Unusual accessories

[HeartofHaleth]

My only hair stick just broke (it was designed rather poorly. I'm not too surprised) and while I ordered another one, it's sitting in a box at home while I'm on another continent. I currently have a fine-line watercolor brush stuck through my infinity bun. What are some odd things you've used for hair toys?

[Lirona]

A Sharpie marker, in a pinch! :laugh: And crochet hooks (but that seems fairly common).

[Nique1202]

I've used the back end of a rattail comb when I forgot the stick I wanted in the bathroom once. But, mostly I rely on my varnished wooden dowels as sticks and my bent-over-a-door-knob-base double pointed knitting needles as forks (and my spin pins, of course) and they're all light and easy to carry around so I'm rarely without something to fasten my hair up anymore.

[hanne jensen]

I've used (clean of course) G-string panties as a hairtie before. Shoe laces also make good hairties. Ice tea spoons make good hairsticks in a pinch.

[HeartofHaleth]

@Lirona
The regular sized kind? Didn't the cap snag?

[Frankenstein]

All of my "hair sticks" are just Star Wars and Super Mario Bros pencils with the metal & eraser end cut off. I don't own any real hair toys yet. :p

[Olavi]

I have used drawing tablet pen. It hold surprisingly well :D

[Anje]

I know I've got shots from using a titanium spork, somewhere.... :D

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I used DH's pen when we were out and it was all we had that I could use. It made a good hair stick.

[truepeacenik]

I've used my bun as a brush holder while live painting. (Plein air at a concert)
I don't reccomend it, but it works.

I've used the bottom of calligraphy pens, a wooden spoon, and the mesh from citrus bags (as a snood).

I own the right tools now.

[brickworld13]

I resorted to a trusty #2 pencil yesterday when I couldn't find any hair sticks.

[Kimberly]

A twig I picked up from the ground.

A tuning fork.

[LavenderStar]

In a pinch, I was at a music practice and I used one of my guitar capo's to hold my bun. Lol

[chen bao jun]

I have used chopsticks, which I think is not unusual although it is now considered a kind of crime. But I remember when girls used to borrow the sterling silver forks and spoons bending them into bracelets, so I don't see a problem with wearing the tableware. This kind of went out though once people stopped using actual silver much because polishing got to be too much trouble. Tin tableware does not look as nice.

I have also used wooden knitting needles, short ones.

I have used shawl pins, but I notice that now shawl pins are often marketed as 'shawlpin/hair stick'.

I have often stuck buttons that have shanks on my amish pins as decoration, but does that count--does the object actually have to be holding up the hair?

[Lirona]

@Lirona
The regular sized kind? Didn't the cap snag?

Yep, the regular-sized kind... I was careful to make sure the cap didn't get caught. :)

[Elizabeth E]

I recently picked up a porcupine quill while going for a hike with my parents and I immediately thought, 'This will make a great hair stick!' I filed the edges so they're not as sharp, and it really holds my hair up all day. I'm actually having it in right now!
P.S. When hugging someone, I do have to warn them to look out for the stick in my hair - don't want anybody's eyes poked out!

[DweamGoiL]

Porcupine quills were actually all the rage for hairtoys a few years back. I have some for crafting hairtoys at home. Here are a couple of examples of sticks I made for a swap a few years back:

https://i.imgur.com/lz5eiq3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/LfGYea3.jpg

If you can get them the right length and strength, they are awesome. I love the contrasting pattern of the quills.

[cjk]

What an incredibly cool idea! Where does one get quills? I need to add a few to my wood, metal, and antler.

[Aredhel]

What an incredibly cool idea! Where does one get quills? I need to add a few to my wood, metal, and antler.

You can get them from Etsy or eBay I'm pretty sure! Where I'm from, we have many First Nations crafters who sell them as well. :)

[AutobotsAttack]

I used to wear those cheap bracelets that would be strung together with that small elastic with the little colorful beads on them.

I needed my hair out of the way because I was playing hacky sack, so I broke the bracelet, and used the elastic to tie together into a scrunchie of sorts. I just tied the ends Back together, made a LWB and placed it over.

[Elizabeth E]

Porcupine quills were actually all the rage for hairtoys a few years back. I have some for crafting hairtoys at home. Here are a couple of examples of sticks I made for a swap a few years back:

https://i.imgur.com/lz5eiq3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/LfGYea3.jpg

If you can get them the right length and strength, they are awesome. I love the contrasting pattern of the quills.

Oh wow, your hair sticks are beautiful! And here I am stuck with my plain quill - will see how I can jazz it up!

[DweamGoiL]

What an incredibly cool idea! Where does one get quills? I need to add a few to my wood, metal, and antler.

Yes, I got a lot of them from Ebay a few years back. They ranged in length from 5-7 inches. I think I paid like $20 for a bunch. I see also now Amazon carries them. The thing is it's better to get them long so if you need to file the tips down, they tend to fray so you have enough material once you're done.

[Glitch]

Hair stick styles don't last on me (my hair ends up slipping out), but during those spontaneous moments where I feel like doing it, I'll grab a random paintbrush and it'll do the job :D

[PixieP]

I have used my friend’s big ear spiral to hold a bun! Like this:
https://m.ebay.com/itm/Gothic-Jewelry-Earrings-tribal-horn-spiral-taper-spike-talon-goth-punk-men-women-/361936960570?_mwBanner=1

Just WAY bigger, it was almost the same size as my bun (I think her ears are stretched to almost an inch). Didn’t hold very well though.

16 years ago when I was in art school I put my hair up with paint brushes if I didn’t have a hair tie. I had never heard of heard sticks, I sort of twisted my hair around the brush and stick it through so I had a tail of hair hanging down. Actually I wonder if that would work with a hairstick :hmm: that would be awesome.

[Glass Spires]

Last year, I forgot to bring a hair tie to my laboratory class, so I tore the wrist out of a latex glove and used it as a ponytail holder. It worked really well and came out a lot more easily than rubber bands do! :)

[RedStripe]

A friend of mine once gave me a couple of vintage swizzle sticks with little dangles on them specifically for me to use as hair sticks.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I have used a spoon as a hair stick when I needed to put my hair up and that's all there was around.

[MoonRabbit]

A friend of mine once gave me a couple of vintage swizzle sticks with little dangles on them specifically for me to use as hair sticks.

I have a few swizzle sticks in the kitchen that I keep eyeing lol

[ReptilianFeline]

I got a bunch of quills from a friend who bougt them for making floating thingies for fishing. I think some fish gear suppliers might carry them. I never thought they might work as hair sticks. Now I need to find the bag and see if there is any long ones in it :)

[Kat]

Circular knitting needles. Pencils. Pens. I'm certain there were weirder things than that but I can't think of them at the moment. I think I once tried to tie off the end of my braid with a straw wrapper because I have a tendency to lose elastics while flying and then have to spend umpteen more hours trying to keep my braid in.



I have used chopsticks, which I think is not unusual although it is now considered a kind of crime.

Yes. The thing non-longhaired people don't get is that they think people who wear chopsticks in their hair are trying to be all cutesy-Asian and it seems offensive. In reality, it's just that hairsticks are often hard to find, especially in brick-and-mortar stores, and chopsticks are literally the only thing some people can find when wanting to try hairsticks if they don't want to have to spend a ton and/or order online...