A kiss curl describes a lock of hair curling onto the face and usually plastered down. Although the curl could be flattened with

saliva Saliva (commonly referred as spit or drool) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which ...

(hence its alternative name spit curl), soap or hair lotion is more typically used.

Pre-20th century

In the late seventeenth century, there was a fashion for fringes composed of curls described as ''fripons'', ''guigne-galants'', or 'kiss-curls', sometimes augmented with false hair.

20th-century onwards

The kiss curl style was worn by both men and women. It became a trademark of the singer

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

, who wore a large kiss curl over his right eye to divert attention from his left eye, which was blind. Other people known for their kiss curls included

Josephine Baker Freda Josephine Baker (; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalized as Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to s ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

, and

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

. In early episodes of the TV drama series ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', or simply ''Poirot'' (), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2020. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, wh ...

'', Poirot's assistant, Miss Lemon, portrayed by

Pauline Moran Pauline Moran (born 26 August 1947) is an English actress, best known for her role as Miss Felicity Lemon in the British television series ''Agatha Christie's Poirot''. She trained at several schools, including the National Youth Theatre and t ...

, appears with five kiss curls across her forehead. In the 1990s, kiss curls inspired the trend of laid edges, notably worn by Chilli in the girl group

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

References

External links

* * Human hair Hairstyles 1920s fashion 1930s fashion African-American hair {{fashion-stub

Pre-20th century

20th-century onwards

See also

References

External links