Best Silicone Free Bobby Pins by Length and Count

The best silicone free bobby pins for straight hair are the Pagabach 2.2 Inch Flat Bobby Pins, because 100 nickel-free pins at 2.2 in give straight hair enough shaft length to hold a twist without a second pin. If your hair is fine and needs even more length, the Heliums Large Bobby Pins at 2.5 in are the better buy.

This category is not for everyone. If your hair is coarse, tightly curled or waist-length and heavy, a flat metal pin is the wrong tool and a jaw clip or a spin pin will serve you better. Bobby pins hold small sections. They anchor a twist, tame a fringe, hide the end of a braid. Straight hair asks something specific of them: a smooth strand offers almost no friction, so the pin has to do the gripping on its own.

Best silicone free bobby pins for straight hair at a glance

Three reasons picks got cut from this list

I started with the hair pin listings that publish a real pin count and a colour, then cut hard. Three disqualifiers did most of the work.

1. No stated count. A pin listing that will not tell you how many pins are in the tin is asking you to buy blind. Every pick here states a number, from 16 to 100.
2. Decorative pins dressed up as functional ones. Pearl clusters and rhinestone bars are jewellery. They sit on top of the hair rather than gripping through it, and they are the wrong recommendation for someone whose actual problem is a fringe that will not stay back.
3. Bent or looped shapes. U-pins, spin pins and hairpins with an open horseshoe end do a different job. This is a flat-pin comparison, so the shape had to be a two-legged pin with a straight or slightly curved profile.

What survived is six sets across four brands. Two of them, the Pagabach set and the Metal Free Styling pins, are the priciest here. Two, the Goody Styling Essentials and the Amazon Basics pins, sit at the bottom of the price ladder. The Goody Styling Essentials box is the cheapest of the six.

One more thing about the search itself. Bobby pins are metal or plastic, and none of these six listings mentions silicone anywhere in its specifications or claims. So the best silicone free bobby pins for straight hair is a search that Amazon answers with ordinary pins, because that is what the category is. Nobody here markets a silicone coating for you to avoid. What you can check is the material that is stated: Pagabach says nickel-free metal, Metal Free Styling says nonmetallic, Heliums says enamel coated, and Amazon Basics says epoxy ball tips. Judge the coating claim yourself against your own scalp sensitivity, because the listings do not go further than that.

Why does straight hair slide out of bobby pins?

Because there is nothing for the pin to catch. A wavy or curly strand has texture that wedges against the pin's legs. A straight strand is a smooth cylinder, and gravity does the rest.

Three things fight that, and only one of them is on the pin.

• Shaft length. A longer pin passes through more hair, so it distributes the hold over a wider band instead of pinching one spot. That is why the length column matters more here than in a guide written for textured hair. Pagabach publishes 2.2 in, Heliums publishes 2.5 in, and Goody Styling Essentials publishes 2 in.
• Leg tension. The wavy leg has to press hard against the straight leg. You cannot read this off a listing, and no set here publishes a spring figure, so this is the one variable you judge after the box arrives.
• Direction of entry. Push the pin in against the direction the hair wants to fall, wavy side facing your scalp. This is technique, not product, and it fixes more slippage than a new box will.

The practical consequence: if your hair is straight, do not buy the shortest pin available and then blame the pin. Start at 2 in and go up. Heliums states that its 2.5 in pins work well with fine to medium hair, which is the profile most likely to be complaining about slippage in the first place.

1. Pagabach 2.2 Inch Black Hair Bobby Pins Metal Clips Flat — Best overall

A hundred pins at a stated 2.2 in, in a case, is the most useful combination in this set for straight hair.

Best for: anyone who loses pins constantly and wants a deep bench Skip it if: you only need a handful and hate storing bulk

The number that separates this pick is 100. No other set here comes close: the next largest is 60, and the smallest is 16. Bobby pins are a consumable, not a purchase. They vanish into car seats and gym bags, and a box of 16 is a fortnight of ordinary use for someone who pins their fringe back every morning.

Length is stated at 2.2 in, which sits between the 2 in Goody Styling Essentials pins and the 2.5 in Heliums pins. That is a sensible middle for straight hair. Long enough to spread the hold across a wider band of strands, short enough to disappear inside a small twist without the ends poking out.

Pagabach says the metal is nickel-free and that the pins hold their finish through repeated use, and it describes the set as salon-grade for that reason. Treat both as the maker's claim. The transparent case is the quiet win. Loose pins migrate; a case with a lid keeps a hundred of them countable.

The trade-off is price position. This is one of the two most expensive picks here, and only one seller lists it, so you are buying a bigger box at a higher outlay than the Amazon Basics or Goody sets ask for.

