A hair stick (also hairstick) is a straight, pointed device, usually between five and nine inches (13 cm to 23 cm) in length, used to hold a person's hair in place in a

hair bun A bun is a type of hairstyle in which the hair is pulled back from the face, twisted or plaited, and wrapped in a circular coil around itself, typically on top or back of the head or just above the neck. A bun can be secured with a hair tie, ba ...

or similar hairstyle. Unlike many hair pins, which are usually small and quite simple, hair sticks are often more elaborate and decorative, and feature jeweled or

carved Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...

designs that make them stand out as pieces of luxury

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...

. The price of hair sticks varies greatly depending on the style, materials, and craftsmanship – the cheapest pairs of plastic hair sticks can cost less than a dollar, while a single, hand-crafted hair stick by an artist can cost over two hundred dollars.

Historical use

Hair sticks have been in use for thousands of years, and have been found in cultures of the ancient Egyptians,

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, and

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Although some of these have been jewelled, luxury items, such as the gold hair sticks of Egypt, more common, wooden hair sticks have also been found in cultures such as Rome,HistoryForKids.org
, Roman Clothing suggesting that they were in wide use amongst people regardless of their financial standing. However, the most influential culture on modern hair sticks has been

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, and in particular the use of decorative Japanese

kanzashi are hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. The term refers to a wide variety of accessories, including long, rigid hairpins, barrettes, fabric flowers and fabric hair ties. In the English-speaking world, the term is typic ...

. Although many modern hair sticks draw more on the elaborate approach to the design of kanzashi more than on the simpler designs for functional pins, kanzashi are used within a far more rigid and traditional environment. Kanzashi are frequently floral in design, especially those dictated by the changing of the seasons and used by geisha.

Gallery

*Han Chinese:

Chinese hairpin () (also known as ( or ), () or () for short) and (钗) are generic term for hairpin in China. (with the same character of ) is also the term used for hairpins of the Qin dynasty. The earliest form of Chinese hair stick was found in the Ne ...

Buyao Buyao () is a type of Chinese women's hair ornament. It is a type of Chinese hairpin which was often times decorated with carved designs and jewelries that dangles when the wearer walks, hence the name, which literally means "shake as you go". The ...

*Korean:

Binyeo A ( Hangul: ; ) is a Korean traditional hairpin for fixing ladies' chignons. Its main purpose is to pin the chignon in place, but it also serves as ornamentation, and it has different usages or names according to its material or shape. Therefor ...

*Japanese:

Kanzashi are hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. The term refers to a wide variety of accessories, including long, rigid hairpins, barrettes, fabric flowers and fabric hair ties. In the English-speaking world, the term is typic ...

File:凤首金顶银簪03564.jpg, Chai (top) and ji (bottom), two types of Chinese hairpin File:MET 1978 428 1 O1.jpg,

, a type of

References

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External links

Aokcorral.com
How to make Butterfly Hair sticks Fashion accessories Hairdressing Chinese headgear

Historical use

Gallery

See also

References

External links