// question //
hi sarah, your hair always looks so great, and especially your bangs! i just joined the forehead fringe club, and i was wondering if you had any tips for styling them? particularly keeping them in place so you don’t end up rocking a frontal toupee look, and making them look nice and full! (that second part may just be a personal fine-haired problem). thanks – virginia
// answer //
hi virginia,
thanks for writing! i have a love affair with bangs. when i first cut mine in 2010 my hair-life changed forever. but it did take me a minute (or a year) to figure out how to best manage them. here are my tips for embracing the fringe and making the best of a most versatile hair-do!
– if you’re concerned about having fine hair and bangs my first recommendation is to see a great colorist! they can add so much depth and dimension to your hair and give you the appearance of a thicker bang with color alone (highlights and a variety of color creates layers and works wonders)! also go for a bang-cut that starts farther back on your head. for example, that pretty red head above- her bangs start pretty far back and it definitely helps with her situation since she doesn’t have the thickest hair! also, keep them on the long side for a similar look.
– blow dry immediately after showering. this might not be necessary for those with super straight hair but if you have even a hint of wave this is critical! when i first cut bangs i used this product in wet hair to help “train”them to lay flat. this was especially important for me because i have a big ol’ widow’s peak (yes, kids teased me and said i was a vampire in 5th grade)
– when blow-drying, hold hair dryer over top of head and blow dry down on your bangs… you’re basically drying them in the place you want them to stay
– i use this travel sized flat iron to go in after the blow dry and flatten the ends. in my experience if i flat iron the entire fringe, it gets suuuppper flat, so i just stick the the very tips where the blow dry wasn’t able to do the job
– and this trick i learned from my hairdresser- spray hairspray (i like this one) onto fingertips, rub together and then use fingers to put the tiniest amount onto a few pieces of your bangs- this gives you a little hold while simultaneously avoiding the oh-so-awkward BANG HELMUT! seriously- avoid the bang helmet at all costs. if the wind blows, you want your bangs to move. even if they move to a less ideal place, at least you won’t look like you’ve time traveled form the 80’s. and that’s a good thing, in case it’s in question.
– so those are my tips! friends, do you have advice for virginia? feel free to chime it!
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photo one : susan kindt photo two: vogue, germany
You have the best bangs, Sarah! I'm always struggling with mine! A few things I do: I find that sometimes just washing my bangs and re-styling will let me go longer without washing my whole head. I get frequent bang trims, like every two weeks, to keep from getting too many split ends from all of the flat ironing. I use a dab of the the product below to texturize and then I try my hardest to keep my hands off of them! #bangsarethebomb
http://www.bumbleandbumble.com/product/10349/24277/Products/Semi-sumo/semisumo/index.tmpl
love this topic as i've been sporting bangs for a few years now. for a while i would use a flat iron, but if you tend to have an oily forehead, towards the end of the day your bangs will start to get super oily, start to separate and drive you crazy. so i stopped doing using a flat iron. then i came across this little tutorial on the beauty department and thought i'd give it a shot and DANG, it seriously gives you the perfect bangs! definitely try it! oh, and then a little secret i do right after so that they're no so puffy (if you have thick hair like me), is just rub regular lotion on your hands then with your fingertips, dab the ends of your bangs. i've tried to use a million hair products, but they all end up weighing down my hair too much. hope that helps 🙂
http://thebeautydepartment.com/2012/01/blow-drying-heavy-bangs/
awesome junia, thank you!! you have amazing bangs and such thick hair, so your advice is perfect for girls with that enviously thick bang!
I've had bangs since I was 5 years old (on and off again) and still think they work best for someone like me who hates having hair falling into their face. I totally agree with all of the above advice. I have to blow dry mine right away or they go very flat and stringy. I don't know if this would work for everyone but since my hair is so straight and fine I find it better to actually blow dry them into a 80s pouf ( I know that sounds bad) for volume and then pin them to the side while I do my makeup- once I unpin them they are always perfect.
Love this. I have whisp-thin hair, so when my bangs are longer, they sometimes end up with that gross toupee look. Definitely trying these tips out!
Fellow fringe/bangs wearer for life! I second just washing your bangs if they start to get oily, since I usually go 2-3 days between shampoos. Dry shampoo is also a must for me – I love the Loreal "fresh dust" becasue it's clear and doesn't weigh my hair down.
Ok who is that pic of? Love that style. What I aspire to.
Do you trim your own bangs? For some reason I thought I remembered seeing a quick tip post of that! I just got bangs and I'm a little nervous to trim them myself. Thanks!
“when i first cut bangs i used this product in wet hair to help “train”them to lay flat. this was especially important for me because i have a big ol’ widow’s peak (yes, kids teased me and said i was a vampire in 5th grade)”
OMG, I have the worst widow’s peak as well!! When I try to make my bangs flat they just curve up and outwards, from the middle out, and kind of stay lifted off my forehead (does that make sense)? In reference to the above quote, I was wondering how you used the product to train your bangs flat? Fighting my widow’s peak is a constant soure of frustration! I usually just give up and end up pinning my bangs to the side. 🙁 Thanks for the post!! – Tracy