It originally referred to the hairstyle of letting hair down naturally, but the 'motoyui-gake-suihatsu,' a hairstyle of tying hair at shoulder length with an emotoyui (motoyui, or paper string for tying hair, for decoration) and hair below with mizuhiki (decorative Japanese cord made from twisted paper) at equal distance, is also sometimes called 'osuberakashi.'
本来は自然のままに髪を垂らした姿を言うが、肩の辺りで髪を絵元結で結んでその先を等間隔に水引で束ねていく「元結掛け垂髪」も「おすべらかし」と呼ばれることがある。