So…where do all the bobby pins go?
Million-dollar question, right?
Over the course of my 39 years, I bet I’ve purchased hundreds — no, thousands — of bobby pins.
Thousands.
And yet right now I can only find three of them.
Why is that? Where do they go? It’s like I live with an invisible bobby pin monster that only comes out at night.
Sometimes I really wish Tabs could talk… He’d probably totally freak out. “YES! FINALLY! I’ve been trying to tell you FOR YEARS! There IS a monster, and it takes all of the bobby pins and my food and my toys and then it goes into the closet!”
LOL!
I actually just bought this pack of 50 Goody Bobby Pins last weekend from Target, and a quarter of them have already disappeared. I seriously doubt anyone will ever see any of them again. It was fun while it lasted, y’all!
(NO, SERIOUSLY, WHERE DO THEY GO!?)
In what will probably turn out to be just another sorry attempt to break my scrunchie habit (hey, I’m trying), I also picked up a sock bun kit by Mia Beauty, a six-pack of Medium Goody Claw Clips…
…and this Sonia Kashuk Lash & Brow Comb, because it looked great for travel, and you just never know when you’ll face an emergency brow or lash situation that needs urgent attention (a lesson I learned the hard way).
Dyan says
Let me know how the bun thing works out. I’ve wanted to try it and I have curly, mid back length, somewhat thick hair. I feel like I never know what to do with it and I’m really bad at styling my hair. I’m clueless. As much as I’m into cosmetics is how little I’m into styling. I just use a diffuser, scrunch some hairspray into it and go. This might be something that will be easy for me!
Karen says
Hi Dyan,
Will do! I’m trying it out for the first time today and so far so good. After a few more tries I’ll come back with a follow up.
Your hair sounds super pretty, by the way! Is it naturally curly?
Tulipthecat says
I also buy a lot of Bobbie pins. Although when I leave them on the bed Tulip the cat flicks them off the bed and they go flying across the room. If they fall on the hardwood floor she pushes them around the room and under the carpet. I think she hides all of mine somewhere. Perhaps Tabs is doing the same
Karen says
Maybe Tabs and Tulip are part of a secret cat society of bobby pin collectors? If that was the case Tabs would have thousands of them stashed around here somewhere!
How long have you been Tulip’s assistant?
Tulipthecat says
I’ve been Tulip’s assistant for about 6 years. She located me when I was looking into becoming an assistant. She just sat on my lap and fell asleep so I just took her home.
Tulip loves the black rubber bands and Q-tips too. She flicks them onto the floor and chases them around the house until I can’t find them anymore.
Karen says
How lucky! It’s very nice to have a kitty pick you, isn’t it? The same thing happened with Tabs. One day he just decided that I was his human, and that was that.
How did she get her name? Does she like tulips?
Tulipthecat says
My boyfriend’s cat’s name is Jazmine after his favorite flower and tulips are my favorite flowers so that is how she got her name. Plus she loves to smell all of the flowers. One day I came home and she had yellow pollen on her face from sniffing the sunflowers that were on the dining room table.
PS. I just put my hair in a bun. I put it in a ponytail and then teased it so it was fluffy and rolled it around the base of the ponytail.
Elena says
Ooh the bun thing looks nice! I have been really into putting my hair into a bun lately.
Whoever can figure out where all the bobby pins go AND where all my matching socks have went deserves a prize. I think my dryer or my dog is to blame for the socks. I am convinced my purse eats my bobby pins. Lol.
Karen says
Hi Elena!
I’m wearing it today for the first time and so far I like it. My bun is huge, LOL! It looks like I’ve got a croissant on my head, but in the best possible way. 🙂
I think my black ponytail holders also go into the black hole where all the socks and bobby pins go, haha.
Any news on your possible trip to SF?
Elena says
Oh I might have to go pick that up at Target. I love Target trips. Mine just got self-checkout and it is the best thing ever!
Oh gosh, my ponytail holders go MIA all the time.
We will probably book a flight last minute. I just need to find fun stuff to do while we are down there. I just watched an old Anthony Bourdain layover episode and he was there. It gave me some ideas!
