Best Safe Hair Accessories
I am just a little bit obsessed with long hair. I love growing out my hair to lengths that most consider too long. The length where the hair just grazes the bottom of the butt is called “classic” and I’m currently a little past that. I’ve had hair this long before and cut it to shoulder six years ago. Now I’m here again and planning to keep growing. I hope to get to knee length at least! [UPDATE 2022: I have reached knee-length/50 inches on me! Now to just see how long it will go…]
My love of long hair has led me to learn a lot about hair health. One important aspect is wearing my hair up a lot to protect it from damage. I’ve learned many beautiful buns and braids that can be made with hair toys/accessories that are safe for the hair, i.e. they don’t pinch or pull the hair.
Visit my youtube channel for tons of protective hairstyles you can make with these hair accessories!
Amish Pins
My first MUST HAVE hair accessory is Amish pins. These are to replace bobby pins. They are u-shaped instead of being tight and pinching hair. I use the three inch size. When I first saw these I didn’t believe they would hold hair up. But when used as part of a bun or other updo they hold like glue and are totally non-damaging. I love them.
Spin Pins
Another bobby pin replacement, these are able to hold up a lot of hair strongly. You screw them into and out of your updo. I just tried them a couple weeks ago and I am in love! I’ve used them every day since.
Get them on Amazon or a local pharmacy. Even Goody makes them!
Flexi
The flexi is what I’m wearing in that picture up there. It’s a figure-8 shape made of piano wire and beads with a stick that goes through it. What I love about the official flexi is that the stick is attached! It can’t get lost.
It also has grooves to help the flexi stay put and it’s very strong. You can also see it is not sharp so I don’t worry about it poking my babies when I pick them up like I do with hair sticks. It’s gentle and safe on the hair and holds a wide variety of styles. Just about anything you make with a hair stick you can make with a flexi.
There are several sizes and I’ve found it useful to have at least one in every size. The mini can hold back bangs or be used like a barrette for the side of the hair. A large, for me, could be a pony tail holder. For the biggest updos I use the largest size, the mega.
Any hairstyle you do with a barrette can be done with a flexi and just about any hairstyle you do with a hair stick can be done with a flexi.
PRO Hair Ties
I’m never going back to regular elastics! These are grippy and strong but my favorite thing is that they have a clasp so you can undo it instead of dragging it through your hair!
You can also adjust the size by adding them together and trimming them so it’s perfect to hold onto your hair.
The only cons are you have to be careful not to lose the little clasp and they are more expensive than regular elastics. But so worth it!
Crescent Moon Hair Sticks
These are incredibly beautiful and eye-catching hair sticks literally shaped like a crescent moon. You use them just like hair sticks to hold updos. I got mine from WoodberryArt on Etsy. The shipping took a while because of covid but it was so worth it and I just ordered something else from him!
Wood Hair Forks
There’s some incredible artistry in the hand crafted wooden hair forks. I particularly like to use them for the braided pinless bun (see the playlist at the end of this post). They are nice and strong, good for holding up slippery or heavy hair. I got most of mine from SandraMel on Etsy
Swerve
Another gem from Lilla Rose is the Swerve. When my friend told me to try it I was skeptical. It is just a large u-pin and I did not expect it to be able to hold up my long, thick hair. But it is great! So fast and easy to throw my hair up with just one swerve. My go-to daily style is a cinnabun with a swerve.
Get them from Lilla Rose in the U pin section
Hair Sticks
A real classic, hairsticks can be used single or in pairs. There are tons of variations out there and my favorites are the ones with fancy dangles on the end! Some of the most beautiful I’ve seen are at HairJems on Etsy. The rose topped one is from SandraMel, same shop as the hair forks.
Here’s a playlist of a bunch of different hair styles that can be made using a single stick:
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