Hair Glossary

Sideburns can simply be defined as facial hair that grows along the side of the face and ends approximately one to two inches below the ears. Although sideburns have been more closely identified with males and specifically rebel icons like Elvis Presley and James Dean who wore them in the 1950s coupled with leather jackets and juvenile delinquent dress, some woman adopted a version of the sideburn styles for short hair trends worn in the late 1960s.

Sideburns cycle throughout hair fashion about every 15 to 20 years. Sideburns have been popular in all shapes and sizes from very thin sideburns where all of the hair is the same width, to muttonchop sideburns where the bottom of the hair strip is allowed to flare out. A common problem with sideburns is the amount of time and attention required to groom them appropriately.