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

Bun (hairstyle)

A bun is a type of hairstyle, typically worn by women, where the hair is pulled back from the face, twisted or plaited, and wrapped in a circular coil around itself, typically on the back of the head or neck. They can either be secured with a hairpiece, a hairnet and bobby pins. They may be...

 or similar hairstyle.

Unlike many hair pins

Hairpin

A hair pin or hairpin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place.Hairpins made of metal, ivory, bronze, carved wood, etc. were used in ancient Assyria and Egypt for securing decorated hairstyles. Such hairpins suggest, as graves show, that many were luxury objects among the Egyptians...

, which are usually small and quite simple, hair sticks are often more elaborate and decorative, and feature jeweled or carved

Wood carving

Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object...

 designs that make them stand out as pieces of luxury jewelry. The price of hairsticks varies greatly depending on the style, materials and craftsmanship - the cheapest pairs of plastic hairsticks can cost less than a dollar, while a single, hand-crafted hairstick by an artist can cost over two hundred dollars.

Historical Use

Hairsticks have been in use for thousands of years, and have been found in cultures of the Ancient Egyptians

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

, Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 and Greeks

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

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

Culture of Japan

The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...

, and in particular the use of decorative Japanese Kanzashi

Kanzashi

are hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. Some believe they may also have been used for defence in an emergency.In the English-speaking world, the term "kanzashi" is sometimes applied to the folded cloth flowers that traditionally adorned tsumami kanzashi, or to the technique used...

.

Although many modern hairsticks 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 (see full Kanzashi

Kanzashi

are hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. Some believe they may also have been used for defence in an emergency.In the English-speaking world, the term "kanzashi" is sometimes applied to the folded cloth flowers that traditionally adorned tsumami kanzashi, or to the technique used...

 entry for more details).

Modern Use

Hand-crafted, purpose-made jeweled hairsticks that add colour and flair to hairstyles have overtaken the use of simpler chopsticks

Chopsticks

Chopsticks are small, often tapered, sticks used in pairs of equal length as the traditional eating utensils of China and its diaspora, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Northern provinces of Laos, Thailand and Burma. Generally believed to have originated in ancient China, they can also be found in some...

, and have become a more popular hairstyle embellishment.

Because of the wide availability of components for the crafting of hairsticks, making home-made hairsticks has also become a popular trend. Many people enjoy making their own pieces using the blank sticks that can be online, and buying pins, crystals and beads from various online suppliers. A large number of these kinds of pieces are also put up for auction online.

External links

• Aokcorral.com, How to make Butterfly Hairsticks