22 Slick Back Hairstyles with Buns Ponytails and Refined Updos

Slick back styling pushes all the hair away from the face for a bold refined finish that has taken over both street style and red carpet events over the last few years. The look works because it flatters the entire face by putting the focus on features rather than framing. The best slick back variations play with the length behind the face: a bun, a ponytail, a chignon, or the hair worn down but pushed back from the front. The variations here span every combination from low bun to high ponytail plus gelled wet-look and braided options.

Classic Slick Back Bun

A classic slick back bun pulls all the hair smooth against the head from front to back and secures it into a small tight bun at the nape or crown. The style has become a red carpet standard for its combination of refined statement and clean visible geometry. Best with strong-hold gel and a fine-tooth comb applied section by section. Great option for dressy formal events and everyday refined styling.

Slick Back Low Ponytail

A slick back low ponytail pulls the hair fully back from the face and secures it into a smooth ponytail at the nape of the neck. The low placement gives a refined dressy finish while the visible pulled-back styling adds bold modern edge. Best with strong-hold gel and a smoothing brush to keep every strand against the scalp. Great option for professional settings and formal events requiring refined pulled-back styling.

Slick Back High Ponytail

A slick back high ponytail pulls the hair fully back from the face and secures it into a smooth ponytail at the crown or high back of the head. The high placement adds visible height and elongates the neck through the pulled-up styling for maximum statement finish. Best with strong-hold gel and smoothing brush. Great option for women wanting bold visible statement styling with dramatic length swing and pulled-back refined finish.

Slick Back Pixie

A slick back pixie styles the short pixie cut with hair pushed back from the face with strong-hold gel for a refined finish. Best on straight fine to medium pixie hair with pomade or gel applied throughout for hold. The style pulls the pixie into a refined pushed-back look rather than the tousled textural finish that many pixies default to. Great option for women wanting the short pixie styled refined for dressy occasions.

Slick Back Bob

A slick back bob styles a chin-length or slightly longer bob with the hair pushed back from the face with gel and hair worn tucked behind the ears. Best on straight bob hair with enough weight to hold sleek against the scalp. Great option for women wanting bob length combined with visible bold modern statement styling through the pushed-back gelled finish for professional or event styling.

Slick Back Long Hair

Slick back long hair styles length past the shoulders with the front pushed smooth back from the face with gel and the length hanging down. The style keeps hair off the face without pulling it fully up into a bun or ponytail. Best with strong-hold gel or slicking pomade applied to the front sections only. Great option for women wanting length worn down combined with visible pushed-back refined styling at the front.

Slick Back Low Bun

A slick back low bun pulls the hair fully back from the face and secures it into a small tight bun at the nape of the neck. The low placement gives a refined dressy finish that works for weddings, formal events, and professional settings. Best with strong-hold gel and fine-tooth comb applied section by section. Great option for women wanting refined pulled-back styling with visible modern statement edge for formal occasions.

Slick Back High Bun

A slick back high bun pulls the hair fully back from the face and secures it into a bun at the crown or high back of the head. The high placement adds visible height and elongates the neck through the styling. Best with strong-hold gel and fine-tooth comb applied section by section. Great option for women wanting refined statement updo with visible height and bold modern styling for professional or event styling.

Slick Back Top Knot

A slick back top knot pulls the hair fully back from the face and secures it into a knotted bun at the very top of the head. The top knot placement sits higher than a high bun for maximum vertical statement styling. Best with strong-hold gel and fine-tooth comb applied throughout. Great option for women wanting the tallest possible pulled-up statement styling with visible bold modern edge and refined pulled-back finish.

Slick Back Chignon

A slick back chignon creates a smooth low knot at the nape of the neck that sits flatter and wider than a traditional bun, with all hair pulled fully back from the face. The chignon has been a classic red carpet standard for decades because of its refined dressy appearance. Best installed by a stylist for major events. Great option for the most refined pulled-back statement styling for weddings and formal events.

Slick Back Space Buns

Slick back space buns pull all hair fully back from the face and secure two small refined buns on either side of the head at the crown with smooth pulled-back styling connecting them. The style combines refined slicked finish with playful bun placement for a modern statement look. Best on medium to long hair. Great option for women wanting refined slicked styling with visible playful personality and bold modern edge.

