Even though this is my author blog, I am more than just a writer. I am also a human. An adult (sort of. lol). And a girl who struggles with her hair.
This last descriptor has led me to today’s post. I love all things Royal Family. One of my favorite scenes from my beloved Gilmore Girls was when Rory said goodbye to Logan as he went off to London and her final words were, “Say ‘hi’ to William and Harry.” So naturally, I’m loving all the new coverage of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. That’s really the only use I find lately for Facebook. And like many others, I’ve become fascinated with her Messy Bun.
As you can see, she has many different versions of her Messy Bun. (I feel it’s so famous it deserves capitalization. It almost has a life of its own.) As a not-rich-exhausted-middle-school-teacher-without-a-hair-stylist, I have some hair issues. I don’t have garden parties or visits to Ireland or royal christenings to attend. However, this summer I do have grocery runs for cookies, naps on my couch, and lazy dinners at Chipotle. And much like a Duchess, I don’t have time to worry about a blowout or making sure my long hair stays bouncy. Yet I still want to look stylish. I need to look good while on my couch in front of Josh from Younger. I certainly don’t want to horrify young Lorenzo at my local Chipotle with unkempt hair. And it’s sad enough to be buying just a bag of cookies on a Friday night at the local Vons; I certainly don’t need my stringy lifeless hair to make me look any sadder.
Pulling my hair back has always made me feel unkempt. Sloppy. Ugly. But I’ve been inspired by Meghan Markle’s bun. It’s a bun, a casual hairstyle, yet she looks so beautiful. She doesn’t look like a lowly school teacher with her mousy hair tied back out of exhaustion. So maybe if I wear my hair like that, I wouldn’t look like a lowly school teacher with my mousy hair tied back out of exhaustion. Her comfortable hair looks classy. I want comfortable hair that looks classy! So I decided to give the Meghan Markle Messy Bun a try. I Googled (the first step toward any answer…which makes me wonder, How did I ever know anything before there was Google?)…and found several videos explaining how to make the bun. This one I found helpful:
After I’d studied the pictures and watched some videos, I gave it a try.
And…
I. Fell. In. Love.
First of all, yes, I know it doesn’t look exactly like hers. But if you study all the pictures as I have, you’ll see she does have several versions. My version is more like the one from the garden party (bottom left in the pictures above, a little less ‘messy’). And I know I don’t wear it to the side, but stop raining on my parade and let me tell you about this bun!!!
I forgot I even had hair. I FORGOT I EVEN HAD HAIR. It was that comfortable. And it didn’t move. No matter what I did, it didn’t fall out. I think I could even run with this bun.
(**Update: I DID run with the bun and IT DIDN’T MOVE. I did my 5-mile evening run and not a hair moved. In fact, during the run I FORGOT I EVEN HAD HAIR. I didn’t even fix it before I went. I ran in the same Megan Markle Magical Messy Bun I’d been wearing since 9 am. If you don’t believe me, I took pictures:
I left my sweaty neck in the picture in case you wouldn’t believe me that I’d just FINISHED my run. I bet I could do Saturday’s 9-mile run in this bun! It’s so tough to get up at 5 am on a Saturday for a long run, but I bet this bun will get me jumping out of bed at 4:52!)
And the bun didn’t hurt my head. I have a difficult time with ponytails and headbands because I so easily get headaches. Not with Meghan Markle’s Magical Messy Bun. Like I just said, I FORGOT I EVEN HAD HAIR. And it lasted all day (as I just told you.) . No need to redo it or refresh it. And I didn’t even think about checking because…I FORGOT I EVEN HAD HAIR. I felt so stylish as I pumped gas and wasted money at the Dollar Bin at Target. I even felt worthy of my Lululemons for once!
But the best part was this…
When I took my hair out of the bun, THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE. (Yes, I’m screaming that at you!). My hair didn’t look like a broken accordion or like the creased history notes someone crammed in the back of the textbook or like I’d slept on a set of cookie cutters. My hair had bouncy waves! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS? (Yes, I’m yelling again) I can wear my hair in a bun all day and then on that one night when I actually have something to do, I don’t have to redo my hair! I can take it out of the bun and it’s ready to go! Imagine what this means for people who actually have an active social life! And now I even have hope that when I do finally meet someone in a real live active social setting instead of some two-hour superficially-judged iPhone swipefest and he isn’t some version of a loser, I will be ready for that date with my bouncy waves!
As you can see, the Meghan Markle Miraculously Magical Messy Bun has transformed my life. And if it’s transformed mine, think how many other lives it has changed. Think how many tired, overworked teachers and waitresses and Walmart employees there are out there who want to look classy and want to feel pretty but are just so tired they can’t bring themselves to use a blow dryer or curling iron or cleanse themselves regularly. This is the answer! Stuck in the dilemma of not wanting to spend an hour of your hard-earned weekend time styling your hair but at the same time not wanting to look like the crazy hair lady in your condo complex who dumpster dives? This is the answer!
Now even the most stylishly downtrodden can rise up to the lower middle of the beauty hierarchy (Though you still need some makeup, probably. I mean, I don’t know you personally, but even the Duchess wears makeup)!
Stringy hair curtains in your face?….Bye Felicia!
And save your arm muscles for CrossFit because you won’t have to be tying and retying that ponytail or bun anymore!
The Meghan Markle Miraculously Magical Messy Bun is the answer. (I’m beginning to think it’s quite possibly the answer to everything. Who needs nuclear weapons when you have the Messy Bun? It could probably unite Israel and Palestine, too. And global warming? Who cares how warm it gets when you can put your hair up in such a cozy nest?)
So while Meghan Markle is undoubtedly choosing which charities and organizations to patron, deeply analyzing where she can do the most good and what is dearest to her heart, I would dare say there isn’t a cause left that could make a bigger impact. She has already changed the lives of the biggest group of people on the planet: average-looking women with average incomes. She’s raised the stringy-haired, exhausted, average-looking woman up from the depths of beauty despair. And she’s rescued the hopes of millions of the less-fortunate without hair stylists.
The Duchess is changing lives and making dreams come true. One bun at a time. And this average-looking woman with an average income is forever grateful.
xo, Leslie
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