French Barrettes friend or foe?

[Agnes Hannah]

Hi do you use french barrettes? I have seen lots of pretty ones on the internet and wondered about how good they are. I used to have some when I was much younger, but I didn't have enough hair to keep them in.

Do they cause damage to hair? Have you used them and found that they have caused damage or does your hair like them?

Have you adapted them in anyway to make them more hair friendly?

How many do you own?

Which is your favourite?

Any anecdotes about them?

Thanks:hmm:

[Larki]

I use them occasionally for half-ups and they don't cause damage, no hair getting caught or anything. I think the key is to not try to stuff a bunch of hair in them; I only put maybe a half inch section into the barrette.

[Aleahcim]

I have one and it does not snag my hair. I think it's about quality though. The one I have now was expensive, from a quality maker, had been polished till the metal was so smooth it felt weirdly almost soft to the touch. It has never caught my hair the times I've used it, and I was using it as a pony tail holder as well for half ups.

In the past I've have inexpensive ones that snagged my hair nearly every time I wore it. It was also a smaller clip, and this was before my LHC days so it may have been my fault for cramming too much hair into the clip and not being careful. I also used to place it over a pony pail in a half up, and ponytails in half ups often snag and rip out hair even if you are careful and as this was several years ago the hair that got ripped out may have been more from the pony tail. Who knows.

I think I saw the old clip that I used to have troubles with, I could try it in my hair if you really want to know.

[Nini]

My fine hair never did well with barrettes. That might have been a quality issue though, since I've not tried any for the last twenty years...

[Madora]

Years ago I used French Barrettes frequently. My main bugaboos were sometimes tiny hairs would catch in the clasp (no matter how careful I was) and the quality of FBs could vary tremendously. Also, some had much better holding power than others. The "snap" when you closed the clip was much better on some than on others. Have about 5 left but rarely use them as my hair is always up.

[Amapola]

There are lots of cheap knock-offs of the real thing. If it does not say "Made in France" on it, it is **not** a French barrette. It's a copy.

My experience is the real ones are fantastic. I can't use one to hold all my hair, but I can use it in a center-held. (There are some benefits to having very fine, thin hair! :)) That said they do come in different sizes.

My experience with the copies is that they are very damaging. I used to use a hair toy (this was before I discovered LHC) that had one of the cheap ones on it, and a hair net and a ribbon bow. Now, they did help me get started on growing out my hair and I was able to get to waist with them. But I also had a large chunk of my hair that had been slowly cut out by them, and that area is of course still growing out. The real French barrette does not do that.

[Taenarian]

My observation is my hair will find a way to snag on anything that is capable of snagging hair. For me, French barrettes, zippers, buttons, earrings, intricate Flexi8 designs, and even bra hooks are all members of the same family that make white dots.

[Deborah]

I used them years ago, for low ponytails, but finally realized that they did cause hair breakage for me, so I stopped using them. I do not recommend them.

[lapushka]

There are lots of different sizes in them. Nonetheless even the biggest size doesn't hold all my hair. Yeah. When I was a teen, I could barely snap them shut. Nowadays, they will no longer close. That says something about the thickness of my hair more than about the barrettes themselves. When I was a child, I had teeny tiny ones for accent piggies high on the sides of my head. Really pretty. They were this pearlescent color, I remember. Never saw any damage from them, but you have to use them properly.

[chen bao jun]

France Luxe or l. Erikson (which is really same company )

[sumidha]

I think I only have one, a very pretty beaded barrette that was gifted to me... They do tend to snag my hair, but honestly I don't wear it often mainly because it's decorative rather than functional and I'm super lazy about doing fancy hair styles. Poor neglected barrette!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I only have one French Barrette (made in France) which actually holds all my hair - barely but without snagging, which I love. I bought it when I was 14. It is an extra long one and I have never found another one as long since, which is so disappointing, even searching online.
My lovely old favourite isn't so lovely these days, it is scratched and scuffed and held together with glue but I won't let it go because - I love it and it STILL holds my hair just the way I like it to.

These days I only wear it around the house.... I so wish I could find another one though.

[lunasea]

They cut my fine hair. It's afraid of even the sight of them. shudder: But then my hair is so fragile I even put moleskin over the teeth on Ficcares.

[Agnes Hannah]

They cut my fine hair. It's afraid of even the sight of them. shudder: But then my hair is so fragile I even put moleskin over the teeth on Ficcares.

Now that is a good idea, I hadn't thought of that one!

I think I may just leave FB alone, unless I can make them more hair friendly or get a France Luxe one maybe. I was just pondering about them for a change now and again. If I did buy one, I don't think I would wear it a great deal because I would be too worried about breakage. As my circumference is getting bigger hair safety is very important to me.

thank you all for your comments:cool:

[Islandgrrl]

I can't get enough of my hair into them to make them useful for anything.

[Adiro]

I sue them quite often. I only have from one maker on etsy, and only medium and large sizes, they do hold all of my hair, if careful. On occasion they snap a hair or it gets tangled in t,he hinge or so, even if the are made in France. But they are pretty and I am to enjoy the way I wear my hair, rather than the ambition of having really as much hair as possible.

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p426/Adiro13/91daafadcdcb02a6b106e8579e6399b6.jpg

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p426/Adiro13/d8b421239f00b4b04eb64179a7b4a288.jpg

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p426/Adiro13/1c1594cd56984ed831ba844505db2da6.jpg

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p426/Adiro13/785a8f2acc985abb80ae023bdff97f07.jpg

[Agnes Hannah]

I sue them quite often. I only have from one maker on etsy, and only medium and large sizes, they do hold all of my hair, if careful. On occasion they snap a hair or it gets tangled in t,he hinge or so, even if the are made in France. But they are pretty and I am to enjoy the way I wear my hair, rather than the ambition of having really as much hair as possible.

