Q: I have been taking an evening course in haircutting and I need to find out
about convex and concave haircuts. Can you help me?
A: Basically, the answer lies in the etymology of the terms "convex" and "concave".
The "convex haircut" is a layered-cut that creates outward movement in the
hairstyle. It can be cut to have clear, hard lines, or very subtle soft lines, but will always
result in an outward movement of the hair. An example of a convex hairstyle would be
the classic Farrah Fawcett "tousled" look and the many modern variations.
The "concave" haircut has the opposite movement. The hair is cut with hard or
soft lines to curve inward. Examples of this are the classic chin-length bob where the
hair tapers inward, and styles like the "Dorothy Hamill" and the "Purdy" where the hair
is sharply stacked in tapering layers, or over-directed to a stationary weightline.
