My Ficarres arrived last night. I was so excited! I stuck one in to hold my ponytail and the spring immediately ripped out a few strands.:steam I have a lot of hair so I don't worry about that too awfully much, but it did surprise me, since so many LHC'ers don't wear French barrettes for that reason.

I tried about a half dozen updos. Nothing held. :wail:

In a couple of them (i.e., a cinnamon bun) I could get the ficarre placed, but it was fully opened and was only on the side of the updo, say the side third of the the bun. From the back you couldn't really see it at all, only from the back side. Does that make sense? I tried placing it at 12 or 6 o'clock but the Ficarre's curve was uncomfortable there.

In a couple it was hopelessly inadequate to the task. Figure 8's for instance.

It did seem like it might hold my braided cinnabun, but I haven't been able to test that for any length of time yet.

What am I doing wrong?:disgust: I really wanted to love these. I got three of them for heaven's sake! It wasn't like I was a skeptic who needed to be convinced! (Nightshade's thread comes to mind :stirpot: :D )

What size did you get? Also, you do know that the tip is supposed to be open, right?

--PM

PM, I got a large. And yes, I know it should be open some, but I thought that it shouldn't be fully open, like straining open.

*hugs* I'm sorry that it isn't working out for you. It must be even more frustrating when they are so highly thought of by others.

Maybe if you were able to post some pictures of the failed attempts, some of the other Ficcare users would be able to offer suggestions? Sometimes it is easier to get an idea of what is going on from a photo.

Gesner, you have a lot of hair. I can't get Ficcares to work well for me either. You might not be doing anything wrong. They just don't work for some people. Many people use a Ficcare for a log roll, but with your thickness, I doubt your hair is long enough yet to do one.

--physicschick

Maybe you have too much hair for a Maximas. I wonder if the new Superclip would be big enough for you. You've got a LOT of hair.

PM

I put the Ficcare across the top loop of the Fig 8 where the bun is at it's narrowest (the clip's at right angles to the 8, unlike in Pani_Mnizek's sig where she has it straight through the 8 ), it holds fine, the amnt of loop sticking up above the clip varies. I prefer to do plaited ones though. The clip never closes completely.

I wouldn't even consider using a Ficcare to hold a cinnamon bun, but a plaited cinnabun... well sometimes it holds (there's a pic in my photo journal) and sometimes I get what you describe where the clip is round to the side of my head. Looks funny, but holds fine. Very rarely it feels great, looks great and suddenly the clip works its way out and falls on the floor.... Again, the clip does not shut with a plaited cinnabun.

Apart from the plaited Fig 8 the only way I really like using the Ficcares for full updos is with the flipped cinnabun. That stays really well (apart from when I ran across a car park to avoid a 4x4 and the clip fell out) Log rolls are out at present as they're not neat enough, but once I'm good at them then the Ficcare will hold them too.

You could try using it as a barrette - plait your hair, fold the plait straight up your head, then down and put the clip across the double thickness of plait, it'll make the hair look shorter.

A&F I will certainly post some pics as soon as the weekend gets here!


Physicschick, you have a point, but then I figured that if Cortese and Akka Naeda and Lady Godiva could use them I could, too. I didn't realize that you were among the ones who can't get one to work for them... I think our hair is very close -- as we've talked about before. I will try Cortese's braid updo asap and see how that goes. May be it will turn out that I have to only use Ficarre's on braided updos?

I figured that a log roll and a KarenLynn Knot would be the same on me, since in each the Ficarre would have to hold a single fold of hair close to my nape thickness. I think it might eventually work for a log roll, but like you said (you're so smart!), I can't do a log roll yet. I didn't try the KarenLynn knot last night.

I have 30 days to return them if I can't figure anything out, so I am not panicked yet, just saddened. On the other hand, it took almost no time for me to figure out how to use hairsticks. I thought Ficarres would be no brainers, too, LOL.

PM Yes, I did think about exchanging for a super clip and/or the beak one, but I will play with the Maximas some more. They come in the best color selection.

