Beauty Diary: Big problem with Sofia Richie’s slick bun tutorial

Sofia Richie amassed 26 million views detailing her “lazy girl” trick to an instantly chic style, but experts warn there’s a big problem with it.

There’s no denying, the slicked back bun is one of the most popular hairstyles of recent years, beloved by no less than Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber, to name just a few.

But while it looks completely effortless, the chic up-do is actually far from easy, and requires patience and experience – two things I definitely can’t claim to have in spades.

For starters, the hair needs to be perfectly smooth to achieve the desired look. You also need to know how much styling product to use without making your hair greasy and heavy.

That’s why, when Sofia Richie dropped her “sleek lazy girl bun” tutorial, millions of people watched.

Her step-by-step guide to achieving the ultimate celebrity hairdo has been viewed 26.5 million times since it was posted to TikTok on September 9.

Sofia Richie Grainge shared a ‘slick lazy girl bun’ tutorial that quickly went viral. Picture: TikTok/Sofia Richie Grainge

But in it, she revealed she styled her locks with wet hair. Picture: TikTok/Sofia Richie Grainge

Now experts have revealed the big problem with this tutorial. Picture: TikTok/Sofia Richie Grainge

But despite its popularity, which saw many share their own videos trying her technique out, experts are warning Sofia made a costly mistake that you need to avoid.

The 25-year-old daughter of singer Lionel Richie begins the tutorial by explaining she’d just got out of the shower, stating it was the “perfect opportunity” to show fans how she crafts her bun.

“Honestly because it started wet, it is so secured onto your head,” states at the end, adding that damp hair helped the bun become firm like a “helmet” without being “sticky” or “hard”.

But as Sydney hair expert Jaye Edwards points out, Sofia made a wrong turn before she’d even begun, as styling wet hair is bad for hair health and can cause awful damage.

“Wet hair is way more delicate than dry hair, making it susceptible to breakage and damage from styling… particularly anything slick and tight,” the owner and founder of EdwardsAndCo told news.com.au’s The Beauty Diary.

Jaye Edwards, founder of prestigious hair salons EdwardsAndCo, said styling damp hair causes bad damage. Picture: Supplied

“Any stretching or pulling on wet hair will bend the cuticle out of place, which causes your hair to look and feel damaged and frizzy.

“It can also cause a telltale breakage band, limiting the colour work you can have done and increasing frizz and flyaways.”

Jaye isn’t the only hair expert advising Sofia’s fans not to follow the tutorial to a tee, with Rachel Valentine, a hairstylist and colourist, issuing a warning stating the style was “so damaging”.

“Yes it looks amazing, however, this is going to be so damaging if you do this to your hair,” she said on TikTok.

“Our hair is like an elastic band and when it’s wet it’s really stretchy and if you think about the more your going to be stretching that elastic band and putting it under stress, the more likely it is to break.”

Other hair care professionals issued similar messages, telling people: “Don’t do it.”

Instead, Jaye – who has 9 salons across Australia – recommends using styling products on dry hair as “a safer alternative to a wet bun”.

“Securing dry hair into a tight bun and create a sleek look with a high shine product, like a gel or pomade,” he said.

“If you prefer to work with moisture, use a luxurious hair oil instead of water to help slick the hair back to create the look.”

If you're a fan of the chic look, ‘use styling products on dry hair’. Picture: Instagram/Sofia Richie Grainge

How to recreate Sofia Richie Grainge’s ‘lazy girl’ bun

Sofia herself actually used an array of products while showcasing her technique, starting with Christophe Robin Regenerating Mask with Rare Prickly Pear Oil, which retails for $85 on Adore Beauty, that she runs from root to tip.

Once that has been evenly distributed, she takes a fine toothed comb and separates the front half of her hair from the back, using her ear as a guide, while maintaining her centre part.

Next, the newly married Mrs Grange lathers the Oribe Matte Waves Texture Lotion, $64 on Rogue Beauty, to the back half of her hair before pulling this section into a ponytail using a Mason Pearson brush.

Then, using the same brush and lotion, she repeated this process to the front half of her hair, pulling each side into the existing ponytail separately.

“This is the most satisfying part. I [just] brush this against my head as tightly as I can,” she says.

And voila! After some careful brushing to get everything just right, she finishes the look by wrapping the hair on itself to form a bun, and fastening with a hair tie.

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Originally published as Beauty Diary: Big problem with Sofia Richie’s slick bun tutorial