Pros:

• 100 pins, the largest count in this set
• Stated 2.2 in length suits straight hair
• Transparent case with a lid included
• Nickel-free metal per the listing
• Ball tips on flat straight pins

Cons:

• One of the two priciest picks here
• Only one seller lists it
• Black only, no brown option
• No published weight or dimensions

2. Heliums Large Bobby Pins — Most versatile

At a stated 2.5 in, these are the longest pins in the comparison, and length is what straight hair needs.

Best for: fine to medium straight hair that needs a longer pin Skip it if: your hair is black or light blonde

Heliums publishes 2.5 in, and that extra length over the 2.2 in and 2 in options here changes what the pin can do. It anchors a French twist end to end. It holds a half-up section without a second pin crossed over the first. Heliums states directly that the length works well with fine to medium hair, which is the most common straight-hair profile and the one that struggles most with a short pin.

The listing also describes the pins as flat on both sides with a subtle curve, which the brand says makes them more comfortable to wear, and enamel coated rather than bare metal. Enamel is a colour coating, so the point of it is blending. Heliums is a small Los Angeles business, per its own listing, and the dark brown is chosen to disappear into brown hair rather than sit on top of it.

Two limits. The count is 24, which is a quarter of what Pagabach gives you, and dark brown is the only colour published here, so black-haired and blonde readers get no match. Of the six picks, this is one of the two slowest sellers, so it is not the pin most shoppers land on by default.

Pros:

• Longest stated length in this set at 2.5 in
• Enamel coated to blend with brown hair
• Flat both sides with a subtle curve
• Stated as suited to fine to medium hair

Cons:

• Only 24 pins per box
• Dark brown only, no black
• Among the slowest sellers of the six
• No published weight or dimensions

3. Amazon Basics No Slip Bobby Pins for All Hair Types — Best upgrade

48 brown pins with epoxy ball tips, at the second-lowest price position of the six.

Best for: brunettes who want smooth tips at a low price position Skip it if: you need black pins or a stated pin length

This is the pick that makes the least fuss and asks the least of you. 48 brown pins, the second-cheapest position in the set, and a stated 1.33 oz for the whole card. Amazon Basics says the epoxy ball tips prevent snagging and remove sharp ends, and that the brown is designed to match your hair colour. Both are claims from the listing rather than measured results, but ball tips are the feature most worth having on a pin you slide against your scalp twice a day.

The card measures 0.19 x 6.49 x 2.55 in, which is flat enough to slot into a drawer organiser or a travel pouch without a case. It was released in 2024, the newest listing in this comparison.

What is missing is the number that matters most for straight hair: pin length. Amazon Basics does not publish it. So you are buying grip and tip quality without knowing whether the shaft is closer to the 2 in Goody or the 2.5 in Heliums, and for a straight-haired buyer that is a real gap. If length is your deciding factor, the Pagabach or Heliums sets tell you what you are getting and this one does not.

Pros:

• 48 pins at the second-cheapest position here
• Epoxy ball tips per the listing
• Slim 0.19 in card packs flat
• Newest listing in this set, released 2024

Cons:

• No published pin length
• Brown only, no black option
• No case or storage tin included
• Grip claim is unquantified

4. Goody Styling Essentials Bobby Pins — Best budget pick

The cheapest of the six, with 60 pins at a stated 2 in, and nothing else to think about.

Best for: a first box of pins with no fuss Skip it if: you want extra grip built into the pin

If you have never bought pins deliberately, start here. This is the cheapest of the six and it carries 60 pins at a published 2 in, which is the standard length the whole category is built around. It also sells faster than every other pick in this comparison, and by a wide margin, so it is the pin buyers reach for most often here.

The specifications are the fullest of any pick: 2 in length, black, 60 count, 0.28 g, a card measuring 0.25 x 7 x 3.5 in, model 1942233, released 2018. Nothing is hidden.

What you do not get is any grip technology. There are no ridges, no rubber, no marketing around slip resistance, and no ball tip claim. It is a plain black pin. For straight hair that means technique carries the load: cross two pins in an X, or push against the fall of the hair. Both work, but they are extra steps that the Amazon Basics ball tips and the Goody SlideProof design are trying to remove.

At 2 in it is also the shortest published length in this set, which is the wrong direction for fine straight hair that already slips. Buy it as a stockpile, not as a fix.

