Using a flat brush (I prefer a Mason Pearson or a Bumble and bumble flat classic hairbrush), smooth all hair into a ponytail at the very top of your head, making sure the ‘grain’ of the ponytail, or the direction the hair is going, is all consistently traveling toward that point. To get proper tension on the back of your head, you may need to tip your head down to extend your neck. Don’t be afraid to brush and brush and brush, in order to get the ponytail incredibly smooth. We recommend using a ponytail hook or hair bungee, so you don’t have to lose your grip on the ponytail while fastening it together. Find ponytail hooks here.

Backcomb the hair into a fountain-like shape, fanning the ponytail out and concentrating on the underside of all the strands.

Once your backcombing is complete, your hair should look wild and gigantic, like in this photo.

Use your flat brush to smooth the surface of the hair out GENTLY, taking care not to disrupt any of the backcombing underneath.

Wrap the ‘loose ends’ of your backcombed ponytail around the bulk of the bun, smoothing and molding the shape as you work.

Pin ends under/into the giant backcombed bun. The more pins, the more security.

Use your fingers to detail the shape, pulling gently as needed, to achieve your desired shape.

Use a paste or wax of some kind to gently smooth back baby hairs and flyaways around your face and at your back hairline. We used Bumble and bumble’s Sumotech.

Reinforce the smoothness of the ponytail by spraying and smoothing the hair TOWARD the bun and lock in the bun with hairspray. We used Bumble and bumble’s Does It All Styling Spray.

Admire your handiwork!