Rooney Mara’s PonyBun Is the Easiest Updo You Can ACTUALLY Do
Rooney Mara’s hairstylist, Adir Abergel, absolutely crushed it with his chic twists on the classic topknot that Rooney Mara wore beautifully to not one, but two events this week. This half-bun, half-ponytail — or ponybun, as we call it — is a style we’ve seen popping up on It girls all fall long, giving their wearers a polished + playful look. Rooney is no exception. The low-pony version that she rocked at the New York premiere of Carol was the stuff lazy girl beauty dreams are made of, and this high ponytail situation she wore to the Museum of Modern Art’s 8th Annual Film Benefit is even more stunning — that bold placement, that gold hair tie — but still so. freaking. simple.
Each look can be done in a matter of 10 minutes and in four easy steps. Get excited — with holiday season in full force, this is a must-do look!
How to Recreate Rooney Mara’s High Ponybun
Step 1: High Sleek Ponytail
Pull your hair up into a high ponytail using a fine-tooth comb to make sure there are no stray hairs or bumps. Use a wax paste to smooth down any flyaway baby hairs and then give a solid spritz of firm-hold hairspray to keep the look clean and tight.
Twist the ponytail around, and then tie it off with a small elastic at the end, leaving a few inches of hair out.
Step 2: Twist + Elastic
Wrap the twisted ponytail around the back and up over the front and then pin in place with a few bobby pins.
Step 3: Wrap Around + Pin
To elevate this look to fancy status, you can hack the gold wire in Rooney’s hair by using glitter tape! Just wrap it around the elastic that you placed in your hair in step two.
Step 4: Wrap in Gold
For a more chic finish, you can lift the front of the wrapped hair up over the base of the bun so that you have one twisted, bun-like style that leads into the ponytail instead of the double-stacked bun that we started with.
Final Touches: Reposition Bun
Look how quickly Sarah’s inner sassy comes out in this gorgeous hairstyle!
How to Recreate Rooney Mara’s Low Ponybun
Step 1: Heavy Part + Low Pony
Place a heavy side part in your hair and then spray it heavily with a firm-hold hairspray. Smooth down the shape of your hair so that it almost has a wet finish. Place your hair in a low ponytail to establish the foundation of this look.
Place a braid that stops a little less than half way down the ponytail and tie off with a small elastic.
Step 2: Braid + Tie Off
Wrap the hair around and pin in place where the elastic is positioned.
Step 3: Wrap + Pin
Take the remaining hair at the lower part of the elastic you just pinned in place and split the ponytail into two pieces. Tie them in a knot and then place another elastic at the base, leaving a couple inches of hair out at the ends.
Step 4: Knot + Tie
Finally, wrap gold glitter tape around the elastic for that polished finish and then pin the ponytail in place so that the hair is positioned upward and the ends stick slightly out to the side.
Final Touches: Wrap in Gold + Pin
So easy and so pretty!
This style takes two of our most basic and classic looks of all time — a ponytail and a bun — and creates something that feels totally cutting edge. For me, this is a totally inspiring beauty moment because it shows just how empowering it can be to create a new, beautiful hairstyle by thinking outside of the box, even a little! Hopefully we did Adir proud with our take on his gorgeous style.