What Is a Banana Bun and Why Should You Care?

Parisophiles, rejoice: we have a new item to add to the long list of French-girls-are-doing-it-so-it-must-be-cool trends (see: chignons, Breton stripes, bedhead, ankle boots, pendant necklaces, earth-toned eyeshadow, smokey eyes, smoking, micellar water, mantels, unwashed hair, tardiness, aging, not aging). The so-dubbed “banana bun” has been making its rounds on Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram as of late, hailed as the newest French export to take hold of the beauty world—and, at the same time, falling into the equally cringe-worthy category of “lazy girl” hairdos.

Our national fetishization of all things Parisian cisgendered female aside, most of us can get behind the idea of a time-saving beauty technique (we’ll just have to look past Guido Palau’s assertion that that “done hair” is back in style). The fruity-sounding ‘do is achievable in a few simple maneuvers: divide your hair into three sections, tie the middle section into a low pony, wrap one side overtop and the other underneath, twist it all together and tuck in the ends with a few bobby pins. And voilà! (Sorry.) Hair done for the day. The added bonus: it’ll look even better after skipping a few washes.

It’s basically a cross between a chignon and a French twist, and happens to work just as well with a gown (à la Jessica Biel at the 2017 Oscars) as it does for Sunday brunch. So, where does the banana fit in? Could it be the bun’s elongated shape? Or its side-leaning slant? What the stylist who coined the term happened to be eating at that particular moment? A mystery it will remain. Let’s just agree to leave France out of the equation and file it under the more palatable (but far less catchy) category of women-who-have-more-important-things-to-do trends instead.

Get the look with these spritzes, sprays, pastes and pomades.