Akka Naeda You suggestions & experience are very helpful. That plaited cinnabun pic was one of the things that persuaded me to try a Maximas! Well and the darned sale... :D

In a couple of them (i.e., a cinnamon bun) I could get the ficarre placed, but it was fully opened and was only on the side of the updo, say the side third of the the bun. From the back you couldn't really see it at all, only from the back side. Does that make sense? I tried placing it at 12 or 6 o'clock but the Ficarre's curve was uncomfortable there.

In a couple it was hopelessly inadequate to the task. Figure 8's for instance.

It did seem like it might hold my braided cinnabun, but I haven't been able to test that for any length of time yet.

What am I doing wrong?:disgust: I'm assuming you are talking about the Maximas clips? (The beaks won't go over much, and would have flown across the room if you'd tried on your bun! :silly: )

Even at my length - currently 26" - the large Ficcare Maximas only goes about half over a simple bun... (Not really a cinnamon, as my hair's so thick I only get one twist around, and about a half twist that I tuck under.) It's open, too -- but it holds. I think that are meant to be asymetrical like that, and to be honest, the Max clips look odd to me when they completely cover buns. Like overkill, or something. (For what it's worth, I seem to remember seeing Sandra Oh in an old movie with one fastened similarly, i.e., biting part-way into a bun.)

And my hair is just barely long enough for a messy Figure 8, but Max clips do not work at all for them with my hair. What works are Ficcare's Signature clips, ones that go through the hair, like a beak but better. I'm hoping their new Super Clips will work as well.

I use my Maximas clips:

To hold up folded braids -- the medium size if under/through the fold, the large if over;
To hold a flipped bun -- like a Figure 8, but the hair is twisted differently, I now realize (after reading icydove's descriptions... although maybe I'm still confused, which I usually am);
To hold a version of a French twist -- a muddle of tucked twisted hair. Yours obviously is too long for this, but like the log roll, you only have to hold part to make it stay, so the clip isn't wrestling it all into submission.


Xandergrammy has long thick hair and uses them to hold flipped braids, too -- you might check her photo thread.

Good luck. (And check out those Millenium/Signature clips next time. They slide through updos like butter, have a great sleek profile, and hold like glue. LisaJaney posted pix comparing them to others on the Ficcare 15% off thread.)

Physicschick, you have a point, but then I figured that if Cortese and Akka Naeda and Lady Godiva could use them I could, too. I didn't realize that you were among the ones who can't get one to work for them... I think our hair is very close -- as we've talked about before. I will try Cortese's braid updo asap and see how that goes. May be it will turn out that I have to only use Ficarre's on braided updos?
I forgot about Cortese's do. I can do that style, but it holds much more securely with an XL flexi-8 than with a Ficcare. Sorry to be such a wet blanket! It's definitely worth a try.

I think that scalp sensitivity may be a factor in whether Ficcares work for people. Even with hairsticks, I often have trouble with my buns pulling uncomfortably. I can make a log roll (sort of), but I haven't yet found a comfortable way to stick it to my head. If your scalp is tougher than mine, maybe you can find a Ficcare style that will work for you.

What are these super clips of which you speak? *off to look for super clips*

--physicschick

I just thought... about the plaited cinnabun.
If you try it (although your hair's not as long as mine so this may not be necessary yet) the clip does not go from the outside. I have 2 coils (2.5 but the extra half is tucked under) and I tend to put the clip in on the right hand side of my head, the bottom of the clip goes straight under the centre coil, it then holds the outer coil on the left hand side of my head. It's not really visible like that in the photo in my journal though.
Also, I suspect the clip is open more than with the Fig 8, but as I don't have any Ficcares with me at present I can't check that.
I'm not going to be able to do the plaited cinnabuns for much longer though.
I think you have thicker hair than I do, given that you seem to be using longer sticks (although this may partly be that I don't like my sticks sticking out everywhere!). You could test this by wearing a Max as a barrette just holding your hair in a ponytail. If it doesn't slip down after you've walked about a bit, your hair is thicker than mine.

For what it's worth, when I do a figure 8 or infinity with my ficcare I don't go in from the edge or across it, I go inside the first loop, with the lower jaw and back out the second loop with the top jaw closing over the cross point in the middle.

