Barrette

A barrette (also called hair-slide in British English or a hair clip or hair pin in Australian English) is a clasp or pin for holding hair in place.

Barrettes are worn according to size, with small ones at the front and large ones in the back. They are used to keep hair out of the eyes or secure hairstyles but can also be purely ornamental.

They are made from metal or plastic and often feature decorative fabric.

Shorter metal clip barrettes can be used to pull back front pieces of hair in girls, boys, teens and women.

Larger barrettes, and some can be as long as 3-4 inches (7.62-10.16 cm) are designed to pull back longer pieces of hair or larger amounts of hair and are usually worn at the back of the head. If your intent is to pull back hair, length of the barrette is not the only consideration. You should also look at the width of the barrette since it will give you an approximation of how much hair can be secured by it. Barrettes may also be used for purely decorative purposes.

A clasp is used to secure the barrette in place. It opens when pressing the two metal pieces at either side together.