Death of the Bobby Pin: The Lilla Rose Story

Unlike my dear friend Whitney, I have never been terribly creative with my hair. Whit is the woman who once literally pulled branches of flowers off one of her house plants and expertly weaved them in and out of the up-do she had just assembled on my head in less than 5 minutes. I am more of the person who will watch an hour of YouTube videos with the search tag "easy hair style for medium hair", then spend another hour trying to copy the strategy I saw on the video, only to give up and go for my usual look. Unless I have my 15 year old niece here to spruce up my hair for me, straight or curly are about as big as the variations get for me.

I did recently learn how to make fabulous curls in my hair using my flat iron, which was a result of pure necessity after the springs came flying off of my curling iron with half of my head already curled and plastered in place with hair spray. I have used either a curling iron or a flat iron (or both) every single day of my life for the last 18 years. Somehow, I manage to scorch my hand every single day. Like it's some surprise to me that the 400* metal iron molding my hair might be a tad warm to the touch.

 

So when my friend Brandi reached out to me recently and asked me if I would try a Lilla Rose Flexi Clip, I warned her that I am not the most talented hair designer in the world, but she assured me that they are easy to use. After browsing her website and selecting the size and design I liked best (no easy feat - there were lots and lots of pretty ones!), the clip of my choice arrived at my door 3 days later! I have medium-long, very thick hair, so I was a little overwhelmed by having to choose a size, but there were many helpful videos showing different kinds of hair and styles, and the corresponding size of the clip.

 

They seemed pretty cost effective, too. The medium (apparently my hair is not as remarkably thick as I once thought) that I selected was $11, and it looks like the priciest Flexi Clip is $17. They are made from beaded piano wire, which I honestly had no clue that pianos had wire - I'm not a music nerd, I just married one (and I am sure he knew that pianos had wires), and come in all sorts of colors and designs. Lilla Rose has a lot of other really cute products, too, but I haven't tried any of those out quite yet.

 

Since most of my wardrobe is black and white and all of my jewelry and accessories are silver, I opted for the clip called "Elegant Ornate". Pretty, but not plain and not too flashy. Just like me :).

 

 

The first thing I noticed and loved about this clip is that it is all one piece, significantly reducing my risk of losing a vital part. I am a huge bobby pin fan, but our house (and my purse, and the laundry room, and our cars, and everywhere else I may have ever set foot) becomes one giant bobby pin graveyard. Our welcome sign should say: Welcome to the Sloan Household: The Final Resting Place of Guitar Picks and Hair Accessories.

 

Secondly, I realized that the package my Flexi Clip arrived in also included a little brochure with some information about the company and the product, and several photos of step-by-step instructions to achieve five different looks.

 

 

 

The third thing I saw was that each clip has three notches that the wire locks into, depending on how much hair you are securing and how tightly you want the hair to be held. I will admit that the first two three several attempts didn't work because I was holding the pin with the notches facing up instead of down. Once I realized that I am an idiot and flipped the clip over to the correct position, I could hook the beaded part into the appropriate notch, and it comfortably and securely fit right into place.

 

Here I am modeling the half-up look that I love so much - a little fancier than all down, but casual enough that I am not flipping my hair from one side to the other all day long, fixing it in every reflection I see.

  

What I think I love the most about the Flexi Clip is that 1.) unlike bobby pins, it only takes one to hold my hair in place all day, and 2.) It is painless! With the bobby pins that I have been using for so many years, I sacrifice about 7 of them and several chunks of my scalp to the hair gods every morning. Plus this is a really easy way to add a little spunk to my look. Every girl needs a little sparkle!

 

I am someone who loves up-dos on other people, but I just don't feel like I can personally pull them off, so the below photo is stolen from Brandi herself. This is the French Twist style, that I think looks so cute on her, and I know that as a busy mom of three small kids, it is important to her that she can fix her hair in this style quickly and easily.

 

 

 

If you want some more information about the Flexi Clip, or any of Lilla Rose's other great products, visit Brandi's website by clicking here. If you want to learn how to accessorize your hair with common household plants, call Whitney.