I know… cowlicks can be a big pain. But rest assured, there are some simple steps to managing those pesky cowlicks to give you the hair style you want!
Here’s a common scenario: You see an amazing haircut on a celebrity or in a magazine and decide it’s the one. You bring the picture to your stylist and he/she cuts it exactly right… except that one piece that hangs down lower at your neck, or the bangs split. For men, it might not lay down the way they had hoped or it sticks up in the wrong spot. What gives?
Well, every hair on your head is built to grow in a specific direction. This is what causes cowlicks. Some cowlicks are easily managed (growth patterns that grow in one direction will go with any hair style). Some are not as easy to manage (ones that grow in almost a circle pattern sometimes feel almost impossible to handle).
Most cowlicks are found in three places: 1) the forehead, 2) the crown and 3) the nape of the neck. Cowlicks can affect the way you part your hair or style your bangs (the forehead), your volume or lack of volume (crown), and your neckline from buzz cuts to bobs (nape). If your cowlick doesn’t have a significant difference from the rest of your hair growth patterns, you might not even know you have one… And lucky you! =)
The best way to manage a cowlick is to learn how to work with them. Every person’s hair patterns are unique, but there are two main ways to manage cowlicks. You can either 1) cut them short to blend them into the hair, or 2) grow them long to give weight and manageability to the hair.
FOREHEAD COWLICKS
Once you’ve made the decision to keep it long or cut it short, styling products, a blow dryer and a good brush will become your best friends. If you have a cowlick in your bang area, this should be the first place you dry your hair. You’ll want to dry the hair with a brush pushing it in one direction, and then after a few strokes switch and brush the hair in the opposite direction, this will help “confuse” the hair, as to which way it is supposed to go. If the end result you choose is with the cowlick, then your hair should lay nicely, and if you choose the opposite, (which might be a bigger fight) you may be able to achieve more volume. This is a personal choice as to what looks best on you. For widow’s peaks, bangs are possible but will present a definite challenge when it is time to style them (depending on how dramatic the peak is). It’s my recommendation to not have bangs, but perhaps a short face frame, to make it look like you have fringe around your face. But for those who absolutely must have bangs, make sure they are thick enough, and that your dry them first in the way suggested above. This will give you the most room to play and will manipulate the hair.
CROWN COWLICKS
Cowlicks in the crown present issues for both short and long hair. For very short buzz cuts, it is almost always best to cut these cowlicks shorter than the rest of the hair. As hair grows in between haircuts, it will blend well with the rest of the hair as opposed to sticking straight up (Alfalfa style). For short/medium/long cuts, it’s best to determine your plan of action with your hairstylist. Most likely you will want more length, which will add more weight, and in turn, more control over that pesky cowlick. Sometimes however, a little extra weight doesn’t always do the trick. You can use pomades and pastes to direct the hair, but my tried and true way to manage cowlicks is to tease the area. Now you don’t need to create Texas-size hair to have control; just some light teasing and hairspray is all you need. This will give you awesome volume, and a finished look.
NAPE COWLICKS
If you have long hair, cowlicks at your neck might not be noticeable. But, if your hair is short or bobbed, sometimes it is better to have this section of hair cut shorter than the rest. If the hair is cut perfectly even, when it’s dry it might hang down lower, due to the direction of the cowlick (which will make it look uneven).
Follow these tips, and you’ll find that managing your cowlick is easy. If you have more questions, stop by and ask your LookAfter stylist on the hair style that would work best for your hair!
thanks for article…
find another hair style at http://newsonlineupdate.com
Has anyone ever tried using a straighnter just in the cowlick spot? Very informative article.
Sally, thank you for the feedback! A flat-iron would definitely help control a cowlick, but the hair will still need to be long enough. When using the flat-iron to control the cowlick I would move the iron in the direction you want the cowlick to lay. The heat from the iron and length from your hair, will make the cowlick disappear!
Thank you so much for this information..it really helps. I have a cowlick at the nape of my neck on the left-hand side and it is driving me crazy. My hair is short and I’m in the process of letting it grow..yikes! So it really look strange, especially when you look at me head-on. You can really see a difference on each side and my haircut looks uneven. The hair on my left hand side literally wraps down my neck and the right side is short. So right now I am going to get my scissor and cut the cowlick away…hope it looks better. Wish me luck!
I am 76 yrs. old and there is not a hair on my head that is not a cowlick. grey hair, tried spike cut, cowlicks do not work with me, tried a flat iron on the hair, nothing. No one knows what to do with it, and they do not believe my hair until they wash it and see how it stands up, a real mohawk down the middle. Now tell me what to do, gels and waxes don’t work. Know you think this is unbelievable but that is my problem and no more permanents for me. Just give me a suggestion.
Thanks
Thanks for the feedback Glenda! As a stylist there’s nothing I don’t believe anymore. Everyone has there own specific issues unique to them, and I definitely sympathize with yours. If the top of your head grows to a natural faux-hawk ask your stylist to use their thinning shears in this area, it will help minimize the effect. As far as a style for you, my recommendation is to go with what your hair wants to do, and since your hair has multiple cowlicks this may be difficult to figure out. Ask your stylist for an in-depth consultation to really examine the way these cowlicks grow and perhaps you can come up with a better solution. All else fails, you can grow your hair out. It will be a painfully long arduous process, but the weight from the length of your hair could offer you more
control.
Hi there,my baby has a crown cowlick,i you look at it from the back it spirals in a clockwise direction. My question is,which way will I put her side part?