Pros:

• Cheapest of the six picks
• 60 pins per card
• Fullest published specifications in this set
• Sells faster than every other pick here
• Standard 2 in length in black

Cons:

• Shortest published length at 2 in
• No grip or ball tip claim
• Card packaging, no case
• Nothing to distinguish it beyond price

5. Goody SlideProof XXL Bobby Pins — Best for families

An XXL pin built for large sections, sold in the smallest quantity in this comparison.

Best for: a shared bathroom drawer where pins go missing Skip it if: you pin your hair every single day

The case for this one is size. Goody markets the XXL as a pin that locks in place for pain-free styling across all hair types, and the pack weighs 1.28 oz across just 16 pins. Divide that out and each pin is far heavier than the 0.28 g stated for the 60-pin Styling Essentials card. Heavier gauge usually means a stiffer leg, and a stiffer leg is what a big section of straight hair needs to stay put.

That makes it a useful drawer pin in a shared house. Sixteen large, easy-to-spot pins are harder to lose than sixty small ones, and one pin does the work of two crossed smaller ones when you are pinning a chunky twist before school.

Two honest problems. Sixteen is the lowest count here by a wide margin, and this sits mid-range on price, so the per-pin cost is the least generous in the comparison. The listing's feature bullets also describe the Goody Detangle It wide tooth comb rather than the pins themselves, which tells you nothing about the pin's construction. Goody publishes no pin length in inches either, only the XXL label, so you are trusting the name.

Pros:

• Oversized pin for large sections
• 1.28 oz across only 16 pins suggests heavier gauge
• Easy to spot in a shared drawer
• Sells quickly compared with most picks here

Cons:

• Only 16 pins, the smallest count here
• No published length in inches
• Feature bullets describe a comb, not the pins
• Weakest per-pin value in the set

6. Metal Free Styling Metal Free Bobby Pins — Best premium

The only nonmetallic, washable pin in this comparison, and the only one you can send through an airport scanner without thought.

Best for: anyone who needs a nonmetallic pin they can wash Skip it if: you want the most pins for the money

This pick exists for one reason, and if that reason applies to you nothing else here substitutes. Metal Free Styling states the pins are metal-free, nonmetallic, reusable and washable. That covers a specific set of situations: a scalp that reacts to metal, an MRI appointment, a school or workplace metal detector, or a colouring service where a metal pin would sit in developer. Pagabach states nickel-free, which is not the same thing as metal-free.

Washable matters more than it sounds. Pins pick up hairspray, dry shampoo and product residue, and a pin you can rinse and reuse stays grippy instead of turning tacky. That is a genuine functional difference in this set, and no other pick claims it.

Now the losses, and they are real. Thirty pins, and this is the most expensive pick here, so the per-pin cost is the highest of the six. The listing publishes one feature line and no length, no weight, no dimensions and no material name beyond nonmetallic. It is also the slowest seller of the six. Buying it means accepting the thinnest published information in the comparison in exchange for one property nothing else offers.

Pros:

• Only metal-free pin in this set
• Stated washable and reusable
• 30 pins per pack
• Suits scanners and metal-sensitive scalps

Cons:

• Most expensive pick here
• Thinnest published specifications of the six
• No stated pin length or weight
• Slowest seller in this comparison

How many pins do you actually need?

More than you think, and the maths is unforgiving. A single updo can swallow 20 pins. A daily fringe pin-back uses two, and you lose one of them a week.

Here is how the six sets stack up on supply alone:

• 100 pins: Pagabach
• 60 pins: Goody Styling Essentials
• 48 pins: Amazon Basics
• 30 pins: Metal Free Styling
• 24 pins: Heliums
• 16 pins: Goody SlideProof XXL

That spread is more than six to one between the largest and smallest box. Two of the six sets carry under 25 pins, and both of them are mid-range or premium on price, so quantity and cost do not track each other here at all. The cheapest set in the comparison is also the second-largest.

My rule of thumb: if you pin your hair daily, buy in the 48-plus range and never think about it again. If you pin your hair for occasions only, a 24-pin box outlasts the year. And if you are choosing between two sets you like equally, count the pins before you compare anything else, because a pin you have run out of has no grip at all.

Coatings, tips and what touches your scalp

Nothing in this set is marketed as containing silicone, so the coating question is really about metal, enamel and tip finish. Four of the six listings say something specific:

• Pagabach states nickel-free metal, which matters if nickel irritates your skin.
• Heliums states enamel coated, which is a colour layer rather than a grip layer.
• Amazon Basics states epoxy ball tips, aimed at preventing snags and removing sharp ends.
• Metal Free Styling states nonmetallic, the strongest material claim in this comparison.

The remaining two Goody sets publish no coating detail at all. That does not make them bare metal, but it does mean you cannot check.

