The Hair Piercing Trend Is the Coolest Thing We've Seen in a While

(Image credit: Marie Claire)

published 26 July 16

Over the past few months, we've forecasted heavy metal hair accessories (opens in new tab)—and hair hoops (opens in new tab) specifically—as one of the major beauty trends of 2016. Now, we've reached peak chrome-adorned 'dos with the induction of the hair piercing (opens in new tab) technique.

Two of the biggest players in the game are Jessy and Taiba of @KeashBraids (opens in new tab), who have been "piercing" many of their mesmerizing plaits with hoops, charms, spikes, and even paper clips.

"When I was younger, I had beads in my hair all the time so jazzing up braids has always been a thing to me," Taiba tells us. "When I started to get into braiding again, I decided to adapt and use rings in braids. I am obsessed with piercings—I have quite a few—and braids, so why not combine the two together?!"

The looks range from badass to '90s kitschy (especially in tandem with glitter roots (opens in new tab)), plus you get all the aesthetic payoff of regular piercings *without* the pain or commitment. In other words, we're obsessed. As for how to adorn your braids...

"Be creative," advises Jessy. "Play around with different hair ring sizes and colors, you can get so many variations. For example, we like to add gold and silver beads to a hair ring to create a barbell-style addition."

Check out some of favorite pierced plaits below:

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Lauren Valenti

Lauren is the former beauty editor at Marie Claire. She love to while away the hours at coffee shops, hunt for vintage clothes, and bask in the rough-and-tumble beauty of NYC. She firmly believes that solitude can be a luxury if you’ve got the right soundtrack—that being the Rolling Stones, of course.