Female Sideburns: What They Are & How to Deal With Them

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Pro estheticians weigh in on how to groom or remove female sideburns

Co-authored by Tiffany Carnevale-Russo and Luke Smith, MFA

Last Updated: December 4, 2025 Fact Checked

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• What are female sideburns?
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• Are they normal?
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• Trimming & Grooming
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• Removal
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• Video
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• Tips

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Sideburns! While they may seem “masculine,” the truth is that pretty much everyone has them, and that they’re totally normal. Beauty standards, however, might tell you differently. So what’s the truth? Are sideburns on women normal and appealing? What should you do about them? And how can you remove them, if that’s what you want? We talked to licensed estheticians to help you explore your options.

Female Sideburns: Fast Facts

Female sideburns are just sideburns (or hair in front of the ears) on women. They’re totally normal—some celebs, like Lily Collins and Halle Berry, consistently rock their sideburns! If you want to groom or remove your sideburns, you can trim them, grow them out and blend them into your hair, or shave and wax them.

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Section 1 of 4:

What are female sideburns?

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1. 
   Female sideburns are the hair in front of women’s ears. The hairs that grow down along the sides of a person’s face, right in front of their ears, are called “sideburns,” named after Civil War General Ambrose E. Burnside, who had some pretty impressive sideburns himself. But men aren’t the only people with sideburns—women naturally grow them, too.

   • Not everyone has prominent sideburns, though. Whether or not you do is determined by your genetics, or your special mix of DNA you inherited from your parents.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Tiffany Carnevale-Russo is a Licensed Cosmetologist and Chief Operating Officer at Jaxson Maximus, a salon and custom clothiers based in southern Florida.

   Karina Villalta is a certified Esthetician and Owner of Oh Sweet and Sugar and Shears, a skincare and hair removal service located in Seattle and Kirkland, Washington.

   Melissa Jannes is a Licensed Esthetician and the owner of Maebee's Beauty Studio in Philadelphia, a single practitioner space providing quality services with individualized attention.
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Section 2 of 4:

Are female sideburns normal?

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1. 
   Yes, it’s totally normal to be a woman with sideburns. While anyone can have sideburns, they’re especially prominent on men. That’s because modern beauty standards often encourage women to shave theirs off, since they’re often seen as “facial hair” and as a result, more masculine than feminine. But sideburns are a natural human feature that most people in the world have, and it’s totally normal and natural for a woman to have them, too—even thick, luscious sideburns.

   • Some celebs who often rock their female sideburns include Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Lily Collins, Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry, and many, many more.
   • Ultimately, the choice to keep your sideburns is up to you. Most people won’t bat an eye when they see a woman with sideburns, and they probably won’t even notice.
   • That said, grooming your sideburns can help them stay manageable and well-styled, so that they don’t stick out at funny angles or get in your face. It’s up to your comfort!

Section 3 of 4:

Trimming & Grooming Your Sideburns

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1. 
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   Use a comb and an electric trimmer to shorten your sideburns. Comb through your sideburns and use it as a guide to measure about 1–6 in (25–152 mm) of hair. How much sideburn hair you keep is up to you, but make it proportional to the length of the rest of your hair—longer hair on your head means longer sideburns. Then, run an electric trimmer down across the comb, in the direction the hair is going, to trim them, and repeat this on the other side.

   • Or, use a sharp pair of barber’s scissors to trim the hair.
   • If you want to be able to tuck your sideburns behind your ears, keep them longer. If they often get in the way of your face, consider trimming them shorter.
   • Remember that trimming is up to you! Many women don’t trim their sideburns at all and let them grow very long.
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   Use an electric trimmer to shave the lower portion of your sideburns. Many women prefer to keep most of their sideburns, but like to keep them from growing too far down their face. Licensed cosmetologist Tiffany Carnevale-Russo recommends shaving them so that they don’t grow past the middle of your ears. That way, they stay manageable and tidy.

   • Use an electric trimmer or a classic razor for this. Apply a dime-sized amount of shaving cream first, though.
   • Remember not to *cut* any hairs short—just shave them from where they’re growing out of your skin. To help you, lift the sideburns away from your face.
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   Use bobby pins or hair gel to tuck your sideburns behind your ears. We often hear complaints of sideburns whisping away from the rest of women’s hair while they go about their day. To solve this, find a bobby pin that’s about the same color as your hair, so that it blends in. Then, tuck your sideburns behind your ears and pin them there, to the rest of your hair, to keep them neat.