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p426/Adiro13/91daafadcdcb02a6b106e8579e6399b6.jpg

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p426/Adiro13/d8b421239f00b4b04eb64179a7b4a288.jpg

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p426/Adiro13/1c1594cd56984ed831ba844505db2da6.jpg

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p426/Adiro13/785a8f2acc985abb80ae023bdff97f07.jpg

Wow you have the most beautiful hair!

[cutekitty]

Friend! They don't cause damage if you're careful enough while putting them in place and removing them.
My favourite so far is the barrette I got from MapleBurl on Etsy, a blue one in large size. I love it, it looks so elegant and beautiful. Actually, the only way I can wear a high ponytail that doesn't fall due to the weight of my hair is by holding it with the barrette.

That half-up with the orange clip is so lovely, Adiro.

[Kelli Kat]

I have a ton of them, and for years I only wore barrettes. Now that I've discovered sticks, I don't wear them as much. I never had a problem with them.

[Adiro]

Thank you, Agnes Hannah and CuteKitty :)
Yes, you are right, a bit of care eliminates the risk of broken hairs :) my barettes are from MapleBurl as well :)

[elea]

You need a good quality one, not overcrowd it with too much hair in and un-do them delicately. If you do that, they are very good.
Seriously, don't go for the cheap ones.
If it does not close well enough, slowly widen the "teeth" of the clasp.
They are very common in France and not expensive for a good quality in places such as Monoprix and any "standard" supermarket. We usually get them there and decorate ourselves.
If you go to hair dressers, you can find wider or longer ones; it is worth popping in and asking.
Online, I do not know because i fletch them there for friends and myself when i go visit friends and family but i will ask and post if i get any luck.
Many online places like e-bay, amazon etc... have a french equivalent: just try "online shop" with ".fr" at the end (ex. shop.com or shop.co.uk will be shop.fr).
good luck

[Agnes Hannah]

Thank you Elea for that information. I have found Cultmate and they have barrettes by FranceLuxe and L.Erickson which I believe are the better ones. They have some pretty ones too.

[yahirwaO.o]

I tried to use it once and my scalp hurt so bad I never want to use one again.

[elea]

FranceLuxe I never had problems with (I do not recognize the other name right now).
Pleasure.

[Stangenlocke]

Well, I had some from no-name 'brands' in the nineties when I last had long hair and they were the main reason for so many broken off hairs and split ends shudder:. I will never touch these infernal things again, French original or not. I am just not willing to risk my hair. They are down on my mortal enemies list :pins:

[chen bao jun]

France Luxe and L. Erikson are the same company and same quality. I want to try maple burl. My hair has been too pouffy to use a french barrette except in a half up usually but recently I fit it all into a France Luxe extra volume, a couple of times to my surprise.

[Scarlet_Heart]

I really like them for half ups (can't fit all my hair into one). If I want to wear my hair down, but keep my hair out of my face, I love the way they look. My hair is super coarse so I haven't had any issues with breakage. I have several, none too fancy. Here's two.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h114/eelaynuh/Hair/DSC00110_zps45ea731d.jpg (http://s62.photobucket.com/user/eelaynuh/media/Hair/DSC00110_zps45ea731d.jpg.html) http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h114/eelaynuh/Hair/DSC09458_zpsf32c82e4.jpg (http://s62.photobucket.com/user/eelaynuh/media/Hair/DSC09458_zpsf32c82e4.jpg.html)

Heh, one really subtle that blends with my hair, and one big and LOUD red bow. Both pictures are fairly old.

[elea]

I had a look and if anyone is in England, I have here one i got from "Boots" and it is good.
I never had any problem with it, even sleeping with it in a bun. Not much size choice but I just change the bun and they are very simple black or tortoise shell, it does not matter here.
I kept mine simple as I can very easily wrap any ribbon around to make it different if I wanted but 2 coats of nice nail polish and a bit of loose glitter on another made a friend smile *;O)

[Scarlet_Heart]

Oh, and Adiro, those MBs look fantastic in your hair. I might have to try one.

[Adiro]

Thank you, Scarlet!

Omg, you are one hot mamma! Ok, your hair steals the show, but i know the barettes help with the look :) love the red bow !
I am actually waiting for more MapleBurl barettes in the mail :) honestly I would recommend them, they are very beautiful in real life . ( if you do, try to chose a wide/large one, not the narrow skinny ones) Igor is very happy to help with requests.

[cat11]

French Barettes are a nono for me!

[Astroflammante]

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p426/Adiro13/d8b421239f00b4b04eb64179a7b4a288.jpg

Adiro, What kind of bun is this? It's really pretty, like a big swirl with the grey/blue barrette in the middle. (I hope I did the quote thing correctly! If I didn't, Im asking about the second picture.)

I have a couple of FB:s, all cheap knockoffs. They snag my hair a lot, but I use them anyway. Sometimes the pretty is worth the damage. :)

[Aderyn]

French barrettes are fine for my hair and can hold up a decent amount of buns, however I like to use some steel hairpins to add a bit more security to the hair style. I only have a few and I rarely wear them, I prefer the look of sticks, forks, ficcares and flexis. I wouldn't mind picking up a few more that I've seen on Etsy, though. :)