For the longest time Ficcares wouldn't work for me either. On my half-log roll (since my hair isn't long enough to go around all the way, it's only a half...) I found if I put it in from the other side and down a ways, it held!

Have you ever tried a twistless bun? I don't know how it'd work with your thickness, but it's worth a shot! I can get anything remotely stick like to hold this, be it a medium or large ficcare, hair sticks, or even not-stick-like things, such as a pony tail elastic. It's awesome.

darkwaves, thank you! Yes, I should have written that I am working with Maximas.:silly: It's reassuring that you can't manage an F8 with them either. I may return two Maximas & try the other two styles of clips. A super clip & a signature or millennium clip. The millennium is the beak one, and the signature is the one that doesn't look like it would work like a beak, right? :ponder:

physcischick I have XL Flexi 8's on order too :shrug: What can I say, I had a really large tax refund :whistle: That's interesting about scalp sensitivity, I have been told that I have a thick head from time to time. Do you think that's what my ex-hsuband meant when he said that? :wigtongue

akka naeda that's a helpful hint about the braided cinnabun, I would not have thought to try it that way, that might make it show a bit more around the back of my head. It was really weird to look in the mirror and not see my huge clip anywhere back there... It was hiding on the side of the updo!

Nightshade I understand what you descirbed, but that simply ain't happening with my cross point. My hair would rather damage the Ficarre than let it hold the middle of the X that way. And apparently in hair vs. Ficarre, my hair might win most of time. :boxer:

freznow thanks for bringing up the twistless bun! I gave that a half-hearted try a while ago but it didn't work and I didn't keep practicing it. And weren't you (or someone?) talking about it in the thread for using hairtoys that have become too small? *running off to check that thread and find twistless bun instructions*

My experience has been the opposite. I hate two beak clips that have never worked out, but the Maximas I got this week is easy to use. I'd say that Ficcare's "run small" and to be safe, one should order up. I got a medium, which works for my thick, shoulder length hair, but fits just barely. I think the beaks only work well with finer hair. JMHO.

I couldn't get my maxima to work either, at first. I was pushing it too far over the hair. I still can only get it to hold figure 8s well. Also I found them rather heavy and have more luck with the ficcarissmo.

Well even I can't get a large maxima to hold a cinnamon bun. My Ficcare would look like a crocodile trying to swallow something big. :D You look like you have twice as much hair as I have. :) Did you try a log roll or reverse log roll (where Lady Godiva used a Ficcare to hold her floor lengthed hair)? Cortese also had a thread about Ficcare holding a folded braid. The point is if you have a lot of hair, try to put your hair in a style so there will be a narrower / thinner area to be clamped down. :)

About hair snagging. Is it possible that you got a slightly defective one? Among all my clips there's just one that kept catching hair. I can't really see any difference but none of the other ones do that.

I lost mine, so that solves that, but I was on the verge of putting my Ficarre aside and never picking it up again. The last couple of times I used it, the whole bun (or log roll) ended up sagging, and hairs got stuck in the spring and pulled out. It infuriates me - much as those Ficarres cost - that there is absolutely nothing in the design to discourage hairs from sliding right into that spring. Even the cheapest butterfly clips have little plastic guards in front of the spring so that when they are shut, the spring is isolated from the hair (pretty much, much better than with a Ficarre). Unfortunately, the plastic clips are nowhere near as beautiful as the Ficarre, and the springs aren't as strong.

I lost mine, so that solves that, but I was on the verge of putting my Ficarre aside and never picking it up again. The last couple of times I used it, the whole bun (or log roll) ended up sagging, and hairs got stuck in the spring and pulled out. It infuriates me - much as those Ficarres cost - that there is absolutely nothing in the design to discourage hairs from sliding right into that spring. Even the cheapest butterfly clips have little plastic guards in front of the spring so that when they are shut, the spring is isolated from the hair (pretty much, much better than with a Ficarre). Unfortunately, the plastic clips are nowhere near as beautiful as the Ficarre, and the springs aren't as strong.

