The messy updo has moved past its just-rolled-out-of-bed reputation. Today’s version is built with intention: soft face-framing layers, curtain bangs, and lived-in color that lets the style hold its own without looking stiff or overworked.
This collection of 18 Trendy Messy Updo styles covers everything from high, voluminous buns to low, twisted knots, suited to fine, thick, curly, or straight textures. If your hair tends to fall flat by midday, or your fringe refuses to cooperate, these are the styles that actually stay put and still look like you meant it.
High Voluminous Messy Updo With Face-Framing Pieces
A high voluminous messy updo relies on deliberate height and controlled chaos, with a middle parting and soft face-framing pieces keeping it from looking severe. This construction genuinely flatters thick, wavy hair of at least shoulder length; the volume at the crown balances longer faces, while the middle part suits oval and heart shapes. Ask your stylist for: high voluminous messy updo with face-framing pieces. A teasing brush builds the crown height before the hair is pinned, and a texturizing spray gives the hold needed to keep the structure from deflating.
Dark Blonde Messy Bun With Loose Textured Curls
A messy bun with loose textured curls sits in contrast to a sleek, polished updo. This version leans into the undone quality. The dark blonde base with subtle highlights adds depth that reads clearly through the wavy, thick texture. Ask your stylist for: messy bun with loose textured curls and wispy bangs. Long layers help the pulled-out strands fall naturally.
Wispy bangs and face-framing curls stay polished without flattening the bun’s texture. The shape holds best on second-day hair, which has enough grip to keep the pins in place.
Textured Wavy Side Bun With Face-Framing Pieces
A textured wavy side bun shifts the visual weight to one side, making it a practical choice for round and square face shapes that benefit from asymmetry. The side parting and face-framing pieces soften the jawline without requiring full bangs. Ask your stylist for: textured side bun with face-framing pieces. The technique involves sectioning the hair, creating loose waves with a curling iron, then twisting the bulk into a low side bun and leaving out the front strands. A texturizing spray applied before pinning gives the waves enough grip to hold the shape, and the bun stays secure for an evening event.
Fiery Red Wavy Messy Updo With Layers
Is a fiery red messy updo worth the maintenance for a single season? The answer depends on how much you want the color to do the work. This shade lands best in autumn and winter, when deep reds feel natural. The thick, wavy texture and long layers create the volume and movement needed for the updo to look deliberate and not collapsed.
Ask your stylist for: messy updo with textured layers in fiery red. The layers prevent the updo from becoming a heavy, shapeless mass, and the color adds contrast against dark coats and holiday fabrics. A color-safe shampoo and cooler water temperature extend the vibrancy between salon visits, which typically run every six to eight weeks for red shades.
High Messy Updo With Textured Strands
A high messy updo with abundant texture and loose face-framing pieces depends on the contrast between the smooth crown and the deliberately pulled strands. The back view shows how the blonde highlights catch the light differently on the twisted sections versus the free pieces. Ask your stylist for: high messy updo with abundant texture and loose face-framing pieces. Gentle backcombing at the crown before pinning creates the volume, and a light texturizing spray on the finished style keeps the strands from slipping out of place over a long evening.
Dark Brown Updo With Blonde Highlights
The design relies on contrast: a dark brown base with blonde highlights woven through a textured bun and loose curls. This works best on thick, wavy hair that reaches mid-back, since fine hair tends to swallow the highlights in an updo. Ask your stylist for: messy updo with a textured bun and face-framing curls. The face-framing pieces also help soften a square or round face.
Upkeep is the catch. A curling wand creates the loose tendrils before you build the bun, and a flexible-hold hairspray keeps everything in place without stiffness. Those blonde highlights will need a toning appointment every six to eight weeks to stay cool against the brown, and the dark base can show root regrowth faster than all-over blonde. Plan for a salon visit before any evening event.
