How to Do a French Twist with a Hair Pin
URL: /blogs/drb-blog/french-twist-hair-pin
The French twist has a reputation for being difficult, and it isn't. What's difficult is doing one with the wrong tools and expecting it to hold. With the right french twist hair pin and the right order of operations, it's actually one of the fastest elegant styles you can do on yourself.
A French twist relies on tension held along a vertical seam, not a single anchor point like a bun does. That means it needs a pin, or a small handful of them, that can travel the length of the twist and lock in at multiple points along it. A small clip at the top isn't enough. Neither is a claw clip, which grips the surface of the twist without securing anything underneath, so the first hour looks great and the last one doesn't. The right clip for a French twist updo has to do two things at once: hold the seam closed, and stay invisible while it does it.
For most French twists, I reach for two or three Hero Pins along the seam and one Foundation Pin or Petite Power Pin anchored near the top, where the twist naturally wants to loosen first. The Hero Pins are slim enough to slide in without disturbing the smoothness of the twist, and the top anchor pin is doing the real structural work. If your hair is thick or long, a Power Pin at the base, where the twist meets the nape, gives you enough strength to hold the whole shape without a second pin as backup.
To do it, gather your hair as if you were going into a low ponytail, but instead of securing it, twist the gathered section upward along the back of your head in one continuous motion, keeping it close to your scalp. Hold the seam closed with one hand. Starting at the bottom, insert your first pin horizontally, catching both sides of the twist and the hair underneath, then rotate to lock it flat against your head. Work your way up the seam, placing a pin every two to three inches, and finish with your anchor pin at the very top where the twist folds over. Smooth any loose ends into the twist as you go rather than leaving them on top, where they'll be the first thing to come loose.
If your French twist keeps unraveling from the top, it usually needs a stronger anchor pin at that fold, not more pins scattered along the seam. If it's loosening from the bottom, it's the opposite: a stronger pin low, near the nape, where the weight of the style pulls hardest. Pay attention to where yours actually comes undone before you add more hardware.
For more on the pin this technique is built around, How to Use a French Hair Pin covers the basics, and the Complete Guide to Hairpins has everything in one place, including how to choose between all five pins.
Browse the full Day Rate pin line at dayratebeauty.com/collections/pins.
xo, Aviva
