Quiff Hairstyle Guide: How to Style, Hair Products, Pics and More

[Panther]

Your Style Guide on All About the Quiff Hairstyle

This is a detailed style guide on the quiff hairstyle. You'll learn what a quiff is, how to style it, what hair products to use and you'll also have plenty of quiff hairstyle pictures to ogle and get hairstyling ideas from!

Table of Contents

Browse our quiff hairstyle guide from the get go or click through to any of the guide's section as linked below in the table of contents:

• What is a quiff hairstyle?
• Haircut for a quiff
• How to style a quiff
• Hair products to style a quiff
• Quiff hairstyle photographs for inspiration and ideas
  

As usual, if you have any questions, then please ask them.

What is a quiff hairstyle?

A quiff is simply the hair on the forelock (i.e. front of the head) that has been styled up or back, while the rest of the hair on the head is left either flat or not standing as tall. The haircut need not matter to style a quiff as it's all about the hair on the forelock standing somewhat taller than the rest of the hair on the head's top.

Here's a good example of what a quiff looks like:

As a whole, a quiff can be complemented with other men's hairstyles like the side part, the brush up or a tousled style. Likewise a quiff is a fundamental aspect of hairstyles like the pompadour or the elephant trunk. Here's an example of a pompadour hairstyle with a well defined quiff:

Whatever the complementing hairstyle to a quiff, it's imperative that you remember that the quiff is to be the outstanding part of the hairstyle, as in, the most visible and the most prominent feature.

Haircut for a quiff

Don't stress out the haircut itself. However, the forelock (i.e.the hair on the front of your head/hairline) has to be at least 2 inches long to be able to get a good quiff styled. The rest of the hair on the top of head should be at the same length as the quiff's hair section or shorter.

Two inches of hair length on the forelock looks akin to this (on the front):

As far as sides and back, the same minimum length of 2 inches applies as to the hair on the head's top. That said, quiff hairstyles look great with short sides and back, and the trend in the late 2010s (2017, 2018, 2019, etc) has been to keep the hair on the sides and back buzzed entirely. This is in stark contrast to old school haircuts for the classic pompadour, for example. Then you also have classic haircuts like the Ivy League haircut and the businessman haircut that are also perfect for styling an epic short quiff.

Again, don't stress out about the actual haircut to get for a quiff, as most men's haircuts will do.

Here's a modern quiff with a fade haircut on the sides:

And here's a quiff as an elephant trunk hairstyle with scissor-tapered sides and back. The oldschool haircut for quiffs and pompadours in the 1950s and 1960s.

[Panther]

How to style a quiff

Styling a quiff is very easy. However, you must have at least 2 inches of hair length on the forelock (as mentioned earlier) to be able to truly get a quiff going, so take that into consideration. All men's hair types can achieve a quiff so long as the minimum length of 2 inches on the forelock is satisfied.

The first step to styling a quiff is to first style the rest of the hair on your head. So if it's a side part, then side part all of your hair (including the forelock). If it's a slicked back style, then slick the hair back. If it's a messy hairstyle, then first tousle all the hair on your hair as preferred. Basically, get an overall look for all of your hair and then move on to the quiff.

In the following picture, the hair was first side parted prior to styling the quiff:

It's very important that you style all of your hair as directed above when the hair is damp (not wet!) and with your chosen hair product (more on hair products for the quiff later on in this guide).

Once all of your damp hair is styled with your chosen hair product, you then go on to style the hair on the forelock with a comb or with your fingers. Style the hair on the forelock up, laterally and/or back with said comb or fingers until you achieve your desired shape. That's how you get the quiff going. It's that simple.

As obvious as it sounds, the more emphasis on styling back the forelock, the lower the quiff will stand, while the more emphasis on styling up the forelock, the taller the quiff will stand. Play around and you will find your favorite versions of a quiff.

