When it comes to hair, most men’s number one fear is balding (especially premature balding), and this gets talked about a lot in the hair world. However, many men’s second fear doesn’t receive nearly as much attention. This fear is the much-dreaded widow’s peak.
That little triangular hairline can send shivers down the spine of any man who takes his hair seriously. Why? For whatever reason, the widow’s peak has developed a reputation for being unsightly, so widow’s peak hairstyles don’t get discussed that often.
Having a widow’s peak is like having brown eyes. It’s different in a way, but it’s not bad at all.
But the truth is that the widow’s peak is simply a different element. Some men have blue eyes, others have brown, others have green, and so forth. Having a widow’s peak is like having brown eyes. It’s different in a way, but it’s not bad at all.
To prove it, we’ve put together a list of widow’s peak hairstyles that work well with this trait. We also have some tips for you so you can get a stylish cut and love it.
Chris Hemsworth Short Spiky Hairstyle credits: DFree/Shutterstock.com
What do I do with a widow’s peak?
If you have a widow’s peak, you have one of two options: highlight it or hide it. This comes down to personal preference, and you can easily have stylish hair either way.
Highlighting it by choosing one of many widow’s peak hairstyles will create a unique point of focus on your face. By making your widow’s peak the focal point of your hairstyle, you’ll stand out with a unique look.
Josh Duhamel messy combed over side part, credits: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
By making your widow’s peak the focal point of your hairstyle, you’ll stand out with a unique look.
In order to hide your peak, you’ll have to opt for a hairstyle that’s more nondescript. You have a different set of options here that allow you to draw attention away from it.
Whether you want to accentuate or hide your peak, here are some nice widow’s peak hairstyles to get you started.
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Undercut
The undercut strikes again! This highly versatile cut also makes for one of the best widow’s peak hairstyles. The short sides emphasize the peak, and if you go for a slicked-back undercut, the peak becomes even more pronounced. This gives you a nice symmetrical style that complements your peak. This is a great look if you like the retro style it’s often associated with. You can also try a more contemporary spin on it, like the disconnected undercut. This allows you to make your haircut slightly asymmetrical by combing over your hair to one side. Among all of the widow’s peak hairstyles, the undercut offers a high style factor. It also requires regular maintenance, so you’ll have to put the work into it, but the results will be spectacular.
Another retro option, the pompadour is one of the most easily recognizable widow’s peak haircuts. Whether you opt for the short or tall version, the pompadour is one of the most stylish ways to rock a widow’s peak. Like the undercut, this also comes with a high style factor and a high maintenance factor. If you have the time to dedicate to your hair, one of these two styles is ideal for you. The pompadour gives a slightly more “greaser” look, which makes it a tad less flexible than an undercut. If you dig the pompadour’s aesthetic and want to accentuate your widow’s peak, then go for it! Throw on some cuffed jeans and a jacket for the full retro effect.
A widow’s peak looks extremely well with a good classic scissor cut. Pair it up with a manicured beard and you’ll have a fantastic frame for your face.
Is short hair your style? Going with a traditional buzz cut is a great way to accentuate your peak. The shortness of the hair brings out the peak, giving your hairline a defined edge. When it comes to buzz cuts, you have quite a few to choose from. You can opt for a traditional army style that leaves little on the head. The induction cut is the most extreme option here, while the butch cut or crew cut leave a little more hair on top. As a bonus, buzz cuts are easy, low maintenance hairstyles, so if you lead a busy life, a buzz cut is a good choice.
Want to hide your widow’s peak?
If you consider the widow’s peak to be unsightly (or maybe you don’t like any of the styles so far), next are some widow’s peak hairstyles that mask the hairline well.
lev radin / Shutterstock.com
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Fringe
If you want to hide your widow’s peak, you’ll most likely need to choose a hairstyle with a longer fringe (bangs) or longer hair overall. With the straight fringe, your bangs reach your eyebrows, and this masks your hairline. This is ideal for guys with long faces and also for guys who like the undercut style but don’t like their peak. The sides are cut in the undercut style, making the straight fringe cut stylish but not wild.
This variation on the straight fringe adds a touch of youthful energy and a carefree attitude to your hair. If this fits your style, it’s a nice way of covering up a widow’s peak. You will need some good quality wax to pull this off, but there’s minimal styling involved. It’s one of the most unique widow’s peak hairstyles, and it makes your hair the focal point instead of your hairline.
Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com
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Drop Fade
The fade is one of those timeless hairstyles; you simply can’t go wrong with it. The fade can be modified to your liking, so you can keep the bangs long enough to be brushed forward, thus hiding your widow’s peak. Fades go well with several face shapes and hair types, and they add a nice dimension to your hair as well. This cut doesn’t require much maintenance and provides an easy way to add serious style to your hair. It’s also one of the most versatile widow’s peak hairstyles.
Who says a little widow’s peak is anything to be embarrassed about? Take the Christian Bale approach and embrace it. This clean and simple crew cut is easy to maintain and looks the part — even without covering up your peak!
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Slicked Back Undercut
If your widow’s peak isn’t too jagged, this slicked back undercut is another timeless style to embrace it. There’s something hipster-ish about this particular look, and the V-shaped peak only adds more youthful angularity.
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Side Swept Lundgren
Side-swept haircuts work for anyone looking for a little more class. With a widow’s peak, you’ll find that sweeping half your hair off to the side melds together nicely with that central angle.
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Garrett Hedlund's Slicked Back Hairstyle
Here’s another haircut where the top is slicked-back for a respectable, vintage look. Again, you’re not hiding the widow’s peak, but it doesn’t stick out at you quite as much with all the curls.
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com
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Longer Hair Reeves
Check out Keanu Reeves’ long-haired style. With the part along the center, the hair naturally hangs off on either side. The slight widow’s peak is definitely visible but works nicely with the part.
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Taper Fade with Side Brush
This is another side-swept cut that demonstrates how you can embrace the peak. With the natural flow of the hair pushing off to the right, the small V doesn’t seem too conspicuous.
For a less prominent widow’s peak, why not experiment with a mohawk or faux hawk? If all your hair is concentrated in one line along the middle of your head, that small protrusion at the front is hardly noticeable.
Let’s face it, you don’t really need a special haircut just because you have a widow’s peak. Check out this contemporary curly cut with a fade on the side. It’s a pretty normal cut and looks fine with the peak.
This pompadour is another slicked-back approach to tackling the widow’s peak. With the long top and short sides, the V-shape on the forehead has a depth contrast to complement.
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Widow's Peak
Again: this is a completely normal haircut. This simple style with a medium length top and medium length sides — styled with a little product and some combing — doesn’t look too bad at all!
Here’s a side-swept fringe. Yet again, we see the motif of sweeping hair off to the side complementing the widow’s peak. Since that front curl hangs down so low, you might think there’s no peak at all at first glance.
A slightly longer cut than previously, this crew cut embraces the widow’s peak. The slight curliness on top adds a cool textural element to an otherwise very simplistic look.
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Buzz Cut of Aaron Paul
For the less jagged widows’ peaks, a crew cut will also work. With extremely short hair, this cut is plenty manly and plenty quirky.
This is another variant of widow’s peak with growing the hair longer for it to twirl on the other side giving an almost side part. Moreover, it also hides the receding hairline corners while not reducing any panache. The sides are undercut faded so as to bring out the tattoo in its entirety.