Dear Home-Ec 101,
Home Ec 101 is awesome. I am deficient in all things home ec-y. For example, I never learned how to put my hair in a proper bun. Oh, and how am I supposed to figure out where the heck to go for a haircut in a new town?
Signed,
Bunless in Beantown
Ivy says:
I wish my hair was still long enough to show you how I put a bun up on myself, but I shaved my head in solidarity with my friend Robin who had cancer. My hair is growing back quite nicely, but it’s nowhere near long enough for a bun.
So, I’ve used my daughter as the model for how to make a bun. Her hair is beautiful in color, but entirely unruly, so excuse any stray hair. Since today was a spectacularly beautiful day, and I’ve used most of today to convalesce from the great tooth debacle, we went outside to do her hair.
Start by putting a hair thingy on the wrist of your off hand. This is especially important if you’re doing your own hair, because you’re not going to want to have to stop and pick up your hair thingy in the middle of the bun-making.
Gather all the hair in one hand as if you are making a ponytail. 
At the base of the ponytail, half-twist the hair and stick the finger of your off hand in the middle, right under the half-twist.
Use your dominant hand to twist the hair around your finger.
Use your off hand to tuck any flyaways and the edges of your hair underneath the twist. Use your dominant hand to tuck the ends of your hand on the underneath side of the bun. You can, if your hair is prone to not staying where you put it, use bobby pins or some hairspray to make it stay put.
Pull your finger out of the middle of the bun –carefully– and use your off hand to grip the bun to hold it in place. This is where you’ll be glad you put that hair thingy on the wrist of your off hand. Now all you have to do is pull that hair thingy over your wrist.
Put on the hair thingy. You’ll want to put it over where all your flyaways and edges are, this holds them in and makes them stay put. Twist the hair thingy as many times as necessary to it feels secure, but not overly tight. 
And voila! You have a lovely bun.
Now, for finding a good salon in a new town, this is easy. When you meet a woman with fabulous hair, ask her where she gets her hair done. I’ve been known to stop women in Target and ask them. People are always flattered when you tell them they have fab hair and almost always will give up their secret.
Caveat: Don’t ask women who drive Cadillacs or BMWs where they get their hair done. Their answer will be something like, “Oh, you simply must see Raul at Chez Expensive!” and they’ll pronounce “Expensive” like “eh-SPEN-see-vay”. But “eh-SPEN-see-vay” still means ridiculously expensive.
Happy bunning!