Best Hair Pins for Fine Hair

The Best Hair Pins for Fine & Thin Hair

If you have fine or thin hair, you already know the heartbreak: you put your hair up, look gorgeous for ten minutes, then everything slowly deflates as your pins slide right out. Most hair pins are designed for average or thick hair. Fine hair needs something different.

Frenchies were built for exactly this problem. Here's what to use and how to use it.

Why Fine Hair Is Hard to Pin

Fine hair has a smaller strand diameter, less density per square inch, and usually less natural texture. Traditional bobby pins and metal U-pins need something to press against — and fine hair often doesn't give them enough. So they slide, they don't hold tension, and your hairstyle collapses.

Frenchies solve this by using friction, not pressure. Our flocked fiber coating creates micro-grip against every strand — even fine ones.

Our Recommendations for Fine Hair

1. Start with Small 2" Velvet Pins

Small pins are proportionally correct for fine hair. A large pin in a fine bun is overkill and can actually weigh the style down. Start with our classic velvet pins in your hair color.

2. Match Your Color Exactly

Because fine hair shows more scalp, visible pins are more obvious. Match to your natural color: blonde, brown, black, or grey. If you're between shades, go slightly lighter — they'll read as flyaway strands rather than foreign objects.

3. Use Our Silk Scrunchies for Ponytails

Standard elastics break fine hair at a rate nobody wants to admit. 100% mulberry silk scrunchies hold a ponytail without yanking out strands or leaving a crease.

4. Skip the Metal U-Pins

Hard metal U-pins require a lot of hair to grip. If you've been using them with no luck, that's why. Switch to flocked.

Styling Tips for Fine Hair

  • Add texture before you pin. A light mist of dry shampoo or texture spray gives pins something to grip.
  • Backcomb lightly at the base. Even 10 seconds of backcombing at the crown gives pins real anchor material.
  • Pin in pairs. Two pins crossing each other hold better than one pin going the same direction.
  • Use a charm pin as a statement. Charm pins double the visual interest — a single decorative pin reads as intentional styling.

Hairstyles That Work Beautifully on Fine Hair

  • Low chignon with 4–6 small pins
  • Half-up twist with 2–3 small pins and a charm finishing pin
  • Soft French twist (pin count 5–7)
  • Low ponytail wrapped with a silk scrunchie
  • Relaxed undone bun with 4 pins + texture spray

Celebrity Stylist Approved

Fine-haired celebrities use Frenchies precisely for this reason. Our interview with celebrity hairstylist Christian Wood covers the exact techniques he uses on A-listers with fine hair — read it here.

Start With the Right Set

If you have fine hair and you're new to Frenchies, we suggest starting with: