This is a sticky wicket, Paper, as Brits might say. Recently, Susan has expressed an interest in hair adornments, so during a little day trip to the quaint town of Jim Thorpe, Pa. we visited an antique shop. Some of the clips were beautiful, and we were about to purchase several, when I noticed that the clasps were almost as sharp as alligator teeth. They would act as thinning shears. I don't think so! But, I'm still on the look-out for clips that are both attractive and harmless. Good luck, Bob
Thanks Bob. I know what you mean, I have some cute barrettes and clips, but there all sharp. I wore cute purple butterfly clip the other day and it ripped my hair when I took it out!
Check out my signature link for making hair toys hair safe. You can sew felt on a lot of items to make them harmless. Actually the ones with teeth can even be easier to modify by gluing a piece of yarn over the teeth (they hold the yarn well). The only hair implement I haven't had much luck with are barettes that are too thin to hold felt without it showing, or concord clips that don't have teeth (you can felt the bottom jaw, and that helps, but not much you can do about the top if it doesn't have teeth). Then anything that is plastic with scratchy seams, such as claw clips, you can just file off the seams. You can wear almost anything with these techniques.
Making metal barettes/concord clips hair safe, long hair style how to: http://alonghair.wordpress.com
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Checked out those web sites. Wow, they are expensive!
Thanks Susan, that info interesting and helpful.
After looking at all the hair jewelry, I think I'd like to buy a butterfly hair claw. My hair is just long enough now to wear it. Checking out e-bay now! Maybe I can get a good deal.
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When your hair gets long enough to twist wrap, look into hairsticks and/or wood hair claw. I have seen the hair claw called a chinese hair claw, hairpin, or comb. I got mine at a flea market that comes to town once a year, for $12. I love them both, and use them all the time. My hair claw is almost to short, though, I have to keep pushing it down during the day. I did not have this problem while my hair was shorter. Pros and cons of having long hair.
I was given the hair sticks, but I have seen some at walmart, and at claire's in the mall. a friend of mine used a hair claw while her hair was just above shoulder level, so it dosen't have to be really long.
Just some thoughts, I hope they were useful.
Alisa06
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Thanks Alisa. It's good to know I can buy hair sticks at walmart or claires. When my hair gets longer, I'll try them.
I just bought a butterfly hair claw and 2 barrettes from e-bay. $15 for all 3 including shipping and handling. Not a bad deal. I'll take pic's of them when I get them to show you. My hair is shoulder length now, I'm going to try to wear my hair in half ponytail with the butterfly claw. And, if the jewelry is sharp, I'm going to try Susans' tips.
I ebay. You can find a lot of hair-safe accessories for a better price.
Claires & Wal-Mart do not carry hair safe items in general. They may have changed, but most of Claire's hairsticks break easily. I would rather invest in something that will last and won't damage my hair
I have never bought one from there, only seen them. Thanks for the heads up. I have seen plastic ones at claire's, any thoughts on them? I have been thinking about getting a pair for my daughter, so she will leave mine alone. As it is, I can't find my hairclaw! I guess its just another testamony to the old phrase, "you get what you pay for".
The price tends to reflect the quality. Definitely avoid items that are made of plastic and seem like they're on the thin side. Thick, plastic items are a better choice, if they work with your hair. Trying it on in the store would be a good idea. I bet 100% of the plastic hairsticks at clairs and walmart (if they carry any) have seams. These should be filed down so the stick is smooth. That can't be done with painted sticks, unless you want to repaint them.
Items that are rough + break = waste of money (in my opinion)
I just read your post about wooden hair claws. Are they the same as pinch clips? I've never seen a wooden one! Sounds cool
I've bought several pairs of hairsticks from Claire's. I do file the seams before using them. My first pair did break, but I superglued them back together and filed the glued spots and they've worked perfectly ever since. I've had them almost 10 years. Their metal ones are pretty flimsy and bend easily. I have one metal pair from there. I just have to be extra careful with them.
Tiny clips work well for shorter hair too. You can get plastic or metal. Clip several around your bun or twist. They're much easier to work with than bobby pins.
I have a page on my site with all my favorite accessories.
I really don't know what it is "technically"called, as I got it from a flea market. She called them chinese hair claws. I have seen other accesories online that have the same name, so to clarify....it is made of wood ( you can get several types), is about 34 in wide at the top, and about 6-8 in long with fork like "claws". It is the coolest thing! I have had two over the past. BOth I puchased from the same lady. The first time, I got one that was dark brown, and very long. I lost that one. The next year, I went there on purpase to get another one. She was out of the super long ones, and my hair had just been cut, so I got one that was really dark almost purple, with a cute metal butterfly glues to the side that faces out. I have had that one for many years, although, it seams to have gone missing! I really need to get my daughter her own collection of hair "pretties". Her hair is almost to the middle of her back now.
I'll look for a site that has them, and post a link. I am sure there will be a vast price range, I got mine for around $12, but it was hand made, so I didn't mind.
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Tenderheaded.com has hair-friendly stuff, so does franceluxe.com (but pricey). HB carries FranceLuxe
Hi Amanda,
First...your hair looks amazing. I have been watching you grow it since the beginning and WOW you have done such a great job. What an inspiration you have been.
And in general....on this topic of "hair friendly" hair accessories......
As far as "hair friendly" hair accessories....I do all of the accessory buying for HB. We currently have over 55 designers/lines at the present time with 3 more signed last week (Tarino Tarantino is one of the more notable to be joining our collections).
