Sleek bun without the crunch? Discover the hair hack you've been missing
This shower staple has been moonlighting as a styling product for 'treatment buns'.
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Whether it’s fashion week, a boardroom meeting, or brunch, the sleek bun has become the go-to hairstyle for looking like you have your life together (even when you're spiralling on the inside). It’s polished. It’s powerful. It’s “expensive-looking” hair at its best. But, let’s be honest: we’ve all tried to slick our hair into a sleek bun, only to end up with a crunchy mess that itches by lunchtime.
Most people, including myself, believed that you either need a full-time hairstylist or a cocktail of styling products (gel, wax, spray, a mascara wand for your edges, a prayer) to pull it off. Personally? I’ve never loved the idea of shellacking my hair to my scalp. Especially not with sticky gel that leaves residue, buildup, and the feeling that your head needs a double cleanse by sunset.
What changed everything for me was what is now known as the ‘treatment bun’—a version of the sleek bun that doesn’t rely on heavy-duty styling products at all. Instead, it starts with something you probably already have: a good hair mask.
Yes, really.
The problem with the gel bun (a.k.a. Why your scalp is crying)
Here’s the thing about gels and waxes: they work, until they don’t. They’ll give you that glassy, pulled-tight finish… for a few hours. But most of them also come with alcohol, synthetic polymers, or other ingredients that sit on your scalp like cling film. You might get hold, but you also get build-up; and in Indian weather (read: humidity, dust, pollution, sweat), that turns into itchiness, greasiness, flaking, or even scalp congestion.
At some point, the sleek bun stops feeling clean and starts to feel like a trap.
That’s where the treatment bun comes in.
The hair hack no one told you about
The treatment bun might not have been on everyone’s radar at first, but after Sofia Richie Grainge casually dropped her sleek bun routine—where she swaps gel for a nourishing hair mask—the term started popping up everywhere. It felt like a lightbulb moment, one that many beauty creators (like Danielle Marcan) and beauty journalists, including myself, had independently stumbled upon. We’d all been looking for a better way to do a sleek bun without the gel-induced discomfort, and somehow, we all found solace in the humble hair mask.
Why a hair mask?
The texture just works. The rich cream coats the hair with pampering ingredients, making it smooth and ultra-shiny. Anyone who’s used a hair mask knows how luxuriously enveloped your hair feels after application; it’s the kind of gloss you can’t fake. It didn’t take long for a few beauty aficionados to dare to style their buns with the mask, and boom—a new take on the classic sleek bun was born. The result is polished, nourished hair that looks as good as it feels.
The treatment bun: Use your hair mask as a styling product
One day, somewhere between lazy and curious, I slathered on my favourite hair mask and twisted my hair into a neat bun before heading out to run errands. I grabbed a brush to smooth it all down, and what happened next felt almost too easy.
My hair was sleek, shiny, cooperative. No flyaways. No fuss. It looked every bit as glossy as my usual gel buns, minus the crunch, minus the weight, and absolutely minus the itchy scalp. Since I’d planned to wash my hair later anyway, the mask became the star of the day: a treatment, a style, and a shortcut all in one. It even halved my shower time.
Turns out, a good ol’ hair mask gives you all the shine and soft hold you need to nail that coveted sleek hairstyle. Your strands lie flatter, reflect light better, and stay put with almost zero effort. No crispiness. No buildup. No guilt.
This isn’t just a styling shortcut. It’s haircare in disguise.
The secret weapon: A boar-bristle brush
If the mask is your styling product, the brush is your sculpting tool. And the real MVP? A boar-bristle brush, especially one with backcombing density.
It smoothens, it tames, and unlike plastic brushes or combs, it redistributes your natural oils down the hair shaft instead of yanking or frizzing. The densely packed bristles give your bun a sleeker finish, while evenly spreading hair to hide any tell-tale scalp peaks.
No serums. No wax sticks. Just soft, glossy sheen. Your scalp? Still breathing.
Style and treatment; not one or the other
What I love the most about the treatment bun is that it doesn’t ask you to sacrifice comfort for aesthetics. You’re not choosing between looking sleek and feeling gross by 5:00 pm. It’s styling that starts with care and ends with even more care.
And the best part? It’s so low-effort. There’s no product layering. No heat. No regrets. Just a hair mask, a brush, and a technique that treats your hair with respect.
This is the kind of thing you do once and then wonder why you ever accepted the alternative.
Gather your essentials
Here’s a product-focused step-by-step guide on how to easily ace the treatment bun in all its shiny, nourishing glory.
Serum to detangle
Warm up an oil-based hair serum in the palm of your hands and apply it to your strands to detangle. Run your fingers through your hair to gently remove knots.
Moroccanoil Treatment Hair Oil, ₹4,320
Water spray to prep
Once detangled, spray your hair with water to prep it for the next step.
Pattern Beauty By Tracee Ellis Ross Juicy & Joyful Continuous Mist Spray Bottle, ₹4,478
Hair mask for styling
Work a generous amount of hair mask on the lengths of your hair and comb with your fingers or a wet comb to spread it evenly. Choose a hair mask that can be used on the scalp as well if you want to invite your roots to the party.
Kérastase Specifique Masque Hydra Apaisant Mask, ₹3,850
A boar bristle brush to lock it all in
Twist your hair up into a bun and secure it with a clip or hairband. Then, gently use a boar bristle brush to ensure your hair is sitting flat with no flyaways. Use the brush to style your edges as well. And you’re done.
Oribe Italian Resin Flat Brush ₹12,990
The sleek bun is no longer some exclusive club that only people with stylists or TikTok tutorials get to join. And the treatment bun version is the kindest, cleanest way to do it. You don’t need to pick between a good hair day and a happy scalp anymore.
So the next time your hair is unruly, your schedule is tight, and you’re tempted to slick it all back with whatever’s on hand—pause. Reach for your hair mask. Trust your brush. And give yourself the kind of bun that looks like effort, but actually feels like ease. Because honestly, that’s what the best beauty hacks are about: doing less, but better.
Lead image: Getty
Also read: So you got a bad bob. Now what?
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