Anyone have cow licks?

[Nadine <3]

I dunno about you guys, but I have some crazy cowlicks going on that make my bangs do this loopy crazy thing that looks a bit funny. They where not a problem when I was using heat and burning them straight...but now that I swore off heat my bangs are all sorts of crazy. Any advice on how to calm these suckas??

[MadameV]

Here's what I've tried, in chronological order:

1. Length. That's the only thing that ever flattened mine.
2. Dying it all green, so any crazyness looks intentional.
3. Growing it slightly longish, say between cheekbone and chin. Throughout the day, I'd occasionally run my fingers through my hair from front center hairline to crown, sweeping the bangs back and creating volume around the face when they settle back down. Creates kind of a sexy, swooshy look, at least on thick 1b/c hair.

I had my hair bang-less and waist length for most of my life, and it wasn't until I shaved it off and tried to grow it back that I realized my bangs grow upward at about a sixty degree angle from my head. They were three inches long before they even started to droop, and I had about a month where they stuck straight forward and it looked like I was wearing a tiny baseball cap. I kept them on one side for a couple of years, but as no straightener or product ever worked on them I resigned myself to a weird side-bang/Sephiroth from FF7 combo, dyed it fun colors, and proceeded to rock the hell out of it. I'm now growing them out, and at chin length they will now finally agree to settle a bit on the last day (day 3) of my wash cycle.

Not a lot of advice on products or technique, as nothing ever worked for me. I kind of had to take the learn to love it or leave it long approach.

[Nadine <3]

Hm, maybe I should dye them with my roommates purple manic panic! LOL they where sitting at my chin but then I remembered how much I likes them shorter, at my nose. I was using heat the last time they where this short. GAH, oh well. My hair looks slightly spazzy most of the time anyways lol or at least it will until it grows longer. Never cutting it short again...

[Islandgrrl]

I have crazy insane cowlicks. The one in my bangs, well, I just try to work around it. Nothing tames it. Not length, not product, nothing. Then I have one at my neckline that always makes my updos look weird, no matter how long my hair is. Even at mid-thigh, still crazy.

[NaClH2O]

I have several intense cowlicks. One in my bangs and one on the top of my head directly above my left ear. NOTHING hair-friendly tames these suckers, I hate them.

For my bangs, if I am wanting to wear straight-across bangs, I have to blow dry them the opposite way of the cowlick to get them to lay straight. When they are longer, the length helps keep it "normal" looking.

For the one above my left ear, I have to part my hair on that side because my hair natural wants to part here at the cowlick.

My advice - grow your bangs out or live with unruliness, cowlicks never go away. Good luck! :D

[Tail Feathers]

I have one.... right in the middle of where my bangs used to be.
The only remedy for me has been length (growing out my bangs).
Now, it is no longer noticeable, and no need to damage my hair
to tame it (it was impossible to tame, anyway... only length
put a damper on it)....

[Arctic]

If you keep yoour bangs on a shorter side, I don't see any reason to not to use heat styling. And even if your do keep your bangs longer (or want to grow them out), blowdrying that area with low to medium heat is ok, depending on your hair type and goals etc.
I have crazy and ugly cowlick at the crown of my head, it's always been there but became even worse some years ago when my hair started to go wavy. Nothing helps as reliably as blowdrying. Sometime I get it to dry in acceotable position with damp bunning (or at my lenght more often: half up). But alas, all the techniques last only a day and after sleeping it's back.

[Soltimus]

I have one nasty cowlick on the left of my centre parting. It's super annoying and I have to admit I just gave up on having a fringe because it would just part regardless of what I did to prevent it. It worked ok for me in the 90's when I had a swooshy sideways fringe thing going on (oh, hairspray, you were my trusted friend indeed). My husband is convinced I'd look awesome with a fringe, but I'm not sure I want my waist length hair near someone's scissors. Would be a fun experiment, though, so I'll just stick around and see what people have to say about taming it ;)

[restless]

I have one nasty cowlick on the left of my centre parting. It's super annoying and I have to admit I just gave up on having a fringe because it would just part regardless of what I did to prevent it.

That makes it two of us; cow lick on the left of a center parting that will screw up the fringe no matter what :beercheer:

[florenonite]

I don't see anything wrong with heat styling if you're keeping them as bangs.

If you're growing them out, on the other hand, then you'll want to tame the cowlick in a hair-friendly manner. When I grew out my bangs, I used to French braid them from my side part along my hairline, and either pin the braid or incorporate it into an updo. I don't know how resilient your cowlicks are, but if you do that on damp/wet hair it might work.

I don't have any big cowlicks, but I've got one in the very fine hair *right* at my hairline at my parting, which insists on going to the left, making my parting zig-zag a little (I part on the left, but generally further over than this cowlick).

[lapushka]

I've never been able to "tame" cowlicks without heat, or without at least a blow dryer (use on cool or warm, you don't have to use the hottest setting!) and so I can offer you no solution to the no-heat thing. Cowlicks can be damn annoying. I've got two on the back of my head and one in front, making bangs quite a challenge (that's why I don't have any :lol:).

[DweamGoiL]

I have one at the back of my head right under my crown on the left side. If my hair is perfectly clean, it is hidden, but if the scalp gets a bit oily, then the darned thing wants to say hello...updo!

[JessicaAnn]

I have two, one on either side of the back of my head. When I was little my hair curled and would stick up like horns on the back of my head. Apparently it was a rather disturbing effect. The left one is more tenacious than the right which makes my current layer disaster even more distressing as the "stylist" cut the shortest layer right over the top of the 'lick. As much as I hate to, I will be heat styling the booger into submission until the layer grows out enough to weight it down.

[browneyedsusan]

I have one on my crown that ends in a scar. That bad boy was a pain to cover when my hair was pixied, but long hair lays right over it--most days! :)

[r00ski]

In the back of my head on the left side, there is a patch of hair that classifies as a cowlick.. it's just a small patch of hair that would only lay flat if i laid it out growing towards the front. the rest of the hair is fine, goes to the sides, but these guys just have to grow different.. SO FRUSTRATING

[Firefox7275]

I dunno about you guys, but I have some crazy cowlicks going on that make my bangs do this loopy crazy thing that looks a bit funny. They where not a problem when I was using heat and burning them straight...but now that I swore off heat my bangs are all sorts of crazy. Any advice on how to calm these suckas??

Stop fighting your waves and work with them.

[cranberrymoonz]

Why would you stop using heat on your bangs if it works? Yes, it'll damage them, but you probably cut them often. Heat damage tends to be less of a problem on short hair. Also, blow-drying them on a lower heat setting may work. My aunt always wears a huge roller in her bangs at night to make them dry in a nice round shape. That works perfectly on her, but I don't know if it would work on cowlicks too.