Back when I had long hair I almost never wore it up. Perhaps it was due to my butter fingers or the fact that I am as experienced with hair as a llama is with rollerblades, but the whole notion of “throwing my locks up into a perfectly messy bun” was non-existent. I would, without fail, end up with a dinosaur bump on the top of my head, a rat tail at the base of my neck, or a knot so complex that I became far too familiar with the term “rat’s nest.”

However, since impulsively chopping off my hair a few months ago I have started experimenting with different ways to wear my hair. I don’t have the most incredible hair in that it’s not thick and luscious like a Victoria’s Secret model, nor does it make a stylist throw his hands up in excitement as if he’s just seen a mouse, but it’s thin, wavy, and there’s lots of it. In short: it’s manageable and malleable.

As an avid admirer of the bun elite — aka the types of women who can just throw their hair up into a perfectly messy bun while running on the treadmill — I present you with three bun varieties that I’ve come to master thanks to many frustrating mornings, afternoons, and evenings in front of the mirror. And with them of course comes three very different looks from beachy and casual to sweet and sophisticated to chic and edgy.

The Low Messy Knot

This bun is perhaps the easiest to achieve. Leaving just a few strands in the front loose, gather your hair back into a ponytail at the base of your neck. Then pull it through an elastic twice, the second time only pulling it half way through, twisting the hair into a loose knot and securing with the rubberband. Give your scalp a little massage to loosen up the roots and go about your day as recklessly as possible. The messier the better is all I have to say on this. Think sex hair.

The Wispy Ballerina Bun

This is the kind of bun that would have gotten me in loads of trouble back in my days as a hardcore ballerina. But since I’m no longer doing tondues seven days a week, I can enjoy this kind of sloppy bun as much as I enjoy a trip to In-n-Out Burger. To achieve this look simply pull your hair up into a high, messy pony tail and secure with an elastic band. Wrap the ponytail around the base as if you were making a snails shell. Lock everything in place with a few bobby pins and then pull some strands out from the bun as well as around the front of your hairline. Embrace those wisps we all try so hard to hide!

The Power Bun

I am a very recent advocate of the slicked dominatrix bun. I always thought it would make my face look shapeless like a potato or that it would feel too reminiscent of my aforementioned hardcore ballerina days. But alas the slicked bun is as powerful a tool as red lipstick. With a little water, a brush, and some rock-solid hairspray this is a speedy way to look put together on even your most hungover of days. It’s also the kind of bun you might want to wear to a shindig that results in a next-day hangover. To achieve it, slick your hair back in a low ponytail at the base of your neck. Twist that horse’s tail into a snail shell and secure with bobby pins and hairspray.

Voila! Au revoir!