Detail of face Hals mishandled (4)
I believe the answer is:
lash
'detail of face' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'hals mishandled' is the wordplay.
'mishandled' is an anagram indicator.
'hals' is an anagram of 'LASH'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lash that I've seen before include "Sweep" , "Flexible strip of a whip" , "cat hair?" , "Beat severely with a whip" , "Bind tightly with a rope or cord" .)