Man bun, bro bun, or hipster bun – no matter what you call this modern cut, it still is one of the most versatile, trendy, and sexy all-in-one hairstyles for men. Men with buns challenge the stereotypes, intrigue, and attract. Leonardo DiCaprio and Chris Hemsworth, David Beckham and Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and Jake Gyllenhaal, William Single, Orlando Bloom and Jason Momoa – all top male celebrities in 2014 and in 2020 love experimenting with a man bun at the top of the head.
Finally, men’s long hair is not associated with the rock gods, face piercings, tattoos, and black color anymore. Man bun hairstyles vary from elegant and classy to messy and casual these days.
My, my, how things have changed. Enter the Man Bun!
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Different Man Bun Styles
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Long hair, big muscles, sporty outfit, sharp beard, and a darting glance – that’s what it takes to silently state “all rights reserved” on that girl next door. This man bun hairstyle looks even more masculine than trendy fades and military haircuts.
Man Bun Fade Haircut
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Wanna experiment with your long hair? Try such a man-bun-short-sides idea to add a modern undercut fade twist and get a fantastic Brooklyn topknot variation. Focus on the height of the fade and the shape of your hairline so that they suit your scalp and face shape.
Full Man Bun
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Semi man-bun with glasses is a win-win choice that always works well for everybody and everywhere. A man bun hairstyle like this is a timeless classic that never goes out of fashion. Thanks to its simplicity, it can be matched with any outfit from your wardrobe.
Long Hair Man Bun
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The benefits of this man bun hairstyle are obvious: easy to do, easy to style, comfortable to wear. If such basic variations are too boring for you, you can spice them up with cornrows or dreadlocks. But why? Bedhead man buns will always look hot.
Hipster Bun Hairstyle
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This easy man bun hairstyle technique requires only a hair tie, long hair, and a couple of hands. You don’t need to visit barbers, you don’t have to use a big amount of styling products. All you need is to shampoo your hair, apply some conditioner, blow-dry your head and tie your hair into a knot.
Half Up Hairstyle
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This half up half down man bun is a completely new level of top knots. It’s got huge popularity among dudes with different hair lengths and lifestyles – from hippies to glam guys. Man bun hair down means that we use only the top section of hair for a knot, while the rest of the hair is flowing down the shoulders and covers the neck.
Undercut Man Bun Haircut
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This semi bun is made on the basis of a classic undercut. Thus, we can see that even very short hair can be sleeked and tied into a stylish top knot. Short beard complements the ideally careless top, while the sides and back part of the head are cut short in a scissors fade.
Man Bun with Bangs
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Surfer man bun is probably the sexiest of all man buns in the world. You can balance the face type and head shape by adding extra volume on top or at the sides. You will definitely turn a lot of heads and make people stare. The only problem you can probably face is your hair length. You need your hair longer than 7 – 8 inches.
Loose Man Bun Hairstyle
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Have you recognized the legendary Jon Snow hair bun version? It’s a relaxed, everyday option for men with thin hair (though, works great with thick hair too). If your hair is not long enough for a full bun, this is something that definitely works for you.
Ninja Knot
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This top man bun is kind of classy and can be worn for numerous occasions from parties to business meetings and daily life. Edgy hairline, shiny slicked-back crown, and a small knot without any twists – this Asian man bun works great together with a natural mustache and a careless goatee.
Man Bun Hair Band
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Now, let’s talk about the accessories, which come in handy when someone is tired of their trivial ponytails, messy top knots, and boring buns. A trendy headband will give your hairstyle a brand new look, and a man bun with a hat turns twice more heads than an ordinary knot.
Low Man Bun
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A low man bun is a good option for guys with square or round head shape – it will visually prolong the face, balancing it. It’s a good idea to spread some hair product at the crown for a smooth finish.
Small Man Buns
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As we said before, man bun hairstyles work with any hair types, so this small and tight man bun variant is meant for boys with thin hair.
Afro Man Bun Haircut
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Who said Afro men can’t get a luxury bun? Just look, how nice this dreadlocks topknot is!
Man Bun with Beard
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This photo proves that the best addition to the long hair on the head is a well-groomed beard. Choose the shape and style that fits you and enjoy your masculine, brutal image.
Messy Man Bun Front View
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Such a messy men bun shows that even if you don’t care, everything is under control! Even if you took 30 seconds to rock this disconnected knot, it looks top anyway.
Man Bun Hairstyle with Design
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All you need to refresh your lifestyle top knot undercut is a little bit of creativity to rock an authentic, unique freestyle design on the sides.
