Both Hands On Head Sign Language

Understanding Signs That Use Both Hands on the Head

When you see someone place both hands on or near their head while signing, they're most likely expressing one of several different concepts in ASL. The specific meaning changes entirely based on handshape, movement, and location. The location alone isn't enough to identify the sign. The most common signs in this area include HAIR, HEADACHE, THINK, and HEAD. Each looks similar at first glance but has distinct mechanics. HAIR uses flat open hands (B-handshape) moving from the forehead down the sides of the head, mimicking the motion of running fingers through hair. HEADACHE involves both fists loosely tapping against the temples in a rhythmic pattern. THINK uses flat hands near the forehead with a forward-and-backward motion, almost like a gentle pushing gesture. HEAD is simpler — both flat hands tap once or twice against the sides of the head near the ears. I ran into a specific issue last year with a student who was learning the sign for THINK. She was performing it correctly by handshape and movement, but she kept placing her hands lower — right at her eyebrows instead of near the forehead. The signer across from her consistently misinterpreted it as part of a different sign altogether, and the conversation kept derailing. The fix was straightforward: I had her hold a book at forehead height and keep her palms parallel to it while signing. That physical reference point kept her hand placement consistent. It sounds minor, but in ASL, a two-centimeter shift in location can change the meaning entirely.

One thing beginners rarely grasp is that spatial anchoring matters more than movement. The movement tells you the action; the location tells you the concept. If you're near your temple, you're likely discussing something related to thinking or head pain. If your hands are higher on the crown of the head, HAIR becomes more likely. The non-dominant hand often holds a stable position while the dominant hand moves, or both hands mirror each other symmetrically. That symmetry is what distinguishes these two-handed signs from one-handed variants. There's also a common pitfall with the sign for THINK that almost no one warns beginners about. The movement is subtle — a small forward-and-backward shift of the palms, not a dramatic push. When learners overdo the motion, it starts looking aggressive or confused rather than contemplative. Keep it light. Your palms should barely travel more than an inch in either direction. The sign should look almost restrained. Another nuance is that some signs in this region have dialect variations. In some regions, HEADACHE is signed with one fist against one temple. In others, both fists tap both temples simultaneously. Neither is wrong, but if you're learning from a resource, note which convention it follows. Mixing them mid-conversation won't break comprehension, but it will look inconsistent.

If you're looking to practice, I'd recommend starting with video references from Deaf educators rather than algorithm-curated content. There's a noticeable difference in how instructors demonstrate the spatial placement, and automated channels sometimes flatten those distinctions out. The ASL-PI app and Lifeprint.com are reasonable starting points. They break down each sign with slow-motion playback and show the hand location from multiple angles. Here's the blunt part: this approach has real limitations. Hand location in ASL is incredibly sensitive to individual anatomy. A person with longer fingers or a larger head will naturally place their hands slightly differently than someone with shorter fingers or a smaller head. Insisting on an exact measurement like "two inches above the eyebrow" doesn't hold up across different bodies. The functional location — the area your sign partner recognizes — is what matters, not a ruler measurement. This means learners who copy demonstrations rigidly without adjusting for their own body will produce signs that look correct in theory but read as slightly off to fluent signers. If your goal is purely decorative or performative, these signs will serve you fine. If you actually need to communicate with Deaf or hard-of-hearing people, you'll want to go beyond isolated signs and work on grammar, facial grammar, and spatial relationships. The hand-on-head signs are just the surface layer.