3D printing has always been a great medium for creating personalized items. It’s also great at creating functional and practical parts. This makes 3D printing perfect for creating cute, quirky, and fun designs for everyday use.
It might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but hair accessories and 3D printing go hand-in-hand. From cosplay to casual wear, there are some great designs out there that you won’t find in your typical store.
Today, we want to showcase some of the best 3D printed hair accessories around, ranging from hair clips and hairpins to headbands and ornaments.
And if you find a design or two on the list that you’d love to have but your 3D printing setup isn’t up to the task, consider Craftcloud. With plenty of materials and finishes to pick from, your hair accessories will be delivered to your doorstep, ready to wear!
Let’s get to it!
Skull
First up on our list is a great statement piece. This cat skull-themed hairpin is a simple and easy print for anyone. All you need is some white filament (or paint), and you’re good to go. Adorn the skull however you wish in your hair and keep it in place with the included bone needle. Print two needles to make your own crossbones!
The skull isn’t quite as optimized for 3D printing as it could be, requiring a good amount of support no matter what orientation you choose.
If you’re having trouble printing the needle with support, some makers have recommended splitting the needle file in half, printing the separate halves, and then gluing them back together. This will also give you a better surface finish for your needle!
This model has inspired many great remixes, from heart skull to dragon skull hairpins. Be sure to browse the Remix tab for more!
- Who designed it? Tomman204
- How printable/popular is it? Over 12,000 people have downloaded this file. It has seen around 100 makes and 9 remixes combined from both sites!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse, Printables
Toothless
Keeping with the theme of hair clips, we have the Toothless hairpin inspired by the How to Train Your Dragon series. The design is subtle enough that fans of the series will recognize it while everyone else will see a very cool dragon hairpin.
This file prints completely flat, making it a very easy print for most printers. Only the needle requires support, though you can once again split the needle into two half prints to avoid them.
To get the curved finish, the designer used a heat gun to form the print around the curvature of a mug. The thin design makes it much easier to work with when using a heat gun to achieve such an effect. Other makers have also used cookie jars and even hot water in place of a heat gun.
Feel free to scale the model to fit your needs, as other makers have.
- Who designed it? hopskipper
- How printable/popular is it? This model is a hit, with over 20,000 downloads and 13 makes shared!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse, MyMiniFactory
Power
Sometimes, simple is best. These hair clips prioritize function over form, with a slim design that’s capable of staying intact while under a heavy load of hair. Use a filament color similar to your hair color to hide the clips entirely!
The low-poly design makes this print much easier for your 3D printer, giving it flat surfaces that stick much better to the print bed. There are large and small clips premade. If neither works for you, the designer has included customizable files to let makers personalize the size and strength of their clips.
Once again, PETG or PC blends seem to be the best filament choice for this print, though some makes showcase the print working just fine with PLA.
- Who designed it? mathgrrl
- How printable/popular is it? Over 3,800 people have downloaded this model. One of the five makes showcases that the design can even work with PLA!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse, MyMiniFactory
Witcher Wolf Head
If you’re looking for a more medieval aesthetic, this Witcher-themed wolf hairpin may be what you need.
The designer took two great files from Thingiverse and combined them into something that a lot of people love. They’ve left credit to both of the original designers in the description if you’d like the check them out and maybe give them your own spin.
The high-detail wolf head will look best when using a smaller layer height, such as 0.12 mm. Many were able to get this to print just fine with PLA while using supports, though ABS or PETG may be more resilient and last longer. As seen above, a maker was even able to get an outstanding print using resin to perfectly capture all of the details of this model.
- Who designed it? harddrv1
- How printable/popular is it? This hairpin has already been downloaded over 7,200 times, with 9 people sharing their makes!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Overwatch Mercy
This hairpin is inspired by the logo seen on Mercy’s outfit from Overwatch, making it a great addition to any cosplay!
This is a very, very simple print, requiring no supports, brims, or rafts. It prints fine in PLA, though smaller prints like this could benefit from stronger materials to ensure the pins don’t break off too easily. It seems that PETG might once again be the winner here.
The designer created an additional version with longer pins should you need it to fit better. They even left a video showing how they painted their print to get the perfect finish. One maker commented about adding a couple of layers of epoxy onto their print to help give it some durability as well.
- Who designed it? schme16
- How printable/popular is it? Between the two versions of this hairpin, it’s been downloaded over 10,000 times. Many makers seem to like this file, with eight sharing their makes.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Snap Hair Clip with Ornaments
These small hair clips showcase the perfect use of a design that was made for 3D printing. The clips print flat and press together to create the curved shape you may be familiar with.