Surprisingly, I've never had problems with the spring... It's more the other side of the clip that grasps hair when I'm trying to get it out and it had decided not to cooperate. Perhaps hairtype has something to do with it...

Physicschick, here is a new Super Clip in action.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j56/Shermie_Girl/2007_0418marleysabrynaclip0012.jpg

This one is a large. It is a hybrid of a Maxima and a Beak and combines the best features of the two. It is longer than a Maxima and a little shorter than a Beak. It works well either clamped over an updo, as pictured or run through a bun, as a Beak is used. You have a lot more hair than I do, but the Super Clip may be a good option for you as it is wider at the spring end than other clips, so I think it would hold a whole boatload of hair. :grin:

Shermie Girl, thanks for the picture. The clip looks great on your hair. Actually, it looks a lot better in your hair than in the catalog pictures I found! If I were to try another Ficcare, that would definitely be the one for me to try. I think I'm about ready to give up on Ficcare, though.

This may be an incredibly stoopid post I'm about to .. umm.. post, since I don't own a Ficcare nor do I know how to do most of the full updos everyone here are speaking of!! However, with your thickness, have you tried playing with the ficcare in half-ups? Has anyone tried a full updo as a half up before? A small figure eight or other intricate bun but only with half of hair? Does that make sense? I'm not sure if it would work or look right or not-- it may look silly. And the large ficcare may not look right either. Again, sorry if this doesn't help at all, I was just thinking if your hair is too thick, you could practice with just half of your hair and see if that's the problem. :flower:

Please don't chastise me for my ignorance! :silly:

This may be an incredibly stoopid post I'm about to .. umm.. post, since I don't own a Ficcare nor do I know how to do most of the full updos everyone here are speaking of!! However, with your thickness, have you tried playing with the ficcare in half-ups? Has anyone tried a full updo as a half up before? A small figure eight or other intricate bun but only with half of hair? Does that make sense? I'm not sure if it would work or look right or not-- it may look silly. And the large ficcare may not look right either. Again, sorry if this doesn't help at all, I was just thinking if your hair is too thick, you could practice with just half of your hair and see if that's the problem. :flower:

Please don't chastise me for my ignorance! :silly:

That's not ignorant at all! I often do that because for a lot of the styles here, my hair is way too thick and will take a lot more length to accomplish them!

As for the "catching" I have learned to simply be very gently when taking them out and sometimes I have to sort of unwrap a hair or two that are "caught" in the spring from around it. I have never had a hair break when I do this.

I also have a very sensitive scalp and I can wear the Ficcares sometimes and other times I can't. I have a signature clip on order that Darkwaves was talking about and I hope they work as well for me as they do for her! Mercy, I couldn't get a large maximus around my bun when it was 21 inches! I don't think they are made for that. If you look on the Ficcare website, there are intructions for a bun and they tell you how to clip a maximus on. After I tried it the way they say I was amazed at how much better it held and fit. Good luck! Don't give up. I think anything like that just takes practice sometimes. :flower:

Shermie Girl, thanks for the picture. The clip looks great on your hair. Actually, it looks a lot better in your hair than in the catalog pictures I found! If I were to try another Ficcare, that would definitely be the one for me to try. I think I'm about ready to give up on Ficcare, though.


Thank you, Physicschic. :flower:

If you do decide to give Ficcare another go, sometime, this may be the clip for you. :grin:

sassenach thanks, you know if they had an extra large I would definitely have gotten it. If I try a beak I will definitely get the large in it. Everyone says that is too large so it might work for me :toofers:

cobblersmaid I'm not sure I get what you mean by "too far over the hair"? Do you mean, trying to fit too much hair into it? I hadn't noticed them being heavy yet... I would have to actually have it in my hair a while to evaluate that! :rolleyes:

sapphire-o I get what you are saying. I quickly tried a folded up braid yesterday and that had potential to work. However, a tucked under braid didn't work this morning. The difference is in where it sits on my braid's taper, leading me to be convinced that I just have too much hair for this hair toy. I can't do a log roll yet, my hair's too short, but my experiments give me hope that a ficcare will hold that style when I do get to that length.

