Have you ever seen someone rocking a pencil bun and think to yourself, how do they do that?! Because, as it turns out, it’s not just as simple as making a bun and sticking a pencil in it – although that’s a go-to casual hairstyle of mine, as well! But a real pencil bun hairstyle requires a little more finesse than that. The best part? There is more than one type of pencil bun to experiment with! Check out this video from Cute Girl’s Hairstyles and try to master one (or all!) of these pencil bun styles.

You’ll need pencils to start…obviously. But otherwise you don’t need anything else to make this quick, fashionable buns!

The Basic Bun
Start by making sure a few wispy pieces of hair are down by your face, for that messy, casual look. Grab the rest of your hair and twist it into a bun on the back of your head. Stick your pencil through one side and weave it up and down until it comes out the other side!

Low Twisted Bun
Gather your hair at the nape of your neck and place the pencil to the left of your hair. Twist the hair around the pencil (twice for longer hair) and then flip the pencil upside down, pushing until the pencil almost comes out the bottom of your bun.

High Twisted Bun
This style combines the first two buns! Higher up on your head, twist your hair into a bun. Then, starting from the bottom, weave the pencil upwards until it sticks out from the top of the bun. Finally, flip the pencil (carefully!) and push until it almost comes out the other side of your hair.