How to Wear Hair Accessories Like an Adult

Delicate headbands on short hair can border on juvenile. Stave off the kiddie vibes by blasting your roots with sea salt spray before sliding a thick, textured head wrap over your ears until just a bit of your hairline pokes through.

The key to pulling off snap clips with aplomb is to think of them as an afterthought instead of the incredibly useful things that plastered back your bangs during gym class. Style your hair as you usually would, then slip in a clip (pick a color that contrasts with your hair color) over just the top layer of hair, so it rests on—rather than smashes—your style.

There’s the bandana you wore as a 6th-grader, and then there are the bandanas you wear—no, own—as an adult: folded and wrapped around a tumbling sprig of braids or dreadlocks like a boss. Be sure to secure your braids with a bungee elastic first to prevent them from slipping out of the bandana during the day.

Toss the mangled elastic you’ve had around your wrist since you first learned to tie a ponytail and opt instead for a metallic barrette, which makes any lazy-day ponytail look completely intentional and entirely grown-up.

Sure, bleached-pink hair will make any accessory look cooler, but you don’t need to buy a bottle of Manic Panic to look your age. Just make a messy middle part with your fingers and wrap a bright, iridescent ribbon across the middle of your head, making sure to leave out the front two inches of your layers.

If a blunt, brushed-back ponytail seems too elementary, wrap a long, super-skinny piece of leather around the base of your ponytail (slip the tail of the leather under the elastic to anchor it) and wind it down around your hair, pinning the ends in place.

Depending on how you wear it, a plain brown barrette can be something that either holds back your baby hairs or holds together an entire style. To re-create these finger waves, make a deep side part and comb a dime-size amount of lightweight gel through your damp hair. Clip one side of your hair back with the barrette, then pull the hair above it forward until it swoops over your forehead. Tuck the rest of your hair behind your ear until it dries to form a defined S shape.

Repeat after us: You wear the ornate metal-and-pearl garland—the ornate metal-and-pearl garland does not wear you. To keep chunky hair bling from looking like a game of Pretty Pretty Princess, create two thick Dutch braids (tug at the edges of each braid until it grows fat and wide) to add some texture to the hair before fastening on any jewelry.

Ribbons on their own aren’t inherently childish, but put a bow in one, and you’ve got yourself a Matilda situation. The solution: Knot a matte grosgrain ribbon (about the length of your arm) around a low ponytail and let the ends hang long, uneven, and free.

When you play up your hair’s natural texture—and add in some hard-core volume—a bejeweled bow becomes anything but innocent. Loosen curls with a paddle brush to add bulk, or amp up waves with a hefty dose of sea salt spray on damp hair, followed by a few dozen blasts of texturizing spray on dry hair.

When you think of hair wrapped in delicate gold wire or sprinkled with gold rings, you probably don’t picture this: a badass superhero chick who’s about to save the world from the back of her Harley. (Hey, that’s what we’re seeing in this photo, at least.) The trick to making this style look powerful, not angelic, is to keep the hair as sleek and angled as possible with a dollop of smoothing cream and a layer of hair spray.