As someone with very long hair that I guard carefully from "unfriendly" hair accessories I totally know what you are talking about. The type of closure you are talking about is known as a "pinch clip". This is because you use your fingers to lightly pinch the sides together to get the clip to snap into place.
These types of barrettes may or may not be OK for hair. It depends on a variety of factors. Generally speaking the cheaper the hair accessory the higher the risk. When barrettes have a metal clip that is 14K gold plated the metal will be softer and better made and thus there will be less risk for snagging, ripping, pulling or tearing hair. High quality French made hair accessories have the 14K gold plated or the softer metal plating.
Chinese metal can sometimes (but not always) be sometimes rough on the edges or at the corners the metal might be rough and thus pull or tug hair. I personally like some hair accessories imported from China but do find a higher percentage of "risky" metal clips that are Chinese made. At HairBoutique.com we carry hair accessories that range from 100% made in the USA to accessories from France, Hong Kong, China, Korea, Sinapore and many other countries. We go out of our way to avoid buying clips that might be hair unfriendly and are usually successful although it is ultimately up to the wearer to check closely for rough spots before they put the clip in their hair.
Karina uses a combination of the French and the Chinese metal clips but so far they have done a very good job of selecting good clilps. Smoothies, Camilla and Evita Peroni also use a variety of clips but are also very careful as far as I have personally seen over the years.
I find as a general rule that French hair clips are the safest overall for hair health and that a lot of the Korean hair clps are good. Where I find that the Chinese do a wonderful job with head wraps, textiles and flowers, I am less comfortable at times with some of their metal work. Of course there are exceptions to every case but that is what I have found over the past 10 years of shopping for hair accessories around the world.
If you want to use a barrette for decorative purposes only, their is a type of barrette that does not use the pinch clip closure but uses a migali clip which looks more like a paperclip. When used for small amounts of hair, they are great and very "hair friendly". Where the danger comes in is if you try to use too much hair and then hair can get caught and thus might rip or tear.
Ultimately the key factor in protecting your hair is to look at the clip closely. Even hair sticks can snag hair if they have rough spots. Many people (myself included) will even use a file to remove rough spots on hair accessories. I once spent a lot of money on hand crafted hair sticks with gorgeous semi-precious stone toppers. There were a few rough spots on the edges of the sticks and I filed them safely and carefully down.
Other "hair friendly" items for holding hair back include:
1. Hair slides. Look for the type that have a smooth stick and a smooth cover with smooth entry holes for the stick.
2. Smooth pony wraps made of smooth metal, enamel or faux or real leather.
3. Jaws & claws that have smooth edges. The cellulose and/or faux tortoise clips are good.
4. Headbands and headwraps are very hair friendly unless they have beads or other decorations that can snag or rip strands.
5. Hair combs. They come in all sizes and shapes that range from metal (not as friendly for hair) to cellulose, plastic or faux tortoise. Not only will that functionally help to hold back your hair - they will look pretty. Combs are always in fashion.
6. Salon clips also known in the trade as banana, concorde, condor or other manufacturer designated names. I personally love these clips. Many are made of metal but as long as the edges are smooth they work beautifully. I have them in every color.
I am sure there are other hair accessories that are "hair friendly" that I am forgetting at the moment but the key is to just check for snags or rough spots and use common consideration for your hair.
Hope that helps.
Edited by Karen Shelton - June 20 2006 at 10:18am
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
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I like to use the wider barrettes at the back of my neck to hold a ponytail. I'll try to describe the clasp, it's metal and to clasp it shut, you just literally push the little metal bar in. To release, you squeeze the two little tabs surrounding the metal bar, and the bar pops open. Do you know what I mean? Even if you don't use them, I think most people would at least be familiar with them.
My question is, do those type of barrettes hurt the hair? I try to make sure that no hair is caught in the bar when I close it. And, I make sure the barrette is the right size. Too big would fall out, of course, but I also don't try to uncomfortably stuff the hair in a too-small barrette either.
My hair isn't long enough to use sticks in it (it's just barely below the shoulders), so I'm just looking for things to secure my hair that won't hurt it. I have scrunchies, but I'm looking for non-scrunchy type of barrettes and things for the hair. Thanks!
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