1

I'm referring to this:

picture of a woman with long hair

At first, I thought they could be called bangs.

But according to Google it's only the head above the forehead:

a fringe of hair cut straight across the forehead.

So what's the correct way of calling this part of the hair?

If there isn't a specific term, what would be the most natural way to call them?

For example, to be used in a sentence like this:

Her __ curved inward, cradling her cheeks.

1
  • I've added the dialect tags back in which were edited out, since the question may elicit words that are not used in all dialects, and the terminology tag since this question might elicit words that are specific to a particular domain.
    – TimR
    Aug 9, 2018 at 15:12

3 Answers 3

-1

The specific portion which you are pointing out of Bipasa Basu is informally called flick(s) (informally). If the flick is on one side, then you say side flick.

Flick is also a noun: e.g....a flick of a paintbrush.

He had straight sandy-coloured hair which was parted on the left with a flick of hair across his forehead, and a full bristly blond beard with a small moustache that was barely noticeable. link

Dreamweaver poetry With a flick of hair over her eyes, She carves intently a mysterious art. Like a song following the rhythm, Fireflies move around her heart. She drives her imagination , Beyond the scope of my senses. It's a gift of the grace, To build without fences.

He has a chubby hairless face, generally squinted eyes and black hair that is neatly combed and parted to each side with a flick of hair sprouting from the top.

7
  • In what part of the English-speaking world have you heard this used?
    – TimR
    Aug 9, 2018 at 14:46
  • What most of those photos have in common is a side parting with the hair flicked across the face. Aug 9, 2018 at 15:16
  • 4
    I would have to say this is an uncommon word specific to hairdressing. I have never heard it used this way before, it's not in any dictionary I've consulted, and if I saw "Her flick curved inward, cradling her cheeks" without context, I would have no idea what it meant.
    – stangdon
    Aug 9, 2018 at 15:31
  • I have asked five ♀♀♀♀♀ speakers of AmE (wife, daughter and one of her friends, sister, and a friend) if they've ever heard of the term flick used as a noun to describe the hair that falls beside the temples, cheeks, and chin, and all said they hadn't. So I assume it's either a British term or a term from Indian English, or both. But my question to you, @ubi_hatt, is where you have heard it used.
    – TimR
    Aug 9, 2018 at 17:12
  • 3
    I have seen and heard "flick" used in reference to hair as a verb, not a noun.
    – John Feltz
    Aug 9, 2018 at 17:31
1

Tresses are long locks of hair which hang down from the head. It doesn't mean side of the head exclusively, but it does mean long hair hanging down.

Her dark brown tresses framed her pale face as she gazed into the distance.

1

In U.S. English, a common way to refer to this hairstyle is that it's cut/angled/layered "to frame the face." See all of these youtube tutorials on how to cut hair like this.

While not an exact match for your sentence, a very natural way to express the same idea would be something like "locks/wisps of hair framed her face."

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .