The claw hair clip is everywhere now. It is the clip holding twisted hair at the back of the head. The clip you take out halfway through the day (because who can wear the same hairstyle all day?) and hook onto a sleeve or the collar of a long-sleeve top.

The clip clipped to a bag handle.

The clip resting on a jeans pocket.

The claw hair clip was hugely popular about 25 years ago, then never really disappeared — it just kept existing. And now, it is fully back again.

Christian Potut, a French designer, entrepreneur, and hands-on maker.

Potut left school at the age of 14 without any formal qualifications, but with a strong urge to work with his hands. Years later, at 27, he launched his first small workshop in an old bread oven located behind his parents’ home.

The project developed gradually. By 1986, Christian and his wife Sylviane had established CSP Diffusion in their hometown of Oyonnax, where they began manufacturing everyday plastic items such as hair accessories, combs, and even yo-yos.

But the key idea that would change everything came to him unexpectedly.

“One day I kept crossing and uncrossing my fingers,” Potut later told the BBC. “That’s when I had my lightbulb moment. I thought: I sell combs and clips — why not combine the two?” That simple idea led to the invention of the claw (crab) hair clip, patented in the late 1980s.

The claw hair clip was revolutionary because it worked for everyone: curly or straight hair, fine or thick, long or short.

It held hair securely without pulling or damaging, and without requiring styling skills. It was practical — easy to use, easy to carry, easy to forget about until you needed it again.

That practicality is exactly why the claw hair clip never truly went out of style. Today, it fits perfectly into modern life — our fast-paced rhythm, constant movement, and the need for comfort above all.

The rise of the claw hair clip wasn’t just about convenience — pop culture played a major role.

In the 1990s, the clip became a part of everyday style and often appeared in films and TV series, especially in scenes showing casual, effortless femininity. Characters wore these clips at home, at work, and on the go, which helped shape the idea of the clip as something for real life, not special occasions. One of the most recognisable examples was Jennifer Aniston in Friends — her character Rachel Green made the twist-and-clip hairstyle feel relaxed, simple, and cool. It quickly became one of the visual signatures of the decade.

Although the clip never fully disappeared, it slowly moved into the background — still practical, just less fashionable. Its return in the late 2010s and early 2020s came with ’90s and Y2K nostalgia and the rise of social media. Celebrities and influencers — you have definitely seen crab clips on Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber — brought it back again, turning it into a symbol of effortless, everyday style.