The Sacrae Journal — Claw Clips
Most claw clips that disappoint were never the wrong clip. They were the wrong size.
Too small, and it slips no matter how hard you twist. Too large for the section you're holding, and it won't bite — so you over-twist to compensate, and that's where the ache comes from.
Size isn't a detail you sort out after colour and shape. For a claw clip, it's the first decision. Here's how to get it right the first time.
Why size is the decision that matters most
A claw clip holds by gripping what fits between its teeth. That's the whole mechanism — so the amount of hair you ask it to hold has to match the space it actually has. Give it too much and it can't close around the volume; it slides. Give it too little and the teeth have nothing to bite, so it loosens and tips. Either way, you fix it twice before lunch.
Match the clip to the hair moment, not to the look on the shelf.
Small — for sections, not the whole head
A small claw clip is built for a part of your hair, not all of it. A face-framing twist. A half-up that lifts the front and leaves the rest down. A quick pin while you do your skincare. It's also the right call for finer hair, where a larger clip would have nothing to grip and would simply slide off.
The Eva Small Claw Clip and the Lena Small Claw Clip sit here — enough structure for a section without crushing it into one spot. The mistake people make: reaching for a small clip to hold a full head of hair because it looks neat. It won't hold. That's a section clip doing a full-updo job.
Medium — the size most people actually live in
Medium is the everyday. The half-up that holds through a workday. The loose twist with the ends left out. Medium-thickness hair that wants a full updo without going oversized.
If you only own one claw clip, this is the size to own. The Marina Medium Claw Clip and the Lumière Medium Hair Clip cover the moments most mornings actually ask for.
Large — for a full twist or real volume
Large is for the whole head — a full twist, a proper bun, thicker or longer hair a medium clip can't quite close around. This is also the answer when you've been twisting harder and harder to make a smaller clip behave: the clip was too small, not too weak.
The Melissa Large Claw Clip takes a full twist of dense hair and holds the shape rather than pinching the ends. And when you want the clip to read as the finish, the sculptural Pince Iconique L in Mazzucchelli acetate is the largest in the range — made for real volume, and meant to be seen.
If thick hair is the whole reason you're here, we wrote a fuller guide: the best claw clips for thick hair, and what most get wrong.
The quick way to size yourself
Two questions that answer it
- How much hair are you holding? A section → small. A half-up or daily updo → medium. The whole head, or a full thick twist → large.
- Are you fighting it? If you twist tighter and tighter to make a clip hold, size up. The fix for a clip that slips is almost never gripping harder — it's more room for the hair.
The simple version: size up before you grip up.
One more thing size can't fix on its own
Most claw clips hold with a coiled metal spring. Sacrae clips don't. They're built around the patented Grip Link System™ — a black rubber-link tension band that replaces the metal spring entirely, designed for secure hold and a smoother exit than traditional spring-based clips.
It's the system behind the whole Claw | Grip Link™ collection, in every size. If you want the longer version of why the spring is the part that usually pulls, we covered it here: how to choose a claw clip that doesn't damage your hair.
One shape, every size
Sacrae claw clips come in small, medium, and large — the same Grip Link System™ inside each, polished acetate, a small 14K gold-plated signature detail. Choose the size for your hair moment, not the other way around.
Each one arrives in a cotton pouch and emerald green box. Small object. Serious standard.
Shop Claw | Grip Link™ →See the Eva Small Claw Clip →
See the Marina Medium Claw Clip →
See the Melissa Large Claw Clip →
