Other names | bob pin, hair pin, kirby grip, hair grip |
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Classification | fastener |
Used with | hair |
A bobby pin (US English, known as a kirby grip or hair grip in the United Kingdom) is a type of hairpin, usually of metal or plastic, used in coiffure to hold hair in place. It is a small double-pronged hair pin or clip that slides into hair with the prongs open and then the flexible prongs close over the hair to hold it in place. They are typically plain and unobtrusively colored, but some are elaborately decorated or jeweled. Bobby pins became popular in the 1920s to hold the new bobbed hairstyles.
The main use of a bobby pin is to hold hair in place. In addition to bobbed hair, bobby pins are often used in up-dos, buns, and other hair styles where a sleek look is desired. To use a bobby pin in hair hold the hair in the desired position and push the bobby pin (straight side up) into place. [1]
Bobby pins can also be used to hold head coverings such as headbands, bandannas, and yarmulkes in place.
They can be used as decorative elements in hair. [2]
Attributes, such as the clipping action or having a readily available thin, flat piece of metal, mean the bobby pin can be used in other ways as well:
Like barrettes, decorated bobby pins are sometimes meant to be noticed in hair. A decorated bobby pin can have beads, ribbons or other details on it, and is usually worn to pull back front sections of hair while looking decorative.
Bobby pins may also be tinted a hair colour, such as blonde, brown, or red to blend better into the hair.
Some are made without the wavy rigid side and instead are smooth and curved. They are made this way to help with the grip factor and they stay closer and more tightly attached to the hair that it is pinned to.
Bobby pins may also be padded in order to avoid creasing the hair. [6]
English manufacturers Kirby, Beard & Co. Ltd. of Birmingham made hairpins similar to the bobby pin, before the bobby pin's invention. The trademarked pin, the "Kirbigrip" was just one of the pins produced by Kirby, and it closely resembled the bobby pin. The bobby pin was invented by Luis Marcus, a San Francisco–based cosmetics manufacturer, after World War I and came into wide use as the hairstyle known as the "bob cut" or "bobbed hair" took hold. [7] He originally sold two handmade bobby pins for 35 cents. Although Marcus thought about naming the pin after himself, he named them bobby after the bobbed hairstyle. [7] A trademark on the term "bobbie pin" was held for some decades by Smith Victory Corporation of Buffalo, New York. A trademark infringement claim made by Smith Victory Corporation against Procter & Gamble regarding their naming their home permanent product Bobbi was settled in the 1950s by a payment to Smith Victory Corporation by P&G. The term is now in common usage and therefore is no longer a valid trademark.
A hairpin or hair pin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place. It may be used simply to secure long hair out of the way for convenience or as part of an elaborate hairstyle or coiffure. The earliest evidence for dressing the hair may be seen in carved "Venus figurines" such as the Venus of Brassempouy and the Venus of Willendorf. The creation of different hairstyles, especially among women, seems to be common to all cultures and all periods and many past, and current, societies use hairpins.
A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.
A clothespin or clothes peg is a fastener used to hang up clothes for drying, usually on a clothes line. Clothespins come in many different designs.
The mohawk is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the center. Mohawk hairstyles have existed for thousands of years. As of the 21st century, they are most commonly associated with punks, or broader non-conformity.
Kanzashi are hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. The term kanzashi refers to a wide variety of accessories, including long, rigid hairpins, barrettes, fabric flowers and fabric hair ties.
A pin is a device, typically pointed, used for fastening objects or fabrics together. Pins can have the following sorts of body:
A split pin, also known in the US as a cotter pin or cotter key, is a metal fastener with two tines that are bent during installation, similar to a staple or rivet. Typically made of thick wire with a half-circular cross section, split pins come in multiple sizes and types.
A barrette, also known as a hair slide, or a hair clip, is a clasp for holding hair in place. They are often made from metal or plastic and sometimes feature decorative fabric. In one type of barrette, a clasp is used to secure the barrette in place; the clasp opens when the two metal pieces at either side are pressed together.
A bouffant is a type of puffy, rounded hairstyle characterized by hair raised high on the head and usually covering the ears or hanging down on the sides.
A chignon, from the French chignon meaning a bun, is a hairstyle characterized by wrapped hair on the back of the head. In the United States and United Kingdom, it is often used as an abbreviation of the French phrase chignon du cou, signifying a low bun worn at the nape of the neck.
This is a list of existing articles related to fashion and clothing. For individual designers, see List of fashion designers
A hair stick is a straight, pointed device, usually between five and nine inches in length, used to hold a person's hair in place in a hair bun or similar hairstyle.
A hair roller or hair curler is a small tube that is rolled into a person's hair in order to curl it, or to straighten curly hair, making a new hairstyle.
Hairstyling tools may include hair irons, hair dryers, hairbrushes, hair rollers, diffusers and various types of scissors.
A hairpin is a device used to hold a person's hair in place.
A lace wig or a lace front wig is a special type of hairpiece or wig in which human hair or synthetic hair is tied by hand to a sheer lace base which goes over the scalp.
A binyeo is a Korean traditional hairpin for fixing ladies' chignons. Its main purpose is to pin the chignon in place, but it also serves as ornamentation, and it has different usages or names according to its material or shape. Therefore, it is possible to identify one's social status by looking at their binyeo. Binyeo are divided into two kinds, a jam and a chae. Jam have a long body and chae have an upturned 'U' shape. Binyeo are usually used by women, but they are also used by men to fix their sangtu (topknots) in place.
Liangbatou or erbatou is a hairstyle/headdress worn by Manchu women. It is a tall headdress that features two handfuls of hair, parted to each side of the head, sometimes with the addition of wire frames, extensions and ornamentation.
Ji ; pinyin: Jī) ,Zanzi or Zan ; pinyin: Zānzi or zān) for short) and Chai(Chinese: 钗); pinyin: Chāi) are generic terms for hairpin in China. 'Ji' is also the term used for hairpins of the Qin dynasty. The earliest form of Chinese hair stick was found in the Neolithic Hemudu culture relics; the hair stick was called Ji ; pinyin: Jī), and were made from bones, horns, stones, and jade.
Shubi, also called as zhi, is a generic term used for Chinese combs in China, which includes thick-teeth comb shu and thin-teeth comb bi. Shubi originated about 6000 years ago in China during the late Neolithic period. Some Chinese combs dating from the Shang dynasty were found in the Tomb of Fuhao. In ancient China, Chinese combs had a high special status, a high artistic value, was an important form of hair ornament in Chinese history. Chinese comb also had and continues to hold unique cultural meaning and emotional value. Chinese combs in China were not used only for grooming purposes, they were also used holding and decorating hair. Both Chinese men and women wore decorative combs in their hair in ancient China. Chinese women often wore combs and fine-tooth combs in their hair buns. Chinese comb-making was also an important form of traditional Chinese art and business industry.