How the heck do you get bobby pins to hold?

[Sorus]

I love the pinup/retro hairstyles and now thanks to the awesome YouTube thread I have instructions on how to do them without hot rollers or curling. Yay! The one drawback: I'm all left thumbs when it comes to bobby pins.

So, my question for everyone out there who digs the victory roll look: how do you pin it so it stays?

TIA :flower:

[Shell]

Well, I have an article pending on this very topic! But since it's not up yet, you could check out my hair page via my home page, linked in my signature. The tutorial is for hairpins, but for bobby pins you just hold them open, follow the instructions, then let them close--very easy.

[Sorus]

Thanks for the response Shell. Your hair is beautiful! You home page was great, I can't wait until you get some more hair articles up.

My bobby-pin question is specific to 40s/50s type hair rolls. I can use u-shaped hairpins just fine, and I can use bobby-pins to help hold up accent braids or flyaway parts of buns, I just can't seem to manage to figure out what parts of the roll to grab with the pin to get it up stay up and not be flattened by the pin.

[TammySue]

The trick is to catch just a small amount of hair and close to the scalp.

I found these awesome large size bobby pins at Sally's Beauty Supply. You know how the little knobby plastic pieces on the end get funny and catch your hair and eventually fall off? Not on the ones I have! They came in a black box with a sliding top. I think they cost more than average bobby pins, but were worth it! :cheese:

[Sorus]

Where do you insert the pin relative to the roll? The best I can figure from YouTube videos is that one "goes through the hole" and one "come from the back," but I can't seem to manage it.

[kissedbyfyre]

Thank you for asking this question, I was wondering the same myself. Any time I try bobby pins, my hair eats them. They end up stretched out and simply will not hold no matter how hard I try.

I swear I am hairstyle retarded outside of buns and braids....

[Pixel Gypsy]

I could never get bobby pins to stay in my hair (they would slip and the style would sag) until a stylist who did an updo for a wedding told me to put two pins in an "x" and they would stay better. Now I can do an updo and often sleep in it and the next morning the pins are still really secure.

Don't know if this addresses the problem you're having or not though.....

[rhubarbarin]

Buy Scunci No-slip Grip hair pins.. they have grooved inner surfaces and hold excellently. They are also tougher than many pins, I very rarely have problems with them bending. These are the only pins I buy anymore, no other brand compares.

[Shell]

Thanks for the response Shell. Your hair is beautiful! You home page was great, I can't wait until you get some more hair articles up.

My bobby-pin question is specific to 40s/50s type hair rolls. I can use u-shaped hairpins just fine, and I can use bobby-pins to help hold up accent braids or flyaway parts of buns, I just can't seem to manage to figure out what parts of the roll to grab with the pin to get it up stay up and not be flattened by the pin.

I think it's really the same, just catch the edge of the roll and pin to the scalp. I don't think pins are the problem; I suspect that you need ratts! Ratts help hold the shape of the various rolls and poofs; pins just hold it all in place.

I'm glad you liked the page; I just started it a few days ago, so it still needs a lot of work.

[Shell]

Thank you for asking this question, I was wondering the same myself. Any time I try bobby pins, my hair eats them. They end up stretched out and simply will not hold no matter how hard I try.

I swear I am hairstyle retarded outside of buns and braids....

Real hairpins are best--bobby pins are flimsy. I use Amish pins, but I've seen some new curved ones that look good. I've also used the Good Days pins, and they are good for braided updos and a few others, but they don't work for everything. It's best to use what folks then used, and that would be hairpins, combs, and ratts. Keep in mind too, that they often curled and back-combed their hair. In the 40s and 50s people usually had permed their hair and often, they also used hair pieces to get those effects. And don't forget--tons of hairspray!

[manderly]

Maybe these will help:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/astrauser/CIMG1739.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/astrauser/CIMG1738.jpg

I open the bobby pin up just a little bit with my thumb and the flat side (the other side bend up a little) I scrape against my scalp, collecting some hair, while the bent side I get it to go over the hair I'm gathering and push it all the way through.

Let me know if that doesn't make sense. HTH

P.S. These are from my curler-free/bobby pin curling directions from the old forum.