Taper Man Bun
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Somewhere in relaxed San Francisco coffee shops or at the busy streets of New York, you’ll definitely find those trendy guys wearing high taper man buns. Follow the trends!
Man Bun Low Fade
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Another way to update your good old topknot is to play with the fade at the back part of your head.
Shaved Man Bun
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High Fade
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Double Buns with Braids
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Man Bun Dreads
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Ponytail Hairstyle
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic Man Bun Hairstyle
First popularized in modern culture by the Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
What is a Man Bun?
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Man bun definition is simple: it is when hair is slicked back from the forehead and tied up in the center of your head. However, the style can vary a lot: high, low, loose, slicked back, careless, with some front hair left out, half up half down…
The Man Bun can be made into an office-appropriate posh-looking gentleman's cut or into a wild, disheveled 'just out of bed' mess. That’s why the definition can be confusing sometimes. Some hairstylists confront a top knot VS a man bun, pointing out that it shouldn’t be confused with the topknot, undercut, or a lazy bun; others unite them into the same category of bun hairstyle for guys.
How long does it take to grow a man bun? Actually, the hair length is not necessarily should be very long. However, if you start off with super-short hair, it can take about a year – a year and a half to grow out a decent mane.
Man Bun History
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Where did the man bun come from? Who started the man bun?
Despite the bun hairstyle became a male trend only in the 2000s and before that only women had worn a knot hairstyle, the origin of bun hairstyles is connected with Polynesian men of a certain high status between 1250 and 1300 CE. They used berry oils and wooden or bone combs to style their hair back into a tight tikitiki (topknot).
Later on, Korean married men styled their hair in a sangtu with a pin (donggot) and a headband. Even their hats had a specifically made space for their buns. In 1600-1800 Japanese samurai wore the “chonmage” – the traditional haircut with shaven sides and a cluster of hair tied up in a knot.
Only in the 20th century, ballerina buns and Victorian-era chignons became a women’s trend with Audrey Hepburn as one of the trendsetters. Since that time, bun hairstyle became a female trend and only a handful of men wore it for comfort and hardly anyone paid attention to it.
But the situation completely changed in 2012 – 2015, when hipsters began combining a man bun with messy and shaggy beards. This image quickly became mainstream with the support of celeb fashion icons like Jared Leto, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Hemsworth, who popularized the hairstyle emphasizing its masculinity, versatility, and simplicity.
Who Suits a Man Bun?
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The great thing about the Man Bun is that it suits pretty much everyone regardless of face shape or style. So if you haven't started growing your hair out to at least try the Man Bun, then you better get going pretty soon, otherwise, you could be missing out on basically the sexiest hairstyle ever.
If talking about the hair type, a bun hairstyle works perfectly for guys with thin and thick hair, wavy and curly hair, smooth and straight hair. Even if you have not very long locks, medium hair can be also fixed into a nice knot with a hair tie.
Black guys with man buns look hot. And so do Mexican, Latino, European, and Asian men. So, you’ve got no chances to lose with a full man bun at the top of the head.
If you haven’t tried out the man bun trend yet, you just haven't found your muse and inspiration to convince you to. These best images from the net are collected in our gallery to show all the variety and charm of the man bun hairstyle.
How to Tie a Man Bun
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How to do a man bun?
Actually, much easier than to grow a man bun.
Indeed, since any man bun requires at least 6 inches of hair length (no matter whether it’s a semi bun (top knot) or a full bun (when all hair of the head makes a bun), the most complicated and time-consuming stage of tying a man bun is to get the hair of the necessary length.
The next steps are much easier: the only thing you always need at hand is an elastic band. If you want to add extra volume and texture to your bun, or to make the crown sleek, you can also use different hair products. For better fixation of very long hair, you may also need some bobby pins.
You can also watch a tutorial on how to put hair in a man bun in this video.
How to Style a Man Bun
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How to wear a man bun?
The truth is that any way you do a Man Bun, it is going to look hot. However, to create your own unique style, you need to match your man buns with accessories and outfits you choose. So here are a few fashion options for the different Man Bun looks:
Classy Look: Spread some hair product all over the hair and slick it back in a tidy bun. Add a smart suit and a tie to look elegant, professional, and irresistible. Appropriate for an office job, for a business meeting, or for a special occasion. Casual Style: Disconnect your hair and tie it into a messy full bun or a half-up topknot. Leave some loose strands in front and spice up the image with a brutal beard. This is an example of an easy- maintenance hairstyle to match with a pair of jeans, a basic tee, a denim jacket, and trendy sneakers. Sporty Image: Just look at David Beckham and make a loose bun for a comfortable gym workout.