Over the years I have found that as a rule that (as Amanda pointed out) the hand made French lines (Laurent Olivier, France Luxe, some Camilla, some Smoothies) have the smoothest edges and are most hair friendly for many items. Mei Fa also generally has silky smooth hair sticks. The designer for Mei Fa has very long hair (or used to anyway) and is very picky about quality of her haisticks.
I wear Mei Fa myself and own about 40 pair I have collected over the past 5 years since we started carrying the sticks. France Luxe and Laurent Olivier are also very high quality in general.
I have met the owner of Laurent Olivier who lives in France and he is very concerned about the quality of his pieces. The only way you can generally go wrong with FL or LO or similar hand made is IF and this is a big IF you get a claw or jaw that has a rough hinge. I have only seen a very few and these can usually be sanded down.
Unfortunately because the US Dollar it taking a hit right now, the French lines are even more expensive then before. France Luxe & Laurent Olivier are literally 100% hand made and thus they are finished with a silky smooth edge. This means the pieces are hand finished by artisans who are sitting there sanding. Which of course means more money.
Many lines like Karina, Scunchie, Smoothie, Goodie are made from molds where the hot plastic or similar materials are poured into the mold and then cooled into the desired shape. These may or may not have smooth edges.
Some of the lines sold by Claires or Sally Beauty or other big stores of the same ilk will contract with a Goodie or a Karina or a Scunchies (now owned by Conair) and will just slap their name on them. The majority of these items are "injection mold" and not hand made and they are being made now in China or South America (they used to be made in Korea).
In general, the majority of the best quality metal/crystal encrusted jaws, claws, metal U shaped pins and hairpins used to be made in South Korea. This is no longer true. The Koreans took pride is sanding down the metal edges. Some of the HB Hair Jewels and Lucy (HB house brands) were made in Korea and the companies we worked with have gone out of business.
Now that the same items are made in China, the edges on many hair accessory items are rough and scratchy. Also, the quality of the work and the sturdiness is going way down. This is due to the rising costs of labor and the need for retailers to be able to offer inexpensive hair accessory items. The cost of producing hair accessories has skyrocketed just in the past 5 years. I know because I have been buying them from mfgs for all those years and it is amazing the price increases.
As a side note...many of the Karen Marie items are hand made in New York now because it is easier to control the quality and of course I would prefer to send business back to the USA. Many of the couture lines are also going back to being made in USA (L. Erickson, Karin's Garden, Bijoux Luck, DaCee Designs). Also, I am seeing "environmental friendly" accessories made out of hemp and Sinimay (natural tree fibers)
Yesterday I unpacked a box of barrettes from a long time HB vendor we buy from in New York. The edges were rough on the barrettes and the clasps on the underside of the barrettes are the new 2 way pinch clips and not the original pinch clips. These new clasps can rip and pull hair more easily. The new 2 way pinch clips use less metal and thus are becoming more popular then the original solid clips that are less risky. I was surprised by the quality since normally this supplier has high quality at a reasonable price. Again...I believe it is the problem with the US Dollar and the need for some mfgs to skimp on quality. Sad but true.
The metal findings for the barrettes that say Made In France, are harder to find but these are also of the highest quality.
Many people with short or medium length hair don't care about the issues of "hair friendliness" and only care about having a pretty accessory for their hair. They also care more about the cost and want inexpensive. You do get what you pay for. That is a definite retail truism.
I think that the bottom line is that each item has to be judged on its own merits and like many long hair fans do....sand when appropriate. I have actually sanded things that were OK just because I am paranoid about my hair.
If you are concerned about items that you might buy over the Web....email and ask if the item is "hair friendly" or ask about the hinges or the edges. At HB we are always happy to discuss these items either via CustomerCare email or via phone calls. Most hair accessory questions are passed by me anyway and I will go and look at the items personally.
It is hard to give a blanket seal of approval on any particular line since if they are hand made they may vary slightly and if they are injection mold some items may be more friendly than others.
There is nothing more upsetting then to put a gorgeous new comb into your hair only to find strands clinging to the teeth when you remove it. There are some hair accessories I have learned from years of wearing them that I just know will eat some of my hair and I avoid them like the plague.
This is great topic and very close to my heart. Thanks for letting me babble on about it.
We have so many hair accessories at HB.com that most of the people here have become jaded to the topic so it is nice to find some new ears. :-)
Edited by Karen Shelton - March 31 2008 at 1:59pm
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
Thanks Karen for the info! Its nice to get the inside scoop! That's a shame hair toy quality is suffering, but it seems to be the case with almost everything these days. (We can't get any new computers at work without them dying in less than half the time the old ones always did.)
p.s. Alisa, I've seen those called "hair forks" on ebay. I LOVE those too!
Edited by Susan W - April 02 2008 at 8:14am
Making metal barettes/concord clips hair safe, long hair style how to: http://alonghair.wordpress.com
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They would act as thinning shears. I don't think so! But, I'm still on the look-out for clips that are both attractive and harmless. Good luck, Bob
ebay. You can find a lot of hair-safe accessories for a better price.
! I guess its just another testamony to the old phrase, "you get what you pay for".
The next year, I went there on purpase to get another one. She was out of the super long ones, and my hair had just been cut, so I got one that was really dark almost purple, with a cute metal butterfly glues to the side that faces out. I have had that one for many years, although, it seams to have gone missing!
AmandaPanda wrote: