How to Wear a Stick Barrette (for Long or Short Hair!)

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We’ve gotten a month of 2023 under our belt, and I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to spring. It’s a time of renewal and a great chance to change things up. Working from home, I don’t have many chances to wear fashionable clothing or do something different with my hair. On those rare occasions, I love to use the opportunity to go all out.

If you don’t know what a stick barrette is, it comes in two pieces, one is typically curved with two openings that the second piece – generally a stick – weaves through. The hair can then be pinned with the stick to create the style of your choice.

These hair pieces are sometimes referred to as hair slides. They were a popular fashion accessory in the seventies and are making quite the comeback today. I’ve been seeing them a lot more on social media sites like Pinterest, which makes sense, since barrettes are the most trending winter hair accessory for 2022.

Stick barrettes are versatile enough to be used for anything from business casual to a night on the town. A question I often receive is, how do you use these barrettes? Their simple design doesn’t work quite like a typical snap, claw, or French barrette. This does, however, allow hair slides to hold a decent amount of hair without being bulky or uncomfortable.

There are a variety of these barrettes on the market, made from various materials. I’ve seen them made of metal, wood, and leather. I personally prefer the leather – for obvious reasons – but also because they are flexible and more forgiving to style with. You can find my catalog of handmade leather stick barrettes here.

Now that we’ve gone over the basics, let’s get started! You can either watch my YouTube video below or keep scrolling to read my step-by-step guide.

Long Hairstyles

We’re going to start off with long hair styles. These can be done with pretty much any length that can hold a pony tail, but some can be done with shorter hair. I’ll get back to that later.

Style One: The Low Pony

1.      Gather all of your hair at the nape of your neck.

2.      Place the leather portion of your barrette over the top of the pony.

3.      Put the stick through one hole.

4.      Slide the stick through and under all of your hair.

5.      Poke the end of the stick through the other hole.

Notes: The pony tail is held in place inside the space created between the leather and the stick. This style may not work with thinner hair, but I do have a trick I’ll share with you in a moment.

Style Two: The Twist

1.      Gather all of your hair at the nape of your neck.

2.      Twirl in one direction until tightly twisted.

3.      Bring the end to the top of your head.

4.      Holding the twisted tail in place, bring the very end back down if your hair is long enough.

5.      Place the leather portion over the section of the pony at the crown of your head.

6.      Insert the stick as described above, being sure to capture enough hair between the barrette and the stick.

Notes: If you have shorter hair, you may have a “plume” of sorts sticking out the top. With extra long hair you may have to coil the twisted hair or let the end dangle out of the bottom of the barrette.

Style Three: The Half-up Bun

1.      Depending on your hair’s thickness and length, gather either a small section from both sides of the front of your hair or the top half of your hair.

2.      Twist the hair into the shape of a bun, small enough to fit in the barrette.

3.      Place the leather over the bun.

4.      Slide the stick into place, being sure that the bun is securely between the leather and the stick.

Notes: If you have thinner hair, this is a great way to bulk up your hair enough for a hair slide to work. Depending on your hair thickness, you may even be able to do your whole head of hair.

Style Four: The Half Pony

1.      Use an elastic band to pull your hair into a half pony of your desired thickness.

2.      Put the stick through one hole of the barrette.

3.      Slide the stick through the base of the pony, between the scalp and the elastic band.

4.      Secure the stick through the second hole.

Notes: This is my number one secret when using a stick barrette. I cheat and use an elastic band! This is great trick to use if you have thinner hair or strands that like to allow barrettes to slide.

Short Hairstyles

Now let’s move on to short do’s! I know a lot of people assume that you can’t use these on shorter hair and I’m here to prove them wrong!

Style One: The Itty-Bitty Pony

1.      Gather a small section of hair at the top of your head into a pony, whatever you can manage to pull into the elastic.

2.      Use the hair slide through the pony tail as described above.

3.      Smooth and arrange the leftover fringe and bangs.

Notes: I don’t have trimmed bangs, so I often just pull them back out of my face. This is a great way to spruce up that style and make it more fashionable when going out.

Style Two: The Mini-bun

1.      Gather the same small section of hair at the top of your head as before.

2.      Twist the hair into a small bun.

3.      Place the leather over the bun.

4.      Slide the stick into the hole, behind the bun, and out the other barrette hole.

5.      Smooth and arrange the leftover fringe and bangs.

Notes: This is another one that may not work depending on how much hair you have to work with.

This is obviously not a comprehensive guide to all of the styles that can be achieved with a stick barrette, but it’s enough to get you pointed in the right direction. I’ve had everything from a chin length bob to waist length hair – just like the wigs I’ve demonstrated on. I’ve managed to use a hair slide on both and everything in between. You many not have as much versatility with shorter hair, but it can be done! Don’t be afraid to play around with your stick barrette and come up with your very own style.

Need a barrette to practice these styles? Don’t forget to checkout my entire collection here

Thank you for joining me today, and as always, life’s better with leather!

jess

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