B says
I know where mine go! I was talking to myself looking for a bobby pin and my hubs says here and points a pile on his dresser. Apparently he’s good at finding and collecting them. That and my hair elastics. 🙂
Karen says
Hi B,
That’s genius! What a sweet hubby! How long have you two been married?
meghan says
I love the Sonia Kashuk lash comb, it’s the only comb I use! It’s very sharp but super effective.
Karen says
Hi Meghan,
I’m very excited about using it to whip my lashes into shape. I used to have one from Sephora, but (surprise, surprise) my office has swallowed it. I will probably never see it ever again.
Happy Wednesday, by the way! Got any plans yet for the weekend?
Kiss & Make-up says
I have a bunch of bobby pins, but I never use them so they don’t have the chance to get lost! 🙂 I just don’t like how to tug at my hair. I prefer using clips to keep my hair in place.
Karen says
OOh, like claw clips? I love those but mine always break!
Kwmechelle says
I have that lash/brow comb thing. In fact, I have 2 of them. One for my vanity & one for my purse. Thing is, I feel like I have to comb my lashes to remove excess mascara. I LOVE mascara & I don’t mind the clumping so much. However, there’s a fine line between drag queen goddess lashes & mrs itsy bitsy spider. This comb works great. It helps me walk that line; in style, no less!
Karen says
Hi Kwmechelle,
Do you ever remove the excess mascara before applying the brush to your lashes? I find that helps reduce clumping. I’m not always good about it, though, LOL! Laziness.
Sunny says
Hahaha this is like the one lone sock mystery! Why do socks always come out of the washing machine alone???
Would be great if the cats could talk indeed, although I suspect they might have a hand in the bobby pin mystery 😉
Karen says
Hi Sunny,
It would be EPIC if cats could talk. Although, I dunno if I want to know what Tabs is really thinking. I’m pretty sure he’d complain about EVERYTHING.
Kim says
I sort of have the same issue with hair elastics. 🙂 And I laughed so hard at the idea of me trying to do the bun thing. “Just tuck and roll” sounds easy and awesome but I can picture having all kinds of problems. HAHA!
So, my Sephora box arrived yesterday with tons of sample goodies. I’ve worn the Marc Jacobs O!mega twice and I’m still on the fence. It gives me amazing length but I’m all about the volume and I’m not sure it delivers there (for me). It’s a deluxe sample and not the full sized so I’m trying to take that into account, too. The testing continues. 🙂 I also got the free eye kit that contains Pro Prime (yay!) and Bi-Facil makeup remover, which I’ve been longing to try. Plus a ton of other goodies, of course. So happy! 🙂
Karen says
Hi Kim,
So I tucked and rolled this morning and it was surprisingly easy! I have to use it a few more times before giving the final report but so far so good.
And too funny! My black hair elastics also constantly disappear into the same black hole. Seriously, where do they go?!
Yay for your Sephora box. You’ll have to let me know if you find any neat gems. What else are you testing these days?
Kim says
That’s awesome about the tuck and roll! You have a lot of girl skills, though, and I’m quite lacking! 🙂
I definitely will! There is a push up gel liner so we’ll see what a disaster that is. Also some eye creams and an eye mask. I’ll let you know if there’s anything stand-out! I’ve only tried the Korres eye cream so far and you know how that goes – no immediate results that I noticed. 🙂
Karen says
The wonderful thing about it is you don’t need any skills. I did it while I was half awake and without a drop of coffee in me. It is legit easy, LOL! YOU CAN DO IT!
Ohh — is that push up gel liner Benefit’s? Ruh-roh.
Kim says
See? That’s always my pep talk to you about the flying projectiles (volleyball, soccer, softball? You can do it!). I’m afraid if we listened to each other, I’d look like Beatrix L’estrange and you’d be nursing a black eye. HAHA! And I know that I’d be the one getting off easy in that scenario so I might just try it. 🙂
I’ll have to check on the liner – but thanks for the warning. I’ll allot much more time than I think I need (for the clean up and start again phase).
Fran says
Since bobby pins like to keep things together, they’ve gone to the Land of Lost Socks to try to talk the lost socks into coming home again!
