Non-metal bobby pins?

[CurlyCap]

Hi All.

So I have a lot of allergies, and get terrible outbreaks when metals stay in contact with my skin. The last few years, I've gambled with standard bobby pins, trying to be sure I replace them before the paint wears off.

However, I've noticed lately that the slightest contact with exposed bobby pin leaves horrible sores on my scalp (which is the typical allergic reaction for me).

Does anyone know of non-metal hairtoys that can play the same function as bobby pins? I usually use the to keep my shorter layers out of my face, and right now I'm using cloth-wrapped headbands.

[Kelikea]

You can get hair sticks in plastic or wood to make buns and stick to cloth or plastic headbands for shorter pieces. There are also different kinds of non-metal hair barrettes available at the grocery store.

[PrincessBob]

Goody makes ouchless barrettes that are all made of semi-hard plastic and latex-like softer plastic. No metal, pretty hair friendly, too I just got some and they work well for keeping hair back from the face. so far they seem to come in brown and black, maybe other colors I haven't seen.

[Ithonna]

I have heard Amish Pins are amazing.

[metricfuture]

I've used these in lieu of bobby pins (mostly because they hold much better and don't pull out my hair when I remove them like bobby pins tend to do) for awhile and I love them:

http://www.goodhairdays.com/hand-crafted-grip-tuth-sidecombs.htm

I'd go for the smaller ones if you're mainly concerned with the hair around your face. HTH.

[Carolyn]

I have heard Amish Pins are amazing.Amish pins are metal and the OP said she was allergic to metal hair toys.

[HairStickler]

Look for children's barrettes. They usually have lots of small plastic barrettes and not all are cheap looking.

[Anje]

I'll second the Good Days hairpins, and the similar ones I've seen from other brands in stores.

Another possibility, though it is a metallic one, is to take anodized aluminum double-pointed knitting needles and bend them into a U or V shape. We call them "Wavelength" pins after the member who suggested the idea. (Quattro on Etsy sells them (http://www.etsy.com/listing/70472447/quattro-hair-accessories-anodized-u-pins), but you can bend your own for a lot cheaper.) My guess is that it's a different metal that whatever's in the bobby pins that you react to.

[Honestwitness]

I, too, am allergic to metal touching my skin. Even the back of a metal zipper pull will cause a rash. I can't use any kind of metal, not even the supposedly non-allergenic ones. Funny, though, so far bobby pins haven't bothered my scalp. Not sure why.

Anyway, I LOVE plastic side combs and I have them in black, navy, tortoise shell brown, forest green, pink, lavendar, blue, red, and clear. I have several sizes, but my favorite is the mid-sized ones. They really do a good job of holding my growing-out layers in place. I once even wore 3 combs on each side of my head with a low side pony. It looked really good, if I say so myself.

[CurlyCap]

This is why I love this place.

In RL, so many of my friends are like "No ones allergic to bobby pins!" or "Who wears bobby pins?"

Here: Just good advice from people trying to be helpful.

Thanks everyone! I'll look into this options.

(Honestwitness: I was the same way too! No metals, but got away with bobby pins. Weirdness has been happening lately though, and I have a lot of adult onset allergies. I think it just made previous sensitives more...sensitive. )

[Anje]

You're probably still stuck with growing out that shortest layer with headbands, unfortunately. But yeah, we hear enough hair-related complaints around here that I can think of several previous incidents where people are reacting to all sorts of metal that they come in contact with (jeans buttons, watches, bobby pins, you name it). I'll be sympathetic at least. I'm not that sensitive, but I have to be picky about earring metals.

[Honestwitness]

Anje, speaking of headbands, I do wear the skinny ones from time to time to harness the shorter layers. I don't wear them to work very often, though, because they interfere with the earpiece of my headset. Then you add in the earpiece of my glasses and you have a veritable plastic war going on behind my ears. It makes my glasses sit cattywampus and I get dizzy from the distortion.

Funny thing though, I watch "Without a Trace" every night while I eat dinner. In last night's episode, Poppy Montgomery was wearing her long blonde hair in a bun and she had a black velvet headband on. It was very attractive.

[archel]

Honestwitness, I am a medical transcriptionist, so I wear headphones 40 hours a week AND I have glasses! Add a headband and it would be migraine city, so I feel ya!