Hi Jesse thanks for the question and the answer is simple. The crown really should’t effect the way you part her hair. It could present issues as a teenager or adult when she is looking for volume in her crown. Right now, unless she has a severe cowlick in the fringe or front hairline you should be able to part her hair on either side.
hi i have a fore head cowlick ive had it my whole life but i cant get it down evry day i comb it for a long time but it wont come down help me
Thanks for the question Caleb! I would suggest growing your hair out a bit. Lucky for you that is the new trend in men’s cuts! Unfortunately if
you are wanting to keep it short the cowlick might not ever lie down.
Cowlicks respond to weight, so unless you cut that hair off (which I doubt you want to do in the front of your hair) you just might have to spike the front. Or consider a side part (Mad Men-esque) where you can grow out the front of your hair, but not necessarily have it fall in your eyes. At your next hair appointment request an in-depth consultation with your stylist to determine the best solution for you.
Hi! I’m not sure if what i have is considered a cowlick but my hairline peaks where the arches are in my eyebrows. It looks as though a barber lined it up like how men do it. If you know what I’m talking about, do you have any ideas on how i could style my hair so i don’t look like a guy sometimes? Thanks. (BTW, I have very very highly textured hair so the only way my “cowlicks” ever lay down [and stay down!] is if i use gel or a holding moisturizer then tie my head with a satin/silk scarf for maybe 15 mins. or while I’m in the shower. Maybe that can help somebody on here.)
Yes what you are describing is most definitely a cowlick. I am not positive on what you are describing but here are a few tips: If you have severe cowlicks in your hairline, bangs will only make your morning routine more difficult. Also the shorter your hair the more difficulty you will have when styling, due to the lack of weight. My advice for styling is to give your hair a deep side-part (not the middle or off-center). Examine your hairline and figure out which side would work best, then when you dry your hair in the morning dry this area first. If you allow it to air-dry even a bit, you will have more trouble getting the hair to do what you want. After you dry this area, if it is still giving you issues, re-wet and re-dry. You can train your hair to do what you want (if the cowlicks are not too severe), but it does take drying and re-wetting a few times to get it under control. Best advice I can give is let your hair fall the way it wants to, this is usually the most flattering look on anyone.
Great suggestions, would love to hear a response for my hair!
I have a cowlick right at the front of my head (forehead) which is right on top of my ‘black widow’.. It is frustrating trying to control it when it sticks out a bit further then my actual hairline. I’ve tried blow drying it, gels, flat irons and it still has a mind of its own :-/
PS. I have quite long thick wavy hair
Thanks for the question Marie! Unfortunately cowlicks will always have a mind of their own. However, the fact that you have long hair is the first line of defense. More length = more control. A widow’s peak typically grows in the opposite direction of the rest of our fringe, growing towards your crown as opposed to towards your forehead. First if you have bangs, grow them out. Whether you choose to wear a long side-swept bang or grow them out completely. Whether or not you decide to keep a long bang, here are some tips for styling your hair. Blow dry this area FIRST, when it is still wet. If you allow it to air dry you will fight a losing battle. Next, blow dry your bangs with a brush to the left for a few seconds and then the right, alternating sides every couple seconds until your hair is dry. Then pick the side it lays the best to finish your bangs and start your part. Center parts can work, but if you’re trying to camouflage the cowlick a center part will only highlight your widow’s peak.
Hope this helps!
Hello!! I am dying here, I’m a mother of an active 2 year old, and I’ve got super long thin hair that get pulled, yanked, or tangled if its down so I usually keep it up in a bun, but doing this as often as I do is causing it to break. I would LOVE to get a pixie cut, but I have a cowlick that grows in one direction at my forhead, and another that grows in a circular direction at the crown of my head. Would a longer pixie cut ( think Keira Knightley in Domino ) work for me?
Pixie cuts are fabulous! I love how fresh and modern these styles are and right now we are seeing them everywhere! I think Keira Knightley in Domino would be an excellent choice for your hair type. Never having done her hair, I can’t say for sure but I believe her hair is also quite thin. As far as your cowlicks go you can either go two ways: longer for control or shorter and textured to conceal. Your future new style is doing both! You will have the length you need for control in the front and the shorter, textured hair in the crown area to conceal. The one thing I want you to know before you cut off your hair; when hair is short it requires more visits to the salon for shape-ups and trims to maintain the desired style. I say this because right before your next visit to the salon for a trim your cowlick may become unruly. If this is something you do not want to deal with you may need to shorten time in between visits to the salon.
Hi,
I constantly have a cowlick in the back of my hair, which is a collar length bob, and every stylist that cuts my hair, states that she cannot do anything to prevent it. The question is, what can I do, other than find a different stylist? Thank you.
In a sense the stylists are correct. They cannot get rid of your cowlick, it will always be there unfortunately. From your description I would guess that your cowlick is in your hairline at the nape of your neck. Cowlicks in this area can present problems for those of us with bobs and stacks because there is not enough hair to weigh down the cowlick. My recommendation is after your stylist has cut and dried your hair, have them cut the hair in the cowlick (at the hairline) shorter than the rest of the hair. Yes this will make it “uneven”, but done correctly it should be camouflaged by the rest of your hair and your cowlick will no longer stick out.
Can you please respond to Sally’s question from Jan 17, 2012 about using a hair straightener to tame a cowlick? Mine is at the crown. I am not sure if it is a cowlick or just tight curl I this area.
Everyone has a cowlick of some sort in their crown. A flat-iron can help but I don’t suggest going over and over the same area with a flat-iron, you will just damage your hair. If the problem you are having is with it splitting which leaves your crown flat, then the best way to counteract this is to tease your crown. The hot tools, product and the cut can help in this process but to really fight the flatness a teasing comb/brush should become your best friend.