My favorite hair toys are spin pins (four of those babies, and my tailbone-length hair will stay in a cinnamon bun for two days, whereas bobby pins won’t hold it up for even a minute) and the smaller topsy tail tool (for wrapping hair around my elastic without using a bobby pin, because, well, we know where bobby pins go — plus it just works so much better, and I’m weird that way, I hate having my elastic showing). I gave a pack of spin pins to a young waitress I know who had given up on wearing buns because her hair is so thick and heavy. Now she is thrilled to be rocking buns!
Hair sticks forks are also wonderful. You can find some really beautiful handcrafted ones on Etsy. My favorites are made by quattro.
Karen says
Hi Fran,
Oh, I’m so totally with you on the Spin Pins. They are wonderful! I can never find them at the store, though, because they’re always out of stick.
So, I’ve never used a hair stick fork before. Do you need any additional items to get your hair to stay when you use them, or do you use the fork all by itself?
Fran says
It can depend on the style I’m doing, but usually a hair fork or stick is enough to hold my hair up by itself, unless I’m going to be doing lots of bending, lifting, hiking, etc. nhen I’ll add a hidden hair fork to a stick style or a couple of hidden spin pins to a fork style. With a bit of practice you can do some styles that look very complicated quite quickly. I like to wrap my hair around a fork one and a half times then stick the fork in, making a kind of a bun with a pony tail hanging down, then do a rope braid in the pony. Even cooler, you can then pull the stick out and the rope braid will stay, giving you a really cool messy braid.
That’s funny about spin pins always being out of stock — they work so well, it’s no wonder!
Agata says
I have the same problem with Bobby pins and I do use them regularly for when I work out. Yet, I can’t ever find two matching ones or in the same color.
Karen says
If we lived closer I would give you all my lighter ones! 🙂
Kelly B. says
As soon as my hair is long enough I’m going to be getting a few of those bun things (and more bobby pins!) because I love to wear my hair up during winter but ponytails get boring day after day!
Karen says
Hi Kelly,
Yes! And in the winter, my ponytail hairs usually get stuck in my lipgloss. Boo!
Does it get really cold in the winter where you live? I’m in Northern California, so it gets chilly, but not really super cold.
Erin says
The must live with all the lost socks. Oh and my hair ties are always lost too. I want to try a bun thingy but I honestly am clueless about their use.
B says
Almost 10 years. It’s a trade off. I pick up his socks and he finds all the hair things. Hehehe
Karen says
It’s all about teamwork. 🙂 Congrats on almost hitting the decade mark, that’s wonderful!
Rae // theNotice says
Where DO all the bobby pins go??? I am constantly running out of those things, but I never leave them lying around… they just seem to disappear from my drawers.
Can’t wait to see your giant bun! 😉
Kalli says
That bun maker thing is my most favorite hair accessory EVER. I have a Conair one, but it’s the same thing. I wear a high bun at least once a week, usually on those “I probably shoulda washed my hair, but I don’t feel like it” mornings. Also, it just looks so polished and it takes like less than a minute to do.
Karen says
Hi Kalli,
Oh gosh, that’s genius! I’m guilty of pushing the limits of un-washed hair and this would be perfect for getting that extra day. Thank you for that idea!
Katherine M says
I love Target. I can spend so much money there on beauty goodies. I use a similar bun thingy (it’s like a sponge – much grippier than a sock) to do a military style bun. The way I do it is to do a ponytail, slip the donut over the ponytail holder, fan the ponytail over the donut, secure with another ponytail holder (the thick hair ones work very well to get a tight bun), and then twist or braid and pin the remaining hair around the second ponytail holder and pin. It forms a neater bun than rolling the hair sock-bun style and it stays put. It’s actually a military/police trick for getting a bun done in under 5 minutes.
I also love a good French tuck and I’ve been reading some good tips lately for using bobby pins and hair pins. One method is to use the pin to grab hair further away from the pinning point that you want and pull the pin towards the pinning point – it gets a tight grip and secures the hair much better. Love your posts!
Karen says
Hi Katherine,
You and me both. I go in there for one thing (bobby pins) and next thing you know I’m in line with a full basket.
How have you been? Have you moved into your new career yet?
y. says
Ah me too! But I buy like a pack of 200 and somehow now I only have five left!!
I think that since they’re so thin they got lost easily, or they have some kind of magic disappearing act, (but more often than not my sisters take them;)