Hair pins' continual use over the centuries to pin up elaborate hair styles or hold hair pieces in place has made hair pins a firm favourite.  Hair pins made of precious metals, bone and wood have been found that would have been used by Ancient Egyptians as far back as 1200BC. Ancient Romans favoured gold, silver, jet, bone and ivoy hair pins with carved decorative heads depiciting a varied range of subjects such as animals, people and fruit; hair pins were often worn with ribbons and jewels attached.  For centuries, hair pins were used widely. By the late 19th century hair pins were highly decorative accessories collected by the celebrities of the day. Adorned with stars, enamelled flowers and gems, tortoiseshell was the material favoured for hair pins by Parisian designers at this time. Silver hair pins finished with sporting motifs; small gold hair pins decorated with pearls and other precious stones were also popular in Victorian times.  The same subject matter is used for hair pins today, as we still see floral, aminal and jewelled designs appearing on hair pins.  Luckily, thanks to more modern hair pin production techniques, hair pins don't come with the same hefty price tag that they once used to!

Hair pins can add a great finishing touch to an up-do such as a hair bun, French pleat or chignon.  If you are planning on styling a hair bun, try using a hair donut to make your bun. This will make a great base for hair pins to sink into and that way you can be sure that they won't dig in to your head!