What Would You Do: Which Way Do You Fold Foils?

Do You Fold Foils Forward Or Backward?

There are TWO types of stylists, the forward folders and the backward folders—which one are you? Is one way better than the other? Let’s settle this historical debate once and for all…well, at least try to. 😉 One of our BTC fam wrote in hoping to get your opinion on the subject. Scroll down to see what hairdressers had to say!

“You can keep me anonymous if you want, but either way is fine! Ok, so a stylist and I have a good natured brew ha ha stirring over this! Do you fold your foils down or up?? (or backward/forward) And, MOST IMPORTANTLY why?? I’m pretty sure the way I do it is right, I’m not gonna say here, because I want to see what everyone else says! Please help us end this FEUD/CONTROVERSY right now!! 🤣”

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Forward, Of Course!

“It’s tighter to the scalp if you do forward. No need to adjust the foil and risk the product bleeding.” –Rhonda Bennetts Armstrong

“Forward. I put the hair on the comb and I let the hair fold the foil forward on top of the end of my comb.” –Jessi Erin Long

“I put my comb on the flat foil and let the hair bend the foil forward. It’s a bit of a timesaver and my foils never tend to bleed. I see other stylists do it backwards and then flip the foil over and lower the fold closer to the scalp. (In my opinion) this takes more time so I’ve been folding forward basically since the start of my career. No certain way is wrong though, whatever you are comfortable with.”-@thegreatbatzy

“Forward! I tried backwards and I never got the hang of it.” –@ladylowman

“Forward…But, now I’m second guessing myself. 😂” –@cristee_hair1

“In school they taught us backward, but after working in the salon I learned forward and will never look back. Improved my foiling speed/efficiency and I also feel like you can really get the hair tighter in the foils that way. 💕” –pickledoggg

Backward, Only!

“Backwards is how I do ’em up. I choose the backward fold, because if there’s slippage I can use the excess foil on the back of the fold to tighten. You can do that with a forward fold, but if you’ve got product on that little flap that’s folded forward and you go to tighten the foil, you’re making a messy mess at the root. That’s not cash money.” –Saracat Schapansky

“I fold backwards because you can go back and adjust your crease if need be!” –@k_t_g_

“Fold the foil backward over the tail of the comb and use the comb to place the foil directly in the part. This helps to anchor the foil tight to the root but also give you the ability to adjust how close your foil is by pulling up that excess you folded back if you didn’t get it tight enough. Extra protection against bleed marks.” –@haircolorkilla

“I was always told backwards over the comb. That way when you lift the foil up there is that little flip there to help keep from getting bleed marks.” –Jenn Cooper

“Backward, so if the foil ‘slips’ you have foil to work with to readjust.” –Tiffany Michele Gregory-Winebarger

“Backward, so that you can tighten it down to the scalp by catching your foiling comb under it.” –Erin Hawkins

“Technically you should have the comb in your hand, fold the foil over (backwards) onto the tail of the comb. The tail of the comb is used to move the foil up if needed. If it’s folded forward it could (not always, but it’s possible) put a mark on the hair. This is what I remember being taught.” –@returning2natural

“Backward. It stays firm against scalp and I was always taught that this helps eliminate any bleeding of product, because you can press the back ‘flap’ against the hair when folding the foils.” –Becki Greenlee

I Do Both, Actually.

“Depends…When I use my comb, [I do] backwards, because it’s easier and I can push it tight with the comb. If I’m pre-folding, then forward, so there is nothing under the foil to push it from the scalp. That’s how Sassoon teaches it. I don’t think there’s really a right or wrong.” –Sheena Croce

“I was taught forward to catch expanding bleach to prevent leakage. If I’m doing teasy lights, I fold them backward so when pushing teased pieces up, you don’t catch the comb on the folded piece.” –Maureen Dyer McEachern

“There’s no right or wrong. I do both for different reasons. I fold back if it’s a larger slice/weave so I have that extra lip to use before locking it in, and I fold forward if all of my sections are going to be super small.” –Quinton BlackLotus

“I like doing it backward, but I usually end up doing it forward most of the time. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Hard to break habits.” –@alena.j_

Want More Blonding Education? Click Here For 3 Foil Placement Tips For Brighter Blends!