Hair toys for beginners???

[SummerSkye]

Ok, I'm going to have to start wearing my hair up! Ive got fine shoulder length highlighted hair and was wondering which styles and toys wouldbe good to start with? Anybody got good ideas and or pics? I don't want to waste a lot of money on toys that won't be suitable so thought I would ask you experienced folk what would be good to start with!

[Rocket22]

I'm new to toys too and have very fine hair and my first toy is the flexi8 and I love them! easy, pretty and they work :)

[torrilin]

IME, fine, straight and shoulder length is too short to really wear up. Half ups are possible. Side combs are useful. You may be able to do a French braid or twin French braids. Ponytails are dicey.

A regular English braid is probably out, and buns are just not possible.

If your hair isn't very slippery, a French twist or peacock twist might work. (mine is too slippery)

[Kittin]

When my fine hair was your length, I used flexi 8s, the tiny ones and the small ficcare clips. My hair is at waist now and I still use the smaller ficcare. They are very comfortable too. And they also held the french and peacock twists well. If your hair is a little too short, just tuck the lose strands up and secure with a bobby pin. This in one of the few hairstyles, I actually have mastered.

I've started with a mini flexi 8 and I'm up to a small for updos. I still use the minis for half ups. If my hair feels rough to me, I can't wear the flexi 8s because they get caught in my hair.

I've had decent luck with the butterfly comb sets (two combs strung held together with elastic and beaded), when I find them with low amounts of beads. I have better luck with the hand made ones than the ones in stores. The elastic tends to be too long on those. Once the elastic gets too stretched, I pass them onto a friend who has thicker hair. For $4 or $5 they are worth it for the variety to me.

I have horrible luck with hairsticks. I love them but my hair is so slipper they slide right out. I have use a ton of amish pins and I'm still paranoid that I will lose the stick all day.

On etsy, I found some of the flower headbands intended for toddlers work well for me, I have a small head and not a lot of poof from hair. The elastic keeps them from sliding out as easily as the fabric covered elastic headbands. There was one seller who sold these black elastic bands with hand crafted felt flowers on them. I ordered the flowers in black and grey. They look nice with work clothes and keep my fringe out of my face. I actually get more compliments on those than any other hair toy. They look real easy to make I just haven't had time to break down and make some. Just tie a ribbon around your head where you want the hairband to sit, mark it, remove then measure the ribbon. Order it a little tighter than your measurement. The first time you wear the band, you may need to secure with bobby pins for 30 min or so, until the elastic stretches to fit your head perfectly. After that, I have no issues with them.

Since I don't have a lot of volume, I find the curve of the hair toy helps hold it in better. Why I love the ficcares. At fairs and craft shows, when I buy hair toys, I look for something with a similar bend. I have one copper hair fork with 8 tines that has an incredible bend, it fits snug against my scalp and that helps hold the hair better I think.

If you see something you love and can't resist but its too big for you, this is my trick. I love the leather barrettes with a wood stick to secure them that Wingandtalon on etsy makes. He has some beautiful fantasy ones but they are meant for somebody with lots of hair. I put a really thick elastic in my hair and use that as bulk to help secure the twist. For a French twist, I'd pull my hair back into a really low pony, flip it up and twist, then bend my hair down and tuck the ends in. The elastic should be about in the middle of your twist area, now secure the barrette above the elastic. The clip should be large enough to cover the elastic. For the big leather pieces, like the dragon I ordered, I use one of the terry cloth ponytail holders. It creates the illusion of bulk. If you don't wish to use elastics in your hair, you might be able to create some bulk to with ribbon, to help secure a larger clip. It is not secure enough for high energy sports (no kickboxing or anything) but for walking to work and sitting at the computer all day) it works great.

I still have trouble with lots of updos because my hair is so slippery. If anybody has any tricks to share or finds some toys that work great, I'd love to hear about them.

[Superfine]

Since so many of you commented that you have slippery hair, I thought I'd chime in. Mine is too, and not overly thick. I'm about BSL, so not very long either. I wear mine up about 98% of the time (especially out) & I'm also 65. My favorite toy (actually tool) is one I kind of adapted. It is a Conair banana clip with wide teeth & only about 4" long. Because my hair is so slippery (smooth & not curly) I split some brown door weather stripping down the middle. It has a self adhesive back & 2 channels with a flat space between the channels (3M). Cut the stripping between the channels & apply adhesive side to the inside of the clip. I use it horizontal & sometimes slightly twist the pony & stick it in the clip too. Or you can braid beyond the clip & tuck the braid under with pins. Or make to big pin curls past the clip & pin with large bobby pins. Or Clip higher on your head & flip the curls up. Very versatile & it never slips for me. Also it is inexpensive since the package of Conair clips contails 3 clips. I have even glued flowers to 1 clip. Also, I have seen no damage from this smooth clip. I bought 3 Ficcare clips but still they seem to heavy & slip some. Have fun with it!

