KathySteinemann.com: Free Resources for Writers
Word lists, cheat sheets, and sometimes irreverent reviews of writing rules. kathy steinemann is the author of the writer's lexicon series..
400+ Words to Describe Hair: A Word List for Writers
(Discover even more words in The Writer’s Body Lexicon .)
Why Should You Worry About Your Characters’ Hair?
Audrey Hepburn said, “The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.”
Audrey was right, but people still judge others and make snap assessments based on appearance. Hair reveals personality and lifestyle. Along with the eyes and prominent facial features, it makes a huge impact. I suspect it’s part of the reason somebody coined the phrase bad hair day.
Capitalize on that in your writing.
Does your protagonist have blonde hair with dark roots? Maybe she’s a hard-working businesswoman with no time to make a salon appointment; or perhaps she’s a harried mother who can’t afford a dye job because of a financial crisis in the family.
An affluent hotel magnate could flaunt a perfectly styled toupee, every strand in place. A homeless person’s mane might be unkempt, with patchy straggles that smell like mold or trash.
Match the hair to each character’s persona. The way people maintain or ignore their hair provides clues about their life.
From some of the word lists that follow, I created three short paragraphs.
Dionne’s gunmetal ponytail flowed behind her while she sprinted after her prey — me. I crouched behind the trash bin, holding my breath , as she swished so close I could smell the death in her hair.
What do you see? Perhaps a cold-blooded assassin or serial killer? Now contrast with another paragraph.
Helena’s voluminous champagne curls cascaded over white shoulders, wafting a delicate aroma of honeysuckle into the sitting room as she swished in my direction.
Another woman, perhaps affluent, in a long dress. This could work for the heroine in a Victorian novel.
Eddie’s pumpkin-orange hair bounced as he waddled toward me. The sickening stench of cigar smoke wafted from what I quickly realized was a poorly constructed toupee.
Did you envision a chubby man who chain-smokes cigars?
Judicious use of descriptors can augment a piece. However, beware of stacked modifiers . Consider these two paragraphs.
Bill’s balding, scraggly, dandruff-flecked salt-and-pepper hair barely covered his scalp, which reflected the fluorescent lights and made him look decades older than his professed age of thirty years.
All the commas in the description scream too much . Let’s try rewording it.
The fluorescent lights reflected off Bill’s scalp, which peeked through scraggly salt-and-pepper hair flecked with dandruff. Thirty years old? What a liar. He had to be at least fifty.
Same man, same basic description. Better phrasing. Although salt-and-pepper is cliché.
B to D balding, beautiful , bleached, bouncy, bristly, broken, brushed, buoyant, burnished, burnt, bushy, cascading, clean, clipped, clumpy, coarse, coiffed, combed, cropped, curly, damaged, damp, delicate, dirty, dull, dyed
F to P feathery, fine, flat, flowing, fluffy, frizzy, fuzzy, gelled, gleaming, glossy, greasy, groomed, heavy, highlighted, kinked, ironed, lacquered, limp, luscious, moussed, nappy, nubby, patchy, permed, plush, polished, puffy
S scorched, scraggly, severe, shaggy, shimmery, shiny, short, shoulder-length, silky, singed, slicked-back, slimy, sparse, spiky, springy, stiff, straggly, straight, straightened, streaked, sweaty
T to W teased, thick, thin, trimmed, uneven, unkempt, untamed, velvety, voluminous, wavy, wet, windswept, wild, wiry, wispy
Hair is usually a combination of a base color with highlights and lowlights that appear different in light or shadow. Study people on the street and in shopping malls. Visit YouTube. Scrutinize the offerings in a wig shop.
Some colors are considered cliché. Whenever you’re in doubt, click over to Google.
For instance, try the following searches, leaving the phrases in quotes for accuracy. The figures in parentheses are the number of results I received as I wrote this post.
“bleached blond” (1,010,000)
“champagne blond” (641,000)
“wheat blond” (348,000)
“bottle blond” (277,000)
“sun-kissed blond” (834,000)
“electric blond” (29,800)
Considering the frequency of each phrase, electric blond would be a more suitable choice than bleached blond.
Note: Although blond can describe the hair of either males or females, many writers prefer blond for males and blond e for females. Likewise with the hair or fur of gender-identified pets and animals.
Better than direct replacements, however, try exploiting the following suggestions as kernels, and brainstorm new color descriptions.
