Uses
The main use of a bobby pin is to hold hair in place. In addition to bobbed hair, bobby pins are often used in up-dos, buns, and other hair styles where a sleek look is desired. To use a bobby pin in hair hold the hair in the desired position and push the bobby pin (straight side up) into place. Bobby pins can also be used to hold head coverings such as headbands, bandannas, and yarmulkes in place. They can be used as decorative elements in hair. Attributes, such as the clipping action or having a readily available thin, flat piece of metal, mean the bobby pin can be used in other ways as well: * As makeshift lockpicks by straightening out two bobby pins to pick the lock. * They can be used in place of a clothespin for drying lightweight articles. * They can be used as clips to hold multi-portion packages closed between uses. * They can be slipped over book pages as a bookmark. * Bobby pins are sometimes employed to protect the fingers from burns while smoking the final portion of a marijuana cigarette. In such use, the bobby pin is known colloquially as a "roach clip." * Bobby pins may be used to thread laces through pre-cut holes in leather and other heavy materials.Appearance
Like barrettes, decorated bobby pins are sometimes meant to be noticed in hair. A decorated bobby pin can have beads, ribbons or other details on it, and is usually worn to pull back front sections of hair while looking decorative. Bobby pins may also be tinted a hair colour, such as blonde, brown, or red to blend better into the hair. Some are made without the wavy rigid side and instead are smooth and curved. They are made this way to help with the grip factor and they stay closer and more tightly attached to the hair that it is pinned to. Bobby pins may also be padded in order to avoid creasing the hair.History
English manufacturers Kirby, Beard & Co. Ltd. of Birmingham made hairpins similar to the bobby pin, before the bobby pin's invention. The trademarked pin, the "Kirbigrip" was just one of the pins produced by Kirby, and it closely resembled the bobby pin. The bobby pin was invented by Luis Marcus, aReferences
{{Authority control Hairdressing American inventions de:Haarnadel ja:ボビーピン pt:Grampo de cabelo