JOYOYO 40 Pcs Hair Bows Review: cheap, colourful clips that actually stay put

I bought these JOYOYO 40-piece hair bows for one simple reason: I was tired of hunting for matching clips at 7:30 in the morning before nursery. My daughter loses hair accessories like it’s her job, so I wanted something cheap, colourful and not too precious. This set ticked the right boxes on paper: 40 bows, in pairs, for a low price. I went in expecting “basic but usable,” nothing more.

After a few weeks of daily use, I’d say that’s pretty much what you get: practical, no-frills bows that do the job. They’re not fancy boutique quality, but they hold fine hair, they don’t fall apart instantly, and there are enough colours that we always find something that kind of matches the outfit. For school and nursery, that’s honestly all I need.

My first impression when I opened the package was: “Okay, this is a lot of colour.” It’s a big mix of bright shades, some pastels, some darker ones. Not every colour is nice in my opinion, but you get so many that it doesn’t really matter. My kid likes the rainbow effect, and she’s the target here, not me. The size also looked good right away: not huge, not tiny, just a medium bow that works for pigtails and half-up styles.

So overall, my starting point with this product was pretty realistic: I wanted something that keeps hair out of my child’s face without costing a fortune. These bows are not perfect, there are a couple of flaws I’ll get into, but in everyday use they’ve been reliable enough and clearly better than the super cheap pound-shop clips I was buying before.

This set is all about value. You’re basically paying a low price for 40 usable bows in pairs. If you break it down per clip, it’s very cheap. For me, that’s the main selling point. I don’t stress if one gets lost at the park or left at nursery, because there are plenty more in the drawer. Compared to buying individual bows from small shops, this is on a completely different level in terms of cost per piece.

In terms of what you actually get for the money, I’d say it’s good value for everyday use. The quality is above the really cheap discount-store clips, but not as polished as higher-end brands. For a kid who just needs something to keep hair out of their face at school, this hits a nice middle ground: decent materials, decent durability, huge colour range, and you’re not paying for branding or fancy packaging.

Where it shines is if you have: a child who wears pigtails or bunches a lot, a kid who constantly loses hair accessories, or multiple children who share clips. Having pairs in many colours means you can almost always find something that matches outfits without thinking too hard. You also don’t feel bad throwing a couple in nursery bags, grandparents’ houses, or the car, because they’re inexpensive.

If you’re looking for perfectly finished, boutique-style bows for special occasions or photos, I’d spend more and get a smaller, higher-end set. But if you want a large, practical stash of clips that you don’t have to baby, the value here is hard to argue with. It’s not luxury, but for what you pay, it gets the job done and then some.

The bows are all the same design: a pinwheel-style grosgrain bow with a little swallow-tail shape at the ends. Nothing fancy, no rhinestones, no characters, just a very basic bow shape. Personally, I like that. It keeps the look clean and you don’t have to worry about bits falling off. It also means every bow in the pack is equally usable; you don’t get a few cute ones and a bunch of weird designs nobody wants.

On my kid’s head, the size and shape work well. For pigtails, one bow per side looks balanced – not huge, not tiny. On a single ponytail, one bow at the base adds a bit of colour without looking over the top. On very fine hair, I tend to use them to pin the front strands back, and the bow sits nicely above the ear. They don’t sag or flop around much, which I was worried about when I saw how many there were in the bag.

The clips are the classic alligator style with teeth. They’re flat on the bottom, so they sit reasonably flush on the head and don’t dig in, as long as you’re not clipping right against the scalp. The spring tension is decent: strong enough to hold, but not so tight that you feel like you’re going to rip hair out when you remove them. A couple of clips in my pack were slightly stiffer than the others, but nothing dramatic.

If I nitpick, the bows aren’t perfectly uniform. A few have slightly crooked loops or the tails aren’t cut exactly the same length. You only really notice if you look close. On a moving child, you don’t see it. For this price and quantity, I wasn’t expecting perfect symmetry. Overall, the design is basic, practical and kid-friendly. No metal edges sticking out, no sharp bits, and the bows don’t look childish in a bad way – just simple and colourful.

Comfort-wise, my main test is my daughter’s tolerance. She’s at the age where if something feels even slightly annoying, it gets pulled out and thrown on the floor in about 10 seconds. With these, she mostly forgets they’re there, which is a good sign. The clips are light, so they don’t drag the hair down, and the teeth aren’t overly sharp. I haven’t seen any red marks on her scalp or complaints about them hurting.

In terms of grip, they’re actually better than I expected. She has fairly fine hair, and a lot of cheap clips just slide right out. These hold on pretty well to small sections of hair. For pigtails and half-up styles, they stay put for most of the day at nursery. By pickup time, a few might have shifted a bit, but they’re usually still in her hair, not on the floor. On really silky baby hair, you might need to catch a slightly bigger section to get a solid grip.

Putting them in and taking them out is straightforward. The clips open easily enough that you can manage with one hand while wrangling a kid with the other. Removing them, I just open the clip fully and slide it out; I haven’t noticed any serious tugging or hair breakage. If you just yank them out without opening the clip, yes, they can pull, but that’s more user error than a product issue.

One thing to note: because the bows are glued onto the clips, there is a small hard spot where the glue sits. If you press that directly against the scalp, it could feel a bit lumpy. I usually angle the clip so the bow sits slightly above the scalp, and then it’s fine. Overall, for everyday wear at school or nursery, I’d call the comfort level perfectly acceptable. No complaints from the kid, and that’s what matters.

The bows are made from grosgrain ribbon, which has that slightly ribbed texture. That’s actually a good choice for kids’ hair clips. It feels sturdy, doesn’t look shiny or cheap, and it holds its shape fairly well. After several wears, most of our bows still look like bows, not limp bits of fabric. The ribbon is not super thick, but thick enough that it doesn’t fray everywhere. The ends seem heat-sealed, so they don’t unravel easily.

The clips are standard metal alligator clips. They feel light but not flimsy. You can bend them if you really try, but in normal use – pulling them open, clipping in hair, tossing them in a bag – they hold up. The ribbon is hot-glued onto the clip. You can see a bit of glue if you look underneath, which isn’t pretty, but it’s functional. So far, out of the whole pack, I’ve only had one bow where the ribbon started to peel off the clip after my daughter yanked on it repeatedly. A quick dab of hot glue fixed it.

The colours so far haven’t bled or faded, even after getting slightly damp in the rain and a quick hand wash on one that got covered in yogurt. I wouldn’t throw them all in the washing machine, but for spot cleaning, the ribbon copes fine. The lighter colours obviously show dirt more quickly, but that’s expected. Fabric-wise, they feel okay in the hand: not luxurious, but not scratchy or plasticky either.

If you compare them to more expensive boutique bows, you can tell where the corners are cut: glued instead of sewn, minor glue marks, and some variation in how neatly the ribbon is folded. But for everyday use on a toddler who will lose half of them over time, the materials feel reasonable for the price. They’re not heirloom quality, but they don’t feel like disposable junk either.

I’ve been using these bows on a rotation for a few weeks now, and they’ve had a decent workout: nursery days, playground, naps in the car, stuffed into coat pockets, and the occasional accidental trip through the laundry basket. For the price, the durability is pretty solid, but there are a few small weak points to be aware of.

The ribbon itself holds up well. Most bows still look the same as when I opened the pack. They don’t randomly unfold or collapse. A couple got slightly squashed at the bottom of a bag, but with a bit of finger-adjusting, they bounced back into shape. No major fraying so far, and the colour hasn’t peeled or faded. I did a quick hand wash on one that got food all over it, and it dried without warping.

The more fragile part is the glue joint between the ribbon and the clip. Out of 40 bows, I’ve had one where the ribbon started to lift off after a particularly rough day and a lot of pulling. That’s not ideal, but it’s also not catastrophic given the quantity you get. If you’re handy with a glue gun, you can fix that kind of thing in a minute. The metal clips themselves haven’t snapped or rusted, even after getting a bit damp.

In normal daily use, I’d say these are good for long-term rotation. You will probably lose a few before you actually wear them out. If you’re expecting something that will look pristine for years and be passed down, this isn’t that. But for regular school and nursery use, with kids who chuck things around, they hold up better than the bargain-bin clips I’ve bought before. Given the price per bow, the durability feels fair.

The main thing with this set is the quantity and variety. You get 40 bows, so 20 colours in pairs. That matters if your kid wears pigtails or bunches, because you can put the same bow on both sides instead of mixing random colours. In practice, that’s what we use most: two matching bows for pigtails, or a single one to pin hair to the side. Having pairs is way more practical than random singles.

The colours are a mix of bright and neutral: reds, pinks, yellow, blue, green, white, black, navy, etc. Some are a bit loud for my taste (the really bright ones), but my daughter loves those the most, so there you go. There are no prints or patterns, just plain grosgrain ribbon, which actually makes it easier to match with clothes. If you’re expecting very curated aesthetic colours, this set is more “box of crayons” than “Instagram feed”, but for a nursery or school kid it fits well.

Each bow is about 3.5 inches wide, which I’d call a medium size. On a baby with almost no hair, they might look a bit big, but on toddlers and up they’re fine. They don’t cover the whole head, but they’re visible. The metal alligator clips are about 1.75 inches and have little teeth that grip the hair. They’re glued to the back of the bow, not sewn, which is standard at this price. So far, on ours, the glue has held up aside from one clip that loosened after a rough day at nursery.

Packaging-wise, mine arrived in a simple plastic bag, everything just thrown together. Nothing fancy, but nothing damaged either. If you want to gift this, you might want to re-pack it in a nicer box. As a straight purchase for home use, the presentation is plain but fine. The main point is: you open the bag and you instantly have a pile of usable bows in a bunch of colours, ready to throw in drawers, bags and coat pockets.