5.1 Bones of the Head and Face

The Oregon Barbering Examination Information Bulletin (revised October 25, 2019) gives Anatomy of the Head and Face only 3 questions on the 100-item, 90-minute theory paper administered by the Oregon Health Licensing Office (HLO) for the Board of Cosmetology. Those three items are not a throwaway. The same bulletin lists bones, muscles, and nerves as separate sub-topics, and two much larger service domains depend on them: design (10 questions — elevations, facial shapes, form and texture, head form, profiles, shape, balance, and proportion) and shaving (8 questions — face areas, technique, steaming and lathering, strokes, finishing). If you cannot find the parietal ridge, you cannot place a fade. If you cannot find the mandible, you cannot design a beard line. HLO draws theory items from Milady's Standard Professional Barbering, 5th edition (2011), and Pivot Point Barbering Fundamentals, 1st edition (2018). This section is the bone map those later services assume.

Why bones are a barbering subject in Oregon

ORS 690.005(2) defines barbering as cosmetic, not medical, work: cutting and styling hair; applying tonics; massaging the scalp, face, and neck; and shaving, trimming, or cutting the beard or mustache. None of that is surgery. All of it happens on a living skull. The skull is not a smooth egg. It has a nape bump, a ridge where the sides turn into the top, cheek prominences, and a movable jaw. Those are the planes you cut to.

Oregon does not ask you to read radiographs or treat a fracture. It does ask you to name the eight bones of the cranium and the fourteen bones of the face in the language of the cited textbooks — including the older word turbinal for the inferior nasal conchae.

The cranium: eight bones, six names

The cranium is the bony case that protects the brain. Eight bones form it. Two of those names come in pairs. A usable mnemonic that matches the six names is Old People From Texas Eat Spiders — occipital, parietal, frontal, temporal, ethmoid, sphenoid.

Occipital (1)

The occipital bone is the hindmost bone of the skull. It forms the back and base of the cranium. The external occipital protuberance (inion) is the palpable bump in the midline of the nape. That bump is a fade and taper reference: it tells you where the head stops being a vertical nape and starts to curve under. The nape hairline sits over this bone. Many napes grow up toward the crown; reading that grain over the occipital bone is how you avoid an against-the-grain nape shave that later ingrows. The foramen magnum — the hole for the spinal cord — is in the occipital bone. You will not palpate it. Textbooks name it, so you should too.

Parietal (2)

The two parietal bones form the sides and the crown (top) of the cranium. The parietal ridge (parietal crest) is the widest part of the head — the line where the vertical side wall turns into the curved top. A skin fade that ignores the parietal ridge either shelves on the side or blows a hole in the round. Clipper-over-comb and shear-over-comb both travel this ridge. Head form items in the 10-question design block are this curve by another name: a flat-sided head and a round head do not take the same fade line.

Frontal (1)

The frontal bone forms the forehead. The frontal eminences are the two rounded prominences. Fringe, bangs, a widow's peak, and receding front corners all live on this bone. Design items that mention head form start here: a prominent frontal bone reads as a high forehead; a low hairline reads as a short forehead. You do not move the bone. You decide whether the fringe should shorten the forehead visually or leave it alone.

Temporal (2)

The two temporal bones form the sides of the head in the ear region. The mastoid process is the bony prominence behind the ear. Temple fades, around-the-ear clipper work, and the hairline in front of the ear all sit on temporal bone. Do not confuse the temporal bone with the temporalis muscle that covers it — that mix-up is a classic wrong answer.

Ethmoid (1)

The ethmoid bone is a light, spongy bone between the eye sockets. It forms part of the nasal cavities. It is not a cutting plane. It is on the cranial list, so you name it.

Sphenoid (1)

The sphenoid bone is the bat- or butterfly-shaped bone at the base of the cranium. It joins all other cranial bones — textbooks call it the bone that binds the cranium together. Like the ethmoid, it is not a surface guide for a haircut, but it is a standard exam name. If an item asks which cranial bone articulates with all the others, the answer is sphenoid.