Slick Back Braided Bun

A slick back braided bun pulls the hair fully back from the face, braids the length, and coils the braid into a bun at the crown or nape. The technique combines the refined slick back styling with visible braided textural interest. Best on medium to long hair. Great option for women wanting refined slicked styling with visible modern textural detail through the braided technique combined with pulled-back statement finish for events.

Slick Back Middle Ponytail

A slick back middle ponytail pulls the hair fully back from the face and secures it into a ponytail at the middle back of the head, sitting between low and high placement. The middle placement gives a wearable everyday styling that works for both casual and dressy settings. Best with strong-hold gel and a smoothing brush. Great option for women wanting pulled-back everyday styling with visible refined modern finish through the middle placement.

Slick Back Bubble Ponytail

A slick back bubble ponytail pulls the hair fully back from the face into a ponytail and places small clear elastics at intervals down the length to create bubble-shaped sections. The bubble effect adds visible structural interest to standard slicked ponytail styling. Best on medium to long hair with enough length for multiple bubbles. Great option for women wanting refined slicked statement styling with visible modern structural interest through the bubble technique.

Slick Back Ponytail with Wrap

A slick back ponytail with wrap creates a slicked low or high ponytail and then wraps a small section of hair around the base to hide the elastic for a refined seamless finish. The wrap technique upgrades a basic slicked ponytail into event-worthy styling. Best on medium to long hair. Great option for women wanting a refined event-ready slicked ponytail with visible hidden-elastic technique that looks like thoughtful salon-style finish.

Slick Back Half-Up Ponytail

A slick back half-up ponytail pulls just the top sections fully back from the face and secures them into a small ponytail at the crown while letting the bottom half hang naturally. The style combines the refined slicked pulled-back styling with visible flowing length below. Best with strong-hold gel on the top sections. Great option for women wanting the slick back statement styling with visible length remaining loose through the bottom.

Wet Look Slick Back

A wet look slick back applies strong-hold gel liberally throughout the hair for maximum visibly-wet finish while pulling all hair fully back from the face. The style creates the strongest possible bold statement look with visible modern editorial personality. Best applied on damp hair with a strong-hold gel like Eco Styler. Great option for editorial event styling or bold everyday statement looks with visible extreme modern personality through the exaggerated wet look.

Gelled Slick Back with Baby Hairs

A gelled slick back with baby hairs pulls the length fully back from the face and lays the baby hairs at the front hairline in decorative swirled patterns with edge control gel. The baby hair styling adds visible textural detail to the standard slick back look. Great option for Black women wanting culturally rooted slicked styling with visible decorative baby hair edge control detail combined with the pulled-back statement finish.

Slick Back with Curtain Bangs

A slick back with curtain bangs pushes the length of the hair fully back from the face while the curtain bangs remain framing the face at the front. The technique combines the refined pulled-back statement styling with soft feminine fringe softening at the very front. Best on hair with existing curtain bangs. Great option for women wanting slick back statement styling without giving up their curtain bangs fringe framing feature.

Slick Back Braided Style

A slick back braided style pulls the hair fully back from the face and braids the length into a single visible braid down the back or a French braid pattern. The technique combines the refined slick back styling with visible braided textural interest through the length. Best on medium to long hair. Great option for women wanting refined slicked styling with visible braided detail through the pulled-back statement styling finish.

Slick Back with Twists

A slick back with twists pulls the hair fully back from the face and separates the length into visible twisted rope-style sections rather than a smooth blank pulled-back finish. The visible twists add textural interest to the standard slick back styling. Best on medium to long hair. Great option for women wanting refined slicked styling with visible modern textural detail through the twisted technique combined with pulled-back statement finish.

Slick Back Half-Up

A slick back half-up pulls just the top sections fully back from the face and secures them at the crown while letting the bottom half hang naturally. The style combines refined slicked pulled-back styling at the top with visible flowing loose length below. Best with strong-hold gel on the top sections and softer product on the bottom half. Great option for women wanting slick back statement styling combined with visible length flowing loose.