The Vine: September 26, 2008
Hi Sars,
I like to pin my bangs back away from my face, but I am having trouble finding barrettes that work for my hair. It is stick-straight, fine and thin so only a very small barrette (about one inch long) holds well.
Bobby pins, combs, snap clips and wire-twist clasps slide down and fall out; anything with a claw-like closure sticks out from my head too much and it looks like I have little alien ears.
This style of closure stays in place, but the example here is way too big to not fall out of my hair.
I used to have tiny ones of this shape but haven’t seen them in stores for years.
Do you or your readers have any sources or ideas?
Thanks,
Windblown Girl
Dear Wind,
The Goody Classic Barrette with Stay-Put Hold does come in teeny versions; it’s a matter of finding them (I like the tiny little Contour Clips best, but most drugstores only carry the big ones).I always find a big haul of them at flea markets, but failing that, let’s see if the readers know a spot that sells them for sure.
Readers, if you know anyplace online that sells the barrettes with the pinch clasp, but the small version, post it here (I checked drugstore.com and cvs.com, no joy).Some Etsy craftsfolk might use them as barrette bases, so you could post those links too.
Tags: Ask The Readers Goody health and beauty
I have the same problem. My hair is so fine and thin that pretty much nothing (save about ten pounds of strategically applied hair product, applied only by a very expensive stylist I can’t afford) holds it in place.
I haven’t found any really great barrettes, but I love my headbands, and you can pick some fun ones… apparently they’re back in style. :)
This is kind of a strange suggestion, but you might try Target, Babies R Us, or other places where they sell baby hair accessories. They have several varieties of teeny tiny barrettes of the kind I think you want. The biggest problem is the often cracked out colors they come in, but I’ve had a bit of luck finding fairly plain, neutral ones for my daughter if I’m patient and look EVERYWHERE. Not exactly one-stop shopping, but if all else fails, you might have a bit of luck.
I have the same problem – my hair is so fine & flyaway that it works its way out of barrettes, so I can only use contour clips.
I’m with RJ, though – I use headbands a lot, and I love the Goody Stay Put and No Slide ones. They have so many widths, colours, styles, etc. that you can find something to suit any wardrobe choice or activity. Added bonus – they don’t have teeth, so they don’t get caught in sweaters :)
@Patricia – that’s what I was going to say. My daughter is 2, with fine hair, and I get her hairclips (they bend to open, and snap closed) at Target. Goody brand. We buy the colors but they have black and brown, too.
I was going to suggest the baby ones too. I found some very cute Goody ones for my little girl that were in nice shades of brown, beige and light purple. I found them at Target in the hair care aisle, but not in the baby section. They look just like the ones Sars linked too, but they were very small, probably about 3/4″ to 1″ in size.
Going along with Patricia: baby no-slip clips are probably your answer. These (http://www.hairclippy.com/) are probably a bit too twee for your purposes, but they stayed in my daughter’s hair when she had very, very little of it and it was fine and downy. The flowers are pretty cute.
I actually *just* bought a package of these made by Scunci, from the grocery store. It is random, but worth checking out the hair care aisle in your store.
Depending on how you feel about buying hair accessories on eBay:
http://tinyurl.com/4tjj7r
I second what Patricia says. I believe that Rite-Aid also carries teeny hair accessories. As it happens, I, too, have thin, fine hair, which is the stick-straightiest of all the stickstraight hair you will ever find. It has been my experience that if you give the hair that is being pulled back into place a good solid zetz of hairspray, so that the hair becomes slightly sticky, the now-sticky stickstraight hair gives the hair accessories a better “bite” when they grab on and try to hold those evasive little locks. I have also found that if I wrap the grip bar of one of the standard barrettes with a hair elastic (or two), it provides a better grip on the hair, and it also helps keep the edges of the grip bar from chewing right through that thin, fine, delicate hair.
Yes, I have had lots of experience trying to control fine, thin, stickstraight hair. Why people with gorgeous wavy or curly locks have brutalized their hair for the last several years in order to end up stickstraight hair, I will never know. All that money, time, and energy, and for what? For straight hair? Gaaaah. I will never, ever understand why. And for my curly-haired sisters out there who watch makeover programs in which the vict – that is, participant – finishes up with having her curly hair straightened as part of the “improvement”, I feel your bitterness. You keep your lovely, curly hair curly! Treat it well, and know that at least this straight-haired woman still envies you.
I have the exact same hair – super-thin, flyaway, held back by nothing. The best solution I’ve found is mini claw clips – they lift your hair a little bit rather than fastening it flat against your skull, but they hold very well. Depending on how long your bangs are, they could work pretty well for you. Goody and Scunci both make versions, so your local drugstore should have them.