If the hair on the forelock section is longer than 4 inches, you will need a hair dryer (see this guide for more on hair dryers) to truly get the quiff on point and secured. This is because longer hair weighs more and will have a tendency to hang down. So, once you've shaped your quiff, proceed to point a hair dryer to the quiff as you continue to shape the quiff's hair. Use a warm setting (not burning hot!) on your hair dryer to blow warm air to the quiff as you continue styling it. Do so for a minute and your quiff will now remain in place and with more volume to boot!

Hair products to style a quiff

For decades, the most popular hair product for a quiff has been pomade. I'm talking of the older oil based pomades that would wreak havoc on one's hair if you applied too much of it too soon. Not until that long ago, men didn't have too many hair products to choose from, so oil based pomades became popular as go-to hairstyling products for men's hair from as far back in time as the 1920s.

Nowadays there are several other newer hair products (thankfully!) that you can use to style a quiff and which you may prefer to use if you ain't looking for a high-shine slicked pompadour hairstyle that would have made Elvis Presley proud.

Here's a list of specific men's hair products that are great to style a quiff (links of the recommended products included):

• This hair wax will give you a natural looking quiff with a matte finish (i.e. no shine to it). As if you got out of bed and styled your quiff with your eyes still closed. Great for casual hairstyles and tousled styles too.
  

• This other hair wax will add a good amount of shine to your quiff while keeping the hair looking natural. The hold is strong so it's great for having your quiff standing up (the hold of this hair wax is stronger than the previous hair wax above). This particular hair wax in the link also allows you to re-style your quiff on the go too without having to wet your hair again. Solid choice for just about any men's hairstyle.
  

• This hair gel will give you a good amount of shine without the pasty look of other hair gels. Great if you want your quiff to stand up or stay secured rock solid.
  

• This pomade here is what was used back in the day by Elvis Presley and others for their quiffs, pompadours, elephant trunks and more. It's an oil based pomade that doesn't make a mess even if you apply a bit too much of it. The hold is strong and the shine is pretty good, albeit your hair will feel like it has been lubricated with "something". It's the hair product that the greasers and rockabillies used many decades ago (and still continue to use).
  

• This other pomade is water soluble which means that it is easier to wash, very forgiving and still gives a high shine and sheen, although not as pronounced as the previous oil based pomade. If you don't want to use an oil based pomade for your quiff, then the water soluble pomade in the link is your pomade.
  

• This hair spray will help to secure your quiff while still keeping the hair flexible and with some gloss to it. No cardboard effect or hard-to-wash issues with this hair spray. When you are done styling your quiff, spray the linked hair spray on your hair for a few seconds and you're done. For the record, hair spray were extremely popular with men in the 1960s to help secure their pompadours and other hairstyles. They just didn't mention it as hair sprays were deemed women's hair products!
  

• For those with hair longer than 4 inches, then being able to use a good hair dryer is tremendously convenient as the quiff settles and dries faster with warm air blown to it from a hair dryer. A good, reliable and affordable hair dryer to own is this hair dryer which will be of great use for many other hairstyles of yours. Not to mention that the linked hair dryer will also give your quiff more volume and make it look more aesthetic.
  

[Panther]

Quiff hairstyle photographs for inspiration and ideas

As you've learned in this guide, a quiff can be shaped and styled in a myriad of ways, as a standalone hairstyle or complementing another hairstyle. Hence, here's a gallery of quiff hairstyle photographs for you to draw inspiration and ideas from!

[TheMensHairForum]

I love the way that you've exemplified the different styling variations of the Quiff and how it can be combined with other hairstyles. Great in-depth advice on the Quiff as a whole and the tip on using a hair dryer is on point.

I think at this point since you've covered all on the Quiff hairstyle, one must ask thyself, Quiff ala Rockabilly greaser style or Quiff ala tousled modern style?

[Barber]

An outstanding barber guide on one of my favorite hairstyles of all time as a barber. You just cannot expect any less greatness from this Panther fella, can you? Epic guide on the quiff hairstyle, mate, and I give it my two barber thumbs up, and holding shears too, no less.

Quote:Quiff ala Rockabilly greaser style or Quiff ala tousled modern style?

Greaser quiff hairstyle every single day of the week and twice on Fridays and Sundays.