Tips are the part that actually touches you. A pin with a lost tip is a scratching hazard, and it is the most common way a pin turns from useful to useless. Both Pagabach and Amazon Basics describe ball tips, and Heliums describes a flat-both-sides shape with a subtle curve for comfort. When you open a new box, run a thumb along the ends of five pins. Any bare wire, bin the pin. That single habit does more for scalp comfort than any claim on the packaging.

When a different pick wins

The Pagabach set is the default, not the only answer. Three conditions flip it, and each is easy to check before you buy.

1. Your hair is brown, not black. Pagabach publishes black only. Heliums publishes dark brown at 2.5 in and Amazon Basics publishes brown across 48 pins, and a matched pin genuinely disappears where a black pin against light brown hair does not.
2. You cannot wear metal. MRI appointments, workplace scanners, metal-sensitive scalps. Metal Free Styling is the only pick here that claims nonmetallic and washable, and no amount of pin count compensates for that.
3. Your hair is fine and everything slips. Go to the longest pin available. That is Heliums at 2.5 in, which the brand states suits fine to medium hair, and the extra 0.3 in over Pagabach spreads the hold further.

One threshold to remember: 2 in is the floor. Below it, straight hair needs two pins crossed in an X to hold anything meaningful. At 2.2 in and above, one well-placed pin usually holds. The Goody Styling Essentials card sits exactly at that floor, which is why it is the value stockpile rather than the fix.

The verdict

The Pagabach 2.2 Inch Flat Bobby Pins are the best silicone free bobby pins for straight hair for most people, and the reason is unglamorous: 100 nickel-free pins at a published 2.2 in, in a case with a lid, means you always have a pin of the right length within reach. Straight hair needs shaft length and it needs a fresh pin whose tip has not worn off, and this set is the only one here that answers both at once.

Two conditions flip it. If your hair is fine and pins still slide, the Heliums Large Bobby Pins at 2.5 in are the longest published length in this comparison and the brand states directly that they suit fine to medium hair, though you get 24 pins instead of 100 and dark brown instead of black. If you cannot wear metal at all, the Metal Free Styling pins are the only nonmetallic, washable option in the set, and that single property outranks every other spec on this page.

Heliums' exact advantage over the winner is 0.3 in of extra shaft plus a colour match for brown hair. That is a narrow edge, but for a fine-haired brunette it is the whole decision.

FAQ

Are the best silicone free bobby pins for straight hair worth paying more for?

The best silicone free bobby pins for straight hair are worth a higher price position only when the extra money buys pin count, stated length or a material property you need. Pagabach charges a premium and delivers 100 pins at 2.2 in with a case. Metal Free Styling charges the most for 30 nonmetallic pins. Paying more for 16 pins with no published length is harder to justify.

How many bobby pins do I need for an updo?

For an updo, count on 15 to 20 pins if the style involves a twist plus tucked ends, and a couple more for stray pieces around the hairline. That rules out the 16-count Goody SlideProof XXL pack as a single-occasion supply. The 48-count Amazon Basics card or the 100-count Pagabach case both cover a full updo with spares left over.

What length bobby pin works best for straight hair?

The length that works best for straight hair starts at 2 in and improves from there, because a longer shaft passes through more strands and spreads the hold instead of pinching one spot. Heliums publishes 2.5 in and states it suits fine to medium hair. Pagabach publishes 2.2 in. Goody Styling Essentials publishes 2 in, the shortest stated length in this comparison.

Pagabach or Heliums: which should I buy?

Pagabach or Heliums comes down to colour and quantity. Pagabach gives you 100 black pins at 2.2 in with a storage case, which is the better default if your hair is dark and you lose pins. Heliums gives you 24 dark brown pins at 2.5 in, enamel coated to blend, which wins if your hair is brown and fine and short pins keep sliding out.

Do metal-free bobby pins hold as well as metal ones?

Metal-free bobby pins hold through leg tension just as metal ones do, and Metal Free Styling states its pins are reusable and washable. What the listing does not publish is length, weight or the material itself, so you cannot compare stiffness on paper against a 2.2 in nickel-free metal pin. Buy them for scanner and scalp reasons, then judge grip yourself.

Pick your box on two numbers and one letter: how long the pin is, how many you get, and whether the colour matches your hair. Get those three right and bobby pins stop being a daily annoyance. Pagabach wins here because 100 pins at 2.2 in in a lidded case removes the two failure points that actually ruin a morning, a pin that is too short to hold and a drawer with no pin in it. Everything else in this comparison is a specific exception to that, and the exceptions are worth knowing before you buy.

Last updated: October 3, 2026. Product availability re-checked.

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