the back sits peacefully with the ease of being loosely tied. Moreover, the beard and mustache have so much life in them, the beard is finely tapered whereas mustache regains volume being all dense. The hairline is also very well kept with hair being tad rusty dyed.

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Strip Taper Faded Undercut Modern Bun

Long hair doesn’t have to belong all the time and all around the head. This is a prime example of modern touch to a classy man bun. The sides are very short with taper fade in the pattern of stripes. The hair on top is quite long that goes all the way back and then makes up for this bunny style.

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Steve Jobs Is That You?

This look is so underrated especially that untied yet tied man bun. The length is the major player here with that nice thin texture to give hair that silky look to it. That being said, the beard is something that brings out the shine in the look.

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Undercut Slicked Back Man Bun

What can we say about this beast of a haircut, the slicked back texture on top that is backed by a perfect man bun is just hard to ignore. The sides are undercut tapered and then low faded for maximum effect and the faded beard with a thick mustache is just a finesse move.

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Slight Waved Top with X Slit

Can any cut be any cleaner than this, the undercut separates top to the sides that help to pull off a cheeky taper fade with a mid fade that makes way for the beard. The “x” slit makes it very trendy and slightly hipsterish and finally the man bun is a tad wavy.

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Thick Dense Curled Man Bun

Safety first but then you see that curled goodness, the thick texture of the hair makes it look fuller. The wavy texture given the length is something to take care of but when done right is something that would look great.

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Thin Hair Tied Man Bun

Braided man buns are always quite exciting as it blends two trendiest styles of all times into one. The braid here is done in two different ways and then tied into a bun that makes it very poppy. The thin braid is something cool with sides being skin faded.

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Undercut Long Hair Man Bun

A very classy touch to the normal man bun with a lined undercut that divides top with sides. The thin part makes it subtly obvious with the taper on the sides makes it fun. The top is medium length with a loose ended bun on the top.

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Thin Haired All Over Man Bun

Thin hair can almost always pull off a great man bun as we see here with that thin texture especially the volume is consistent all around and that is only possible with that maintained volume. The beard on the other hand brings consistency to the face and anchors the look.

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Shiny Gold Loose Man Bun

Volume is one of the deciding factors of how a man bun will look and here we see the volume is quite big but the face size compensates for it especially with its curled nature it adds more girth to the look yet the loose ends give it a very casual look. The golden dye is just a neat touch to it.

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Thin Hair Oiled Man Bun

This is the classic man bun with thin hair but the oiled texture takes it to another level. The pushed back feel overall with that thick beard anchors the whole look and has that rugged feel to it. The bun being tied on top makes it very managed and controlled.

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Thin Hair Tapered Man Bun

Man bun is quite an alpha look, how does one make it even more alpha? The beard is quite tamed with some fade towards the temple with the cheeky taper on the sides that add an extra layer of neatness to it.

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Long Hair with Rounded Bun

Thin hair has the advantage of shaping them in more than a million ways, and that makes it one of the most versatile hair textures. Just like we see here, the top is thin pushed back but the bun is rounded for that casual look with some frizz all around.

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Thin Haired Man Bun with Stubble Sprinkle

Less is more and that is exactly what we see here. The top is simply thin-haired with some hints of receding hairline but then the longer strands make up for it by pushing it all to the back. The casual bin with that beard blend is enough panache for a day!

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Young Man Top Knot Glasses

Who doesn’t like their share of neat yet trendy long hairstyle? The thin undercut that borderlines the look is quite exquisite with some taper to come in handy. The thin hair is tied quite nice on the top with that glasses serious look.

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Sharky Lineup with Thick Man Bun

Man buns are quite slick with a good balance of hair to beard. The sides are equally long with the temple blending quite neatly into the beard. The carved lineup is always a good touch with that shape.

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Thick Long Hair with Straight Man Bun

The small man bun is a neat touch but the thick and longer hair strands are what sets this style apart from anything else. The details however are paid attention to and are not neglected. The strands are also straightened for that perfect look.

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Slick Man Bun with Undercut Taper Fade

Thick haired buns are really impecceble especially due to their consistency. The undercut here makes it very prominent from the sides and just make it even better the sides are faded and then topped with thick beard to balance it off like a ninja.

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Artcle written by Ian Chandler for Hair Cut Inspiration