Blond/blonde amber, ash, blanched, bleached, bottle, brassy, bronze, champagne, dirty, electric, flaxen, frosted, gilded, ginger, golden, honey, peroxide, platinum, sand, straw, strawberry, sunkissed, Trump blond/e, wheat
Brown almond, caramel, chestnut, chocolate, cinnamon, dun, espresso, fawn, mahogany, mocha, mouse, nut, russet, sienna, taffy, tawny, umber
Black anthracite, charcoal, coal, crow, ebony, ink, jet black, midnight, obsidian, onyx, pitch, raven, sable, soot, tar
Grey/gray ash, charcoal, dove, graphite, gunmetal, iron, pewter, salt-and-pepper, shark, silver, slate, steel, tweed grey, wolf-grey, zinc-grey
Red auburn, brick, burgundy, candy, carrot, copper, crimson, fire red, fire-engine red, flame, flaming, ginger, maple-leaf red, pepper red, pumpkin, roan, rouge, rust, rusty, sorrel, titian, tomato
White angel, chalk, eggshell, foam, frost, gardenia, ghost, ivory, lily, lotus, paper, porcelain, Samoyed, sheet, skeleton, snow, starch, sugar, talc, wedding veil
See also 1000+ Ways to Describe Colors .
Styles and Cuts
A bowl cut imparts an instant image. Can you think of other everyday objects that would do the same?
Revise. Innovate. Invent.
A and B afro, beehive, Bettie Paige, Bieber cut, blunt cut, bob cut, bouffant, bowl cut, braided, brush cut, bun, burr, butch cut, buzz cut
C Caesar cut, chignon, chonmage, comb over, conk, cornrows, crew cut, cropped, crown braid, Croydon facelift, curtained
D to F devilock, dice bob, Dido flip, dreadlocks, ducktail, emo, Eton crop, extensions, fade, fallera, feathered, finger wave, fishtail braid, flattop, flipped, French braid, French twist, frosted tips, full crown
G to M G.I. cut, half crown, Harvard clip, hime cut, hi-top fade, induction cut, Ivy League, Jheri curl, layered, liberty spike, marcel waves, military cut, mod cut, mop-top, mullet
O and P odango, oseledets, pageboy, parted in the middle, payot, pigtails, pinned up, pixie cut, plaited, pompadour, ponytail, Princeton cut, psychobilly wedge, puffball, punk
Q to W queue, quaff, rattail, razor cut, recon, shag, shape-up, shingle bob, side parted, spiked, surfer hair, taper, tied back, tonsure, topknot, undercut, updo, wings
Hair damaged by over-perming won’t sway; it might ruffle, snarl, or tangle. Short hair could fluff, frizz, or spike. Curls might bounce, coil, or twist. Try the words here as starters for alternative suggestions from your favorite thesauruses.
B to R bounce, cascade, coil, curl, drape, drip, dangle, draggle, drift, droop, flap, flow, fluff, frizz, flutter, glide, knot, pour, puff, ripple, ruffle
S to W slap, slop, smother, snag, snarl, spike, spill, spiral, spring, stick, straggle, stream, sway, swing, tangle, trail, twist, unravel, wave, whirl, wiggle
Hair absorbs scent from the environment. House painters, garage mechanics, busy mothers, and hairstylists could smell of paint, grease, sour milk, or perm chemicals. You can often show readers a protagonist’s occupation without using a single word of tell.
Start with these ideas and analyze your characters’ environment for others.
A to C ammonia, antiseptic, apples, an ashtray, a bakery, bar vomit, beer, blackberries, bleach, car exhaust, cheap perfume, cigarettes, cigars, citrus, cotton candy
D to J death, decomposition, a forest, fresh-cut grass, a garage, gardenias, grease, gunpowder, honeydew melons, honeysuckle, a hospital, jasmine
L to S lavender, lemon cleaner, lilac, magnolia, mint, mold, moss, outdoors, paint, peaches, perm chemicals, pine, raspberries, roses, smoke, sour milk, sweat
Frequent Repetitions of Hair Will Annoy Readers
What about replacing it with nouns from this list?
B to W bristles, cap, cascades, coils, cloud, corona, corkscrew curls, fall, hairpiece, halo, mane, mass, mop, ribbons, ringlets, river, rope, snakes, spikes, spirals, sheet, spill, straw, stubble, tendrils, torrent, toupee, tresses, tufts, waterfall, weave, wig
Props to Augment Your Descriptions
Think of people you’ve met. What did you notice about their hair? What do you know about your own? Try these props.