On the hair snagging, all three of my clips have gotten me now, so it's not a defect. I think it's once again from having to jam too much hair into it.

*marking down Spidermom in the "Doesn't Work" column with physicschick...*

Shermie Girl thank you for your Super Clip pic & review. I am definitely sending 1, 2, or 3 Maximas back and I will try a Super Clip. What color did you get, honey marble?

Paniscus that is a great idea! :flowers: If I work with a smaller part of my hair and it still doesn't work, then I know that it is operator error. :shake: If it does work, then I know that my hair thickness is the problem. :rant: I'd bet that it is a little bit of both, that's why I am soliciting suggestions!

<snip>
Good luck. (And check out those Millenium/Signature clips next time. They slide through updos like butter, have a great sleek profile, and hold like glue. LisaJaney posted pix comparing them to others on the Ficcare 15% off thread.)


I LOVE the Millennium! And I have good luck with the beak, as well. But then I use them to slide through, rather than over, my style.

Do hope you will find some way to use the ficcares you purchased, and that you will enjoy them. That's always so disappointing to be looking forward to receiving something special, only to find it isn't what you thought it would be....

i also cant use mine for things like a bun or fig 8, but the log roll is my every day thing now with my ficcare :)

good luck!

Just to follow up and make this thread useful in case anyone is reading it in the future, I did find some styles that I can do with my Maximas. First off, I think I should say that my pony is easily 4 3/4" or more, that's why i am having trouble. I also want to aplologize for misspelling Ficcare! I thought I had so carefully learned its spelling, but I learned the wrong way. :rolleyes:

Anyways, with 37 inch hair and a large Maximas I can do:

Figure 8: I had to play with it and make it differently than I usually do. I like to make my F8's by making a high beebutt bun and pulling a coil down. If I want to use a Ficcare, I have to make a low beebutt and pull a coil up. I don't like the weight distribution as well when I do it this way, but the Ficcare does hold it.

Inside Out bun: I have to work on my technique so that the inner coils are reliably going the way that I want them to go, but the Ficcare holds this one securely.

KarenLynn Knot: The Ficcare will hold this one, but I am not convinced that I like how it looks. It sort of divides the knot in half, and I prefer the knot to be unbroken like it is with a hairstick (or it would be with a Ficcare signature clip).

Folded braid: I can do Cortese's folded braid, basically folding my braid in thirds up the back of my head and holding the top of it with the Maximas. I have to watch and catch my braid fairly far down it's length, I can't fold the braid under and use the Maximas, the braid at the nape of my neck is too thick.

When my hair gets long enough, I think the Maximas will hold a Log Roll for me.

I am keeping one Maximas and two are going back. I will be getting a Super Clip, beyond that I am not sure if I will ask for a refund or what.

Thanks everyone for all your help!

I can't get a Max to work on a bun, and I've got barely-ii hair. The Beaks are what work on a bun; maybe that's part of the problem, trying to get a log-roll/Frenchtwist clip to work on a hairstyle that isn't the best one for it? For Figure8's, a stick is what I use best.

I don't have thick hair, so I don't experience what you experience, but I know that a Max is a horrible failure for buns (for me), because of the curvature of the top-beak, and those nasty little teeth that keep you from sliding it INTO the style; it has to close over the TOP. You may find a beak to be more to your liking for buns (and I've used a beak on a Fig-8, but my Fig-8s are THIN.)

I wish I could help you more. Can you do the hairstyles they show on their little flyer that comes with the clips?

<snip>
Please don't chastise me for my ignorance! :silly:


Boy, if you get chastised for your "ignorance," I'm in big trouble! I think I probably display my ignorance in just about every post I make and it hasn't stopped me yet.

In fact, I've even managed to garner up the "Guru" designation! Maybe if you are ignorant and it's so obvious so often, people stop thinking of you as "ignorant" and decide you must be brilliant and they simply don't understand you....

Or, maybe not. But you, dear Paniscus, did not say anything even remotely ignorant. You offered forth a well-reasoned solution to the problem of the non-functioning ficcares.