I don’t know about you, but I always envied people in school who could put all their hair up with a pencil. Mine would never do such a thing. As someone with a thick head of hair, it was something I never mastered. I received this pretty rose gold hair pin in one of the Kristin Ess gift sets I picked up over the holidays. I watched her tutorial here a dozen times to learn how to use a French hair pin the right way.
Between watching that video, and spending some time with my hairstylist friend, I think I’ve got this down! It’s such an easy way to throw your hair up and also keep it from getting a big kink in it from a hair tie. And it’s much more dressed up. You could totally wear this out to an event. Just add some statement earrings, a red lip and you’re ready to go.
Here’s How To Use A Hair Pin
Step 1
Grab all of your hair in a low ponytail and begin to gently twist it all. You don’t have to get super tight or crazy here. Plus, leaving a few pieces out in front helps to frame your face. I started with my hair curled with my usual beachy waves. It allowed for a little more texture for the pin to stay put along with my texture spray. You can see that hair tutorial here. Day old hair with a little grease actually helps to make this style work anyway. If your hair is freshly washed, it’ll all slide out!
PS, you can do this with all of your hair, or just a section of hair for a half-up twist too!
Step 2
Once you’ve twisted all your hair, place your right pointer finger to the left of the ponytail so your finger is facing down. Pull your ponytail over your index finger and hook it and twist it around your finger so it meets your hair at the base of where you started. I know this sounds weird, but the photos should easily show you how I’m hooking and twisting it into a loop over my finger. You can always just twist it into a bun. However, I really liked the loop that we did, it felt a little different!
Once you twist your hair over your finger in one rotation, you’ll then curl your finger into a circular motion to then twist the hair up into the twist. You can see how we did this in the below photos.
Step 3
Now that your hair is in a loop, you’ll take the hair pin and flip it so it’s facing outwards versus how you’ll want it to be when you’re finished. Most hair pins are curved, so you’ll want the curve to not be against your head to start. You can see above how we start with it on the right with the curve facing outward. You’ll grab some hair with the pin by placing it across the bun you’ve made.
Then you turn it around to go in the other direction and have it go deep into the bun to secure it. So you’re essentially grabbing a little bit of hair on the outside of the bun to then flip the pin to the other side and slide it through the bulk of the bun. And then you’ll push it through. Grabbing some of the hair is essential to getting it taught and keeping it all in place. And that’s how to use a hair pin!
You’ll have to do all of this twisting while holding your hair with the other hand to ensure it doesn’t all fall out. But once you get this part down, which does take some practice, you’ll be twisting your hair up into a twist in no time. I promise, it takes a few tries, and the photos make it look easy!
Want More Hair Pin Hairstyle Ideas?
This is just one of a few ways you can use a hair pin to create easy and effortless hair styles. Check out my post on fun ways to use a hair pin. You can do these on short hair and even long hair depending on the length of your hair. From half up hair styles, to full up-do’s, this post has a few great ideas for hairstyles with a hair pin.
Types Of Hair Pins
There are all sorts of hair pins and hair accessories to try. While bobby pins are probably the types of hair pins you’ve normally heard about, French hair pins are a larger hair pin that allows you to use just one to put your entire head of hair up. Kristin Ess also has a mini French hair pin here. There are metal hair pins, and resin hair pins that come in tons of colors and prints. You can even find hair pins that have embellishments on them so you can wear them out to a nicer event like a wedding or formal event. There are so many hair pins to shop and explore and find one that works for your personal style.
