Claw Clip Styles That Actually Hold Thick Hair | The Pixie Garden Hair Podcast Ep. 04

Delena's salon-tested claw clip selection is built for one thing most clips fail at: holding thick hair all day. In this episode, Delena explains why ninety percent of drugstore claw clips were designed to look pretty on a shelf rather than grip dense hair, how she tests every clip she stocks for spring tension, jaw width, tooth grip, and hinge strength, and how she finishes every look by smoothing the hairline with the Hair Finishing Stick.

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Episode Summary

Licensed cosmetologist Delena Markland explains why claw clips fail on thick hair -- and why it is almost never the wearer's technique. She breaks down the four things she tests on every clip before stocking it (spring tension, jaw width, tooth grip, hinge strength), why larger five-inch, jumbo, and lay-flat formats are the ones built for volume, the twist method for all-day hold, the half-up adjustment for heavy hair, and how she finishes every style by smoothing the hairline with the Hair Finishing Stick.

Full Episode Transcript

Jess: Welcome to The Pixie Garden Hair Podcast. I am Jess, here with licensed cosmetologist Delena Markland. Delena, claw clips are everywhere right now. But every client I know with thick hair says the same thing -- they put one in, and ten minutes later it has launched itself across the room. What is going on?

Delena Markland: I hear it constantly in my chair. A client sits down, frustrated, telling me she has tried every clip at the drugstore and none of them hold. And here is the thing -- it is almost never her technique. It is the clip. Ninety percent of the claw clips out there are cheap, thin plastic with a weak little spring. They were designed to look pretty on a shelf, not to hold a thick head of hair. So that is where I start: the clip you are using was never built for your hair. That is exactly why I test every single clip before it goes into my shop.

Jess: Tell me about that. What does testing a claw clip actually mean?

Delena Markland: I put it through what a thick-haired client would put it through. I check the spring tension -- can it actually clamp down and stay, or does it give up under weight. I look at the jaw width and the tooth grip, because a clip needs deep, strong teeth to grab a dense twist, not shallow little ridges. And I check the hinge, because that is the first thing that fails on a bad clip. If it cannot hold a full thick twist for an entire day, it does not make it into the shop. The ones that pass are the larger formats -- five-inch and jumbo clips, the lay-flat styles that sit comfortably against your head. Those are built for volume. That is the whole point of curating instead of just selling whatever is cheapest.

Jess: So the right clip first. Once someone has one of your tested clips, what is the technique?

Delena Markland: The twist method, and it is the part most people skip. Gather your hair like you are starting a ponytail, twist it until it begins to coil on itself, then fold that coil up against the back of your head. Now open the clip and place it over the folded twist. The twist compresses all that volume into a dense bundle, so the clip is gripping something tight instead of grabbing at a loose, heavy mass. A good clip plus the twist is what gives you all-day hold instead of a clip that slides out by lunch.

Jess: What about the half-up look? That is the one that never stays for me.

Delena Markland: Two adjustments. Twist the top section before you clip it -- same principle, give the clip something dense to bite. And place it about an inch higher than feels natural, because gravity is going to pull heavy hair down and you want room for that drop. Then here is my finishing step, the one that makes it look salon-done instead of thrown together. I run the Hair Finishing Stick along the hairline and over any flyaways after the clip is in. The clip holds the structure, the Finishing Stick polishes the edges. That combination is how you get that effortless, intentional look in about thirty seconds.

Jess: Any styles thick-haired listeners should just avoid?

Delena Markland: The single tiny clip. A small accent clip cannot grip thick hair, and a single clip on a heavy top knot puts all the weight on one failure point. If you want height, use two of the larger clips -- one to anchor the base, one to secure the top -- and let the bigger formats distribute the weight. Work with your volume, not against it.

Jess: The clip that was actually built for the job, plus the finishing touch. Shop Delena's salon-tested claw clips and the Hair Finishing Stick at thepixiegarden.com. Thanks for listening to The Pixie Garden Hair Podcast.

Hosted by Delena Markland, Licensed Cosmetologist and Owner of The Pixie Garden. New episodes weekly. Browse all episodes.