Best Hairpins for Thick Hair
Posted by Aviva Jansen Perea
If you have thick hair, you already know the feeling. You put your hair up, it looks good for about an hour, and then it starts to sag, slip, or fall apart entirely. You add more pins. It still doesn't hold. You give up and put it in a ponytail.
The problem almost never has anything to do with your hair. Thick hair is strong, it's healthy, and it has a lot of it. The problem is that most hair accessories aren't designed for it.
Here's what actually works, and why.
Why Thick Hair Is Harder to Pin
Thick hair has two things working against standard pins: weight and density.
Weight means the bun or style is heavier than a standard pin is built to anchor. A lightweight pin that works fine in fine or medium hair simply doesn't have the length or the gauge to hold a full, dense bun without bending or slipping out over time.
Density means the pin has to actually pass through a lot of hair to reach the anchor point at the base of the bun. A short pin will sit at the surface of the style without ever getting deep enough to hold. It feels secure when you first put it in, then slowly works its way out as the day goes on.
This is why layering more pins rarely solves the problem. Five short, lightweight pins sitting at the surface of a thick bun aren't doing the same job as one long, strong pin anchored at the base. You need the right tool, not more of the wrong one.
What to Look for in a Pin for Thick Hair
A few things matter more than anything else when you're choosing a pin for thick or heavy hair:
Length. The pin needs to be long enough to pass all the way through a full bun and reach the base where the hair is gathered. If the pin isn't reaching that anchor point, it's only holding the outer layers, which is not enough.
Gauge. A thicker gauge pin holds its tension better under the weight of heavy hair. A thin or flimsy pin will bend slightly over time, which loosens its grip and lets the style start to slide.
Tension. The prongs of the pin should have enough resistance that they're working to hold their shape. A pin that opens too easily has less grip. You want to feel a little resistance when the pin seats itself, that's what hold actually feels like.
The Best Pins for Thick Hair
Power Pin
The Power Pin is what I reach for first with thick, long, or heavy hair. It's our largest pin, designed specifically for the kind of hair that overwhelms standard accessories.
It's long enough to pass through a full, dense bun and anchor at the base rather than floating at the surface. The gauge is strong enough to hold without bending under weight. And it's color-matched to blend into the hair rather than sitting on top of the style as visible hardware.
For a high bun, a low bun, or any style where the hair is gathered and needs a real anchor, the Power Pin is the one. One well-placed pin should hold all day without adjustment.
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Foundation Pins
Foundation Pins are what professional stylists use to build structure inside an updo before finishing it. If you've ever had a salon blowout or an updo that seemed to stay put impossibly well, Foundation Pins are usually part of how that happened.
For thick hair, they're useful when you're building a more complex style and need internal support underneath the finished look. They're not the pin you'd reach for on a rushed Tuesday morning, but for a style you want to last through an event or a long day, they're worth knowing about.
How to Place a Pin in Thick Hair
Choosing the right pin is only half of it. Placement is the other half, and with thick hair it matters even more than usual.
The pin needs to go into the base of the bun, where the hair is gathered and there's actual tension to work with, not at the outer edge or the top of the bun where there's nothing to anchor against.
Insert at a slight downward angle, weave through the bun, catch a small amount of hair near the scalp, and bring the pin back through. That weaving motion is what locks the pin in place rather than letting it slide straight out.
For very thick or very heavy hair, two pins placed at opposing angles through the base creates an X that distributes the hold and keeps both pins seated. This is more reliable than one pin for hair that puts a lot of weight on a single anchor point.
For a full walkthrough of the technique, How to Put Your Hair in a Bun with One Hairpin covers placement and the weave motion step by step.
The Bottom Line
If your hair is thick and you've always felt like nothing holds it properly, the issue is almost certainly the pin rather than your hair or your technique. Thick hair needs length, gauge, and a pin that's designed to anchor real weight.
The right pin, placed correctly, should hold a full bun all day without you thinking about it again.
For more on choosing the right pin based on your hair type, our Complete Hairpin Guide covers everything from fine to thick to long hair and walks through which Day Rate pin works best for each.
xo, Aviva
