See Also: HAIR COLOR; HAIR, CURLY; HAIR STYLES; HAIR TEXTURE

1. The abundance of his hair gives the impression that his head is not fully developed, or with time has shrunk —Wright Morris
2. Bangs down over her forehead like a sheepdog’s —Margaret Atwood
3. Bangs jitter across her forehead like magnets —Susan Minot
4. Bangs … like overcooked bacon —Ann Beattie
5. Black hair hung like a river about her shoulders —Helga Sandburg
6. Braid of hair … like a thick black snake —Ann Petry
7. A crest of stiff white hair, like a prophet or a cockatoo —Ellen Currie
8. Golden hair fountaining around her shoulders like spilled beer —Paige Mitchell
9. Hair … as smooth and shining as a backbird’s wing —John Braine
10. Hair … auburn and abundant, like a well-nourished orangutan’s coat —James Morrow
11. Hair … bright and garish as brass —Margaret Millar
12. Hair floated around my face like wet gauze —Sue Grafton
13. Hair flying like a pennant —Paul Theroux
14. Hair foamed around her head like a dandelion cloud —Julia O’Faolain
15. Hair [red] … gleaming like the sand streaked with sunset —Marguerite Young
16. (Gray) hair grows out of my skin like rot on an ancient tree —Anon Irish verse
17. Hair hanging straight as nylon cord —Alfred Gillespie
18. Hair … its fine smooth loops, like slabs of snow, hung low on her cheeks —Gustave Flaubert
19. Hair like a field in bloom —T. Coraghessan Boyle
20. Hair like dry ashes —Maureen Howard
21. Hair like metal in the sun —Dorothy Parker
22. Hair … like ripe wheat —Nelson Algren
23. Hair like spilled barley —T. Coraghessan Boyle
24. Hair … like the rumpled wig of a clown —Hallie Burnett
25. Hair … moving under her comb like a muscular skin —Gary Gildner
26. (Whitish) hair pointy and close as a burr or a sunflower when the seeds have been picked out of it —Saul Bellow
27. (The girl’s black curly) hair shone like an eclipsed sun —Carol Ascher
28. [Blonde] hair shone like well-polished old silver —F. van Wyck Mason
29. (White) hair smooth as a bird’s breast —Raymond Chandler
30. Hair spread out like feathers —Jayne Anne Phillips
31. Hair … straight and sleek, and lay like black satin against her forehead —Vita Sackville-West
32. Hair … thin and white and very short, laid over her skull like a placemat —Helen Hudson
33. Hair tumbled about her like a veil —Jean Stafford
34. Hair which resembled a horse’s mane … was like filaments of the brightest gold of Araby —Miguel de Cervantes
35. Hair which was long and smooth on either side of her face, like the shut wings of a raven —Mary Austin
36. Heavy chestnut hair hanging like a cloak about her shoulders —Marge Piercy
37. Heavy straight hair swinging behind like a rope —Eudora Welty
38. Her hair fell in bright ripples like a rush of gold from the ladle of a goldsmith —Stephen French Whitman
39. Her hair burned about her like a molten copper —Maurice Hewlett

    In the original simile the hair was ‘aburned.’

40. Her hair drooped round her pallid cheeks, like seaweed on a clam —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
41. Her hair fell across her shoulders like a nun’s veil —Sue Grafton
42. Her hair … ran smooth like black water through her hands —Ross Macdonald
43. Her long, dark hair fell across her eyes like stray crayon marks —Joan Hess
44. Her long hair hung as straight as rain —Jean Stafford
45. Her wet hair lay flat as a second skin —Helen Hudson
46. His hair glittered like a skull cap of beads —Miles Gibson
47. His hair rose in an unruly swirl, like the topknot of some strange bird —John Yount
48. His hair slicks back, like a baby’s or a gangster’s … shiny as a record album —Lorrie Moore
49. His hair stood upright like porcupine quills —Boccaccio
50. His thin gray hair lay on his scalp like moulting feathers —John Cheever
51. A light fringe of hair, almost like frost —Joyce Carol Oates
52. A lock of black hair lay on his forehead like a leech —Jean Stafford
53. Nearly as hairy as a dog —John Yount
54. Peroxide hair like rope ravelings —Paul J. Wellman
55. Pomaded hair slicked back like shiny Naugahyde —Paul Kuttner
56. The thick black hair of his chest forced its way out of the opening [of his shirt] like a jungle growth seeking sunlight —Harvey Swados
57. A thick sprinkling of dandruff, like a fall of flour, on the shoulder of her blouse —Ruth Rendell
58. Thick yellow hair … like a palm thatch —Jean Stafford
59. Tumbling loose dark hair like a wet mop —George Garrett
60. Uncombed hair hung about her face like an old dog’s —H. E. Bates
61. Untidy hair like a lion’s mane —Barbara Pym
62. The wild hair of his head bloomed like fallen snow —Z. Vance Wilson
63. Wisps of hair, like sunburst grass hanging over eyes as clear as pale grey crystals —Edith Wharton
64. With his tangled mane and beard, he looked like some ridiculous lion out of a bestiary —Wallace Stegner
65. Pale brushed heads like candles burning in the summer sunlight —John Updike