How to Style Cowlicks
and Double Crowns

Why Do Cowlicks and Double Crowns Happen?

Cowlicks and crowns are just your natural hair growth pattern, set before birth and completely normal. A single crown is universal (it's the spiral at the back everyone has); a double crown means two spirals, often side by side, which fight each other and create a stubborn ridge or a persistent stick-up. Front cowlicks show up at the hairline and push a fringe apart. None of it is a defect. It's just direction.

Which Haircuts Work With a Cowlick?

• Textured, short cuts: the number-one answer. Short textured hair is meant to look irregular, so a cowlick just reads as texture.
• Buzz cut or crew cut: too short for a cowlick to stand up, so the problem is gone.
• French crop / caesar: worn forward, which suits many front cowlicks.
• Avoid blunt, flat, precise styles that depend on every hair lying the same way, since a cowlick will break them every time.
• Avoid leaving the crown too long on a double crown, since length exaggerates the ridge.

How Do You Make a Cowlick Lie Flat?

• Dry it into submission while damp. Blow-dry the cowlick flat in the direction you want, against its natural spiral, using your fingers or a brush. Damp hair sets where you dry it.
• Use a stronger hold product on the cowlick area specifically. Matte clay or paste works into the root.
• Work product into the roots, not just the surface, so you're redirecting the base of the hair.
• For a double crown, either keep it short enough to ignore, or embrace a slightly textured, tousled top rather than a flat one.
• Don't cut the cowlick shorter than the rest hoping it'll behave, since that often makes it stick up more.

Which products help with a cowlick?

Root control matters more than surface hold. These product types do the most (details in our pomade vs clay vs wax guide):

• Pre-styling spray or mousse: applied to damp roots before blow-drying, it helps the hair keep the new direction.
• Matte clay or paste: strong, flexible hold worked into the base of the cowlick once it is dry.
• Water-based pomade: heavier and smoother, good for a side part over a front cowlick.
• Light hairspray: a short mist to finish on the problem spot only.

A simple blow-dry routine

• 1. Wet the cowlick fully. Hair that has already dried in place needs to be soaked to reset.
• 2. Dry it the wrong way first. Blow the hair against its spiral for 20 to 30 seconds to loosen the root.
• 3. Dry it the way you want it. Use your fingers or a brush to pull the roots flat in the direction you want, with the nozzle pointing down the hair.
• 4. Finish on cool. A blast of cool air sets the new direction.
• 5. Add product last. Work it into the base of the cowlick, not just the tips.

What Should You Tell Your Barber About a Cowlick?

Point it out at the start: "I've got a cowlick here" or "a double crown at the back." A good barber will cut with the growth direction and choose a length that works with it, rather than against it. If a previous cut made it worse, say so. The barber can also show you which way to dry it at home, which is half the battle.

This is part of a normal cut, so the price stays the same, about $25 to $45 at most neighborhood shops (see our haircut cost guide).

How Do You Fix a Bad Cut Over a Cowlick?

A haircut that ignores a cowlick or double crown usually shows the problem within a day or two: a tuft standing straight up no matter how much product is applied, or a visible part splitting where none was intended. The fix is rarely another full haircut. Ask a barber to add length back over the growth point with scissors rather than cutting shorter again, since more length gives the hair enough weight to lie down under its own gravity.

• Grow the area out for a few weeks before judging the cut, since a cowlick often settles once there is enough length to weigh it down.
• Ask specifically for length to be left over the crown at your next visit rather than a uniform guard length across the whole head.
• Use a blow dryer to train the direction daily in the meantime, drying against the grain and finishing by pressing it flat in the direction you want.

Hair grows about half an inch a month, so here is roughly how a cowlick cut too short settles:

What Mistakes Make a Cowlick Worse?

• Cutting the cowlick shorter than the rest. Short hair over a spiral stands straight up.
• Parting against the growth. The hair will keep flipping back over the part all day.
• Using heavy gel to glue it down. It holds for an hour, then the tuft lifts and shows the gel.
• Going to bed with wet hair. Hair dries in whatever shape the pillow leaves, usually lifting the crown.
• Styling it dry. A cowlick can only be redirected while damp.

Frequently Asked Questions