For those who dislike bobby pins, try real old-fashioned hairpins. The kind that are long U-shaped pins. They work great at holding hair in place, without the pinching or poking of bobby pins, at least for me. I don't know if they'll stay in place better than bobby pins or not, but I've never had problems (off-ice). They would be harder to see if they fell out on the ice, so I wouldn't recommend them for skating. But just for updos in general, they work great.