One Hair Clip to Rule Them All

July 11, 2012 7:03 AM

I have a hair clip that I adore. Please help me find more.

While my favorite hair clip is metal, I do not require metal - plastic is okay too. I'd like to have more of these - my hair is dark, so something like this in a dark color (tortoise shell, black) would be lovely.

Here's the side view.

Here's the top.

What I like about this clip is that I can twist my hair up into a sort of a french twist, and this clip will hold the whole twist - it is very grippy. My hair doesn't get caught in it - it is easy to remove without damage. The curved shape makes it comfortable.

It's about 4 inches long - I'd be happy with something even a little longer, but don't think anything shorter would actually hold up all my hair.

Anyone know of more clips like this? I, of course, do not recall where I bought it or the brand - in fact, it has been in my hair clip box for years and only came into heavy rotation this summer, when I figured out a good use for it.

Thanks so much!

posted by hilaryjade to Shopping (9 answers total)

Reminds me of clips I get at Sally Beauty Supply; but they're straight there. Might try larger hair shops (there's a huge one in my county, takes up the footprint of a small grocery store - I can check if you run out of other access options).
posted by tilde at 7:09 AM on July 11, 2012

Best answer: That general type of clip is an alligator or beak clip... you usually find the straight ones in bulk at drugstores. I found a variety of curved ones, both plain plastic and glitzy, at this Glad Hair website. This one is pretty, too.
posted by Sayuri. at 7:23 AM on July 11, 2012

Best answer: Could it be a form of a Gator clip?

Here's an Amazon link (MF has an affiliate program).

There are also small industrial clips called gator clips, and hair ones called alligator clips that are smaller and straighter.
posted by tilde at 7:26 AM on July 11, 2012

Best answer: Ficcare! They are pricey, but completely worth it. They're super sturdy and nice-looking. I use mine pretty much every day. As far as I know they distribute only through Nordstrom and their own website.
posted by CheeseLouise at 8:07 AM on July 11, 2012 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Y'all are AWESOME! Now I understand how threads end up with all replies marked as best answer.
posted by hilaryjade at 8:40 AM on July 11, 2012

Response by poster: Okay, I'm off work and I checked out Glad Hair and found a couple that I really like at a low price. The Ficcare clips are gorgeous, and will give me a fantastic answer the next time my husband asks what I want for my birthday. Just a big old pile of win here, I'm going to mark this as resolved.
posted by hilaryjade at 5:38 PM on July 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: One more update, just because I'm sure my hair clip decisions are absolutely fascinating. I received the Glad Hair clips today, and they are pretty! Lighter than my metal clip because they are all plastic, but that is kind of nice. They hold more hair than my original clip as well - which is an additional bonus. They shipped quickly.

I have a Ficcare Maximus clip on my birthday list as well....
posted by hilaryjade at 6:20 PM on July 18, 2012

Response by poster: And, one last update - my husband gave me 2 Ficcare Maximus clips for my birthday and they are amazing.

They hold all my hair up and the clips don't have any teeth in them - they are smooth inside! That just seems like it will lead to less breakage / tangling. They really stay in place, too. So, special thanks to CheeseLouise for that great suggestion.
posted by hilaryjade at 5:21 AM on August 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Glad to hear the updates. We've got unruly hair around here and the more options the merrier.
posted by tilde at 8:27 AM on August 20, 2012