4 Chic Ways to Style a Claw Clip

January 20, 2021

By: Sarah Ferguson | Makeup.com by L'Oréal

Claw clips are not the first ‘90s beauty trend we expected to make a comeback, but we’re not mad about it. The hair accessory fits in with the low-maintenance lifestyle we’ve adopted since we began to work from home and lean into loungewear. They make it easy to get our hair out of our faces and are actually pretty versatile too. Here, hairstylist Jasmine Burnside is sharing four modern ways to style a claw clip.

Half-Up, Half-Down

STEP 1: Section the Hair

Section hair by creating a center part and leaving out pieces around the face for softness. Then gather your hair starting from the top of the ears to the mid-crown of the head.

STEP 2: Start Teasing

Tease the gathered section at the root to create volume and texture.

STEP 3: Twist and Pin

Twist the hair at the back of the head and pin where you want the clip to sit. “This gives it extra security and makes the style easier to hold,” says Burnside. Then clip over where you pinned the hair (Burnisde used the Kitsch Open Shape Claw Clip).

Messy French Twist Ponytail

STEP 1: Follow the Directions Above

Follow steps one and two from the half-up, half-down tutorial above.

STEP 2: Continue Twisting

Instead of stopping when you’ve twisted half of your hair, continue the motion down the head to the nape of the neck, pinning with U-shaped pins or bobby pins as you go to secure it.

STEP 3: Clip It

Apply the gold clip at the nape of the neck and keep the ponytail loose.

Sleek Twisted Ponytail

STEP 1: Slick Your Hair Back

Mist your hair with a leave-in conditioner like the Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Intensely Smooth Leave-In Conditioning Cream and comb hair all the way back. Then, use a pomade or a product that has hold and comb the hair again to get it to lay flat against the head.

STEP 2: Gather and Twist

Gather the hair in the middle of the head and comb it back as if you were creating a ponytail. Twist it up into a figure eight-type formation.

STEP 3: Add the Clip

Once flat to your head, take a large claw clip and attach it to the twist at the midsection of your head. If you have a lot of hair and you can’t get the clip to hold, you can try securing your hair into a ponytail first.

Double French Twist

STEP 1: Create a Half-Up, Half-Down Twist

Gather the hair from the top of your ears up into a half-up, half-down ponytail. Secure with an elastic. Flip the ponytail inside of itself to create a textured look.

STEP 2: Add a Claw Clip

Secure a claw clip over the hair tie to hide it.

STEP 3: Create Another French Twist

Create another French twist with the remaining lengths. Secure it at the nape of the neck with an elastic and then wrap a small section of hair around the base and tuck it into the elastic at the underside of the ponytail.

Photography and Hair Styling: Jasmine Burnside