When I was in college about 9 years ago, clips like this were all the rage. I recently re-found a bunch of mine and started wearing them again and they’re pretty much the best claw clips ever. They work like a charm as long as you don’t mind having plastic butterflies in your hair.
My fine-haired sisters, let me embrace you! and LaBella, I never thought I’d actually meet my spiritual and hirsutian twin, but–hi! Your hair and mine should have a throwdown–a thin, straight throwdown. And those ungrateful curly-haired beyatches have to sweep up.
Headbands are the way to go, I’ve found, and I also like very fine, thin scarves that can be tied like a headband. I also recommend, if you live in an urban center, trying to find a hairdressing school or training center. Ask if they have anyone who’s particularly talented or focused on working with your hair type. A good haircut makes a world o’ difference with straight locks.
My hair is fine but not (entirely) straight. I use bobby pins, but I lock them in place by putting in two and crossing them in an X. It works best with the bobby pins that are wavy on one side.
@Wind: I went to pick up a prescription at my pharmacy, and there they were, staring me in the face: a whole rack of teeny tiny barrettes, under the name of “Smoothies”, and you can go look at them at http://www.smoothiesbyintuition.com.
Try Kidsnips, Snippets, or another one of those places that does haircuts for little kids! They have a wide selection of barrettes ranging from teeny infant barrettes to bigger sizes for grade-schoolers.
I don’t have barrette suggestions, as I don’t use them, but I braid hair professionally, including for many people who say, “Oh, my hair is way too fine and would never hold a braid!” The secret: Aloe Vera clear gel. You can dab it on directly, or (as I do), mix it about 50/50 with water and spray it on lightly. It will make even superfine hair slightly moist and sticky, just enough to manipulate it a little easier. As it dries, it will not flake, look crusty, or do any damage to the hair.
Back combing is your friend. Not so much that you get giant frizz head or that you destroy your hair or anything. If you have really fine hair, you want to give your hair texture so the clips or bobby pins have something to grab onto. It will also stay in place longer if you haven’t washed your hair in a day or two.
Back comb the hair. Put the barrettes in. Smooth out the hair a bit so you don’t have that horrifying 80s Final Net do.
Just saw some at the Family Dollar Store in the Baby section – they were plaid!
I have the same hair type as you; I have so many Goody No-Slip headbands it’s crazy, but they’re great, and really stay. Any other kind of headband or wrap means I have to use bobby pins. I’ve had some luck with the clips that I think are made by Goody, but might be Scunci, that have rubber over the part of the clip that goes under your hair, if that makes sense. Those stay really well.
Sorry I’m not making sense. Sleep deprivation, yay.
Heh…I just let it grow out and put it behind my ears. I gave up on barrettes and the like years ago.
You can get plain clips like that from Hobby Lobby (or probably any other craft store) in various sizes. Just got some yesterday to make hair bows for my daughter. I think I paid $2 for a pack of 10.
What funtime42 says: definitely hit the dollar stores. Skip the name-brand chains and go for the local low price wonder-shop. I’m thinking of one that reliably has fun and super-cheap hair goodies, and the baby aisle would probably have even more things suitable for baby-fine hair.
The only caveat is that “cheap” sometimes runs to the side of “cheap and nasty” so try one pack first, before buying out the aisle.
Also you may want to hit the bead supply websites, they often have “blank” clips for jewelry-making purposes, like Casey said. Glue on a pretty bit of something that suits your style, and you are set.
Thanks to everybody for the tips, I (Windblown Girl) now have some new places to go shopping for barrettes.
The Goody/Scunci contour snap-clips – Been trying to get those to work for me, but some of the hair always falls out of the pointed end of the clip.
Haven’t tried a headband since early in the Clinton administration, but I could give that another shot.
I am a big fan of backcombing the bangs, also of sticky hairspray, this works great for the workday but not so much when backpacking or out on a sailboat.
La BellaDonna: I really like the “Smoothies” selection, will try some of those first.
Andrea, the aloe gel spray that Barbara mentioned will last through almost anything short of a full-out drenching. I’ve had my long, thin, hair braided like that twice; both times the braider used watered-down aloe gel as a dampening agent; and both times, the braiding held tight for seven-to-ten days of primitive camping without getting loose or gross.
Same problem here, and my trick is to twist my bangs around my finger (nothing fancy, just the classic “you’re crazy” finger twirl) so they form a bit of a rope and give the barrette a good chunk of hair to grab.
I have no assistance on the barrette front, but LaBellaDonna struck a chord.
I waited my whole life for stickstraight hair to come into style, and after years and years of perms “for body” that either stayed two weeks or left me Garfunkel-esque, it finally did. So what happens? About six month before the styles changed, my hair went natrually, but only very slightly, wavy.
HOW IS THAT FAIR?