Since these prints will need to remain under stress, you are best off using PETG. PLA simply doesn’t have what it takes to keep the curved shape for long. The designer recommends playing around with PC blends for even better results.
Since this print is held together with a press-fit design, printer tolerances need to be tuned. If you can’t quite get it all to snap together, try taking a small file to the inside of the hole to widen it a little.
The designer has also left many charm models that you can attach to your clips! These should snap right on, though a little glue will keep them in place. If you’ll be switching clip and charm combinations, though, you’ll want to hold back on the glue. Many of these charms are best printed using a color swap, though you always have the option to print them on one color and paint them yourself.
If you aren’t fond of the charms, you can make your own using the negative volume model as well!
- Who designed it? rorys3D
- How printable/popular is it? There are over 150 downloads for this fun, customizable model so far. As for the makes, all five of them appear to have opted for either PETG or a PC blend.
- Where to find it? Printables
Halloween-Themed
Whether you’re getting ready for your Halloween party this year or just like the spooky aesthetic, these hair clips are a definite must-print.
The hair clip itself is a functional print and can be used alone. The designer added many fun designs to let you customize your look, whether you want to make them spooky or cute. You’ll need some glue to attach your charm of choice, and once you do, it isn’t going anywhere. Because of the separate files, you always have the option of designing and printing your own charm!
As with many of the more flexible prints on this list, PETG is the best suited filament. PLA might work for a while, but it’s more likely to snap after being under constant stress.
Everything should print flat just fine without any need for support. You’ll want to use a very high infill for the best results – maybe even 100% just to be safe.
- Who designed it? dancan13f
- How printable/popular is it? Surprisingly, this file only has around 200 downloads right now, though there is a lot of potential!
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory, Printables, Thingiverse
Flower
Here’s a cute little flower that will make any boring old hairpin much more appealing. These flowers attach to standard bobby pins easily, with a slot for the hairpin to slide through. There are two models; the basic one slides in easily, while the alternative one has a stop in place that will keep the pin from sliding back out. Some glue can be used for a more permanent solution.
This file is designed to be as lightweight as possible to not add heaviness to the hairpin, which explains why it can be printed with under 6 grams of filament. Some makers have even printed it with 0% infill successfully. Due to the size of the print, you’ll want to make sure you slow down your print speeds for the best results.
You’ll have no trouble printing the model in your favorite filament choice, even PLA. Feel free to pair it with this butterfly hairpin as well for a gorgeous display!
- Who designed it? squinn
- How printable/popular is it? A great print that has seen over 290 downloads. Already, 13 makers have shared their makes.
- Where to find it? Printables
Replacement Hair Clip
We’re sure many who are visiting this list are looking for something to replace a recently broken hair clip. This print makes use of the spring and pin from an old clip, giving it a newly functional body. You’ll also have the chance to personalize your hair clip with your favorite color of filament! So here’s the chance for a glow-in-the-dark accessory.
You should have no trouble printing this model without support. If you have issues with the teeth curling, you might try a brim. The design of this print gives it an excellent surface finish when orientated properly, as you can see in some of the makes. With the right settings, it will be difficult to even tell it was 3D printed!
If you’re here because both your hair clip and your spring have broken (or you can only purchase a bag of 100, which might be 99 too many), you aren’t out of luck! There’s a hair clip with a printable spring that should do just the trick. This designer left clear instructions for both printing settings and assembly – it’s definitely worth a look.
- Who designed it? dziobu
- How printable/popular is it? Combined from both sites, out of the 1,600 downloads, 7 have chosen to share their makes, showcasing how simple this print truly is!
- Where to find it? Printables, Thingiverse
Wearable Cat Ears Headband
We all knew cat ears would be on the list, and this model is the perfect fit. These cat ears make for the perfect gift for a child wanting to match their pet, and they’re also a great addition to any Halloween costume!
This wearable headband is designed to fit a 12-year-old child, so you will want to scale it to suit your needs. No support, rafts, or brims are required for this print. The designer has included three different options suited for different types of filaments, including rigid and flexible choices.
This is another print that’s best suited for a color swap. The inside of the cat ears just looks so much better when it’s printed in the right color. However, you can always color it later to save time.
Seems like makers were getting the best results with anywhere between 40% and 60% infill when using PLA. PETG would be better suited for the flexible versions.
- Who designed it? Jimbotron
- How printable/popular is it? It’s no surprise that this model has been downloaded over 13,000 times – it’s too cute! There have been 17 makers eager to share their prints.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
License: The text of "The Best 3D Printed Hair Clips & Accessories" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.