Ash Blonde Updo With Voluminous Curls
Can you replicate this voluminous ash blonde updo at home? Technically yes, but the common mistake is over-curling. Large, loose curls piled high need a 1.5-inch barrel and a light hand, not tight ringlets that look dated. Thick, wavy hair starting at mid-back holds the volume best; oval faces get the most from the height. Ask your stylist for: voluminous messy updo with large loose curls and face-framing tendrils. DIY attempts often skip the sectioning needed to keep the curls from collapsing into one heavy lump. A salon builds it piece by piece, which makes the difference between airy and weighed down.
Voluminous High Bun With Ash and Caramel Highlights
This high bun sits in the sweet spot between a sculpted ballerina style and a fully undone mess. Thick, wavy hair of mid-back length gives the twisted sections enough heft to hold their shape, and the ash and caramel highlights add dimension to each twist. Face-framing pieces stop the look from reading as severe. Ask your stylist for: voluminous twisted high bun with loose strands and face-framing pieces.
Who should pass? Anyone with fine or thin hair. The weight of the twisted sections and the height of the bun can pull at the scalp, and the structure tends to reveal sparse areas rather than hiding them. For thick hair, the drawback is time: getting the twists to land evenly without looking overworked takes about an hour in the chair. The style holds through dinner without constant pin-checking.
Warm Brown Updo With Blonde Balayage
The construction starts with texture. A texturizing spray is worked through warm brown hair with blonde balayage, then sections are loosely twisted and pinned to create a high bun that looks pulled together without being rigid. The tousled effect comes from leaving some strands out as you build, not from backcombing the whole thing. Thick, wavy hair at mid-back length provides the necessary grip. Ask your stylist for: high messy updo with tousled texture and face-framing pieces.
Upkeep is manageable. The balayage grows out softly, so you can stretch toning to every ten to twelve weeks. A flexible-hold hairspray locks the bun in place for an evening out, and the face-framing pieces can be touched up with a curling iron in two minutes. The one maintenance catch: the texture spray builds up, so a clarifying shampoo every two weeks keeps the warm brown from looking dull.
Blonde Messy Bun With Soft Curtain Bangs
The key detail here is the curtain bangs. A voluminous messy bun paired with soft curtain bangs needs the bangs cut to hit just below the cheekbone, with layers that blend into the hair. Collarbone-length, wavy hair gives the bun enough body to keep it from falling flat. Ask your stylist for: messy bun with soft curtain bangs. Curtain bangs soften round and heart faces, and the middle part keeps the look balanced. A round brush directs the bangs, and a trim every four to six weeks maintains the shape. The bun itself holds well with just a few bobby pins and a texturizing spray.
Thick Blonde Updo With Lighter Highlights
A large, textured bun built from thick, wavy blonde hair with lighter highlights uses a side part and loose face-framing curls to keep the volume from looking stiff. Thick textures hold shape well, but they also resist pinning, which makes this a salon-grade project unless you have a spare hour and a very patient attitude. Ask your stylist for: large messy updo with loose curls and face-framing pieces. Dry shampoo applied before you start gives the hair the grip it needs to stay put without constant readjustment. This finish typically lasts until you take the pins out, without sagging by the second glass of champagne.
Medium Brown Updo With Textured Crown
The most common mistake with a voluminous updo is making the crown too neat, which kills the whole messy premise. This medium brown style with blonde highlights works because the textured waves and loose face-framing pieces keep the height looking deliberate. Ask your stylist for: voluminous messy updo with textured waves and face-framing pieces. Tease the crown section lightly before gathering the hair, then secure and pull a few strands free. One real drawback: the volume can deflate in humidity, so a flexible-hold hairspray is essential if you need the shape to last through an evening event. The texture stays, but the height may need a touch-up.
Dark Brown Messy Updo With Loose Tendrils
A sleek updo can feel severe on softer features, while this dark brown version with a textured bun and loose, wavy tendrils offers the opposite effect. The tendrils frame the face and neck without requiring the precision of a blunt cut, making the style more forgiving for medium-density hair. Ask your stylist for: messy updo with a textured bun and loose face-framing tendrils. The tendrils need enough product to hold their shape and avoid collapsing into strays. The middle part and nape placement keep the silhouette balanced, so the undone finish looks relaxed but complete. This is the difference between looking like you tried and looking like you tried a little too hard.
