The Sacrae Journal — Claw Clips
If you have thick hair, you already know the choreography. Twist it up, place the clip, feel quietly hopeful — and an hour later it's sliding down the back of your head like it's trying to leave the building.
So you size up. The bigger clip holds a little better. It also leaves a dent, or starts aching behind your ears by mid-afternoon. Now you own two clips that don't work, in two different ways.
Here's the thing: thick hair doesn't need a clip that grips harder. It needs a clip built for the job. Below is what actually matters — and the small mistakes that quietly sabotage most clips.
Why most claw clips give up on thick hair
It's usually two things ganging up on you at the same time.
The clip is simply too small. A clip that can't physically hold the volume will slip, no matter how dramatically you twist. The teeth can only grip what fits between them. Overload them and gravity collects its fee.
And the spring is doing the wrong job. Most claw clips rely on a coiled metal spring for tension. With thin hair, fine. With thick hair, that spring is fighting a much bigger load — so it bites down hard in one spot (hello, dent and ache), then lets go all at once, straight against your hair. The spring, quietly, is usually the villain.
So the fix isn't "buy the biggest, stiffest clip on the shelf." It's matching the right size to a mechanism that holds without crushing.
Start with size — and be honest about your hair
For thick or long hair, size is the first decision. Not colour. Not brand. Size.
Right for thick hair when you're only clipping a section — a half-up, or the top of a twist. The Marina Medium Claw Clip lives here: enough structure for a partial hold, without going oversized.
Where most thick hair actually belongs for a full updo. The Melissa Large Claw Clip takes a full twist of dense hair and holds the shape — not just a pinch of the ends.
For when you want the clip to read as the finish, not the function. The Pince Iconique L in Mazzucchelli acetate is the largest in the range — made for real volume, and meant to be seen.
If you're twisting harder and harder to make a clip hold, the clip is too small. Size up before you grip up.
The mechanism matters more than the size on the label
Two clips can be identical in size and behave like completely different objects — because of what's inside.
Sacrae claw clips are built around the patented Grip Link System™ — a black rubber-link tension band that replaces the traditional metal spring entirely.
For thick hair, that swap earns its keep. Tension is spread across the clip instead of snapping shut in one spot, and the release is smoother on the way out — which matters a lot more when there's a serious amount of hair catching on the teeth.
No spring drama. Just the black band inside.
Open one and you'll get it immediately. It's the system behind the whole Claw | Grip Link™ collection — and it's why a large Sacrae clip feels different from a large drugstore clip of the exact same dimensions.
Material: why polished acetate behaves better with volume
The more hair you move through a clip, the more the surface of the teeth matters.
Cheap injection-moulded plastic has a rougher finish. Run a finger along the teeth and you can feel it catch — and so can a thick section of hair, every single time the clip opens and closes. Polished cellulose acetate, particularly Mazzucchelli Italian acetate, moves through hair more cleanly. Less friction, less snagging, less tugging when you take it down at night.
With fine hair, you might never notice. With thick hair, you feel the difference on the first take-down.
How to clip thick hair so it actually stays
Even the right clip needs the right technique. Three moves make the biggest difference with volume:
The 3-move method
- Twist tightly first, then clip. Gather all of it, twist firmly into a column, and only then place the clip over the twist. A tight twist gives the clip far less to fight.
- Clip from the bottom up. Anchor the lower edge of the twist first, then roll the clip upward as you close it. This tucks the ends in and uses the full length of the teeth — not just the tips.
- Open the clip fully before taking it out. With thick hair, the half-open removal is exactly where the pulling happens. Open it all the way, then lift it cleanly off the twist.
The quick checklist for thick hair
If you remember nothing else
- Go large before you go tight. A bigger clip beats a smaller clip gripping harder.
- Look at the mechanism. A controlled tension system handles volume better than a stiff metal spring — look for the Grip Link System™.
- Feel the teeth. Polished acetate slides through thick hair more cleanly than rough plastic.
- Twist, anchor from the bottom, open fully. The technique carries the clip the rest of the way.
Made for hair that has more to hold
Sacrae's larger claw clips are built around the patented Grip Link System™ — polished acetate, a small 14K gold-plated signature detail, designed for secure daily hold and a smoother exit than traditional spring-based clips. Sized for real volume.
Each one arrives in a cotton pouch and emerald green box. Small object. Serious standard.
Shop Claw | Grip Link™ →See the Melissa Large Claw Clip →
Explore the Pince Iconique L →