[QMacrocarpa]

I think at shoulder length I could have done a sock bun (lots of threads, but here's one (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=60681) with a variation particularly for shorter hair).

If you can make a looped ponytail (don't pull the tail all the way through the elastic the last time) then you could probably also do the cheater's easy hairstick bun (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=25145). Try it with a pencil if you don't yet have a hairstick.

You can French braid and then tuck the tail up underneath and secure. There are some tips here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=41316).

Photos of some pretty updo options for shorter hair in this thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=62143).

I really loved my big octopus clip at that length as I could stuff all my hair in it in seconds (too small now, which is sad but also happy:)).

[BrightEyes]

My hair is shoulder length and I like to do a half-up twisty. I secure it with either micro mini hair forks from GrahToe Studio or shortie hair sticks from Mei Fa (I have a pic in my album with Mei Fa shortie sticks). I'm waiting for a small flexi 8 I just got off the swap board then I'll get to try it out.

I can also do a peacock twist. I secure it with a ficcare clip or with a "normal" size hairstick on a good day. If I'm lazy I just hold it up with a claw clip.:)

[CarpeDM]

I agree with the other flexi 8 recommendations! I can't use hair sticks, ficcares, or forks and a bun is way out for me, but the flexi 8 works great!

[Xandergrammy]

My hair isn't fine but my very first hairtoy was a hairstick that I bought on the internet for about 5 bucks. Having said that, if I'd found this website first, I would have bought a Ficcare Maximas first and I would have been happy with that too. My advice to you is to go on the Conventional Hair Toy forum and look through at the different things that are available and make a choice. You'll know what suits your hair, your taste and your lifestyle. :flowers:

[jaine]

My favorite hair toys at this length are small claw clips (http://www.groceries-express.com/ImageResize.asp?path=images\40000\41457\12309\4145 712309CF.GIF) and spin pins (http://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/goody-spin-pin-review.jpg). They are easy to find at a drugstore and I can make a quick peacock twist or french twist with either of them.
I also like these microfiber scrunchies (http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/5239916205_07f69313e6_m.jpg) for sock buns.

[chelssix]

I have a silver hair comb (the kind used for securing french twists). Somewhat like this: http://www.bronzejewelers.com/combs.htm

Anyway, I can use it to secure a lot of different styles, and it's easy to use at both shoulder length and nearly hip length. I would guess it would work beyond that too, and once I get there, I'll know for sure!

[CarpeDM]

I have a silver hair comb (the kind used for securing french twists). Somewhat like this: http://www.bronzejewelers.com/combs.htm

Anyway, I can use it to secure a lot of different styles, and it's easy to use at both shoulder length and nearly hip length. I would guess it would work beyond that too, and once I get there, I'll know for sure!

Thanks for attaching that link, those combs are so nice!

[wendy51]

Wow those celtics combs looks a lot like the Guineans combs my mom used to have =))

I want to do hairstyles like that with those !
But for the moment my hair are not enough long:( can't wait them to be at the length i want! *-*

as hair toys i only have flexir8 , tiny ones, little clips and cute stuffs you can find at claire's =)

[SummerSkye]

Thanks everybody for your help! Loads of styles and toys to play with now! I wore it up today, just pulled it up into a really high ponytail and caught the bottom in the band, fanned it out a bit and it looked really nice, so that's boosted my confidence and it was really nice not having my hair tangling about in the wind.

[Yamainu]

I liked to wear my hair in a peacock twist at that length, and though I just used a plain claw clip, I have since discovered flexie-8's. :D A small or extra small would be wonderful!

[beez1717]

I just started with some non metal hairbands and scrunchies. They work well for me :)

I am at the beginning stages of putting my hair up just like you. I think that in the future I'm going to have a LOT of hair toys... lol.

[Fufu]

I'm a newb in hairdos, and I second Flexi 8 :)

[Vercelli]

With Flexi8 clips you can do nice and easy styles. Though I have to say I personally found it easier to work with small and light two-pronged forks in the beginning. Functional length probably up to 8" or 9".

Have fun choosing your hair toys.:)

[Angel_099]

Thanks for posting! I'm new to hair toys too and it looks like there are some good suggestions here! :D

[LadyG]

I also use the hair elastic under hair toys. I do it before I go to work, bun my hair and put in a double prong fork. This way I know it won't come loose and fall down at a bad time. I also use it when I do ponytails and cover with a regular clip or slide.
What I also found works well for me is to put in an elastic, attach my flexi8 above it, fiddle it into place and then remove the elastic. I have trouble with my left hand and arm and it works like a third hand for me.

[elaiesusandavie]

A ficcare clip for little twisty updos and..tons of bobbypins!