The face: fourteen bones

Facial bones form the eye sockets, nasal cavities, and the mouth. Fourteen bones; some are paired. Design questions about facial shape and profile are really questions about the relative width of the zygomatic bones, the width of the mandible, and the height of the frontal bone.

Nasal (2)

The two nasal bones form the bridge of the nose. They matter for profile — straight, convex, or concave — a named design sub-topic on the bulletin.

Lacrimal (2)

The two lacrimal bones are the smallest facial bones. They sit at the front inner wall of each eye socket (the tear-duct region). Not a cutting guide. Still on the list.

Zygomatic (2)

The two zygomatic bones (malar bones, cheekbones) form the prominence of the cheeks. Cheekbone height changes facial shape: a wide zygomatic pair reads as a diamond or round face; a narrow pair with a wide jaw reads heavier at the mandible. The beard cheek line is drawn relative to the zygomatic prominence — too high and the face looks hollow; too low and the cheek looks heavy. Highlighting or softening cheekbones is a design decision, not a medical one.

Maxillae (2)

The two maxillae form the upper jaw. They are immovable. They house the upper teeth and make up most of the upper face. A mustache sits on the skin over the maxillae. Do not call the maxillae movable; that is the mandible's job.

Mandible (1)

The mandible is the lower jaw. It is the largest and strongest bone of the face and the only movable bone of the skull. The mental protuberance is the chin. Jawline beard design, strap lines, and the lower outline of a goatee all follow the mandible. The mandible articulates with the temporal bone at the temporomandibular joint. When a client talks or clenches while you outline a beard, the landmark you just cut has moved. Ask the jaw to rest.

Turbinal (2)

Turbinal bones (inferior nasal conchae, turbinates) are thin, spongy bones on the outer walls of the nasal depression. Barbering textbooks still use turbinal. Do not skip the word because a medical atlas says concha. HLO's sources use the textbook name.

Vomer (1)

The vomer is a single flat bone that forms part of the nasal septum, the midline divider of the nose.

Palatine (2)

The two palatine bones form the floor and outer wall of the nose, the roof of the mouth, and part of the floor of the orbits. Not a cutting guide; on the list.

Related bone that is not on the cranial or facial list

The hyoid bone is a U-shaped bone at the base of the tongue, in the front of the throat. It does not articulate with another bone. It is not a cranial or facial bone. Do not put it on a bones-of-the-head-and-face list. It is a caution landmark near the thyroid cartilage (Adam's apple) when you shave the anterior neck.

How to palpate the shop landmarks

You do not need a model skull in the shop. With the client seated:

• Midline nape: the bump you can rest a finger on is the external occipital protuberance.
• Side of the head: stand a comb against the vertical wall. Where the comb leaves the head is the parietal ridge.
• Forehead: the frontal bone is the whole plane above the brows.
• Behind the ear: the mastoid process is the hard knob the clipper must go around, not over.
• Cheek: have the client smile; the zygomatic prominence is the high point of the cheek.
• Jaw: have the client open and close; the moving bone is the mandible.

Bone / location / barber landmark

Count check for the exam: 8 cranial (occipital 1 + parietal 2 + frontal 1 + temporal 2 + ethmoid 1 + sphenoid 1) and 14 facial (nasal 2 + lacrimal 2 + zygomatic 2 + maxillae 2 + mandible 1 + turbinal 2 + vomer 1 + palatine 2).

Oregon shop scenario

A client in a licensed Portland facility wants a mid-skin fade, a square beard, and a hard cheek line. You start at the nape and find the external occipital protuberance so the fade does not jump the nape curve. You locate the parietal ridge before you decide where the blend must travel over the round of the head. At the front you read the frontal bone and the existing hairline instead of inventing a fringe that fights the forehead. For the beard you follow the mandible for the jawline and the zygomatic prominence for the cheek line — high enough to show the cheekbone, not so high that the face looks gaunt. The mastoid process behind the ear keeps the clipper from diving into the ear. You are not practicing medicine. You are cutting to bones Oregon already told you to name, because the 10 design questions and the 8 shaving questions will assume you did.