   • Alternatively, use a dab of hair gel—about as large as a pea—to slick your sideburns back behind your ears.
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   Grow out your sideburns for a natural, effortless look. Many women are realizing that growing out their sideburns is the solution they’ve been looking for. When your sideburns are long, about as long as the rest of your hair, they blend in more naturally and stick out less. They’re also easier to tie back and style along with the rest of your hair.

   • It may take some time, but be patient! All good things are worth waiting for.
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Section 4 of 4:

Removing Your Sideburns

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1. 
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   Shave your sideburns for a quick and temporary solution. Shaving is one of the most common and easiest solutions. Just lather a dime-sized amount of shaving cream onto your sideburns, then use a razor in a downward motion to shave them off. Carnevale-Russo suggests shaving them at around the center of your ears. If you want to remove them completely, though, shave them to the top of the ear.

   • That said, shaving isn’t the ideal fix. Many women online caution against it, like in this TikTok from user @mathildebarker, saying they weren’t happy with the results, and that they decided to grow them back, waiting through the awkward semi-long stages.
   • Keep in mind that shaving can cause irritation or razor burn, and that you’ll have to keep shaving the sideburns about once a week to keep them away.
2. 
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   Wax your sideburns for a longer-lasting solution. Waxing sideburns tends to be more effective for longer periods, but it also depends on how fast your hair grows. Some women might see their hair grow back in just a couple of weeks, while for others it may take months. Certified esthetician Karina Villalta recommends starting with a clean face, with no makeup. Then, use facial waxing strips on either side of your face. Usually, these work simply by pressing them to your skin, then quickly pulling them away.

   • We’d stay away from hot wax treatments, unless they’re done by a professional, since the skin on your face is much more sensitive than other areas.
   • Also consider seeing a pro for hair sugaring, which is a similar procedure using natural ingredients—a sticky, sugary paste—that’s sometimes more effective.
3. 
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   Get laser hair removal for a more permanent solution. Laser hair removal works by zapping your hair follicles away over a few professional sessions. It often lasts for about 12-16 weeks, but it can last much longer, depending on your hair growth. For some people, it can last years. The average cost of laser hair removal is about $700. This can sometimes be cheaper for smaller sections, like sideburns, though.
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   Thread your sideburns for a cleaner look. Licensed esthetician Melissa Jannes explains that threading is when you use a slim, twisted thread to pinch and pluck small hairs away from your face at the root. It’s usually done on eyebrows, but can also be done on sideburns. You can thread at home by yourself using beauty thread, but we suggest visiting a pro first, since it’s a skill that takes practice.

   • Threading usually lasts about 2-4 weeks, depending on your rate of hair growth.
   EXPERT TIP

   

   Melissa Jannes

   Licensed Esthetician & Brazilian Wax Educator

   Melissa Jannes is a Licensed Esthetician and the owner of Maebee's Beauty Studio in Philadelphia, a single practitioner space providing quality services with individualized attention. She received her esthetics degree at The Beauty School of Middletown in 2008 and is licensed in Pennsylvania.

   

   Melissa Jannes
   Licensed Esthetician & Brazilian Wax Educator

   I recommend going to a threading salon over learning the process yourself to reduce the risk of injury and unwanted results.
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   Use hair removal cream for an at-home solution. Hair removal cream, or depilatory cream, is probably the simplest solution. To use hair removal cream, simply spread a small amount of cream on the hair you’d like to remove, wait a few minutes, then wash it off. Instructions vary by product, so be sure to read them carefully. Depilatory creams usually banish hair for a few weeks, so you’ll have to do it fairly regularly.

   • Opt for a facial hair removal cream, since body hair removal creams can be more aggressive and irritating.
   • Before you dive it, spot-test the cream on a low-stakes part of your body, like an arm or leg, to make sure you don’t have an adverse reaction to it.
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   Consider electrolysis for permanent removal. Electrolysis is a long-term solution that involves a professional inserting an electrified wire into the hair follicle to zap it. It’s a common treatment often used on facial hair, and while it requires several appointments, it’s often permanent, and the hair won’t grow back.

   • Electrolysis is also fairly affordable for the results it achieves, averaging about $100 per session.
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Tips

• Some sources online may suggest bleaching your sideburns, but we can’t recommend it. If your hair is dark, bleached sideburns will stand out. And if your hair is light, bleaching won’t do much to change the look, anyway.
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