- dandruff, flakes, flecks, lice, nits
- hair transplant, hair plugs
- fringe, bangs
- receding hairline, high forehead, sideburns
- split ends, humidity frizz, bald spot, alopecia
- itchy scalp, burning scalp, hives in hairline
- hairpins, barrettes, tiebacks, elastics, headbands
- feathers, flowers, garlands, bows, ribbons
- hats, berets, caps, kerchiefs, scarves, crowns, tiaras, fontanges
Now can you explain Lily Tomlin’s quote about hair? “If truth is beauty, how come no one has their hair done in the library?”
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12 thoughts on “ 400+ Words to Describe Hair: A Word List for Writers ”
Please help me with this; describing a long luscious braid.
Well, Mahnoor, that would depend on context.
A long braid could be tight or loose, messy or neat, flyaway or smooth …
Does your character respond impulsively? Maybe make the braid flyaway and swinging.
Is your character priggish? The braid could be neat and secured by several elastics or bows.
The possibilities are many.
Thanks for stopping by, and stay safe!
Kathy, this is my attempt at describing hair. A tad unconventional possibly: “To tell the truth, Tulip didn’t feel exactly qualified for the post of beautiful maiden right now. After her tortuous trek through the Swamp, getting scratched by thorns, caked in mud, covered in evil, stinky, sticky slime, perhaps she wasn’t as attractive as she might have been. Worst of all, she could feel some creepy-crawling thing had taken up residence in her hair. She didn’t like to think what her once-beautiful hair looked like now. Probably like it had been dragged through a hedge backwards. The toad was thinking along similar lines. His idea of a beautiful maiden fitted the traditional view. Modern thinking had not reached as far as the Swamp. He had been expecting her to turn up a supreme vision of loveliness in a pretty dress, looking fresh and clean, and smelling of roses. She’d have long, shiny black hair, an ample bosom and, most important, full, red, luscious lips especially designed, with one kiss, to rid unfortunate creatures like him of witches’ curses. The sight of this mud imp, however, was a bit of a shock. He wasn’t thinking her hair looked as though it had been dragged through a hedge backwards; rather it looked more like the hedge it had just been dragged backwards through!”
I love it, Peter. A touch of the familiar with a twist of humor. Or maybe the prince-turned-toad is a Brit? It’s humour then. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
thanks! I’m writing a book about alienation and being ‘nomal’ and this has really helped.
Great to hear from you, Lu. Good luck with your book!
Thank you for sharing with us this very helpful post! I’m a romance writer working on my next book, looking for new ways to describe hair. And I found the perfect resource here! Kindest regards Jackie
Thanks, Jackie.
Best of luck with your next book!
It really helped me do my descriptive Essay
Thanks, Lusanda!
I’m looking forward to your book of all of these!
Thanks, David. It should be released by the end of the month if all goes well.
Comments are closed.
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Hair - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing
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Gentle hair that tumbled in such rich autumnal hues, was the restful visual poetry of my soul, for that is how she was upon the day we fell in love.
If the origins of her hair were the black heavens, if the divine universe were woven into such buoyant threads and placed upon her head, it would explain so very much.
Hair sits in neat yet wild waves upon her dreaming head, for beneath it all is an ocean of creative conjuring.
Her hair was as black as the most pure of velvety nights.
The soft curls fell in cinnamon swirls to a face that was as sweet as a white chocolate button.
His hair moved in the wind as if it felt the need to add an exclamation point to his cuteness.
His hair was curls as jubilant as any storm-whipped sea.
When the grey roots of mama's hair began to show, she took to wearing a vibrant headscarf. She looked beautiful every day, the breeze billowing the ends of the long silk as if they were the ribbons of a kite.
Sarah's hair moved much as soft beach grass in the wind, back and forth, revealing and hiding the gold of her eyes.
One hand scrunched into that tumble of hair, those curls that defied rules and gravity with equal contempt. As she pondered, that great brain of hers solving problems that had defied geniuses for all our age and more, she'd never been more beautiful... my philosopher...
If a beam of light could weave itself into a strand, that was her hair; I always felt it glowed from within rather than relying on the sunshine. It was as if the universe had conjured her matter in a ripple of laughter - as if all she was composed of was a sort of musical and loving happiness.
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