The Twin Cowlick... The Double Swirl... Oh, No!

After reading this blog's title, you are probably wondering what this one is about. After all, "the twin cowlick" and "the double swirl" are rare! But it so happens that both of the men in my life have them - Daniel inherited it from his Papai!

Here is what one of my haircutting books says about the twin cowlick: "Every person's crown region has one cowlick, and on rare heads you'll find two back there... I usually describe the cowlick as if it were the axle of a bicycle wheel: the hair in the immediate vicinity is like the spokes of the wheel - they all go out and away from the axle..." And also: "Less than 10 percent of people exhibit the hair grain phenomena known as twin or double cowlicks... On about one-quarter of these folks, the hair between the cowlicks will want to stand on end, particularly if it is cut too short...you have to leave the hair longer so that it will bend and lie down with the other hairs around it."

So for me, learning about the twin cowlick has been very important because I have to be extra careful not to cut their hair too short in the crown region!

There is a whole section in my book about this!

And even Daniel was interested to know more!

But there is much more to this twin cowlick phenomenon...

I first heard about it when we went to Malaysia this past Christmas. Several people quickly noticed when looking at Daniel's hair that he had, as they called it, a "double swirl." (I had never noticed before; I just didn't know there was such significance hidden in the back of his head!) What I quickly learned is that his double swirl was a big deal but not in a good way!

You see, it turns out that there is a Chinese superstition that children who have a double swirl grow up to be very badly behaved and difficult! I remember very clearly the horrified look that one of Jonny's Chinese aunts gave us when she saw Daniel's double swirl... It was like she was saying to us: "Oh, no! Poor you! This is not good news!" We were able to comfort Jonny's aunt, and others who had the same reaction, by saying "Don't worry, Jonny also has a double swirl and he has turned out OK!"

I recently did a search on the twin cowlick and discovered that, as with the Chinese, the Japanese also believe that people who have them are more likely to behave badly but in addition, they are more likely to be a genius! At least there is a positive twist to the Japanese superstition!

In any case, I just find these different cultural beliefs fascinating... this is the kind of thing that makes our world a more interesting place.

Here are some close-up photos of Jonny and Daniel's double swirls! Who would have thought there was so much meaning to them?