Photo: Jupiter Images

I’m a big fan of the messy bun. It’s my savior. No matter how carefully I style my longish hair, by the end of the day I just need to get it up, up and away. I’ve perfected my wrapping technique (pull hair into a would-be ponytail—low or high—make a loop and wrap the band around twice leaving the ends askew). Still, sometimes the knot looks a little limp. So, I when a friend suggested working a bit of mousse into my hair before twisting it up, I thought, “Why not?” Wow, what a difference a little bit of thickening foam (my current pick is Paul Mitchell Extra-Body Sculpting Foam) can make! Now, my chignon has just the right amount of fullness and, with a little aerosol hairspray spritzed on post style, it stays that way all night (and, occasionally, all day!) long.