If you were a woman in the 80s, chances are you had a drawer full of banana hair clips. When it came to a combination of ease and function, banana hair clips were pretty hard to beat.
The hairstyles of the 1980s were truly one of a kind, but so were the accessories that gained popularity during that decade. And one of the ways people expressed themselves during the 80s were with those accessories, and many of them actually were the ones that went right in your hair.
There were hundreds of hair accessories that people added to their hairstyles – crimping irons, hair combs, hot rollers, benders, and teaser combs, were just some to name a few. However one of the hair accessories that almost everyone wore at least once in the 1980s was the trusty banana hair clip.
But what exactly were banana hair clips and why were they so popular in the 1980s?
80s Banana Hair Clips
Banana hair clips are named after their curved and banana-like shape. Thanks to their form and teeth, they are perfect not just for the big permed hair (which was a huge thing that decade) but for many other hair styles as well – side bun, royal ringlets, and long luscious loose spirals among many others.
But the most common reason why these hair clips were so liked is the fact that, thanks to them, you can sweep back your hair left or right and then create a lifted and volumized ponytail without using the traditional hair tie.
During the 1980s many public figures rocked hairstyles with their banana hair clips – Brigitte Bardot, Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman, and Jennifer Anniston were just a few celebrities that used these convenient hair accessories.
The trendy hair accessories gained further popularity when they were seen in popular 1980s shows like “The Facts of Life”, “Growing Pains”, and “21Jump Street” to name a few.
It’s a known fact that these hair accessories ruled the 1980s alongside the iconic neon scrunchies. Made from two plastic sides, banana hair clips can be used for different hairstyles, not just a simple ponytail.
Thanks to their U-shaped form, the clips can be used to pull the hair into low flipped bun and loose undoes. With them, you can also update the trend and go for a mussed texture.
This texture can be done by adding extra dry shampoo or by just folding the ponytail into a braid. Overall, banana hair clips work well on every hair type, but they are the perfect match especially for curly or textured hair.
Are Banana Hair Clips Still Popular?
And even though it was more than three decades ago when these small but handy hair accessories were super popular, now they seem to be making their comeback all thanks to the 1980s craze and especially the top-rated app TikTok.
Just like almost everything from the 1980s that people fell in love with, the fashion and hair accessories are also having a resurgence, and nowadays these cute clips can be found in different bright colors and styles – from flowered and tortoiseshell, to glittered and with pearls. It is a hair accessory from the 1980s that’s making a comeback, and we are glad that they are.