Dark Brown Voluminous Updo With Face-Framing
For voluminous updos, the more layers you have, the more lift the bun gets without extra teasing. This dark brown, wavy, thick hair style uses face-framing pieces and a middle part to create a soft, romantic silhouette that suits most face shapes. Ask your stylist for: voluminous updo with face-framing pieces. Thick hair provides the natural heft needed for a bun that stays substantial, but it also benefits from a texturizing spray before styling to give the layers something to grip. The side view shows how the layers stack into a rounded shape, which works especially well for those with round or oval face shapes who want height without width at the sides.
Blonde Loose Updo With Subtle Lowlights
Where a tight updo signals a formal event, this loose, textured blonde style with brown lowlights lands somewhere between wedding guest and Sunday brunch. The soft waves and intentionally undone pieces create volume without the structure of a traditional bun, making it a natural fit for warmer weather when you want your hair off your neck without committing to a rigid shape. Ask your stylist for: loose textured updo with soft, undone styling. The lowlights add depth to the blonde base, so the pulled-out strands read as dimensional rather than flat. Gently tug at sections after pinning to achieve the relaxed finish, then set with a light hairspray to keep the shape from unraveling entirely by the end of the event.
Voluminous Curly Updo With Soft Tendrils
This is a voluminous, curly updo that relies on carefully sculpted curls arranged to look deliberate. Medium-density curly hair at mid-back length or longer has the weight needed to hold the shape; shorter hair tends to unravel. Ask your stylist for: voluminous curly updo with artfully arranged curls and face-framing tendrils. The curls are defined individually with a curling wand and a strong-hold hairspray, then pinned so the structure stays visible. A diffuser on low heat before styling preserves natural texture and reduces frizz at the crown.
Ash Blonde Messy Low Bun With Twists
A practical rule for a messy low bun with intricate twists: the grip comes from texture, not tension. Thick, wavy hair of mid-back length works best because the weight keeps the bun from slipping down the nape. Ask your stylist for: messy low bun with intricate twists and loose strands. A texturizing spray applied before twisting gives the sections something to hold onto, so the shape lasts through a full day without re-pinning.
The ash blonde base with visible highlights adds depth that keeps the twists from blending into one flat mass. A side parting breaks up the silhouette and creates asymmetry. This bun holds well on second-day hair, when natural oils add enough friction to keep the twists from loosening. A trim every ten to twelve weeks prevents split ends from fraying the twisted sections.
Dark Brown High Updo With Loose Curls
A high updo with loose curls and prominent face-framing pieces is a straightforward ask that delivers a lot of visual impact. Medium-density wavy hair at mid-back length or longer provides the volume needed to keep the updo from looking sparse. Ask your stylist for: high updo with loose curls and prominent face-framing pieces. The face-framing curls are the standout detail, so the rest of the updo should stay relatively smooth to avoid competing for attention.
The styling steps are simple. Curl the entire head with a medium-barrel curling iron, then gather the hair into a high ponytail and pin the length into a loose bun. Gently pull out the front sections and re-curl them so they fall in soft waves around the face. The subtle highlights in the dark brown base add dimension without creating obvious streaks. A middle part keeps the face-framing pieces symmetrical and balanced.
Final Thoughts
For fine or thin hair, backcomb at the crown or spritz on a texturizing spray before pinning, then keep the bun lower on the head so it doesn’t look top-heavy. Thick or curly hair can skip the extra volume and focus on securing the style with enough pins to last through the evening.
- Use a texturizing spray or dry shampoo to build grip before styling.
- Secure with ample bobby pins and a flexible-hold hairspray.
- Pull out face-framing pieces after the main style is set.
- Refresh by tousling with fingertips, skipping heat tools.
- Plan touch-ups every 4-6 weeks for layered cuts that support updos.
Embrace the beauty of imperfection in your next updo.
