How to Do a Half-Up, Twisty, Flat Clip Hairstyle

Flat hair clips are amazing enough on their own. You can lay down in them without an “ouch” moment, and they’re perfect to carry your look all day from yoga classes to school, not to mention professional enough for work. But the classic flat clip half-up style can get stale.

Sometimes you want texture, and other times you want to carry your look from head to toe with pops of color. That’s where adding braids, bubbles, or twists from your temples back, and adornments like ribbons come in.  There’s no shortage of ways to style this, you only need to have medium length to long hair.  

The guide below walks you through how to do the twisty, flat clip, half-up hairstyle. It’s fast, looks great, and a beginner level hairstyle that looks advanced.

Pro-tip: You’ll be sliding sections of hair into the clip at different times with only one hand available, this makes flat claw clips easier to maneuver than a snap clip as you can open it and secure the section with one hand vs. both.

You will need:

• A hair brush or a comb
• A flat lay claw hair clip
• A hair tie that is large enough to hold a ponytail

The steps to create the look:

1. Run a brush or comb through your hair to smooth out tangles and knots.
2. Separate your hair horizontally so there is a top section around the same height as your temples to create the half-up hairstyle.  Secure the bottom half in the hair tie.
3. On the left side, separate out a portion of hair and split it into two sections.
4. Twist each section with your fingers so your hair forms a rope but doesn’t coil, and then begin wrapping them so they form a twist.
5. Once you get towards the back of your head, open the flat clip and secure the twist into it.
6. Repeat on the right side and make sure it is even with the left.
7. Now comb through the lower section of your hair and blend like you would a standard half-up half-down look.

If you want to prevent flyaways, give the twists a spritz with a finishing spray or light hairspray.  Now that you know how to create the twisty variation, here's a beginner and advanced version if you want another alternative.

Simple variation: If you get stuck trying to create the two twists, twist a single strand of hair until it forms the rope shape and combine into the flat clip.

Advanced variation: Try French braids where you add sections of hair as you braid front to back leaving enough non-braided hair to be secured flat in the clip. Then add the ends of the French braids into the flat hair clip.

And that’s it! This is a fast-and-fun flat clip hairstyle for medium and long hair lengths. If you found this guide helpful, subscribe below for more just like it.