Hair Hanging in Front of the Face

Shoulder-length haircut — Photo: Stockfour/Shutterstock

Q: Is there a hairstyle, other than emo hair, that makes your hair hang in front of your face a lot? I’m not talking about just brushing your hair forward, but a haircut that will actually make your hair fall in front of the face. I’m not talking about bangs either.

What I mean is like if you have shoulder-length, one-length hair, what could make the hair from the sides fall forward and cover the whole face constantly unless it's restrained by some accessory? I've heard backward layers will do that but not sure what it is. Also having shorter hair on the back like an a-line bob, but a lot of people said that doesn't work - that kind of stuff.

A: Okay, let’s look at this from a logic standpoint: the hair is going to behave A) according to its nature, B) according to its cut and styling, or C) according to a combination of the two.

When I speak of the “nature” of the hair in this case, I am referring to the way in which the hair grows, specifically the direction from which it emerges from the scalp, accompanied by its texture, wave pattern and density. Few peoples’ hair emerges from the scalp completely perpendicular to the head. Nearly all of us have some identifiable portion of the hair that grows in a certain direction, or at least a general direction in which most of our hair grows.

If an individual’s hair is oriented toward the face as it emerges from the scalp, that individual may be more likely to find their hair falling into the face at the slightest provocation. If the hair is oriented to grow away from the face, achieving the “in the face” look may be more problematic. The problem can be exacerbated depending on the texture of the hair. Coarser hair weighs more and requires more effort to direct than finer hair does.

However, finer hair is often more limp and less able to hold a style for any length of time. The wave pattern and density add to this because the amount of curl and number of hairs per inch can push the hair in odd directions to the benefit or detriment of the desired look. These factors must be considered or overcome in most cases.

The cut and styling of the hair are the ways in which to cause hair to behave in a certain way. Oftentimes, you use cut and styling techniques to overcome natural behavior patterns. In fact, the kind of behavior you describe in hair – that it falls forward over the face consistently unless restrained is generally a matter of natural behavior or styling and cut that enhances the natural tendencies of the hair.

You can use styling and cutting – such as backward layering, which is a technique that cuts the shorter lengths closer to the scalp with longer lengths toward the surface – to add bulk to the hair. This will make the hair appear fuller and will move hair forward. Combine this with styling to emphasize fullness and you can push the hair forward so that it falls forward and covers the face.

Getting ANY specific look in the style of the hair requires considering the natural tendencies and traits of the hair and using styling and hair cutting techniques to adapt these traits tendencies to the goals you have. In some cases, getting a look that falls into the face is easier than it might be with others, but the method of getting this effect varies tremendously with the individual.

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See also:

Hair styling techniques

Hair cutting techniques

The pros and cons of layered hair