Ribbons, Bows and Barrettes - Help a Dad Out Here Please

Updated on January 25, 2012
P.E. asks from Marietta, GA
18 answers

My 4 year old loves her hair done EVERY DAY. oh my. I am getting scared for the tween and teenage years when it comes to short skirts and make up!

I can't seem to get the bows and barrettes to stay in her fine, silky hair.

We do not wash her hair every day. She's only 4. My two year old is a tom boy - right now - so she doesn't care about the dresses, ribbons, bows, etc. "Daddy - the bows MUST match my shoes!" Lord. what did I get myself into? My wife is gone to work while I'm getting her ready for pre-school.

What pointers can you give me?

Thanks!

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So What Happened?

thank you ladies for the pointers! We will go to CVS today.

Eliza: thank you - we tried head bands - they slipped out too. My wife says there might be some at CVS that I can go check out.

i won't give up.

Featured Answers

S.A.

answers from Chicago on

I agree with reinforcing the barrettes with pony tail holders underneath. The Stay Put brand would probably work on fine, silky hair. Or you may be able to put a couple bobby pins in to help keep them in place. Does she like headbands? Those are easy!
Good luck!

4 moms found this helpful
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K.L.

answers from Chicago on

I agree with Czechma! I know this is weird but I can relate most by dogs. I am a dog groomer and some owners love bows in their dogs hair. We have some with rubber bands and some that are clips. The clips don't always stay too well so I use a little rubber band first. I usually get the clear ones that look like the rubber bands for braces (from Walgreens) They are tiny and so you dont have to "loop" them a lot first, making it easy to place a clip over it without making a big bump. My 4 year old neice also loves clips in her hair and the same trick works for her hair!
Good luck!

3 moms found this helpful

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M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

Oh you are such a good Daddy.
Put a tiny pony in at the spot you want to barrette. ONe of those small coated rubber ones. Take a small section of hair and ponytail it near the top where you want the barrette. THen place the barrette above the pony holder.
Barrettes with teeth hold better.
Tiny rubber pony holders work pretty good
Twist the hair before putting a barrette in

You are her hero. She will always want to please Daddy. Right now have a sit down with your wife about makeup.. If you don't want her into it until 15 then tell Mom and have a good heart to heart about it.
Start out in middle school with lip gloss and nail polish.
I know you're not there yet, but my husband actually stressed about this the day our first daughter was born.

5 moms found this helpful

B.F.

answers from Toledo on

Goody makes a no slip barrette they are about $8 for a pack of 4 paris but they work great and they have a rubebrized texture on the back..another idea, I havent tried it yet BUT..a friend of mine buys that no skip mat that is a soft rubber texture and cuts a piece then gorrilla glues it on the clip part of bows and clips, she swears by this!

3 moms found this helpful

I.W.

answers from Portland on

My daughter has fine hair also. When she was little, I to hold the barettes in place with ponytail holders. Those little rubber bands that are made for hair. Good luck!

3 moms found this helpful
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C.B.

answers from San Francisco on

You've gotten a lot of good responses - I can't think of anything to add. Just wanted to give you kudos for even attempting to do her hair! My hubby will brush our GD's hair, but he doesn't attempt anything but getting the tangles out. Anything beyond that, he calls me or auntie!

3 moms found this helpful
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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

If I really need a barrette to stay in, I put a hair binder (they make all sizes and colors) first and then the barrette/bow behind it or sometimes through the elastic.

My DH learned to french braid for his older daughter's hair. He still talks with pride about the time someone asked then-elementary school aged SD who did her hair because it was so nice and she said, matter of factly, "Dad did."

You can do this. :)

3 moms found this helpful
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E.F.

answers from Kalamazoo on

Pink headbands! You can find them in drug stores or in clothing stores, they come in all colors and have bows, ribbons etc attached. They are a wonderful option for fine hair, because they sit on the head and don't need the hair to hold it up or on.

3 moms found this helpful

A.S.

answers from Iowa City on

In my experience there isn't anything you can do except keep putting the things back in the hair. Fine, silky child hair just doesn't keep the barrettes in. We have better luck with elastic bands (you can find ones that have bows,ribbons or plastic things attached) but they too slip out of my 4 year old's hair a few times a day. Good luck.

2 moms found this helpful

☼.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I second the Goody non-slip barrettes ... very common brand, you can generally find them at Target or any other drug store. Anyway, they almost work TOO well :)

2 moms found this helpful

N.N.

answers from Detroit on

Is there a beauty supply store near you?
Shop for head bands with rhine stones and flowers ect......
My daughter is 8 and did not like the head band idea at first but I purchased her all kinds and she loves them now.

When you put the hair in a pony tail put a rubber band at the end and slip the barrette into the rubber band and clip the barrette closed. They have the very small rubber band for braids and such.

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S.P.

answers from New York on

We stil use the baby bow clips we got at buy-buy baby or other baby stores. I find that the bow clips work much better than a barrette (I mean the ones with the little clip thing that attaches. I also found some metal backed bow/clip things that stay very well.

2 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

I make bows for my daughter, and I take the contact paper, like you line drawers with, and cut strips and hot glue them into her clips. They really help them stay in her fine hair.

2 moms found this helpful
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K.N.

answers from Boston on

In addition to the wonderful tips you have here, you might want to try a little hair spray on the part you're trying to get to hold the barrette. Sometimes, it adds just enough to keep the clip in place. Also, when my kids (also fine hair survivors) were younger, I found it helpful to cross barrettes or clips. Instead of using one clip, I'd put the first one in backwards (back to front, while holding the hair in place where I wanted it) then put the second one in the normal way, making sort of an X shape. It seemed to help some.

Good luck!

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Get a cheap cheap can of aerosol hair spray. Open the clasp of the barrette or the other item. Spray the part that will touch the hair lightly with the spray. Before it dries put it in her hair. The hair spray should "glue" it in.

The other option is to buy the tine plasti-bands that come in a multitude of colors at Walmart in the hair section or the girls department and make a tiny pony tail then put the addition above the plasti-band. It will be blocked from just falling out due to having a band below it stopping sliding. If it's a ribbon thread some of the ribbon through one layer of the plasti-band.

2 moms found this helpful

A.M.

answers from Kansas City on

Buy the small non-tangle rubber bands (in the little girl section of the hair/barrettes isle, they come in bright colors) put her hair in a pony and then put clip the bow/barrette to the hair that is in the pony!

2 moms found this helpful
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E.T.

answers from Albuquerque on

You've gotten some great advice on barrettes and pony tail holders (I learned a few things myself!). I wanted to add that if you can get away with it, wash her hair only weekly. I was amazed at how much healthier my girls' fine silky hair looks when it's only washed every seven days.

My two are four years old as well, and they don't care about the bows matching the shoes... they simply care that everything is SPARKLY!!!!

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C.O.

answers from Minneapolis on

My almost 5 year old daughter has really fine hair too and I have such a hard time putting barrettes that will stay in her hair. I mostly just do variations of braids and piggy tails. I get those little elastic band (they come in like 300 pacs). They look like those elastic bands for braces. Those hold her hair well and then I put a cute band on or tie a ribbon. Or you can braid in a ribbon in her hair.

1 mom found this helpful
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